Trads: Latin Mass Catholics in the United States

"We pull up at the large, suburban parish church with a half-hour to spare. Two of my carmates make a beeline for their favored front-row center pews. The third disappears into the sacristy, later to emerge in classic "choir boy" garb as one of today's fifteen altar servers. I take up my usual place in any new church: in a corner at the back, the easier to "participant-observe," as we sociologists say, meaning to spy subtly on fellow worshippers. It's a good thing we arrived early, as things are filling up. One long line for confession is already open, with fifteen people waiting. Not long after, a second line starts on the opposite side of the church. The first closes a little before Mass begins. The second remains in operation throughout much of the service, never seeming to get any shorter: always about twenty penitents long, with more joining to replace the newly absolved. By 9:40 AM, with perhaps 70 people in the pews, a group recitation of the rosary begins. Some join in, others glance through the bulletin, still others-a large and growing segment of the congregation-occupy themselves with Etch A Sketches, Disney Princess sticker books, or coloring"-- Provided by publisher.