Many OnePeterFive readers are familiar with, if not regular attendees of, the Traditional Latin Mass. The Tridentine Mass is the sort of bedrock or cornerstone of all things traditionally Catholic. However, many of your average Sunday Mass-going Catholics (as well as not-so-regular attendees and fallen-away Catholics) have never heard of the Old Mass. Or if they have, it is not often painted in a positive light. Still another group of Catholics simply has no idea that there is a difference in the Old and New Mass, thinking that the latter is just a translation of the former into the vernacular. So the question for all of us in the OnePeterFive community is: how can we change this?
I have often spoken to my family about the Latin Mass and thought “if they would just read a Peter Kwasniewski book, they would be convinced!” But the problem is that the type of person to sit down with a 300 page book on the liturgy is likely the type of person who does not need convincing. So how can we get the Traditional Latin Mass in front of millions of Catholics in a condensed, convincing, and beautiful way that does not compromise any of the majesty or reverence of the Roman Rite?
Enter the Mass of the Ages documentary.
The aim of the documentary is to showcase the glory of the Roman Rite in a beautiful and professionally produced film, a medium that is highly palatable in the modern age. The film’s director, Cameron O’Hearn, has been traveling the country with a professional film crew gathering stunning footage of our most beautiful churches, captivating interviews with liturgical experts, and gripping stories from lay people like you and me who are just trying to raise their families Catholic.
In traveling, what the crew found was not a bunch of parishes full of mean, snobby people who hate everything created after 1962. But rather, they discovered Catholic men and women from all walks of life who desire Jesus Christ as the center of their lives. They are seeking sanctifying grace in the same way that so many of our greatest saints did in the Holy Mass.
Many of the stories and interviews in the film will surprise you, and the unique portrayal of something so ancient and mysterious will inspire many hearts to discover why the Mass of the Ages has been in the news so much over the last few years, and especially over the last month. There is a groundswell of support for traditional Catholicism, and this film may be providentially timed to keep that support going.
The upcoming release of Episode I of this trilogy has tens of thousands of Catholics excited, but there are so many more that we can reach! The Mass of the Ages team wants to invite everyone to host a screening party at their home or parish or school, and to invite everyone that you can. If every OnePeterFive reader and every supporter of the Mass of the Ages trilogy invited 5 or 10 people to watch with them, the film would spread like wildfire across the Catholic Church.
Episode I premieres on August 15th, the Feast of the Assumption, at 8pm eastern time. It is free to view and will stream live on the Mass of the Ages YouTube channel. After that, it will be hosted on the website, www.theliturgy.org.
I hope that you will invite your friends and family to discover the Traditional Latin Mass by watching this film, and that it will impact the hearts of many Catholics across the world. Please join us all this Sunday, as we discover the Mass of the Ages.
Photo credit: Mass of the Ages promomotional
