I am accustomed to going to an hour and a half Sunday liturgy in the traditional form of the Roman Rite. I am accustomed to daily liturgy, to the rhythm of life expressed through the cadence of prayer by priest, by choir, by faithful; at times, harmonious, at times layered or veiled.

As someone who prospers more in the midst of the liturgical action within the sanctuary, I am grateful to serve at the altar, as MC, acolyte or thurifer. And I like efficient liturgy, I don’t like the need to second-guess what is going on, or uncertainty of what is coming in the ritual or in the sermon. Certainly, the life of a parish allows for some surprise when the great generosity of the faithful brings up new sacramentals, structures, or sacred art — and a bit more pomp and circumstance can be had in the artful unveiling of this or that new decoration.

I do feel at times the lengthiness of ritual, when unnecessary or clumsy action is had which displays a lack of preparation or action which can lend to drawing focus to ministers or servers or choir.

I don’t think 1.5 hours is too long for a traditional liturgy.

As the Cardinal states in this linked article — 1.5 hours for the new rite is inconceivable to me and I have never experienced this beyond ordinations or the Holy Week. I don’t know how long Brompton or St. John Cantius are for their Solemn and decorous Masses with Gregorian or polyphony [however, the inability to perform

I agree in substance with H.E. – that liturgy shouldn’t be unnecessary embellished nor drawn out. But when the ritual is performed as prescribed — when the patrimony is embraced, artistically, musically, ritualistically — what complaint should a Catholic have?

But this is why we shouldn’t forget the beauty of curating arts, the liturgy being the highest form of art, the culmination of human intuition in expressing our faith through the arts.

More could be said and I need to get back to work.

Cardinal Dolan: Are Sunday Masses Just Too Long?