This is a continuation from Parts I & II.

An outcome of so much of the Vatican II fallout, says Davies, is that mass is no longer an experience of peaceful reverence for many Catholics, but instead "going to Mass has become a misery for them, they come away disturbed and distressed." For many it is a chore rather than a joy. Naturally many of us have witnessed this fact. Still worse, many thinking Catholics find themselves in situations in which they "quite reasonably wonder whether the sacraments they are receiving are valid." In retrospect, I wonder the same thing about some places I have visited.

Davies believes that we are living through a period in Catholic history not dissimilar to the time of St. Athanasius in which heresy--in our age, modernism--is rampant. Even the age old mass, now known as the Tridentine mass, was unjustly outlawed until our current pope, the Lord bless him, corrected and clarified this error in his Motu Proprio only a few years ago. And so we find ourselves at a crossroads in American Catholic history, a time in which tradition is roundly and summarily dismsissed, our "church buildings" not far behind.

Never before in the entire history of the Church has there been such an abrupt and violent breach with Tradition and established custom. We can say with St. Thomas: "It is absurd and a detestable shame that we should suffer those traditions to be changed which we have received from the fathers of old."

I believe that the forcible closing of our churches in favor of what can be reasonably looked upon as "the new church" both physically and spiritually may fall under the heading of "an absurd and detestable shame." The very structure of a traditional Catholic church is under attack. In a "traditional" Catholic church we all face forward, not in a circle or semi-circle so that we may stare at our "community" during "the liturgy" (even the term, "mass" is apparently, by many, considered a relic of the past). We have kneelers, holy water fonts, stations of the cross, and, typically, stained glass and other art that educates and illuminates the faithful, as well as many other things. Perhaps most importantly, the tabernacle containing Our Lord's precious body is front and center, where it should be, for the purpose of proper dignity and worship!

In the case of St. Mary's, we are also blessed with an altar rail which clearly delineates the space where the Holy Sacrifice takes place. In addition, the choir loft an organ are in the rear of church, where they belong. In a traditional Catholic church, the mass is not a show, therefore we need not see the musicians. The music is meant to elevate our souls to God, who comes to us body, blood, soul, and divinity via the priest who stands in persona christi.

To be continued in Part IV.