A senior figure in the Vatican, a monsignor close to the Pope, has been told that the long-awaited motu proprio lifting restrictions on the Tridentine Latin Mass will be issued tomorrow.
I�ve cried wolf on this subject before, so don�t bet on it � but the announcement seems imminent, and traditionalists MUST be ready to react the second the document appears.
For, make no mistake about it, liberal European bishops � including English ones � already have a strategy in place to smother the Pope�s ruling. My guess is that the Bishops� Conference of England and Wales will try to claim that the motu proprio won�t make much difference in practice, that there already lots of Old Masses celebrated, that there�s not much demand for any more, etc etc.
Be very suspicious. If this ruling is just a minor adjustment, why have the ageing trendies in the Church fought tooth and nail to try to stop Pope Benedict issuing the document?
We don�t know the contents of the motu proprio, but it is expected to curb the power of local bishops to restrict the celebration of the Tridentine Rite, in which the priest celebrates Mass facing in the same direction as the congregation � eastwards, towards a symbolic Jerusalem.
To my mind, this Mass, in which the celebrant says the Latin words of the canon sotto voce � the �blessed mutter� � is one of the most profound and numinous experiences in the history of worship, so different from the game-show mateyness of modern services.
I hope the media will grasp the magnitude of the cultural shift signified by Benedict�s decision to restore parity to the Old Rite, and will put the Bishops of England and Wales (and those of America and Europe) on the spot.
The motu proprio may contain an opt-out clause which allows a local bishop to refuse to grant permission for the Old Rite, sending the decision to Rome (which will grant it in most cases).
If this clause exists, each bishop must be asked: will you be one of those invoking it, and therefore forcing traditional Catholics to go through some sort of appeals process?
Once the ruling is out, I�d like to see a detailed response from every bishop in this country, so we can work out which dioceses are prepared to enter into the spirit of Pope Benedict�s reform � and, equally, which ones will surreptitiously try to ignore it.
The Second Vatican Council said absolutely nothing about either the direction which the Priest should face when celebrating Mass, or the tone of voice for the Anaphora.
The rubrics of the Novus Ordo Missae of Paul VI explicitly permit the celebration of Mass facing in either direction.
The same rubrics require the recitation of the Anaphora aloud only if there are concelebrants - and in that case, only one voice should be audible.
All this means about as much as the Ornaments Rubric in the Elizabethan Book of Common Prayer.
I have been very skeptical about this, they've been talking about this document since Pope Benedict was elected and nothing has happened. If ever issued, it will still have restrictions.
An orthodox priest who was very close to a Roman Bishop here, told me recently that Latin American Bishops have personaly requested Pope Benedict not to issue this document. In fact the national Synods of bishops are very much against it.
Anyway, if ever issued this would only mean that the Eucharist can be celebrated in the Old Rite, but the bishops would probably not allow weddings, baptisms, chrismations and other ceremonies according to the Traditional Latin Rite or set up parishes where the old calendar is kept.
What would prevent the Latin Rite groups once they enter in communion with local bishops and mix with the modernists to loose their liturgical purity? For example, in Romania and other countries, the Byzantine Catholic Churches already have "first communion" and other practices which are alien to Orthodox Christianity (and they're not under the Roman Bishops themselves).
I doubt that Pope Benedict would want to create a new Sui Iuris Church that would preserve the Traditional Latin Rite and Calendar just as they refused to create one for the Anglicans who came into union with Rome.
Actually there are already a number of parishes which are under the local Roman Catholic bishop and which use only the Tridentine forms for Baptisms, weddings, and so forth.
And in Brazil Rome has established a parallel quasi-diocese with a Bishop for the Tridentine usage.
Many things are possible. But I won't believe this document until it appears!
But note, no altar girls and at least it's ad orientem. I can actually remember one mass I was at about that same year (1970) that really was like this.
Apparently, Father Zuhlsdorf of What Does The Prayer Really Say? fame had dinner a couple of nights ago with a source he claims to be "VERY" well informed, who said that he does know the document is signed at least.
We do know the document exists, everyone from Bertone to Kasper has stated that. Will it ever see the light of day? I think so...but who knows?
The Second Vatican Council said absolutely nothing about either the direction which the Priest should face when celebrating Mass, or the tone of voice for the Anaphora.
Just in case someone is wondering, "Anaphora" means the entire "Eucharistic Prayer" or Actio Missae; the term "Anaphora" may properly be used both for Eastern and Western Liturgies. The "Canon" in this context means that portion of the Anaphora which follows the Sanctus and concludes with the final Doxology and the "Great Amen", but does not include the Lord's Prayer.
The term "Canon" used in this way is proper only in reference to the Western liturgical tradition; the Byzantine Churches use "Canon" to refer to an elaborate form of liturgical poetry used mostly at Orthros and Compline.
The only way to overpower the Liberal Bishops who are more concerned with policting and making every single group happy rather than the salvation of souls is to rise up and support the Trasitional Latin Mass. To support the Holy Father through action. The Pope will issue the Motu Propio when he feels he has sufficient backup. Then the Bishops must be told to be obedient to the Pope.
I just ran across this video from 1941 of the Traditional Latin Mass, narrated by none other than Msgr. Fulton Sheen.
Perhaps something like this should be done for the Byzantine Divine Liturgy?
Enjoy!
Gordo
You Tube Description:
Quote
Traditional Latin Mass filmed on Easter Sunday in 1941 at Our Lady of Sorrows church in Chicago. The film presents the ceremonies of the Missa Solemnis or Solemn High Mass in full detail with narration by then-Mgr. Fulton J. Sheen. Celebrated by Rev. J. R. Keane of the Order of Servites (hence the white habits and cowls), the ceremonies are accompanied by a full polyphonic choir, orchestra, and fifty Gregorian Chanters.
The attention to detail in the ceremonies is impressive. Notice, for example, how the servers and ministers always take great care to move in order. Notice too that the servers are all almost identical in height. The Ordinary of the Mass, composed by Rev. Edwin V. Hoover, while pleasant in places, is very much a reflection of its time. The Proper on the other hand is timeless and sung admirably by a healthy throng of Seminarians from Mundelein, Illinois.
Unfortunately due to size restrictions at Youtube around 20 mins have been cut from the original, however, I hope to upload a full version somewhere soon. In addition to the cuts I have added new captions and edited the opening credits which had deteriorated in the original. Other than this the film remains largely unchanged. Apologies for the error in the captions for the two parts of the Mass (software). The first part is of couse the Mass of the Catechumens, the second is the Mass of the Faithful.
Why would it be favored to have servers of the same height? Is it also preferable according to this mentality to have the same ethnicity? Did God not create us all in his image and likeness?
in response to a quote from cardinal Daneels from Belgium,
"Belgian Cardinal Godfried Daneels echoed that concern, saying that greater celebration of the Tridentine Mass could polarize the church and could lead to the "negation" of Vatican II reforms such as support for religious freedom."
I totally agree with the Cardinal that this could polarize the church but not in the direction he sees it. For example, it can not be compatible that the tridentine rite is celebrated ad orientam(facing east) and the novus ordo is versus populum, that the tridentine rite forbid altar girls, communion in the hands, extraordinary ministers of the eucharist and their purification of vessels, etc. these are totally incompatible. The Mass of Paul VI must be restored in the light of tradition such as ad orietam. it would send confusing messages. I believe the Pope recognizes this too, and thats why little by little rome is chipping away of all the de-catholization of the new rite, such as through documents liturgiam authenticam(regarding translation of the mass from Latin) and recent post syndonal apostolic exhortation sacramentum caritatis. of course the liberal bishops will stall these efforts to return sanity back into the mass but its up to the lay persons to make them obey the Holy Father.
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