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Another great Friday post full of thought-provoking topics. First: what was it like to live through Vatican II? Horrible. I literally ran away from the church as a freshman in high school, so shocked and turned off by the overnight introduction of banality and the falsity of it all. It was no longer my church and I felt Jesus had run away too. Fortunately, I came back much later. I look forward to reading this book to see how others fared. Every experience was different but with basic underlying similarities, I think. Also watched the architecture video. So on target and so true. It's another cultural aspect we don't necessarily think of affecting society to the degree she mentions, but when she showed the photo of the soaring interior of a medieval church (after showing photos of Bauhaus and current architect), I felt my stomach relaxing and my heart sighing with relief. Wow, we are truly a very sick society.

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I am ordering this immediately!

I am a decade older than James Bevan, but know of this amazing family from his own parents’ marriage story and from the various Bevan singers plus Dominic Bevan, one of his sons who runs his own wonderful choir, the Southwell Consort.

I also lived through all this chaos and in 1969 walked out of a New Mass in tears. I then went to SSPX Masses in various London hotels and Town Halls….or went to a Mass said by an elderly priest still allowed to say it in a side chapel at the Brompton Oratory.

My father, the late Hugh Ross Williamson, (ex Anglican Priest, convert to RC and Historian of the Reformation) recognised what was happening early on and wrote two pamphlets: The Modern Mass: A Reversion to the Reforms of Cranmer in 1969 and then The Great Betrayal in 1970.

These were widely distributed but now long out of print until last year when republished by Arouca Press in a small combined volume.

It was difficult when bringing up my own children to find a Tridentine Mass but the Brompton Oratory was our choice where the New Mass was said most closely following the Tridentine Mass in the 1970’s -1980’s.

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I flinched when I heard the author’s father being happy with the new liturgy because it took him back to his Church of England past.

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It getting much clearer everyday what the church leadership is doing to the Church.

The fact that Pope Francis took 8 days to say something to the blasphemy at the Olympics, and if it were not for the words of the President of Turkey, we would not know given the time it took him to take a stand.

More so that it took a political leader to get him to respond is also another matter of concern. Has he not heard from cardinals and bishops around the world? By this incident, it is not anymore ambiguous in the eyes of people what is important to him.

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Thank you for that video on architecture. I am a great hater of modern architecture (especially in churches[!!!]), and have been wanting to learn more about why horrible architecture can officially be considered bad (other than just saying how I don't like it, which concerns personal taste). This was exactly what I needed!

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Why the "but", Professor? 😉

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