Overheard in the Sacristy

Yesterday after Mass a young lady in her mid-twenties, whom I hadn’t seen before, asked me if the Traditional Latin Mass listed on the cover of the parish bulletin, was the Tridintine Mass. I responded affirmatively. She said, “Oh, that would be interesting!”

This morning at the TLM  adorned in a chapel veil (available in the narthex) she knelt reverently for Holy Communion.

My heart was warmed…the fruits of Summorum Pontificum. Thank you Holy Father for this gift you’ve given to a young lamb of your flock.

Fr. Z at WDTPRS? Blog has some great news from three persons regarding the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, PA.

1. “I just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know that the rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia made the announcement tonight at the rector’s dinner. Next semester St. Charles will have the Mass according to the 1962 Missal, an elective on the Mass and Sacraments from the 1962 form, and the Eucharist and Liturgy classes will be modified to cover the extraordinary form.

These are all the details for now. God Bless Pope Benedict! We never thought this could ever happen, even a year ago. There will be celebration tonight in Philadelphia!”

2. “Excellent news! St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, PA, which trains seminarians from about 17 dioceses will be having the Traditional Latin Mass here starting next semester. Our rector just announced it to us tonight and many of us were very excited. He even said they will incorporate the theology of the Traditional Mass into our semester class on the Eucharist, as well as offer an elective class to the theology students on how to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass.

This decree came straight from Cardinal Rigali, the Archbishop of Philadelphia. We have yet to receive details on how often the Mass will be celebrated, but either way, this news is overwhelmingly exciting!”

3.“Good news from the front!

The rector here at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary has just announced that the seminary will be saying the Traditional Latin Mass in accord with the Motu Proprio. He also said that the seminary will be offering a course on how to say the Extraordinary Form as well as how to perform all the pertinent sacraments in that form with a proper understanding of the theology of it. Additionally, this theology will be incorporated in the course on the Eucharist. This plan was drafted a while ago, sent to the Cardinal, and was recently approved. Further details concerning the nature and frequency of the Holy Sacrifice will be announced at the beginning of next semester (Spring 2008).

This announcement has been such an encouragement to the many traditional minded seminarians here. We rejoice greatly over this great gift that God has given us as we await His Greatest Gift, His Son, Jesus Christ.”

VATICAN CITY, Nov. 16 (ASCA) - According to the British Catholic weekly, The Tablet, the Vatican will be issuing ‘before Christmas’ an Instruction to clarify some aspects of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

It claims that Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, Prefect of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, presented the Instruction draft to Pope Benedict XVI at their meeting last Thursday.

The Instruction would clarify, for instance, what is meant by a ’stable group’ of faithful who may request the parish priest to make the traditional Mass available to them.

Other clarifications have to do with aspects of canon law.

Such clarifications are deemed necessary because of lukewarm or even hostile reactions on the part of some bishops and bishops conferences to the Pope’s full validation of the traditional Mass.

Such reactions have given rise to guidelines issued by some bishops which are considered restrictive rather than supportive of the Pope’s Motu Proprio.

In recent interviews, Mons. Malcolm Ranjith, the number-two man at the Congregation for Divine Worship, has spoken about the ‘rebellion’ and ‘disobedience’ of some bishops against the Pope with regard to the Motu Proprio.

“Many people who clearly accepted the binding character of the Second Vatican Council, and were faithful to the Pope and the Bishops, nonetheless also desired to recover the form of the sacred liturgy that was dear to them. This occurred above all because in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal, but the latter actually was understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity, which frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear. I am speaking from experience, since I too lived through that period with all its hopes and its confusion. And I have seen how arbitrary deformations of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church.” – from the Letter of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Bishops on the Occasion of the Publication of the Apostolic Letter “Motu Proprio Data” Summorum Pontificum on the Use of the Roman Liturgy Prior to the Reform of 1970

McLean Virginia Pastor and Summorum Pontificum

From The Pastor:

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.

What is a motu proprio?

Most documents signed by a pope originate as a function of the ordinary business of the Roman Curia in its role at the service of the pope. A few documents are initiated and promulgated by the pope himself for reasons he considers sufficient. Such a document is issued motu proprio (of his own accord).

Is a motu proprio the highest kind of ecclesiastical document?

No, although a motu proprio represents a particular papal solicitude the highest form of legislating, or teaching, document is the Constitution, which itself could be issued motu proprio.

Is a motu proprio limited in force in any way?

Although any document issued in the pope’s name participates in his supreme authority (CIC c.360), canonists consider a motu proprio to have a certain finality to it.

What is the Mass according to the Roman Missal of 1962?

This is the Mass as celebrated according to the Roman Missal promulgated by Blessed John XXIII. It was in use at time of the Second Vatican Council (October 11, 1962 to December 8th 1965), and thus prior to that Council’s call for a reform of the liturgical books. The Pope refers to this post-conciliar form of the Mass as the extraordinary form.

Is this the same as the Tridentine Rite?

Tridentine is the adjective for anything connected with the Council of Trent (1548-1570). The term Tridentine Rite is not an accurate term. While the Missal of 1962 corresponds largely with the rite of the Mass promulgated after the Council of Trent by Pope St. Pius V, and therefore it has sometimes been called the Tridentine rite, it nonetheless is not identical. Several Popes over the centuries have made changes to the Tridentine missal. In the decade before the Second Vatican Council, Pope Pius XII modified the ceremonies of Holy Week and Pope John XXIII added St. Joseph to the saints’ names mentioned in the Roman Canon.

Further, as Pope Benedict makes clear there is one Roman Rite, with two forms, an ordinary form (according to the Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, last revised in 2002), and an extraordinary form (according to the Missal of 1962). These two forms should peacefully co-exist, as do other occasionally celebrated forms of the Mass in the Western Church, such as the Ambrosian (Milan) or Mozarabic (Toledo, Spain), or, the various forms of the Divine Liturgy in the Eastern Churches (e.g. Liturgy of St. Basil, Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom etc.).

Is it the same as the Latin Mass?

The expression Latin Mass is popularly applied to the Mass according to the Missal of 1962, since one of its most notable characteristics is that the prayers are entirely in Latin. However, this is true also of the Missale Romanum of the post-conciliar rite, which is typically celebrated in the vernacular languages of the world. All translations are made from the “typical edition” in Latin (currently the third edition, of 2002), and every missal in vernacular translation must also contain the Latin text, since any priest may freely celebrate the ordinary form of the Mass in Latin.

Some, therefore, distinguish Mass according to the 1962 Missal from the current rite by calling it the traditional Latin Mass. While this is preferable to Latin Mass, it still does not establish the exact form of the traditional Latin Mass in question.

When will the norms in Summorum Pontificum take effect?

On 14 September 2007.

Who may celebrate the Mass according to the Missal of 1962?

According to the Apostolic Letter any priest of the Latin Rite may celebrate it in private, or in public according to the norms.

What about religious order priests?

They, too, may celebrate it in private. An institute of consecrated life and a society of apostolic life (both pontifical and diocesan) may also do so publicly for their community Mass, although for this to be habitual or permanent, the approval of the Major Superior, in accordance with the specific laws of the institute or society is needed.

May the faithful participate in private Masses?

Yes, those who freely request it may participate in private Masses of the clergy.

What about public Masses, such as in parishes?

If there is a stable group of people in a parish who want the extraordinary form, the Holy Father says that “the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962… avoiding discord and favoring the unity of the whole Church.”

What if a pastor won’t allow it?

This would be a matter for the bishop, who is “strongly requested” to resolve it by the Holy Father. He can seek the help of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, and if he cannot resolve it, he should forward the matter to the Commission, which exercises the authority of the Holy See with regard to the norms.

May the older rites be used in the celebration of the other Sacraments?

Yes, pastors may permit the public celebration of these rites at the request of the faithful.

Must priests be schooled in the celebration of this form or just take the missal and offer it?

No, a priest must either know how to celebrate it, as many older priests still do, or become qualified in some way. Neither form of the Roman Mass should be celebrated in a slipshod or haphazard way.

Also, a priest must not be juridical impeded, as would a priest who has been suspended by his bishop for acting independently of the Church in this matter, laicized, or is otherwise canonically irregular.

May parts of the rites according to the Missal of 1962 and the current missal be intermingled?

The rites themselves may not be intermingled, each has its own proper form. However, the Holy Father suggests in his letter to the bishops that the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei “in contact with various bodies devoted to the usus antiquior” could study whether recent Mass texts (e.g. the propers of saints like Padre Pio who have been canonized since 1962) may be adapted for use with the Missal of 1962. This is interesting since it suggests the possibility of the continuing and organic development of that missal in line with its nature, as would have occurred if the liturgical reforms of Vatican II had not intervened. In this way this extraordinary form of the Roman Rite would remain both living and true to itself.

What about the former edition of the Liturgy of the Hours or Breviary?

Yes, the clergy may use the former Roman Breviary to fulfill their obligation to pray the Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office.

Answered by Colin B. Donovan, STL

Pope Benedict uses older ritual for his private Mass

Vatican, Jul. 16, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI, who recently issued a motu proprio allowing all Catholic priests to celebrate the old Latin Mass, uses the older ritual himself for his private Mass, CWN has learned.

Informed sources at the Vatican have confirmed reports that the Holy Father regularly celebrates Mass using the 1962 Roman Missal.

In his motu proprio Summorum Pontificum the Pope says that the older form– the form in universal use before the liturgical changes that followed Vatican II– was never abrogated.

Since becoming Roman Pontiff, Benedict XVI has always used the new ritual– which he identifies in Summorum Pontificum as the “ordinary form” of the Roman rite– for public celebrations of the Eucharistic liturgy. However few people have witnessed the Pope celebrating his private daily Mass.

Unlike his predecessor John Paul II, who regularly invited visitors to attend the Mass that he celebrated each morning in his private chapel, Benedict XVI has made it his regular practice to celebrate Mass with only a few aides. The Pope’s closest associates have established a reputation for preserving confidences.

Pope Benedict has long been known as an ardent defender of the Catholic liturgical tradition. In the early 1990s he raised eyebrows in Rome by writing a laudatory preface to the book The Reform of the Roman Liturgy, in which Msgr. Klaus Gamber decried many of the liturgical changes of the past few decades.

Then-Cardinal Ratzinger also traveled to Wigratzbad, in Bavaria, to ordain priests for the Fraternity of St. Peter, a group devoted to the use of the traditional liturgy. He performed those ordinations, as well as Mass on Easter Sunday in 1990, using the 1962 Roman Missal

Jim Ritter, Staff reporter | jritter@suntimes.com

The 12:30 p.m. Sunday mass at St. John Cantius has none of the modern trappings. No altar girls, no guitars, no sign of peace — and almost no English.

During most of the hour-long mass, the Rev. James Isaacson’s back is toward the worshippers, in the traditional manner.

At one point, he kisses the altar, turns toward the people and sings, “Dominus vobiscum.” (The Lord be with you.)

“Et cum spiritu tuo,” the choir responds. (And also with you.)

The traditional Latin mass has been making a comeback since 1984, when Pope John Paul II approved its use.

On Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI decreed that a priest no longer needs his bishop’s approval to say Latin mass. And, if parishioners ask their priest to say a traditional mass, “the pastor should willingly accept their requests.”

Every Sunday, more than 200 Latin masses are offered in the United States, according to Glenview-based Coalition in Support of Ecclesia Dei. That’s up from about 175 in 2001.

At least six churches in the Archdiocese of Chicago offer Latin masses.

The pope’s decree might not have any immediate impact on the Chicago archdiocese, because Cardinal Francis George already allows Latin masses.

Still, the pope’s statement likely will generate interest in traditional masses, “particularly among the young,” said Christina Borges of the Shrine of Christ the King Sovereign Priest on the South Side, which offers Latin masses.

In the modern mass, adopted in the 1960s, the priest faces parishioners and speaks their language. In the traditional Latin mass, the priest faces the same direction as worshippers.

In 1988, St. John Cantius, 825 N. Carpenter, became the first parish in the Chicago archdiocese to reintroduce traditional masses. The church offers one English and three Latin masses on Sunday.

The Latin masses attract worshippers from Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Parishioners offer a litany of adjectives to describe the experience: sacred, contemplative, poetic, serene, spiritual, reverent and timeless.

“It’s like walking into eternity,” said parishioner Kevin Haney.

Some older worshippers are nostalgic for the Latin mass they grew up with. But a growing number of parishioners grew up after Vatican II.

Sarah Michalowski, 18, drives 60 miles each way from McHenry County to attend Latin mass each Sunday.

“I’m in love with the traditional mass,” she said. “We almost lost it for a while.”