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Posted on 09/06/2007 5:21:14 AM PDT by maryz
Next Friday, 14 September, the worldwide restrictions on the celebration of the ancient Latin liturgy of the Catholic Church will be swept away. With a stroke of his pen, Pope Benedict XVI has ended a 40-year campaign to eradicate the Tridentine Mass, whose solemn rubrics are regarded with contempt by liberal bishops. In doing so, he has indicated that the entire worship of the Church — which has become tired and dreary since the Second Vatican Council — is on the brink of reformation. This is an exciting time to be a Catholic. Unless, that is, you are a diehard ‘go-ahead’ 1970s trendy, in which case you are probably hoping that the Good Lord will call Joseph Ratzinger to his reward as soon as possible.
First, let us get some terminology out of the way. Until 7 July this year, Catholics believed that there were two main Rites of Mass: the Tridentine or Old Rite, promulgated by Pope Pius V in 1570; and the New Rite, promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970. When I was growing up in the years after the Council, I was taught that the New Rite had completely superseded the Old. The only people who attended the Tridentine Mass were hatchet-faced old men wearing berets and gabardine raincoats, who muttered darkly about Satan’s capture of the papacy. I had never been to the Old Mass and knew only two things about it: that it was said by the priest ‘with his back to the people’ — how rude! — and that most priests who celebrated it were followers of the rebel French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. These people were unaccountably ‘attached’ to the Tridentine Rite and its ‘fussy’ accretions — the prayers at the foot of the altar; the intricately choreographed bows, crossings and genuflections of the celebrant; the ‘blessed mutter’ of the Canon in a voice inaudible to the congregation. The New Mass, in contrast, was said by the priest facing the people, nearly always in English. It was for everyone. Including people who didn’t like it.
In the 1980s, in an attempt to woo back the followers of Lefebvre, Pope John Paul II eased the almost total ban on the Tridentine Rite. If groups of the faithful were still ‘attached’ (that word again) to the old liturgy, they could approach their bishop and ask him to make provision for it. In other words, the decision was left in the hands of diocesan bishops, many of whom displayed a shocking meanness of spirit when interpreting the new guidelines. And John Paul, being a busy and ill man who was not terribly fond of the Tridentine Rite, let them get away with it.
Three years ago, lovers of the traditional liturgy were despondent. Yes, matters had improved since the 1970s. The Old Mass was no longer the preserve of Lefebvrists: it was now attracting growing numbers of loyal young Catholics on the run from geriatric ‘worship leaders’. But in many English dioceses it was still easier to track down a witches’ coven than a traditional Mass. And, depressingly, the one curial cardinal who really cared about these things was heading for retirement.
Only he didn’t retire. He became Pope instead. And, on 7 July, he issued a document that did more than abolish restrictions governing the celebration of the Tridentine Mass. The apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum, issued ‘Motu Proprio’ (that is, as a personal decree), restores the traditional liturgy — the whole Missal, not just the Mass — to full parity with the post-Vatican II liturgy of 1970. It was a move of breathtaking boldness.
The enemies of the old Latin Mass are so horrified by Summorum Pontificum and its accompanying letter that they have either pretended that it does not exist or have misrepresented its contents. The key points are as follows. From next Friday, priests do not need to ask permission to say the traditional Mass privately, and lay people can attend these private celebrations. More important, if a group of the faithful — no number is given, but it need only be a handful — ask their parish priest to provide a public Sunday celebration of the traditional Mass, he is to do so. He does not have to say it himself — most priests have no idea how to celebrate it — but if he cannot find a qualified priest then his bishop will draft one in. And if the bishop decides to throw a spanner in the works, Rome will intervene.
Even more striking than these provisions, however, is the new liturgical landscape in which the Motu Proprio will be applied. From Friday, there will be no Tridentine Rite, no New Rite. The pre- and post-Vatican II Masses will no longer be referred to as separate Rites, but as the ‘extraordinary’ and ‘ordinary’ forms of one Latin Rite. The traditional Mass will not be called after the Council of Trent, but after the Pope who issued the most recent (1962) revision of it, Blessed Pope John XIII. For anyone who enjoys the sight of liberals squirming, that is the nicest touch of all: the former Tridentine Rite now bears the name of the man who convened Vatican II. Why not? It was the only Mass he ever knew. The vernacular Mass was entirely Paul VI’s doing.
‘The Pope is not a trained liturgist,’ squealed the right-on Catholic magazine the Tablet after the Motu Proprio was published. On the contrary: he is a liturgist and theologian of genius. And what he is trying to achieve with Summorum Pontificum and the forthcoming new English translation of Paul VI’s Missal is to move beyond the liturgical squabbles of the past.
‘In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek,’ said St Paul. ‘Nor traditionalist nor liberal,’ adds Benedict. The Pope knows that the vast majority of Catholics wish to worship God in their own language — but he also knows that the communities that use the Missal of John XXIII are among the most dynamic in the universal Church. Summorum Pontificum tore down the liturgical veil separating the old from the new; now the social barriers must be removed. For that to happen, former traditionalists will have to stop thinking of themselves as a spiritual elite; and former liberals must turn their eyes towards the astonishing treasures that this greatest of modern Popes has reclaimed from the rubbish heap. As I said, this is an exciting time to be a Catholic.
Ping!
God be praised.
He is definitely with His Church; the seminaries are filling once again, those with the now grey braided armpit hairs are horrified, and attendance is rising.
BXVI is exceeding this Catholic’s expectations and is giving us even greater hope for the future. Away with the guitar Masses, the Wiccan nuns, the protection of predatory clergy by the bishops, the Protestant prayer barns, and the laification of the rites.
The tide is turning, and not just an ordinary run of the mill tide. This is a Bay of Fundy 60 foot tide.
Yes, and judging by the screams coming from the modernist bishops, they are just realizing it!
I live in a diocese where the bishop (or his "diocesan liturgist," a modernist priest) has virtually forbidden the celebration of the rite by placing so many restrictions on it that it would be virtually impossible to have it. He has demanded a high number of attendees who are all registered members of the same parish, a high level of knowledge of Latin, virtually on the "chat with Cicero" level, etc. He even forbade priests to say it privately.
But - guess what? He has the power to do none of these things. He has already had to back down on forbidding priests to say it privately, and I think he's going to find that he'll have to review a number of his other rash statements.
At the same time, the faithful laity and priests do not realize what tremendous power the MP has given them. We are still on the defensive, still acting as if this could be jerked away from us at any time by the whim of the bishop. But it can't be, and we have to realize that this has been given to us by the Pope with every hope that we will use it. It's up to us, the faithful laity and priests, to do what the Pope obviously wants us to do, and to restore the liturgy and the Church.
‘Bout time !!
Now it is time to “sweep away” the fraudulent bishops
that have been ruining the Catholic church for decades.
In another thread a few days ago, I stated that the Catholic church needs to fix its own problems before critising the Christian community. I was referring to the
Latin Mass issue and the
dis-unity and official and/or unofficial liberal/conservative divsions that began at least as far back as V2 .
Not, as some here thought, the molesting scandals.
" former liberals must turn their eyes towards the astonishing treasures that this greatest of modern Popes has reclaimed from the rubbish heap"
Astonishing treasures indeed! Thank you Pope Benedict!!
That's what we all want to see! In following the bishops' responses to the motu proprio, I find it striking that often the names of the bishops putting roadblocks in the way are names I haven't seen since the scandal coverage. I'm not saying there's a 1:1 ratio, but still . . .
Very exciting, indeed.
I think a few have had to backtrack a bit already. I also tend to think it's encouraging in a way that that (discredited) CNS article by one Fr. Daly is still making the rounds of diocesan papers -- you know, the one about how the TLM only draws a pathetic scattering of old people (and who cares about them?).
It just looks as if some of the bishops are hearing about more interest in the TLM than they bargained for, and articles like Daly's are intended to stomp it out. As I see it, though, every article -- positive or negative -- keeps the pot boiling, leading more and more people to wonder what all the fuss is about! And leading them to find out!
:)
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I echoe what you wrote and add a great big HOORAY.
Thank you for the hooray.
It is time to take back the Church from those who would deflect and diminish its role. It is also time to get the Latin Mass going. Our liberal bishops are being retired; the new seminarians are loyal to the Church, not the sectarian liberation of the sixties.
In our church there are perhaps four couples and several others that may leave in a huff. Too bad. I really like two of the couples - they are good friends with us. But they’ve been caught up into the feelgood, nicey nicey, nobody is wrong theological movement that has crippled the Anglicans, and is killing the mainstream conservative Protestants.
Not quite sure what you mean here. They'll actually leave if, say, one TLM a week is put in? If the parish turns to orthodoxy?
Weird. Nobody’s forcing them to go to a Latin Mass. What are they upset about?
They are retired Baby Boomers, nice, respectable, liberal, looking to expand the role of women in the Church, nice, liberal, do gooders.
The parents of younger ones are much more conservative than they. They may leave the parish and go to a more liberal one, with a nun as a Life Coordinator. Rose coloured glasses - I wouldn’t be surprised if a little hemp was utilized in the heady 60s and 70s.
When I express admiration of the current Il Papa; a little look of horror comes across their faces.
It isn’t socialist kumbaya feelgood theology.
They look at me in horror when I tell them how I’d like to withdraw the troops from Iraq - only after, e.g. Ramadi, was turned into nice pretty multicoloured glass. They really shudder when I tell them that the Knights of Columbus need to have real sabers instead of the play ones.
Then you won't be wearing one of those T shirts around church? :)
LOL! Sounds good to me! When I lived in California, we had a chapter of the Knights of Malta (mostly heavy hitters from the wine country). THEY got to ride their horses into church! Now that was impressive.
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