Extremely anecdotal but it seems that traditional catholicism is en-vogue amongst young Catholics and like any fad the outward signs are being highlighted even if the reason behind them isn't understood.
I attended Mass at St Anthony of Padua in the Woodlands, TX this Sunday at 11 a.m. There were a handful of veiled women and girls in the pews, and those that were veiled were seemingly younger than 50. Of note, that several of the women wearing veils were wearing short, tight what I would consider "sun-dresses". By no means inappropriate in a public-setting, just not Mass appropriate, and odd when paired with a veil.
Similarly I saw a few men carrying bibles with them, which I thought was fairly odd. I know that carrying a bible into church is fairly common for Protestants, but it seems a little superfluous in Mass. Not that the Bible itself is ever superfluous just that Mass is a liturgy which includes Bible readings, which are available in every church I've been. Perhaps charitably they were reading their Bibles before Mass started, but I thought it was kind of odd.
The strangest was people kneeling to take the Eucharist from the Priest (good), but then going to receive the chalice (standing obviously and drinking) from an EMHC (odd). Kneeling is the proper position to receive the Body of Christ, and receiving on the tongue the absolute best to avoid abuse given the Priest's blessed and anointed hands, and his role acting in Persona Christi Capitis. It's also an important participation in the understanding that God's salvation always comes as a free gift to us, that while we cooperate with it, do nothing ourselves to merit (when you take the chalice and drink it, you're essentially communicating yourself)
It disappointed me and heartened me in the same moment. I'm glad that for whatever reason people are embracing their Catholic birthright with the understanding that things were not always as they are now in the Novus Ordo, even if they don't fully understand the reasons behind it. While form usually is dictated by function, perhaps the opposite can be true for young Catholics and function can be reverse engineered by form.
I attended Mass at St Anthony of Padua in the Woodlands, TX this Sunday at 11 a.m. There were a handful of veiled women and girls in the pews, and those that were veiled were seemingly younger than 50. Of note, that several of the women wearing veils were wearing short, tight what I would consider "sun-dresses". By no means inappropriate in a public-setting, just not Mass appropriate, and odd when paired with a veil.
Similarly I saw a few men carrying bibles with them, which I thought was fairly odd. I know that carrying a bible into church is fairly common for Protestants, but it seems a little superfluous in Mass. Not that the Bible itself is ever superfluous just that Mass is a liturgy which includes Bible readings, which are available in every church I've been. Perhaps charitably they were reading their Bibles before Mass started, but I thought it was kind of odd.
The strangest was people kneeling to take the Eucharist from the Priest (good), but then going to receive the chalice (standing obviously and drinking) from an EMHC (odd). Kneeling is the proper position to receive the Body of Christ, and receiving on the tongue the absolute best to avoid abuse given the Priest's blessed and anointed hands, and his role acting in Persona Christi Capitis. It's also an important participation in the understanding that God's salvation always comes as a free gift to us, that while we cooperate with it, do nothing ourselves to merit (when you take the chalice and drink it, you're essentially communicating yourself)
It disappointed me and heartened me in the same moment. I'm glad that for whatever reason people are embracing their Catholic birthright with the understanding that things were not always as they are now in the Novus Ordo, even if they don't fully understand the reasons behind it. While form usually is dictated by function, perhaps the opposite can be true for young Catholics and function can be reverse engineered by form.
