(CNA) In an interview published this Sunday by the Italian Catholic daily “Avvenire”, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, announced that the Motu Propio authorizing the universal celebration of the Mass of St. Pius V—known as the Tridentine Mass—will be made public “soon.”
During the interview, Cardinal Bertone, said the Motu Propio that would be signed by Pope Benedict XVI would authorize any priest to celebrate the Tridentine Mass without the need for prior approval by the local bishop.
The Vatican secretary of State said Catholics “will not have to wait long” for the publication of the Motu Propio, adding that the Pope “has written an accompanying letter that explains the reasons for the decision and why he hopes the authorization will be calmly accepted.”
Cardinal Bertone did not say whether the Motu Propio would open the possibility for the return to communion with the Rome of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X, founded by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who was excommunicated by the Vatican on June 30, 1988 after ordaining four bishops without the Pope’s consent.
The cardinal also said the Pope’s letter to Catholics in China would also be published soon, and that it has “already been approved by the Pope and is being translated into various languages.
Since the time before I converted to the Catholic faith, good liturgy was something that attracted me. My first experience with liturgical worship was at an Episcopal "high church" in the east Texas city where I grew up. I recall that the liturgy there had little in common with the Novus Ordo that I have come to know so well. For one thing I remember the eucharistic celebration being done ad orientem.
Shortly following my entrance into the Catholic Church 16 years ago, the parish DRE asked me whether I considered myself a liberal or a conservative. Although to this day I shy away from that distinction, I answered that in terms of social action I might be considered progressive, but in terms of the faith I have always loved the tradition. I was speaking from the only experience base I knew: that of Evangelical Protestantism.
I might answer similarly if someone were to ask me the same question today. Over the years I've longed to participate in the beauty of well-done liturgy, and I've seen many variations of the Novus Ordo--though I have never experienced it in Latin. Needless to say, I have never had the pleasure of experiencing the Tridentine Mass.
My hope is that the Motu Proprio will create a heightened awareness of the need to do liturgy well. I hope that it will restore a sense of belonging to those who have felt alienated from the Church by the new ways of doing things. Even more, I hope that there will be peace and less of a rift between traditionalists and those who are happy with the way things are.
I have to admit that I doubt I'll be seeing a Tridentine Mass at my parish any time soon. I doubt there would be many people who would attend except perhaps out of curiosity. Acceptance of change tends to occur slowly, but in time we sort things out. My personal opinion is that I see a lot of good things on the way--and, I see a lot of things that should never have been, i.e. liturgy done poorly, on the way out.
I just see the Holy Spirit at work. He is at work in the Church, and in those away from Her, or not yet with Her. He always is.
I look forward to a return to greater reverence for Him (it's not really a change, per se) in the celebration of Mass in the RC rite. It will do Him some overdue honor, and it'll open wider the door to those for Whom Christ thirsted.
Posted by: Gypsy | June 06, 2007 at 02:01 PM
Interesting...I just took a post teaching Middle School religion (pray for me) here in OKC, and one of the last questions the principal had for me was about the conservative/liberal thing, but couched very carefully in "buzzwords" that only catechists use.
My reply focused more on - what else? - how we do what we do in church and how it shapes what we believe - lex orandi legem credendi constituit. Why those involved in parish-level teaching choose to rely on such labels - and seemingly, disregard the Mass as a teaching tool - is beyond me.
Perhaps some elements of the '62 Mass will help us to better and more ably teach aspects of our Church long neglected.
Posted by: Paul Stokell | June 06, 2007 at 06:08 PM
Congrats Paul on the teaching position--true, you picked the toughest age group. Actually, I envy you in a lot of ways. I've always seen myself as a religion teacher, but for some reason I've pursued other avenues. I'll be teaching at a High School starting in August--same stuff as always, just bigger kids with more of an emphasis on the transition to adulthood and post-graduation services.
Posted by: Deacon DW | June 06, 2007 at 06:17 PM
Congratulations to you both on your new positions!
I'm happy to see the Tridentine Mass become available to those who wish to attend, whether on a regular basis or not. I have refrained for a year-and-a-half from entering into discussion/debate in comboxes on this subject, but I think dd's is a safe (?) place to do so.
My personal opinion is that it will appeal, at least for a period of time, to a wide range of people, including those who think that all their personal spiritual difficulties and those of society will disappear if they could only celebrate the Mass in Latin, to certain young people who want to discover what it's all about, to many converts who are desirous of experiencing a richness which was never part of their Protestant upbringing, and for those who attend because they truly find it to be more reverent than what they are currently being exposed to. I think making it available for anyone and everyone who wishes to attend is truly wonderful, but on the matter of reverence, it simply has not been my experience, on the whole, that language is any barrier to reverence. Just the opposite, in fact. And I truly believe that if we had not been allowed to celebrate the Holy Eucharist in our own languages after Vatican II, we would have lost a few generations of Catholics, myself included, probably.
Posted by: Gabrielle | June 07, 2007 at 09:18 AM
I knew the New Order was trouble the very moment it let my cousin and I in to the choir. :-) But it's more than the singing and the language..
Do you know what I would want to do for a Tridentine Mass priest who would, simply by being agreeable to a Mass befitting a King, drag my heart-aching older family members back to Mass? I would cry upon his non-loafers, and wipe the tears with my tan chapel veil. .
To go from a marble altar rail, a priest-offered Host and Paten wielded by pre-priestly altar servers, a gigantic organ played by an angel of a woman, and a Filled Tabernacle on the altar which was incensed and bowed before by all.. to a teakwood and pink rugged, wall-Tabernacled guitar hoedown with shirt-sleeved friends handing me our Christ's Body and Blood ("The Body of Christ, Gypsy") was something straight out of Seinfeld's Bizarro World. Where'd Christ go? Didn't He used to be King? Where'd the Sisters go? Didn't they used to be His brides?
Maybe Christ doesn't care how much or how little He is celebrated royally-holily as long as He is celebrated validly.. but what if He does? What if He cares about that for our sakes? What if His Father cares how He is celebrated? Why can't I always find Him the moment I walk into any Catholic church??
The local option for a Tridentine Mass would indeed shut up some Gypsies.
Posted by: Gypsy | June 08, 2007 at 10:00 PM
The local option for a Tridentine Mass would indeed shut up some Gypsies
No, please, don't shut up...I'd have no one to set me straight;-)
Posted by: Deacon DW | June 08, 2007 at 10:12 PM
:-) In truth, I'd rather be sitting on a wharf with you and yours and ours, admiring the patterns of sparkles or raindrop ripples, and getting little tugs on the line from God's other happy bounties (hoping they won't swallow the hook, lest they be wounded before being set free..), but here we are.
Posted by: Gypsy | June 09, 2007 at 10:10 AM
Indeed, congratulations to you both -- Paul, you're a brave man! And DDW..you, too.. but (and don't answer this to me, but only to yourself..) the moment you revealed a while back that you'd found a job -- the very one you wanted -- well, even then I did not get the impression you're crazy-happy about this one. Are you sure you want to take this one? I guess maybe you have to, if you said you'd start in August..but maybe you should keep your options open for '08-'09?
Posted by: Gypsy | June 10, 2007 at 12:28 AM
I for one would love to see a little more traditionalism come to the St. Thomas More liturgy. I love the community and all the ministries, but I've noticed that some of the "innovations" can be distracting.
Posted by: Paul | March 24, 2008 at 04:40 PM