Thoughts on the Use of the Pre-Conciliar Mass
Mr. John Heavren, in his comment on the first post on this blog, asked us to clarify our "Tridentine" status, meaning, I think, where we stand on the issue. I will leave CatholicNerd to post his own views because I am not sure we entirely agree on the issue, but I will be happy to explain my thoughts on the matter.
I think the pre-Conciliar Mass, aka Tridentine Mass, was a good and a beautiful thing. I also agree with Council, which thought it needed reform. Unfortunately, the "reform" which actually happened at the diocesan and parish level left the average Roman Catholic parish with a liturgy that is severely lacking in reverence, beauty, and mystery. This problem created a variety of responses among Catholics who missed these aspects of the pre-Conciliar Mass. One response was schism (obviously not a very good or helpful response). Another response was to request permission to continue to use the pre-Conciliar form, and to create societies like the FSSP. A third response was to call for a "reform of the reform," to go back to the Council's original intentions of reforming the Mass of Trent, instead of rendering it nearly unrecognizable. I am in this third camp.
My reasons for not belonging to the first camp are simple--I am a member of the Body of Christ, and I submit myself to Pope and the bishops, whose authority comes from Christ. The second school of thought, though, is more complex. Though it seems to be a pretty unified group, there is more than one side to their thinking. Some tridentinists (is that a word?) are nostalgic. This group is shrinking rapidly. Others believe that the English translation of the Mass currently in use is invalid or at least suspect--which to my mind is little better than schism. It's not the best translation possible, but it is approved and we should work with it until we get something
better. Still others are looking for a beautiful and reverent Mass, and think that this is the easiest or the only way to find it. They are of the mindset that if we remind people of how things used to be, perhaps they will go back to it. This is what I really object to.
Continuing to use the pre-Conciliar Mass in parishes is an impediment to gaining a more reverenty celebrated post-Conciliar Mass. What happens, in my limited experience, is that the really conservative people who are concerned about issues of liturgical abuse go to the Tridentine Mass, and everyone else goes to the Novus Ordo Mass, including some very devout people who are not educated on these issues, or who, like my father, are intimidated by a Mass totally in Latin which isn't always easy to follow.
In addition to this, while some priests celebrate the pre-Conciliar Mass with great care and reverence, assisted by altar servers and a schola who sing the chants beautifully, others don't. The Tridentine Mass, while unfailingly formal and solemn (lack of this is a big problem in the Novus Ordo), can still be ugly. It is deficient in beauty when there is no singing at all. It is distracting when the single altar server is badly trained, and the lady in the pew next to you is rattling her rosary. It is harsh on the ears when the priest rushes everything, has terrible Latin pronunciation, and through these and simple lack of care uses wrong endings on words, wrong words, and words that don't actually exist in Latin. I've been to Masses like this, and I really don't think that this is any better than the Novus Ordo Mass where the priest improvises on a few of the prayers and the choir sings awful pop-influenced music.
To my mind, the best option would be to remove the pre-Conciliar Mass from regular parishes. This removes much of the possibility of abuse of it by priests, or overuse by people who think it is an easy solution to problems with the post-Conciliar Mass. We have had the Council, and the Council said we needed change, and now we cannot go back. We can, however, go far enough back to correct the mistakes made during the revisionary process. Having the pre-Conciliar Mass available in regular parishes is an impediment to making this revision because it is seen as an "easy" solution, an escapist solution. But trying to escape from your problems will not help you solve them. Instead, I would advocate preserving the form of that Mass in a few places by a few priests, such as members of the FSSP. In fact, I would advocate the use of several historical forms and rites of the Mass in particular settings, but for regular use in Roman parishes, there ought to be a standard.
I will not attempt to say now what I think should be re-revised. I hope that I have laid out my thoughts on this subject in a coherent fashion. If anyone disagrees, I would like to hear your reasons.
posted by Jane | 10:04 AM
24 Comments:
How do you square your view that the Tridentine Mass should be available only in a "few places" (and how would you determine which winners of the "liturgy lottery" would get to have the FSSP, etc.?) with the directives of the Holy Father to whom you've explicitly submitted yourself, who said in 1984 and again in 1988 that the Mass of Pius V should be widely available to all the faithful who are attached to it, everywhere?
Also, in your catalog of responses to the virtual abolition of the Tridentine Mass, you left out one, by far the largest: heartbreak, and quiet agony, endured by millions of the faithful deprived of the Mass which nurtured their faith as they watched it disappear virtually overnight. They stayed (well, many stayed and many left), but their faith suffered. You mention "requesting permission" to use the Mass of Pius V. This started in the mid-80s; the twenty years preceding that were not a time for "requesting" anything. The dictate had come down, or so it was sold, and until the Holy Father moved in 1984, and again in 1988, one defied or one submitted. There was no third way, except prayer, which has borne fruit.
Every Diocese on earth should have the Tridentine Mass available for those who wish to attend it every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation. Your argument that it's open to "abuse," while technically undeniable, would also be an argument for limiting use of the novus ordo, and, come to think of it, every other human enterprise. Since the FSSP and the other "Latin Mass" prelatures are not nearly large enough (yet) to provide priests on a global scale, the diocesan Indult, not just allowed but strongly urged by the Holy Father, is the only solution to this. My personal view is that every parish should have a Tridentine Mass every day, but that's my personal view, and is not yet the view of the Holy Father. Perhaps it will never be, but perhaps it will one day be.
I appreciate your clarification of your views. My views on a reform of the reform, or an attempt to actually get at what Vatican II intended, are not optimistic. I've come to believe that what we have in the novus ordo is what was wanted, and there is little will for any sort of another overhaul. There is talk, but little will. More ominously, there is now in the church a spirit of autonomy, in which directives of any sort are considered optional. I think liturgical reform should be organic anyway, the stuff of natural development over centuries, not the crusading work of a few years time, which can nearly always be counted on to delight a few, disappoint a few others, crush many, and result in calls for a fourth reform, and the like.
The dream of a reform of the reform, while laudable, seems to me a dead letter, because nobody in authority really wants it. There is real, tangible, passionate enthusiasm for the Tridentine Mass; this is a "sign of the times" which should be strongly encouraged. Fortunately it is no longer universally suppressed.
John Heavrin
I think Jane and Catholic Nerd are making some fine points here. The Low Mass is indeed very beautiful when done slowly and deliberately (which I admit can be rare) but it is not the yardstick to judge the liturgy by. That is the High or Solemn Mass (I think High Mass is a term no longer, sadly, used by the rubrics). The good thing about the current rubrics is that they permit the introduction of certain 'high' elements into what would have otherwise been 'low' masses. I think this flexibility is genius. However, I also think that nobody really knows what the rubrics are, or what the spirit of Sacrosanctum Concilium demands. IT IS NOT WHAT IS BEING DONE IN YOUR PARISH in all likelihood, or even in your cathedral (one Novus Ordo option for a pontifical mass permits there to be no less than seven candlebearers in the procession! Ever see that?). St. Agnes in St. Paul and the brilliantly-done Novus Ordo masses at St. John Cantius are what the Council had in mind.
That being said, I think that the Tridentine rite has much to teach from us rubrically and liturgically, and I hope, once we finally get the Novus Ordo right, that a reform of the reform will bring back some elements of Tridentine ceremonial and liturgical language.
I think that the old Rite should probably be more available to those who want it (rather than once in a blue moon at 3 PM, Saturday) and enough resources should be devoted to being able to do it well: ie, with a choir, deacon and subdeacon. Dialogue masses also ought to be encouraged.
The new Mass, in English, may indeed be a banal, on-the-spot product. (Could you please show me the source for that quote?) But I have found the post-Conciliar Mass to be quite beautiful when sung in Latin with Propers from the Graduale Romanum, as it is at the Abbey of Solesmes and Val de Grace in Paris, or even sung in the vernacular, like at Gonzaga University, or at Holy Rosary Parish in Portland, OR. If only all the indult Tridentine Masses were so beautifully celebrated!
Secondly, what I said about hurried and bad Latin pronunciation could, in theory, be a very grave problem: if the words of consecration are butchered badly enough, it could invalidate the Mass. The correct form is necessary for a valid sacrament. Most of the abuses which the Novus Ordo is prone to might make the Mass illicit, but not invalid. Admittedly, this is still a problem with the Novus Ordo in Latin, but I think it is less of a problem, since in the Novus Ordo the words are intended to be said loud enough to be heard by the congregation. This would not be a problem with a sung Tridentine or Novus Ordo, because singing necessitates that you slow down. But this is not the reality of the indult Mass in the US, so that point is, for now, moot. So, I contend that my argument is not tired and old.
Finally, I am not suggesting tossing the Tridentine Mass into the trash to come up with a "banal, on-the-spot product." I am advocating taking the product we already have, and the Mass that was so rudely and abruptly discarded, and taking a middle (or slightly-to-the-right) road.
The sung canon is most certainly not a Lutheran innovation! For example, Catholics in the Eastern Rites have always sung the canon. It is the norm in the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. It is also an option, albeit an infrequently exercised one, in the Tridentine Mass (just as celebration in the vernacular was a seldom-used option).
Second, I don't know what you're talking about, saying that "the reform of the reform" is just a small group on the internet. It's actually the title of a book by Fr. Thomas Kocik, which contains his thoughts, and an appendix full of essays by other experts in liturgy who express various opinions on the subject.
What do you consider to be "'tough' orthodox, apostolic Catholic prayers and rites?" Does chanting all of the verses of the tracts in Lent count? (That's tough, and definitely orthodox Catholic.)
Tomasz, is your native language something other than English? If so, I commend your efforts, but you are a native English-speaker, you might try reforming your use of the language.
Your use of the word Orthodox is incorrect. I do not know whether this is through misunderstanding or simple carelessness. Should the Roman Church decide for some reason to imitate any traditions of the Eastern Churches, they would not be imitating the Orthodox, but our brother Catholics. Since you say you attend a Byzantine parish with some frequency, I assume you know this.
Since the canon in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is sung, and has always been sung, then this must be a very old custom indeed. It is, in fact, a custom which preceeds the division of East and West. Customs which preceed the formal division, possibly even most informal divisions (the good Saint died in 407 A.D., only 12 years after the political division of East and West, and certainly a long time before the official theological division). Considering that the Mass you advocate using was not codified for more than a thousand years after that, how do you know that the sung canon has not been used in the West? Is it possible that traditions regarding the celebrating of the liturgy which date back to the days of the Fathers can be considered as belonging to the whole Church?
The mission of the Second Vatican Council was not to reform the West in the image of the East (that much should be obvious--lots of Byzantine Catholics are disgusted by things that go on in the West), but part of the mission was to reform the Liturgy to resemble something like what might have been used by earlier Christians--singing the canon certainly qualifies. Now whether this mission succeeded is debatable, but I believe that particular option is one of the successes.
Just now I read the comments of so many people here; I found it most enlivening.
Recently my wife and I returned to Mass and the Sacraments, and are delighted to be back. Both of us were born shortly after the close of Second Vatican, so the Missal of 1969 is the Mass we were raised with.
Also recently, we've attended the Indult Mass of the 1962 Missal in a local parish. We both appreciate the Latin Mass; it helps us connect to our ancestral roots, and it helps us pray and attend to the Four Ends of the Mass: Adoration, Thanksgiving, Reparation and Petition.
In solidarity with some of the folks commenting on this site, it is difficult at times to try to hear the priest, especially at a Low Mass. Sometimes I feel like a spectator at the Latin Mass rather than a participant; but I think part of this is that I am relatively new to being part of the celebration of this form of Mass.
Also, in solidarity with some of the folks who have commented, surely there are pitfalls to having the Indult 1962 Mass as well as the Post Conciliar Mass. Sometimes it does feel like there is disunity, or that there are factions in the Church.
At the same time, Jesus, way back when, prayed that "All would be One." There have been problems and factions and difficulties from the beginning; just read the Acts of the Apostles and some of the other books in the New Testament! Isn't that part of our journey together as the People of God? Isn't that part of our lived experience of what it means to be a part of the Church?
Also, it seems to me that the Catholic Tradition, when it is at its best, can say, "Both/And." I think its important - nay essential - to have change IN CONTINUITY, to have the realization that new and old can be collaborative and complementary.
We have a number of "sedavacantist" parishes in our city, who claim that Vatican II is a departure from the Catholic Faith, and that the "Novus Ordo" Mass is a false Mass, and that there has not been a valid Pope since Pius XII in 1958. I don't agree with everything that has happened as a result of Vatican II, but I don't think the Council set out to destroy our Catholic Faith, nor do I think it did in fact destroy the Catholic Faith.
Read history. Think critically. You'll see that every council of the Church has taken many years to bear fruit. Related to this, it drives me crazy when a particular parish advertises for a particular reason, and says, "We are a Vatican II parish." What the hell does that mean? We are not just a "Vatican II" Church; we are also a Vatican I Church, a Council of Trent Church, a Council of Nicea Church, etc. CHANGE IN CONTINUITY, FOLKS! Change for the sake of change, or for shock value, is just as unhealthy as trying to escape to a past that can't be returned to.
I truly believe that the Church began with Pentecost, not with Vatican II; and the Church did NOT end with Vatican II. Jesus promised that the very gates of Hell would not prevail against the Church.
I also truly believe that we are sinners all - but also loved much by God, and called to love Him and one another - and the Church is here for us to help us do just that.
Finally, I believe the Mass is the Mass, whether it is the 1962 Indult form, or the 1969 form, or , hello, the ORIGINAL MASS, THE LAST SUPPER! Even the most cursory look at history will reveal changes in the Mass over time. The Tridentine Mass is not "the way it's always been." I was not at the Last Supper, but I doubt Jesus wore a fiddle-back chasuble and faced east, considering He and the apostles were devout Jews celebrating a Seder - a Jewish Family Meal.
We are one church, one body, one family. Of course we are divided; what family is not? But we need each other. More importantly, we need God. God gave us the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and His gift trancends time, change, and "fashionableness."
May the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in whatever form Holy Mother Church gives us, bring us into most intimate communion with Our Good Lord, and in loving service to one another.
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