Author Topic: Defending Smells and Bells (Read 733 times)

Matthew · « **on:** September 01, 2015, 04:29:33 PM »

Let's not let ourselves go TOO far in criticizing "smells and bells" as if they weren't part of the Catholic package...

Neil Obstat · « **Reply #1 on:** September 01, 2015, 04:45:51 PM »

.

I knew a guy who used to ask me, whenever I mentioned my faith or going to Mass, he'd say, "When you let that incense fill your nasal passages, and you hear the sound of the bells and the chanting choir, and you see the colored lights falling down from the stained glass windows, you feel yourself raised to an ecstasy of wonder and euphoria, eh?"

I had to make it clear that he was trying to put words into my mouth, and I would never have said that.

For him, the only way to comprehend someone having this mysterious "faith" thing, was to directly attribute it to a physical experience evoked by the "smells and bells" of being in a Catholic church during some ceremony. But then after all, he was a Freemason.

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TKGS · « **Reply #2 on:** September 01, 2015, 05:10:14 PM »

Is someone criticizing the "smells and bells"?

I've criticized people whose only connection with tradition is the "smells and bells". I stand by that criticism. One is not Catholic simply because he likes the "smells and bells". This has nothing to do with the Council of Trent's anathema.

Clemens Maria · « **Reply #3 on:** September 01, 2015, 06:02:26 PM »

I knew of a traditional choir (indult) where a few of the members where very effeminate (and rumored to be ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ). Some people certainly would like to retain the beauty of the traditional Roman rite while dispensing with the traditional doctrine. The smells and bells should remain but we should avoid making them the center of attention.

Ladislaus · « **Reply #4 on:** September 01, 2015, 07:37:07 PM »

Quote from: TKGS

Is someone criticizing the "smells and bells"?

I've criticized people whose only connection with tradition is the "smells and bells". I stand by that criticism. One is not Catholic simply because he likes the "smells and bells". This has nothing to do with the Council of Trent's anathema.

THIS^^; it's a criticism of those who are attracted to the Traditional Mass simply for aesthetic reason, because it's edifying, rather than for doctrinal ones.