Perspectives of a Wanderer

Sep 07 2009

Should we go back to One Form of the Mass?

Published by peregrinus at 10:49 pm under Ramblings, Spirituality

I know this is a divisive issue, but here it goes.

Currently, there are two main forms of the Mass in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. The first one is the Ordinary Form or the current Mass that is celebrated in most parishes these days. The second is the Extraordinary Form or the Latin/Tridentine/Old Mass that was celebrated before Vatican II.

To be truthful, I was one of those who recognized the need for the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, but was resistant to it because of some bad experiences with the proponents of the Mass. My position them was “I have no issues with the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, it is the people I have issues with.”

That has changed somewhat. I still have issues with people, but I now go almost exclusively to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. The only time I do not go is if my parish changes the time of the Mass or when I am traveling and cannot get to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. In fact, I have done a complete 180 and now prefer the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.

The two forms of the Mass is a divisive and, in my opinion, must be reconciled sooner rather than later. As for me, would like to see the following:

The Extraordinary Form of the Mass become the norm or Ordinary Form of the Mass.
The current Ordinary Form of the Mass transformed to be another type of a “Low Mass”.
Eliminate the differences between the old and new calendars (preferably keep the old calendar and add in the feast days of the newer saints)

To accomplish the second goal, I would love to see only the readings, but the rest of the Mass to follow the rubrics of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. The only other things I may keep is the vernacular in come cases, the prayers said out loud, and responses from the laity where possible.

I know there will be many that will not like my suggestions (on both ends of the spectrum) but something must be done.

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3 responses so far

3 Responses to “Should we go back to One Form of the Mass?”

# True Vatican IIon 07 Sep 2009 at 11:25 pm

I agree, something should be done… and I think Pope Benedict XVIhas some similar thoughts in mind… I think that he did indeed make the encyclical Summorum Pontificum and he made has made it that we must receive Communion on the tongue while kneeling when we receive from the Pope… BECAUSE he wants the Ordinary Form to be much more influenced by tradition, which makes since because in the Vatican, Pope Paul VI spoke of a Mass that was the Extraordinary Form influenced by the Mass described by St. Justin the Martyr… it wasn’t until after Vatican II that the OF of Mass was written up and began to go more against tradition. Then, sadly, some bishop’s conferences asked for indults that made the form of the Mass become less pious. We haven’t really been following what VII suggested… rather than taking the EF and allowing it to be a bit more influenced by the Mass described by Justin the Martyr (there were very few things from that Mass that would have been helpful to put into the EF), we have almost made the Mass of St. Justin the Martyr a simplified formula (rather than a beautiful celebration–not referring to a party celebration) and we have let that form of the Mass be influenced by abuse–but slowly, our Pope is trying to get the OF to be more like the original plan–a Mass of beauty and tradition.

Much of what St. Justin the Martyr describes is in the EF and the OF, but there are just a few simple elements of St. Justin the Martyr’s Mass that they are missing–some of which are not very important at all, some of which we have found that are not as great as the practices they have been replaced with (priests distributing Communion rather than deacons–and that was probably done because there were perhaps fewer priests than deacons, so it was helpful for a deacon to take Communion to those who were unable to attend Mass), and some of which could be good to bring back into the EF.

The whole thing is that we must remember that the Mass is not about the people, the priest, choir, servers, etc. The Mass is the people of the Lord, serving the Lord in a prayer to the Father, through the Son, guided by the Holy Ghost. Therefore, we must strive to focus more completely on God at Mass… the priest should face ad orientem to focus on the Mystery of the Eucharist (the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ), and this would help the people focus on the face of Jesus rather than the face of the priest.

I do agree, 1. the EF should be the Ordinary form, 2. use the vernacular when it is needed (some poor church in Africa cannot afford a booklet for every parishioner to read the Mass’s text in their native tongue while following the Mass being said in Latin or w/e), 3. use the old calendar while adding the new Saints, etc.

but I think it is interesting that I have heard people say that they prefer the Low Mass because they enjoy the quiet prayer with our Lord, while others enjoy the High Mass because they love to relate the joyous choirs to the choirs of angels who perpetually sing praise to the Lord.

“While current norms allow the faithful to receive the Eucharist in the hand while standing, Pope Benedict XVI has indicated a preference for the more traditional practice, said Msgr. Guido Marini, master of papal liturgical ceremonies.

Kneeling and receiving Communion on the tongue highlights “the truth of the real presence (of Christ) in the Eucharist, helps the devotion of the faithful and introduces the sense of mystery more easily,” he said in a June 26 interview with the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.” -http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0803381.htm

“No one in his right mind gives up piety for impiety.” -St. Justin the Martyr

St. Justin the Martyr, ora pro nobis.
Pope St. Pius X, ora pro nobis.
Bl. Imelda Lambertini, ora pro nobis.

*I am not in any way affiliated with the SSPX, but I love the FSSP.

God Bless Pope Benedict XVI!

Pax Domini tecum.
# Felixon 08 Sep 2009 at 12:03 am

I do not think bringing back the Tridentine rite is pastorally feasible. I think what needs to be done is the reform of the reform as Pope Benedict XVI recommended in his book “Spirit of the Liturgy,” as Cardinal. It seems much better to just slightly restructure the Novus Ordo so that the priest faces ad orientum during the liturgy of the Eucharist, the sign of peace moved towards before consecration, C shaped pews around the altar, reception of communion on the tongue while kneeling, and more use of Latin prayers and hymns. The vernacular should remain for the readings, homily, and some other parts of the mass where necessary. Perhaps the words of consecration should be in Latin as well, while the rest of the Eucharistic prayer in the vernacular if necessary. Latin ought to be the ordinary default language and the vernacular used only when it is pastorally necessary for those who do not know Latin and cannot follow along well.
# Jimon 10 Sep 2009 at 2:14 am

It’s in the Pope’s and Holy Spirit’s hands – I trust them to make the right decisions. If I had to guess – it will probably be several more years before there is only one form.

It’s going to take time. We are in a transition and there is a great need for evangelize. The Novus Ordo and Latin Mass is like St Paul’s “milk vs solid food”. The Gen X crowd would be driven away by the Latin Mass – they aren’t ready for solid food.