Father Z. Throws in the Towel

Father Z. has attempted to fisk an article in The Courier, the newspaper of the Diocese of Winona, from the Diocesan Director of Liturgy, Peggy Lovrien.

Unfortunately, there were so many errors, Fr. Z had to give up for fear of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Read his valiant attempt here.

S.F. Chronicle on the Motu Proprio

I know what you are thinking, but think again.

FINDING MY RELIGION
Oakland priest Michael Wiener has been celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass since 1999

SP Varia

Father Z. applies some common sense to the Commonweal article. Not an easy thing to do. He also relays an ominous memo from the Bp. of Steubenville in which he states "There will be no public celebration of the pre-Vatican II rites until I am assured that they can be celebrated well and in accord with Summorum Pontificum’s terms." Liberals make the worst liberals.

Gerald at the Cafeteria points us to this good article in the Washington Times..

NLM assures us that all is well at Notre Dame (GO IRISH!)

But actually not so great in Ireland!

Commonweal on the Motu Proprio

Commonweal on the motu proprio:

It was not the intention of Vatican II, or of the popes who implemented it, to create a situation in which two forms of the Roman rite would exist side by side. The liturgical reform of the council was intended as a true reform, addressing genuine problems of the old liturgy for the good of the church as a whole. Now, with the stroke of a pen, Pope Benedict has made that reform optional. Individual priests may use the preconciliar rites at will, and groups of the faithful who ask for celebrations according to the preconciliar norms may not be refused them.

Read the whole thing.

Cardinal Martini Takes A Stand

Is Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini is tilting at windmills? The famously liberal Cardinal refuses to say the 1962 missal.

Cardinal speaks out against Latin mass

Read my take at Creative Minority Report.

Time to Hang It Up?

Is it time to hang it up and close down the blog?

Well, if one were to listen to the New York Times you would certainly think so.
Representative quote "Unless the church, which once had a problem with the law of gravity, can repeal inertia, too, then silent, submissive worship won’t go over well."

'Nuff Said. Fr. Z's take and Diogenes takes a swing.

(Can a kind reader please send me information on the Pope's opposition to gravity? I must have missed that one.)

Will the Pope Say the Mass in the 'Extraordinary Form'?

Will the Pope Say the Mass in the 'Extraordinary Form'?

Father Zuhlsdorf is relaying a report that the Pope might celebrate older Mass on 1st Sunday of Advent

In an ADNKRONOS story, we read:

The Pope: Could celebrate the Mass of St. Pius V in public

Signs point to the First Sunday of Advent – The Director of "Latinitas", at last we will have a common prayer of praise to God.

The Pope could celebrate publicly Mass in Latin according to the Rite of St. Pius V. An official introduction of the Rite which, as far as ADNKRONOS has learned from authoritative Vatican sources, could take place on the 1st Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the liturgical year.

For a long time I have thought that a single Mass by the Holy Father, with all the necessary solenmity, would effect as much if not more than the Motu Proprio.

However, having both would be even better!

We second that motion! We will keep our eyes on this one!

Summorum Pontificum - July 28, 2007

Thanks to the readers who keep the links coming in the suggestion box.

I must acknowledge that I have been remiss in covering the reaction north of the border. To date, I think I have only one or two links.

So here is a link to a 11 July article in the Catholic Register, including statements of Archbishop Collins of Toronto and Bishop Prendergast of Ottawa.

We now also have the reaction of Archbishop John Vlazny of Portland Oregon.

Fr. Z continues his analysis of episcopal reactions. This one comes from Indianapolis.
Archd. of Indianapolis newspaper on older Mass

I May Have to Move to Virginia

SAINT JOHN THE BELOVED CATHOLIC CHURCH MCLEAN, VIRGINIA (HT to reader Steve!)

From The Pastor

Summorum Pontificum

Despite what the media tells you, the Pope is not renouncing the Second Vatican Council, he is authentically implementing it. He is correcting the mistakes and misinterpretations that came after the Council. One of them is with the return of the Mass. Contrary to what most of the media tells us, Vatican II did not:

1. order Mass to be said in the Vernacular
2. tell priests to face the people at Mass
3. establish Communion in the hand
4. tell people to stand for reception of Communion
The Mass we now say at St. John’s whether in English or Latin came after the Council. The Council ended in 1965, the new order of the Mass came in 1970.

The Church, since the days of Pope St. Pius X, has encouraged actual participation at the Mass. The 1962 missal contains changes that foster that participation, so the charge of the congregation being dumb spectators is not true.

Why was the Motu Propio issued? Pope Benedict, as a Cardinal, wrote extensively on the liturgy and frequently mentioned the suppression of the older form of the Mass by Pope Paul VI when promulgating the new reformed missal of 1970 (the Mass we now celebrate either in English or Latin) after an intervening period of a temporary missal (1965).

He believed and continues to believe that something so ancient (going back 1500 years) and sacred could be forbidden and those who were attached to that form considered, as one author put it, like “the nutty old aunt in the attic”.

The Pope does not question the holiness of the new missal, but he says that the way in which it came about was alien to the Church’s traditions. Many who were enthusiastic about a renewal of the Mass during the years of the Council felt betrayed by the reformed missal of 1970. They claim (as does the Pope) that this was not what the Council had envisioned.

Is the Holy Father leading us backwards? Most people would say no, but I would say yes – in order to lead us forward. He wants to bring the church into contact with that form of the Mass which was the only western liturgy (outside the rite of Milan) that was celebrated during the Second Vatican Council. There was a rupture after Council in the liturgy, the Holy Father wants to go back to heal that break so that the liturgy may continue as a living continuum. That is why he says we need internal reconciliation. The Church has been suffering these past 40 years because of the unintended rupture. The Church must reconcile herself with her own tradition, for that is who she is, it is her own identity.

The missal of Paul VI will benefit from the infusion of sap from the 62 missal and after a reform of the reform be even more resplendent and effective.

I plan on implementing the Motu Propio here at St. John’s but it will not effect a change in anyway in which most of you worship. It allows the former rite for anybody who chooses to attend. The Motu Propio simply allows, it does not impose. What does this mean for St. John’s? The following is my policy for implementation of Summorum Pontificum:

1. the noon Mass, which is now said in Latin according to the missal of Pope Paul VI (1970 – Novus Ordo) will become a Solemn High Mass or High Mass celebrated according to the missal of Blessed John XXIIII (the most ancient rite”). This will occur sometime in early October.
2. I will allow the celebration of all sacraments except Confirmation according to the rite of 1962 if a person requests them. This will also take effect in October.
3. I will allow occasional Masses (wedding anniversaries, etc.) in the 1962 rite for those who request it.
4. I will allow weddings and funerals in the 62 rite for those who request it.
5. I will establish one Mass on a holy day according to the 62 missal; there will still be 4 Masses in the present rite.
6. I will consider another additional Mass on First Fridays after consulting with the pastoral council.
The date given by the Pope for this decree to become law, i.e., go into effect is September 14 of this year. We await further guidance from the bishops on these matters. We also need to buy items unique to those types of Masses; financial donations towards this would be appreciated.

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From St. John’s Office of Evangelization . . .

DEFENDING THE FAITH

SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM (part I)

About one week ago, Pope Benedict XVI issued the legal document Summorum Pontificum. This text— which has confirmed the fact that every Roman Catholic priest has the right to celebrate what has been called the “Tridentine Mass”—has caused no little stir among Catholics throughout the world. Often referred to as the “Traditional Mass,” because it has been celebrated without interruption since the earliest days of the Church in Rome, this Mass will be remembered by many of the older faithful of our parishes as the Mass of their childhood. It is this Mass which Pope John Paul II attended as a young man; it is this Mass for which Saint Francis rebuilt his church in Assisi; it is this Mass that Saint Augustine celebrated as Bishop of Hippo; and it is this Mass which has now been restored to the Catholic Church. Over the next few weeks, we will have the opportunity to consider aspects of this restoration in detail. Today, let us focus our attention upon the role of tradition in the lives of faithful Christians.

As many readers may know, the acceptance of “tradition” as a rule of faith within the Catholic Church was rejected by the Protestant reformers as being a non-biblical teaching. This Protestant position, known as sola scriptura, however, is not part of the historic and biblical faith of the True Church. For, as Saint Paul exhorts the faithful of the Catholic community in Thessalonica, “Stand firm and hold fast to the traditions which you were taught” (2 Thess 2:15). And again in his letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul writes, “I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you” (1 Cor 11:2). This “tradition,” as Saint Paul refers to it, is nothing other than the message of Jesus Christ as it was preached in Jerusalem on Pentecost, and was handed down to the faithful of succeeding generations. As the New Testament was written down over time, part of this tradition was given explicit expression in the form of the Gospels and other writings, while other no less important aspects where handed down verbally from the Apostles to the bishops who succeeded them (cf. 2 Thess 2:15, 2 Tim 2:1). Thus, the Second Vatican Council stated, “In order that the full and living Gospel might always be preserved in the Church, the apostles left bishops as their successors. They gave them ‘their own position of teaching authority’” (DV 7; St. Irenaeus, Adv. Haeres. 3,3,1).

This truth is expressed in Saint Paul’s letter to Timothy where we read, “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others” (2 Tim 2:1). Thus, this precious jewel of the faith was handed down through the Church’s teaching authority from generation to generation, even to our own day.

Through this tradition “the Church, in her doctrine, life, and worship perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes” (Dei Verbum 8,1). Please notice that in the above quotation from the Second Vatican Council, “worship” is one of the three ways in which the Church is said to perpetuate and transmit the precious faith which she has received. The way of worship, then, is of great importance, for it is through her worship that the Catholic Church shows forth and announces the faith which she has held from the beginning—“whence the ancient saying “the law of prayer is the law of faith: the Church believes as she prays” (CCC 1124). In other words, the way in which the Catholic Church worships expresses what she believes. Thus, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “For this reason no sacramental rite may be modified or manipulated at the will of the minister or the community. Even the supreme authority in the Church may not change the liturgy arbitrarily, but only in obedience of faith and with respect for the mysteries of the liturgy” CCC 1125). Continue next week.

Source

Summorum Pontificum - July 26, 2007

News & Analysis

The view from Saskatchewan eh!
More analysis from Fr. Z (He is really on top of this!)

Article of Most Rev. J. Terry Steib, Bishop of Memphis
Father Z's Analysis.

Catholics Concerned Latin Mass Not Progressive

Summorum Pontificum podcast HT to Mike in the combox

Rorate Caeli - Castrillón speaks to 30 Giorni

NLM - Altar-ations -How your modern Church can accomodate the 1962 Missal.

Return of Latin mass sparks old vestment hunt

California Catholic on use of new lectionary - “Until such time that the Ecclesia Dei Commission gives further direction”