Thank you for your interesting blog. Although I only attend traditional Masses as often as I can, I find the critics of the new Mass a little exaggerated. Some remarks: 1) « the New Mass lacks all four marks » : False; when celebrated according to the rubrics (too rarely, I concede), the new Mass is also as One (Catholic Eastern-rite Masses are also one with the Tridentine Mass despite their difference ), as Holy (the Holiness depends on the validity of the consecration, in which is the true Sacrifice, and the absence of dogmatical errors in the text), as Catholic and as Apostolic (being approved by the Successor of Saint Peter) as the older one. 2) the citation of Max Thurian is truncated; he actually did say « Le nouvel Ordo de la Messe, quelles que soient ses imperfections relatives... est un exemple de ce souci fécond d'unité ouverte et de fidélité dynamique, de véritable catholicité: un des fruits en sera peut-être que des communautés non catholiques pourront célébrer la sainte Cène avec les mêmes prières que l'Eglise catholique. » (The Novus Ordo, whatever its relative imperfections could be…, is an example of fecund care for open unity & dynamic fidelity, of true catholicity: one of the fruits MAYBE will be that non-catholic communities will be able to celebrate the last supper with the same prayers as the Catholic Church). But it has not really happened, except in rare catholic-minded protestant communities (like Taizé); much protestants find that the Novus Ordo still insists on Sacrifice and Transubstantiation (see, e.g., http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2011/02/28/the-sspx-claim-the-novus-ordo-is-a-protestant-rite-can-they-be-serious/ ) 3) Decree of Pope Pius V: “By this our decree, to be valid in perpetuity, we determine & order that never shall anything be added to, omitted from, or changed from this Missal,…” I am sorry, but it is always implicitly written “except by our successors”, for it is a disciplinary matter and almost all Popes added new feasts to the Missal & the Breviary (approved with the same clause, in the bull QUOD A NOBIS, 1568), Sixtus V changed several points, Clement VIII changed several readings, Urban VIII several hymns, Pius XII the Holy Week, Pius X even changed deeply all rubrics! etc. And all of them (especially Pius X*) FORBADE the use of the former versions (under pain of not satisfying clerical obligations), included the version approved by Pius V in 1570, the only one directly concerned by QUO PRIMUM. * See http://www.angelusonline.org/index.php?section=articles&subsection=show_article&article_id=2229 & http://www.ewtn.com/library/liturgy/zlitur149.htm
The Tridentine rite is a fabrication, too. Pope St. Pius V admitted in Quo primum that it was composed by a post-conciliar commission, just like the Pauline Missal of 1970.
OTOH, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and other Eastern liturgies are much older than anything the West has ever had to offer.
BTW, your disagreeing with a woman religious on political matters does NOT entitle you to put Sister in scare quotes, as you did on another blog. She is still under vows recognized by the Holy See. Who are you to decide her vows are invalid?
4 comments:
Just because you agree with a pamphlet doesn't make it the truth. ;-)
Too true!
Thank you for your interesting blog.
Although I only attend traditional Masses as often as I can, I find the critics of the new Mass a little exaggerated. Some remarks:
1) « the New Mass lacks all four marks » :
False; when celebrated according to the rubrics (too rarely, I concede), the new Mass is also as One (Catholic Eastern-rite Masses are also one with the Tridentine Mass despite their difference ), as Holy (the Holiness depends on the validity of the consecration, in which is the true Sacrifice, and the absence of dogmatical errors in the text), as Catholic and as Apostolic (being approved by the Successor of Saint Peter) as the older one.
2) the citation of Max Thurian is truncated; he actually did say « Le nouvel Ordo de la Messe, quelles que soient ses imperfections relatives... est un exemple de ce souci fécond d'unité ouverte et de fidélité dynamique, de véritable catholicité: un des fruits en sera peut-être que des communautés non catholiques pourront célébrer la sainte Cène avec les mêmes prières que l'Eglise catholique. » (The Novus Ordo, whatever its relative imperfections could be…, is an example of fecund care for open unity & dynamic fidelity, of true catholicity: one of the fruits MAYBE will be that non-catholic communities will be able to celebrate the last supper with the same prayers as the Catholic Church).
But it has not really happened, except in rare catholic-minded protestant communities (like Taizé); much protestants find that the Novus Ordo still insists on Sacrifice and Transubstantiation (see, e.g., http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2011/02/28/the-sspx-claim-the-novus-ordo-is-a-protestant-rite-can-they-be-serious/ )
3) Decree of Pope Pius V: “By this our decree, to be valid in perpetuity, we determine & order that never shall anything be added to, omitted from, or changed from this Missal,…”
I am sorry, but it is always implicitly written “except by our successors”, for it is a disciplinary matter and almost all Popes added new feasts to the Missal & the Breviary (approved with the same clause, in the bull QUOD A NOBIS, 1568), Sixtus V changed several points, Clement VIII changed several readings, Urban VIII several hymns, Pius XII the Holy Week, Pius X even changed deeply all rubrics! etc. And all of them (especially Pius X*) FORBADE the use of the former versions (under pain of not satisfying clerical obligations), included the version approved by Pius V in 1570, the only one directly concerned by QUO PRIMUM.
* See http://www.angelusonline.org/index.php?section=articles&subsection=show_article&article_id=2229 & http://www.ewtn.com/library/liturgy/zlitur149.htm
The Tridentine rite is a fabrication, too. Pope St. Pius V admitted in Quo primum that it was composed by a post-conciliar commission, just like the Pauline Missal of 1970.
OTOH, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and other Eastern liturgies are much older than anything the West has ever had to offer.
BTW, your disagreeing with a woman religious on political matters does NOT entitle you to put Sister in scare quotes, as you did on another blog. She is still under vows recognized by the Holy See. Who are you to decide her vows are invalid?
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