Old Latin Mass Makes a Comeback (in St. Louis)

St. Louis Catholic Blog ^ | June 14, 2007

[NYer]

It seems the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has finally heard about the traditional Mass. The following story appears in today's edition--the headline, above, is theirs. My comments follow.

Old Latin Mass Makes a Comeback
By Tim Townsend
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
06/14/2007

Melinda Scanga (left), of Jefferson County, prays during Latin mass at St. Francis De Sales Oratory. (Dawn Majors /P-D)

The church's windows are broken, its beige bricks are sooty, its paint is chipped. The 300-foot steeple, a hallmark of the St. Louis skyline, is pulling away from its foundation. One day it could tumble into traffic on Gravois Avenue.

St. Francis de Sales church, often called the Cathedral of South St. Louis, is an ideal home for a group of Roman Catholic priests devoted to restoration. But restoring this 19th-century neo-Gothic church to its former glory is only one reason St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke assigned the priests to oversee St. Francis de Sales.

The real mission of the group, called the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, is the restoration of the traditional Latin Mass.

The 1,600-year-old Mass isn't used much today, but it's making a comeback.

That effort will get a boost Friday when Burke — one of the most devoted supporters of the old Latin rite among U.S. bishops — will ordain two deacons of the Institute at the Cathedral Basilica. Burke has ordained members several times in Italy, where the institute is based outside Florence. But Friday will mark the first time members of the 17-year-old institute will be ordained in the United States and the first time the traditional Latin liturgy will be used in an ordination here in more than 40 years.

Most of the world's 1 billion Catholics are familiar with the celebration of Mass in their own languages. The traditional Latin Mass, also referred to as the Tridentine Mass, Classical Latin Mass, Old Rite, Classical Roman Rite or Mass of Ages, was largely set aside by the church in the 1960s when the Second Vatican Council approved changes in the liturgy.

The Latin Mass is thick with pageantry, solemnity and symbolism and is often referred to as "smells and bells" for its generous use of incense and music.

A papal decree, which Vatican officials have said should be released soon, is likely to expand the use of the ancient Mass. The decree — called a motu proprio — is expected to allow any priest to celebrate the traditional Latin Mass without the permission of his bishop.

Vatican watchers say the decree could be released July 14, the date, in 1570, when Pope Pius V published the liturgical text that would be used to celebrate Mass for the next 400 years — until the reforms of Vatican II.

In today's church, priests are free to celebrate the post-Vatican II liturgy, or new order Mass, in Latin — though most don't. What a priest cannot do without the permission of his bishop is celebrate the traditional Latin Mass as it was structured, worded, sung and heard in 1962, the last time it was changed before Vatican II.

Audio slideshow of the Latin Mass


Because two generations of American Catholics are accustomed to hearing the Mass celebrated in English, it's unlikely most will want to switch to a liturgy that is longer, more formal and celebrated in a language they don't understand.

But some Catholics would welcome a choice.

Eric Kraenzle, 44, of Webster Groves and a member of St. Pius V parish in St. Louis, said he thought it was a good idea for the Vatican to expand the use of the traditional Latin Mass.

"It would be a nice option," he said. "I'm not sure it's for everyone because of the language barrier, but why not let people experience that tradition if they want to?"

In St. Louis, Catholics who love the traditional Latin Mass have a bishop who shares their feelings. Burke was the first bishop to bring the Institute of Christ the King to the United States when, as bishop of LaCrosse, Wis., he invited its priests into his diocese. He also established another group of religious men dedicated to the old Latin rite, called the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem, while in Wisconsin. He has since moved that group to St. Louis.

Burke declined to be interviewed for this story.

The institute is a "society of apostolic life" within the church. Its priests are not quite part of a religious order, nor are they quite diocesan priests. They live in community as religious order priests do, but they take no vows.

A papal decision reinstituting the wider use of the church's ancient liturgy would be a celebratory moment for the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.

Monsignor Michael Schmitz, the institute's U.S. superior, has said the motu proprio "will be like seeing your mother all dusty and in rags on the streets; you go up to her and rip off the old dusty clothing and below that you see the golden clothes that she has brought for the most beautiful ball she has ever attended.

"Many of those Catholics who love the traditional Latin Mass are part of a younger generation, people who are seeking a connection with the ancient history of their faith, said the Rev. Karl Lenhardt, St. Francis de Sales rector. For instance, he said, the average institute priest (there are 50 around the world) is in his 30s, and the institute has 70 young men in various states of training.

The Rev. Eugene Morris, a theology professor at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, said younger Catholics who have no memory of the old Latin Mass are attracted to the "traditional symbols and rituals that in some ways communicate more clearly the historicity and mystery of what we are celebrating."

Outside St. Francis de Sales on Sunday, Daniel Frasca, 28, of St. Charles said he attends Mass there "because it feels more like church here than at other Masses.

"Natalie Kummer, 31, a mother of four from Florissant, said she liked to experience the same Mass as Catholics a millennium ago. "It's more reverent," she said, "more beautiful."

St. Agatha Church, also in south St. Louis, hosted the archdiocese's old Latin Mass before it was moved to St. Francis de Sales in 2005. According to Lenhardt, about 300 people came to one traditional Latin Mass each Sunday at St. Agatha. At St. Francis, the number is close to 1,000 for two Masses each Sunday, he said.

On Sunday, about 500 people gathered in St. Francis, for a 10 a.m. Mass that lasted more than two hours. Before Mass, and for about 45 minutes after it began, the line for confessions was 10 deep at three different elaborately carved wooden confessionals inside the church. Most of the women and girls wore black or white lace head coverings. The army of priests, deacons, subdeacons and altar boys in the sanctuary, which is separated from the nave by an altar rail, wore an array of ornate vestments. Six members of the Knights of Columbus, dressed in full regalia and bearing swords, escorted the clergy to the altar before the Mass began.

The pace of the traditional Latin Mass can seem slow and drawn out to those used to the newer liturgy. Long periods go by while the congregation sits still, watching the rituals in the sanctuary, praying and listening to the chanting of the choir. But it is exactly this meditative quality of the Mass that attracts some Catholics.

Mostly, though, it is tradition — as important in Catholicism as Scripture — that draws so many people to the old Latin rite. With the traditional Latin Mass, "we merge into a stream that has its origins in Christ himself, and that goes until the end of time," said Lenhardt.

Before high Mass on Sunday, Kummer stopped her son Joseph outside the church to wipe a smudge of dirt from his forehead. She seemed excited but contemplative as they walked through St. Francis de Sales' large wooden doors into a two-hour ritual that would be the same this Sunday as it was for some of the earliest Christians.

"They used to say Mass was the most beautiful thing this side of heaven," said Kummer. "That's what it's like here."

__________________________

My comments: All in all, for a secular paper, a very nice story, and largely favorable. The article starts out with some doom and gloom about how the Church building needs restoration (it does, but is presently still gloriously beautiful). You think it will be the typical, "these people are stuck in the past" hatchet job. But it isn't.

The Mass is making a comeback, they note. True. Some of my favorite parts of the article--

A novus ordo Catholic is quoted as supporting giving the faithful the choice of this rite.

Fr. Lenhardt at de Sales is quoted well, noting that many of the people who choose the traditional Mass are young, "people who are seeking a connection with the ancient history of their faith."

Fr. Morris, of the local archdiocesan seminary, states that the traditional Mass "in some ways communicate[s] more clearly the historicity and mystery of what we are celebrating."

A member of the oratory is quoted saying "it feels more like Church here than at other Masses." Amen.

The reporter notes that close to 1,000 people go to Mass at St. Francis de Sales Oratory each Sunday,and that the several confession lines were jammed all day. You don't see that everywhere, do you?

How better to some up the experience than to quote Fr. Lenhardt about the traditional Mass: in it, "we merge into a stream that has its origins in Christ Himself, and that goes until the end of time."

Oh, as an aside, I don't know where the local paper gets the inside info on the next expected date of the motu proprio. We hope, but so far all predictions have left us disappointed.

If you can make the ordination Mass at the Cathedral tomorrow at 1pm, you won't be disappointed.

[angkor]

a number of brands of Presbyterians these days - perhaps you should shop around

I hate shopping :)

Seriously, I find the whole exercise tiring. I think there was time when there was one Presbyterian Church, and it was pretty much the same wherever one went. Today I'm actually leery of entering one, because I have no idea what they believe.

[angkor]

Why not go to Mass???

I do. I always enjoy (appreciate) it, but I don't go as often as I'd like because I'm not Catholic.

[angkor]

Thanks. I found this, and will probably visit soon:

SAINT LAWRENCE
Church: 6222 Franconia Rd. *703-971-4378
Fax # 703-971-0331
Rectory: 6222 Franconia Rd. 703-971-5363
Alexandria, VA 22310
Email: stlawrence@cox.net
Pastor: Rev. Christopher J. Mould
Parochial Vicar: Rev. Jerry J. Pokorsky
In residence: Rev. James G. Mercer
Mass Schedule:
Saturday: 9 a.m.; 5 p.m. (Vigil Mass)

Sunday: 7:30, 9, 11 a.m., 12:30 (Tridentine Latin Mass)

Weekdays: Monday-Friday: 9 a.m.
Holy Days: 6:15, 9 a.m.; 12 Noon, 7:30 p.m.
Eucharistic Adoration: Wednesday: 9:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
Holy Hour with Benediction: Wednesday: 7:30 p.m.
Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help: Monday: 7:30 p.m.
Confession: Wednesday: 7:15 p.m.
Saturday: 3:30 p.m.

[AnAmericanMother]

I'm sure they'll be happy to see you.

One thing I can say at least about our Catholics around here is, no matter how goofy they may be I have always received a warm welcome!

[vladimir998]

Kosta,

You wrote: “Well if that is so than all he had to do is say the Roman Mass was obligatory and be done with it. No new Missal would have been needed.”

Actually a new missal was needed in the late 16th century for the following reasons:

1) To stamp out abuses of the traditional liturgy.

2) To bring more uniformity to liturgies in very different locations. This made sense at the time. The Church knew that uniformity was a good goal to shoot for in an age where the Church’s liturgy was under attack from the outside by Protestants (who a few years earlier were Catholics) and from within the Church by lazy priests who committed abuses with the liturgy. In hindsight, this may have been necessary, but was also unfortunate because it meant the sweeping away of some fine liturgical traditions in some areas in the interest of uniformity.

3) To codify the liturgy in order to deal with the mess brought about by the Protestant Revolution. We forget today just what a confusing mess the 16th century was. What liturgy were Catholics supposed to use in England AFTER the Protestant Revolution? Native trained priests usually used the Sarum Rite, but the Jesuit missionaries used the Pius V missal because was not only their training but it also showed attachment to Rome, to the Catholic Church. A new, and universal, Missal for the Roman Rite was most definitely needed.

Now, about the age of the TLM: Yes, the TLM was codified by Pius V. Its roots go much further back, with few substantial changes.

As Fr. Adrian Fortescue wrote, “From roughly the time of St. Gregory [d. 604] we have the text of the Mass, its order and arrangement, as a sacred tradition that no one has ventured to touch except in unimportant details.” Fortescue, THE MASS: A STUDY OF THE ROMAN LITURGY, 1912, page 173.

The canon of the Mass dates back, in books that is, to at least the 4th or 5th century as we know from the great sacramentaries of Pope St. Leo (440-461), Pope Gelasius (492-496) and Pope St. Gregory the Great (590-604).

Anyone interested in knowing all the ins and outs of the Roman Rite might want to buy a copy of Joseph A. Jungamnn’s The Mass of the Roman Rite, (2 vols.). It’s old, but a classic.

[kosta50]

Actually a new missal was needed in the late 16th century for the following reasons:

Thank you, Vladimir. That was my impression. While it is true that most of Western Europe used Roman Latin-Rite Mass, there were medieval variants of it, even though the liturgical canon was settled by the 7th century (save maybe for inclusion of the Creed in the 11th).

But the same cannot be said of the earlier centuries, which were characterized by two aspects: lack of information about the Mass and canonical flux. I think it is safe to say that modern-day Catholics would recognize the Mass of the 7th century as their own.

Now, about the age of the TLM: Yes, the TLM was codified by Pius V. Its roots go much further back, with few substantial changes.

Yes, it seems that way.

“From roughly the time of St. Gregory [d. 604] we have the text of the Mass, its order and arrangement, as a sacred tradition that no one has ventured to touch except in unimportant details.”

Ciorrect.

The canon of the Mass dates back, in books that is, to at least the 4th or 5th century as we know from the great sacramentaries of Pope St. Leo (440-461), Pope Gelasius (492-496) and Pope St. Gregory the Great (590-604).

Yes, but the two centuries (5th and 6th) were the period when the Mass was undergoing most radical changes especially in canon. It was +Gregory I who basically settled the liturgical canon.

But I stand corrected: the TLM antiquity has bene in use since the 7th century (not quote 1,600 years but close!)

 

[Suzy Quzy]

You say you don’t go as often as you like because you aren’t Catholic.....that is no problem.....every Church almost has a daily Mass and many on weekends from Sat. nite to Sunday nite!! NO EXCUSES :)...and you should really pray about turning Catholic so that you can joinin the FULLNESS of the Mass by receiving Holy Communion!!! Praying for you.

[angkor]

so that you can joinin the FULLNESS of the Mass by receiving Holy Communion!!!

You've gone straight to the heart of the matter. Thanks.

[PAR35]

No, there was never ‘just one’ Presbyterian Church. They have a rich history of splitting and re-uniting. Basically the major players today are the PCUSA - organizationally liberal to heretic, but with a few moderates left. Evangelical Presbyterian Church - Moderate (orhodox except for permitting, but not requiring the ordination of women). Presbyterian Church in America - conservative to moderate. Orthodox Presbyterian Church - conservative. Associate Reformed Presbyterian - conservative to moderate. Cumberland Presbyterians are liberal and theologically distinct in their beliefs.

[Suzy Quzy]

See you in Church on Sunday!!

[Petrosius]

I am afraid that you have gotten caught by a bit of slight of hand used by our Roman Rite liberals to deny the actual antiquity and stability of the traditional Mass. First off, there is no such thing as the Tridentine Mass. It is, and always has been, simply the Roman Rite. As such, yes there were some variations before the Missal of Pius V, but none that should vitiate the unity of the rite. This would have been normal when missals were copied by hand. Even the Missal of Pius V introduced no novelty but merely presented the curial missal used in Rome as the norm.

This existence of local development and variations between missals prior to their mass production by the printing press should not be source of scandal. I dear say that the situation in the Byzantine Rite at the time was similar. It should be remembered that the Great Entrance, that hallmark of the Byzantine liturgy, did not become current in Constantinople until the 6th/7th century. Even today there are differences in usages between the Greeks, Serbs, Russians, etc.

[kosta50]

I am afraid that you have gotten caught by a bit of slight of hand used by our Roman Rite liberals to deny the actual antiquity and stability of the traditional Mass. First off, there is no such thing as the Tridentine Mass.

I think it would be fair to say that I denied the extent of antiquity of the traditional Mass, to which the history of Mass leads us. But I was definitely wrong in believing that the traditional Mass was of a much more recent origin. All indications are that the Roman Rite Mass has been set canonically for all practical purposes by the 7th century, which represents a "pedigree" of 14 centuries vs 16; insignificant difference indeed.

It should be remembered that the Great Entrance, that hallmark of the Byzantine liturgy, did not become current in Constantinople until the 6th/7th century

No doubt, things have been added and changed in all liturgical forms; the essential point is to establish at what point a  Divine Liturgy/Mass would be recognizable and familiar to present-day laity.

In the case of Eastern liturgies, clearly the one of +John Chrysostom and +Basil (going back to late 4th and early 5th centuries) would be, despite minor changes, as they are served to this day on a regular basis (the latter about a dozen times a year).

The Divine Liturgy of St. James (the Just) contains many of the elements of the DLs of +Basil and +Chrysostom, but is obviously not the same liturgy (which also contains many OT references and prayers).

According to the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia, the clear line between the Mass as is known today is seen with Pope +Gregory I and why:

"We come now to the end of a period at the reign of St. Gregory (590-604). Gregory knew the Mass practically as we still have it. There have been additions and changes since his time, but none to compare with the complete recasting of the Canon that took place before him...
"We may say safely that a modern Latin Catholic who could be carried back to Rome in the early seventh century would – while missing some features to which he is accustomed – find himself on the whole quite at home with the service he saw there."

The Great Entrance is a modification of the praxis of earlier days when the Gifts were prepared outside the church and were brought in to the altar. Today, they are prepared on a separate table near the altar and the priest walks them around the church simulating their being brought in. 

The hallmark is the appearance of the Gifts, not the manner in which they are presented to the congregation.

But I am surprised you mention the Great Entrance modification and neglect to note the true Byzantine innovation of mixing the Body with the Blood in the Cup and distributing it via a small golden spoon for Holy Communion!

Even today there are differences in usages between the Greeks, Serbs, Russians, etc

Yes, of course. One very obvious difference is that Slavonic Divine Liturgies have Beatitudes in the Third Antiphon and the Greek doesn't. There are external variations as well, but none of these are canonical.

---

My objection to the 1,600-year-old antiquity of the traditional Latin Mass was off. I was under the wrong impression that it was of a more recent origin and, while I guess it would be easy to blame liberal Catholics for creating this impression, I will just blame my ignorance and be contant to confess my error.

It is clear that the traditional Latin Mass has been in use for about 1,400 years. It is equally clear that two centuries prior to that include significant canonical changes as the Mass evolved from being essentially Eastern and not something modern-day Catholics could be "quite at home with," into a Western form that is canonically unchanged until today.

[Petrosius]

I was not trying to imply that the current Byzantine Rite was not a valid continuation of the ancient rite. Quite the contrary, I was only pointing out that the minor changes in the Roman Rite were no different than those of the Byzantine Rite, both being the continuation and organic growth of their more ancient forms.

I think it would be fair to say that I denied the extent of antiquity of the traditional Mass, to which the history of Mass leads us. But I was definitely wrong in believing that the traditional Mass was of a much more recent origin. All indications are that the Roman Rite Mass has been set canonically for all practical purposes by the 7th century, which represents a "pedigree" of 14 centuries vs 16; insignificant difference indeed.

Be careful my dear Kosta, these kind things you are saying about the Latins could start to become a habit. : )

The Great Entrance is a modification of the praxis of earlier days when the Gifts were prepared outside the church and were brought in to the altar. Today, they are prepared on a separate table near the altar and the priest walks them around the church simulating their being brought in.

Actually, there has been quite a change in the meaning of the entrance with the gifts. In the time of St. John Chrysostom the gifts were brought to the altar without ceremony and without any particular significance, being a purely utilitarian action. As late as the 6th century Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople wrote concerning the Great Entrance:

They act stupidly, who have taught the people to sing a certain psalmic chant when the ministers are about to bring up to the altar the bread of oblation and the recently-mixed chalice. In this hymn, which they consider suitable to the action being performed, the people say that they bear in the King of glory, and refer in this way to things being brought up, even though they have not yet been consecrated by the high-priestly invocation - unless perhaps what is sung means something else to them. For as Anthanasius the Great says in his sermon to the baptized: "You will see the Levites (i.e. the deacons) bearing in bread and a chalice of wine putting them on the table. And as long as the supplications and prayer have not been completed, it is nothing but plain bread!"

Compare this with Patriarch Germanos I in the 8th century:

By means of the procession of the deacons and the representation of the fans, which are in the likeness of the seraphim, the Cherubic Hymn signifies the entrance of all the saints and righteous ahead of the cherubic powers and the angelic hosts, who run invisibly in advance of the great king, Christ, who is proceeding to the mystical sacrifice, borne aloft by material hands. Together with them comes the Holy Spirit in the unbloody and reasonable sacrifice. The Spirit is seen spiritually in the fire, incense, smoke, and fragrant air: for the fire points to his divinity, and the fragrant smoke to his coming invisibly and filling us with good fragrance through the mystical, living, and unbloody service and sacrifice of burnt-offering. In addition, the spiritual powers and choirs of angels, who have seen his dispensation fulfilled through the cross and death of Christ, the victory over death which has taken place, the descent into hell and the resurrection on the third day, with us exclaim the Alleluia.
It is also in imitation of the burial of Christ, when Joseph took down the body from the cross, wrapped it in clean linen, anointed it with spices and ointment, carried it with Nicodemus, and placed it in a new tomb hewn out of a rock. The altar is the image fo the holy tomb, and divine table is the sepulchre in which, of course, the undefiled and all-holy body was placed.

None of this is presented as a criticism but only to show that there were developments in the liturgy in both the East and the West.

[kosta50]

Be careful my dear Kosta, these kind things you are saying about the Latins could start to become a habit. : )

I will take your warning into consideration. But I will forge onward nonetheless.  :)

Actually, there has been quite a change in the meaning of the entrance with the gifts. In the time of St. John Chrysostom the gifts were brought to the altar without ceremony and without any particular significance, being a purely utilitarian action.

I happen to think that Patriarch +Eutychius was correct in saying that the pre-sanctified Gifts are bread and wine, not dismissing the fact that they have been blessed. But until their change by the Holy Spirit they are material bread and wine.

The idea that angelic hosts and saints enter the church before them is  beautiful, but it makes one wonder why did the Church then decide to prepare them inside. It is this kind of innovation that makes me very suspicious that much of this is man-made.

Take, for instance, the fasting rules in the East. No "animal" products such as milk, but shrimp is okay.  Some say, animal products represent passion foods. And lobsters don't? It's not the food itself, but the attitude we take towards it that determines if we are fasting or not.

Thus, we can see how the "holiness" of some things in the Church increased as time progressed. 

None of this is presented as a criticism but only to show that there were developments in the liturgy in both the East and the West.

None of it is taken as criticism, Father. 

[ELS]

Dear kosta, I am neither a writer nor an historian. I freely admit that I don’t express myself well. That is why I flagged vladimir to the discussion and he was able to bring clarifying details.

[ELS]

There are already some photos posted from today's ordination Mass. I'm sure more will be forthcoming.

One of the newly ordained priests will be heading to this neck of the woods in the near future.

[Pyro7480]

Does that mean the ICKSP is getting an apostolate on the East Coast somewhere? That would be great!

[kosta50]

Dear kosta, I am neither a writer nor an historian. I freely admit that I don’t express myself well. That is why I flagged vladimir to the discussion and he was able to bring clarifying details

No need to explain, dear ELS. You did just fine. Vladimir and Petrosius made their comments, and I learned a lot from them. See my post #54. God works in mysterious ways. :)

[AnAmericanMother]

May I suggest that in the meantime, you can make a spiritual communion? When I was a Piskie and unable to receive, I found this quite comforting.

[adiaireton8]

It was beautiful. I got there at 12:30, and I left at 5 when the Mass concluded. I wasn't able to stay for the first blessings. My favorite part, I think was the litany of the saints, in Latin, in chant, while the priests (to be) were prostrate. I hope that part gets uploaded to YouTube. I also found it interesting how the power to transform bread and wine was conferred separately from the power to forgive sins.

-A8