Thanks to the wisdom of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, Catholics who came of age after the Second Vatican Council have gotten a taste of Catholic liturgical tradition previously unavailable, and many have decided that they like it.
First and foremost, this has come about via the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) of the 1962 Roman Missal, the last one produced before the significant liturgical changes of Vatican II and the subsequent 1970 Missal. Up until the sharp U-turn of Pope Francis’ 2021 apostolic letter Traditionis custodes and its follow-up documents, the Traditional Latin Mass – which had been given greater freedom by Pope Benedict XVI – saw a resurgence that filled pews and inspired many.
Yet because all things are connected in the tradition, other devotional practices have come back that also deserve our attention and support. What had been lost for years was found again – and thereby found to be all the more precious.
This realization came to me recently when our youngest daughter became engaged. Since she is of a more traditional nature, liturgically speaking, she and her fiancé opted for a short betrothal rite at her parish, one of the two oratories in our
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