Consider the simple wisdom of G.K. Chesterton:

Tradition means giving a vote to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead.  Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about. All democrats object to men being disqualified by the accident of birth; tradition objects to their being disqualified by the accident of death. Democracy tells us not to neglect a good man’s opinion, even if he is our groom; tradition asks us not to neglect a good man’s opinion, even if he is our father.

Out in my various travels (both in real life and on the Internet) I am hearing one anecdotal story after another about plummeting Mass attendance.  In the diocese I visit, Mass attendance has dropped precipitously in the past ten years (especially accelerating since Pope Francis was elected).  The people who have seen the numbers have said that it is like a chart with a line going down a steep cliff.  They’re all panicking in the chanceries.  Sure, people are getting old and dying and people are moving out of state, but something else must be at play.

On the contrary, there are a handful of parishes that have been able to maintain and, in some cases, grow attendance, despite the trends elsewhere.

And what is this “one weird trick” that keeps the faithful engaged?

So on the one hand you have a Mass formed from the wisdom of the traditions passed down from generation to generation — for over 15 centuries — and on the other hand you have a handful of 1960s hippies sitting around a table deciding what they think would be a “nice” way to worship God. I wonder which way would be superior…? Well, we’ll take a look at that in more detail later.