I stumbled back to Church after a 10-year absence and enjoyed the modern style of the Mass. I enjoyed Mass with popular music, guitars, folksy songs, handshakes, hugs, and happy talk.

I even joined the “pop” choir, standing with the other musicians on the side of the alter, which clearly was not an appropriate place to be. But we were all part of the team celebrating the faith, partners with the priest, dancing nuns, and a congregation mostly ignorant of the true Catholic faith.

I could have left well enough alone, but if I had always left well enough alone I would have still been a Methodist. So as I came back to my converted faith, I decided to study, learn, and figure out what it is all about.

No, I did not evolve into a brilliant theologian. But I learned enough to recognize the faith being practiced with sincerity and devotion.

This brings us to the subject of the traditional Latin Mass.

I’m a post-Vatican II convert who didn’t grow up with the traditional Mass and thought Latin was for doctors and old guys with long beards. If I had returned to a Church with the incense, bells, and whistles of the traditional Mass, I might not have stayed. It might have been too alien, too off-putting, too frightening.

I needed something friendly, inviting, and, frankly, a bit like a Protestant service. But as time went on and I became more knowledgeable about my faith, I wanted more — and I found a deeper faith in a more traditional practice of the Catholic faith.

No, I don’t attend a Latin Mass (most of the time). But it is a joy to attend a formal service with traditional music, a homily that teaches the true faith, where there is no compromise of right from wrong.

When my faith became deeper, I moved to a more traditional parish. It has been a wonderful faith community for my family and me.

However, it never occurred to me to condemn my old parish or petition the bishop to remove the Gather songbook from its pews. If people want to sing vapid songs and strum guitars, so be it. I will always proclaim the truth but will not attempt to “outlaw” those who take a different path, assuming it is aligned with the teachings of the Church.

All this makes me deeply puzzled and troubled by the efforts by some in the Church hierarchy to suppress the Traditional Latin Mass, which faithful Catholics practiced for eons. If someone likes the old form, why deny them? To deny them, is to be divisive, which is the worse thing in the world, many would say.

What we need to focus on is the Essence of the Mass: the consecration, the true presence, the creed, and prayers. The use of incense, women in veils, holding a rosary, or the use of Gregorian chant are not symbols of rebellion against Vatican II; they are practices that appeal to some people, like guitar music appeals to others.

I hear lots about the need for tolerance. The Traditional Latin Mass is worthy of tolerance — or, perhaps, praise.