A Catholic Life Podcast: Episode 91

In today’s episode, on the Feast of Christ the King, I address the following:

1. Why and How to Honor the Evangelists
2. Why the Offertory of the Mass is Important and How the Novus Ordo Dismantled it
3. How and Why Christ is the King of all

I would like to thank CatechismClass.com for sponsoring this episode.  CatechismClass.com, the leader in online Catholic catechism classes, has everything from online K-12 programs, RCIA classes, adult continuing education, marriage preparation, baptism preparation, confirmation prep, quince prep classes, catechist training courses, and much more. It is never too late to study the fullness of the Catholic Faith and CatechismClass.com is the gold standard in authentic Catholic formation online. Check out their best-selling Adult Faith Formation Course, which even life-long Catholics can learn from.

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17th Anniversary of Summorum Pontificum

Today, the Church observes the 17th anniversary of the publishing of Summorum Pontificum, the long-awaited motu proprio of Pope Benedict XVI replacing all former "indults" and declaring that the Tridentine Latin Mass was never abrogated and all priests had the right to offer this Mass at any time, in public or private, without any "permission" from a bishop. Despite the errors of Traditionis Custodes, the truth expressed in Summorum Ponitificum remains: the Rite of Mass that was celebrated for centuries leading up to the 2nd Vatican Council – was never abrogated and never can be.

Called the Mass of the Ages, the Most Beautiful Thing This Side of Heaven, the Mass of John XXIII, the Tridentine Latin Mass, and most recently, the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, this Mass truly is one of the most beautiful forms of worship for the Catholic Church. Below are links concerning the Tridentine Mass. On July 7, 2007, the motu proprio by Pope Benedict XVI, Summorum Pontificum, was issued, allowing wider usage of the Sacraments according to the 1962 Missal.

Quoting from the text, pay particular attention to the following line: "It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church."

The Traditional Latin Mass Is More Than Just “Mass in Latin”

It is all too common that Catholics unfamiliar with the Church’s Traditions may think that the Traditional Latin Mass is simply the same as the standard Novus Ordo Mass, albeit said in Latin and with the priest having his “back to the people." It is, after all, simply called the “Latin Mass” by many traditionalists. Yet even attendance at one Traditional Latin Mass (frequently referred to as the Tridentine Mass) shows this is not the case.

Indeed, the Tridentine Mass does have different externals – whether it be more ornate vestments, a more beautiful altar and associated decorations in the church, more beautiful and timeless chant, and other such externals. But the externals are not what separates the Tridentine Mass from the Novus Ordo. The battle for the restoration of the Tridentine Mass and the suppression of the Novus Ordo is not about externals – it is about restoring to God the worship He is due. And this is seen chiefly in the prayers and rubrics of the Mass itself which were radically changed in the 1960s. The single greatest source of these rubrics in the English language is The Celebration of Mass: A Study of the Rubrics of the Roman Missal,  which is available for purchase online.  

As a result, the movement to restore Tradition is not chiefly about the change in externals. There are Novus Ordo Masses said in Latin, in an ad orientem position, and with beautiful Gregorian chant, all offered in ornate parishes. Even if these are a rare exception to the norm, they are still vastly different from the Tridentine Mass due to the very prayers at the heart of the Mass. To understand why, an examination of the various prayers exorcised from the Tridentine Mass is in order. For a list of these changes, click here.

The Fight for the Tridentine Mass is a Fight for the Theology of the True Faith

Consequently, the fight for the Tridentine Mass is about far more than just the sacred language of Latin. We may refer to the Tridentine Mass as “the Latin Mass,” but when we do so, we are not fighting principally for the use of Latin or for the return of the externals which accompanied the Tridentine Mass. Yes, these externals are important and are worth fighting for, but what we fight for most is for the worthy worship of God, which is attacked by the watered-down prayers, replaced readings, and omitted prayers in the Novus Ordo. Even a Novus Ordo Mass said with external pomp and circumstance lacks these internals. It is, after all, more than just the “Latin” Mass. It is the Mass of the Ages, the Mass of the Saints, and the Most Beautiful Thing This Side of Heaven that we seek to have restored to every altar in the entire world. 

Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre famously said, "The Novus Ordo Missae, even when said with piety and respect for the liturgical rules, is impregnated with the spirit of Protestantism...it bears within it a poison harmful to the Faith." He was right, and the rotten fruits of fifty years show us this.

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How Fasting on Vigils Was Reduced Over Time

Click for a larger image. Holy Saturday is not included as it is covered separately by Lenten regulations.

What are Vigils?

Even though the Great Fast of Lent has ended, our fasting has not ended. There are many other days of fasting this year, such as Ember Days and Vigils, which are still coming this year. Understanding fasting on Vigils is something that has been forgotten by the average Catholic today. And rediscovering this practice will help us better celebrate the feastday following the vigil while allowing us more shared days of penance.

Some feasts have vigils associated with them. The term “vigil” is used in several ways. It most properly refers to an entire day before a major feast day (e.g., the Vigil of Christmas, which refers to the entire day of December 24). This kind of vigil is a liturgical day in itself and marks the following day as a day of greater liturgical significance. This is the proper meaning of a vigil. In a similar way, the Catechism of Perseverance, published in 1849, states: “The word vigil signifies watching. The vigils are the days of abstinence and fast which precede the great festivals of the year. There are five; those of Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, Assumption, and All Saints. In some dioceses, the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul is also preceded by a vigil.”

NB: A Mass using the Sunday propers that is anticipated (i.e., offered) on a Saturday evening is sometimes, though incorrectly, called a vigil. This practice, however, is a post-Vatican II novelty and not part of Catholic Tradition, so I counsel Catholics to never attend such “vigil Masses” on Saturday evenings.

Definition of Key Terms in the Vigils Table:

Fasting: Fasting refers to how much food we eat. It means taking only one meal during a calendar day. The meal should be an average-sized meal as overeating at the one meal is against the spirit of the fast. Fasting generally means that the meal is to be taken later in the day. Along with the one meal, up to two snacks (technically called either a collation or frustulum) are permitted. These are optional, not required. Added up together, they may not equal the size of the one meal. No other snacking throughout the day is permitted. Fasting does not affect liquids, aside from the Eucharistic Fast which is a separate matter.

Abstinence: Abstinence in this context refers to not eating meat. Meat refers to the flesh meat of mammals or fowl. Beef, poultry, lamb, etc. are all forbidden on days of abstinence. Abstinence does not currently prohibit animal byproducts like dairy (e.g., cheese, butter, milk) or eggs, but in times past, they were prohibited. Fish is permitted along with shellfish and other cold-blooded animals like alligators. In times past, days of fasting were always days of abstinence as well; however, not all days of abstinence were days of mandatory fasting.

Partial Abstinence: Partial Abstinence refers to eating meat only at the principal meal of the day. Days of partial abstinence do not permit meat to be eaten as part of the collation or the frustulum. Partial abstinence started only in 1741 under Pope Benedict XIV as a concession and as part of a gradual weakening of discipline. Beforehand, days of abstinence were days of complete abstinence.

NB: The table concerns only fasting and abstinence for Vigils and thus omits other possible days of fasting and/or abstinence: Lent, Ember Days, Rogation Days, etc.

Explanation of Key Changes to Vigils in the English-Speaking World:

1. On March 9, 1777, Pope Pius VI reduced for English Catholics days of fasting to consist of the Ember Days; the forty days Lent; Wednesdays and Fridays in Advent; and the vigils of Christmas, Whitsun Sunday (i.e. Pentecost), Ss. Peter and Paul, and All Saints.

2. As mentioned in the Irish Ecclesiastical Record from 1882, Pope Benedict XIV in 1755 removed 18 feasts from double precept and reduced them to single precept. Shortly thereafter in 1778, Pope Pius VI reduced the number of holy days to 13. And as the Record states, "On this occasion, the obligation of hearing Mass was removed, as well as the obligation of abstaining from servile works." The Record continues: "the number of those Vigils to which the obligation of fasting had been attached [as of 1778] was in fact but eight - these being the Vigils of the feast of St. Laurence the Martyr (August 9th), and of seven of the nine suppressed feasts of the Apostles." No fasting was observed beforehand on the Vigil of St. John on December 26 or the Vigil of Ss. Philip and James on account of them always falling in Christmas and Pascaltide respectively.

3. The Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul ceased being a fast day in America by 1842. In Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, and Canada the Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul remained a day of fasting and abstinence up until the 1917 Code of Canon law. In 1902, the Holy Father granted a special dispensation for Catholics in England from fasting on the Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul in honor of the coronation of King Edward VII, illustrating historical proof of its observance in the early part of the 20th century.

4. "The Catholic's Pocket Prayer-Book" published by Henri Proost & Co in 1924 notes "in the United Kingdom (except during Lent), abstinence is not binding on Ember Saturdays or on any Vigil that immediately precedes or follows a Friday or other day of abstinence."

5. Effective with the 1917 Code, fasting and abstinence were no longer observed should a vigil fall on a Sunday as stated in the code: "If a vigil that is a fast day falls on a Sunday the fast is not to be anticipated on Saturday but is dropped altogether that year." Before 1917, the fast of a Vigil that fell on a Sunday was observed instead on the preceding Saturday.

6. On January 28, 1949, the United States bishops issued modified regulations on abstinence in America again after receiving a ruling from the Sacred Congregation of the Council. Partial abstinence replaced complete abstinence for Ember Wednesdays, Ember Saturdays, and the Vigil of Pentecost.

7. In March 1955, Pope Pius XII abolished the liturgical Vigil of All Saints. The US Bishops requested an official determination from Rome on whether the custom of fasting and abstinence on the suspended Vigil of All Saints had also been terminated. They received a pre-printed notice in a response dated March 15, 1957, stating: "The Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites...looks simply to the liturgical part of the day and does not touch the obligation of fast and abstinence that are a penitential preparation for the following feast day." The US Bishop thereafter dispensed both the fast and partial abstinence law for the Vigil of All Saints.

8. On July 25, 1957, Pope Pius XII commuted the fast in the Universal Church from the Vigil of the Assumption to the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception on December 7, even though he had previously abrogated the Mass for the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception. 

9. In 1959, Pope John XXIII permitted the Christmas Eve fast and abstinence to be transferred to 23rd. While the United States, Great Britain, and Ireland kept the penance on December 24, other nations, including Canada and the Philippines, transferred it to December 23.

10. As stated in a January 1960 issue of the Catholic Standard and Times, following an October 1959 meeting, the Bishops of Canada issued new regulations taking effect in 1960 that provided that the law of abstinence henceforth will apply only on all Fridays of the year, while the regulations for fast and abstinence will apply only on four days—Ash Wednesday; Good Friday; December 7, the vigil of the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and December 23, the anticipated vigil before Christmas.

How are Vigils Observed?

There are two characteristics of vigils: penance and prayer. 

As to penance, many liturgical vigils, if not all, were originally also days of fasting and abstinence. Over time, the fasting and abstinence was dropped from many. By the time of the Catechism of Perseverance, there were only a few such vigils. But the days of fasting and abstinence differed – including on vigils in various places. For instance, by 1893, the only fasting days kept in Rome were the forty days of Lent, the Ember Days, and the Vigils of the Purification, of Pentecost, of St. John the Baptist, of Ss. Peter and Paul, of the Assumption, of All Saints, and of Christmas. This is summarized from the Handbook to Christian and Ecclesiastical Rome. In just a few years, Rome would abrogate the fast on the Vigil of the Purification and on the Vigil of St. John the Baptist. By the 1917 Code of Canon Law, fasting vigils were dropped universally to only four days: Vigils of Pentecost, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, All Saints, and Christmas. These are what Americans at that time were aware of, but previously, there were differing vigils.

By 1917, there were, however, still many other liturgical vigils on the calendar that were not obligatory days of abstinence at that time. For instance, before the changes to the Roman Rite liturgical calendar in 1955, nearly all feasts of the Apostles were preceded by a vigil. And the Church put those days in place to help us prepare for the importance of the feast of an Apostle, since all feasts of the Apostles were in former times Holy Days of Obligation. We have lost the importance of the feast days of the Apostles, I believe, in part due to losing the vigils. We can change that for ourselves by observing those feast days in our own prayer lives. And the same is true for the Vigil of All Saints (i.e., Halloween), a traditional day when we would fast and abstain from meat, but which is neither found in the Novus Ordo calendar nor even in the 1962 Missal.  Hence any of the older vigils (e.g., the Vigil of St. Lawrence, the Vigil of Epiphany, the Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, etc.) can and arguably, should, be observed with fasting and abstinence even if they are not obliged under penalty of sin. 

The second key feature of vigils is prayer. 

The Catechism of Perseverance explains this aspect well: “How should we spend the vigils? Whatever be our age, we should spend those days in a more holy manner than other days, in order to prepare for the celebration of the festival and to receive the graces which God always gives more abundantly at that time.” Praying an extra rosary, making time for mental prayer, and even praying into the evening as the vigil becomes the feastday itself are all worthwhile practices to make vigils slightly more penitential and all the more prayerful.

While we know that Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation should be spent in prayer, attendance at Holy Mass, and in avoidance of servile work, we often pay little mind to vigils since the Church over the past several decades has virtually eliminated them. But we must honor our Lady of Fatima’s call for penance and can model our example after that of our forefathers who observed the vigils in preparation for the feast.

Works Cited:

1. Great Britain (1776): American Ecclesiastical Review (Hardy and Mahony, 1886), vol. 11, p. 469.https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_American_Catholic_Quarterly_Review/lz0QAAAAYAAJ 

2. USA (1789): American Ecclesiastical Review (Hardy and Mahony, 1886), vol. 11, p. 469.https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_American_Catholic_Quarterly_Review/lz0QAAAAYAAJ 

3. USA (1909): O'Neill, J.D. (1909). Fast. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05789c.htm

4. Great Britain (1909): O'Neill, J.D. (1909). Fast. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05789c.htm

5. Canada (1909): O'Neill, J.D. (1909). Fast. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05789c.htm

6. CIC (1917): Peters, Edward N.  1917 Pio-Benedictine Code of Canon Law: in English translation, with extensive scholarly apparatus.  San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2001. https://www.jgray.org/codes/ 

7. Canada (1952): https://sspx.ca/en/rules-fast-abstinence 

8. USA (1962): Rev. Heribert Jone, “Moral Theology: Englished and Adapted to the Laws and Customs of the United States of America,” (Newman Press, 2009), p. 285.

9. Canada (1962): The Catholic Standard and Times, Volume 65, Number 19, Published January 29, 1960. https://thecatholicnewsarchive.org/?a=d&d=cst19600129-01.2.77&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------- 

10. Great Britain (1962): 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal, (Angelus Press, 2004). 

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Octave Day of the Ascension of our Lord

Today according to the pre-1955 changes under Pope Pius XII is the Octave Day of the Ascension.

Ascentiontide lasts for 10 days and is part of the Pascal Season. The first nine days of Ascensiontide include the traditional Octave of the Ascension. The last day of Ascentiontide is the Vigil of Pentecost. Pentecost Sunday, which has its own octave, follows. Trinity Sunday, the Sunday after Pentecost, officially begins the Season After Pentecost. The total length of Paschaltide, from Easter Sunday to the end of Whitsuntide is 56 days (inclusively). 

For this season of Ascensiontide, Catholics are welcomed and encouraged to immerse themselves in the devotions appropriate for the season.  For example, during this season, there are special prayers for the time between Ascension and Pentecost.

Before the changes of Pope Pius XII in 1955, there was a liturgical octave for the Ascension, and remnants of the octave can be found in the Office as it now stands.  The appropriate texts for the minor hours (except for the collects) are set out in the psalter. For the collects, Lauds and Vespers however, you need to keep your ribbon on the page for the Ordinary of Ascensiontide. The key points to note are set out via Saints will Arise.

The Mass Propers for this Octave of the Ascension are the same as on the Feast of the Ascension itself with White vestments, the Gloria, the Paschal Alleluia, the Credo, the Preface of the Ascension and the Proper Communicantes for the Ascension in the Canon. You may find them in a pre-1955 Missal such as the Saint Andrew Daily Missal and the Marian Missal from 1945.

History of Octaves

While the Novus Ordo calendar unfortunately only has 2 octaves, traditional Catholics will be familiar with the idea of multiple overlapping Octaves.  The practice of celebrating an Octave, while not only traced to the time spent by the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary awaiting the Paraclete, also has its origins in the Old Testament eight-day celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:36) and the Dedication of the Temple (2 Chronicles 7:9). Very truly, Christ did not come to abolish the Old Law but to fulfill it.

By the 8th century, Rome had developed liturgical octaves not only for Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas, but also for the Epiphany and the feast of the dedication of a church.

After 1568, when Pope Pius V reduced the number of octaves (since they had grown considerably), the number of Octaves was still plentiful.  Octaves were classified into several types. Easter and Pentecost had "specially privileged" octaves, during which no other feast whatsoever could be celebrated. Christmas, Epiphany, and Corpus Christi had "privileged" octaves, during which certain highly ranked feasts might be celebrated. The octaves of other feasts allowed even more feasts to be celebrated.

To reduce the repetition of the same liturgy for several days, Pope Leo XIII and Pope St. Pius X made further distinctions, classifying octaves into three primary types: privileged octaves, common octaves, and simple octaves. Privileged octaves were arranged in a hierarchy of first, second, and third orders. The Octave of the Ascension was a Privileged Octave of the Third Order.

Collect:

O Almighty God, we firmly believe that Your only-begotten Son, our Redeemer, ascended this day into heaven. May our minds dwell always on this heavenly home. Through Our Lord . . .

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Choosing Music for a Tridentine Requiem Mass

Some years ago I wrote a short article entitled "Choosing Music for a Tridentine Nuptial Mass." As a follow-up, I thought it worthwhile to consider some particulars on choosing music for a Tridentine Requiem (Funeral) Mass. First though a few key points:

1. Make sure you explicitly state in your will that you desire to have a Tridentine Requiem Mass and should not be given a Novus Ordo funeral for any reason. Use those words: "for any reason." For practical purposes, list the parishes or chapels you attend that could offer this and which you would find acceptable (e.g. a reverent priest who will pray for your soul, ample parking for those attending, driving distance not too drastic for people, distance not excessive from the funeral plot where you will be buried, etc).
2. Make it clear in your will that you are only to be buried and not cremated. Again state "for any reason." We know that cremation is not permitted for Catholics, despite what modern clergymen are prone to say.
3. Most importantly, appoint an executor for your will that you know will see to your final wishes. Even if you state that you wish to have a traditional Requiem Mass and be buried, it is possible for the executor to deny your wishes and have you cremated with no funeral. Appoint an executor who will undoubtedly see to the completion of your wishes. 

As to choosing the music to help your executor and the priest when it comes to your funeral, there is thankfully little that needs to be done. Most of the music is already mapped out for you.  There is an Ordinary proper to the Requiem and the Propers themselves leave little room for other musical selections.  At best, you can select Communion music since the Proper is relatively short.  

"Help, Lord, the Souls Which Thou Hast Made" is always a good choice, as it is about Purgatory.  "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need" arr. by Virgil Thomson is a lovely setting of Psalm 23.  There is some flexibility with the procession out of the church as well.  The prescribed chant is "In Paradisum", which could be chanted or sung polyphonically or chorally. 

You may find these PDFs from the Institute of Christ the King very helpful as well.  The first is the burial service.  Typically there is no procession to the church, so you will want to start with the "Subvenite" as the processional piece and then proceed from there.  The second is the Ordinary and Propers for the Mass.  

Lastly, consider putting in your will a request for Gregorian Masses to be said immediately after your death. Indicate where and how to order them (here are some helpful links) and state the approximate cost of each. Other traditional orders beyond that list do offer Gregorian Masses and accept the stipend in the mail. Orders like the Traditional Carmelites in Clear Creek come to mind as doing so.

Many thanks to a long-time friend, Daniel, for his invaluable contributions here.

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Can A Valid Novus Ordo Mass Offend God? Are We Obligated to Attend It?

The Angelic Doctor goes on to summarize two ways in which worship directed to the True God is nevertheless evil. As to the first reason, St. Thomas Aquinas illustrates by way of example: “…in this way, at the time of the New Law, the mysteries of Christ being already accomplished, it is pernicious to make use of the ceremonies of the Old Law whereby the mysteries of Christ were foreshadowed as things to come: just as it would be pernicious for anyone to declare that Christ has yet to suffer.” Thus, observing seder meals, religious circumcision, abstaining from pork for religious reasons, etc. would now offend the True God.

As to the second example, the saint continues: “…falsehood in outward worship occurs on the part of the worshiper, and especially in common worship which is offered by ministers impersonating the whole Church. For even as he would be guilty of falsehood who would, in the name of another person, proffer things that are not committed to him, so too does a man incur the guilt of falsehood who, on the part of the Church, gives worship to God contrary to the manner established by the Church or divine authority, and according to ecclesiastical custom.”

Consequently, we can say that even valid worship offered by those who do so in a manner contrary to that established by the Church would offend God. This may be the case of a valid Catholic priest who ad libs the Missal and, while validly confecting the Holy Eucharist, mortally sins by intentionally neglecting the rubrics. This would also be the case of a valid Divine Liturgy offered by schismatic groups like the Orthodox Church. And this would certainly apply to rituals performed by heretical protestant denominations who do not follow the Church’s prescriptions, do not offer any valid Sacraments (exceptions aside ), and who teach a doctrine contrary to that taught by Christ our Lord.

Can A Valid Novus Ordo Mass Offend God?

Taken to the next logical question, we consider if it is possible for a valid Novus Ordo Mass to offend God. 

Even though it is possible for God to work good out of evil and lead to the Truth those in false religions, this does not make the Novus Ordo as praiseworthy or fitting for God. Rather, the defects in the Novus Ordo are not merely external but intrinsic in the prayers created for the New Rite of Mass.

The Holy Mass is the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. The purpose of Mass is to be present at the Sacrifice of Christ that is made present again through the priesthood of Jesus Christ.  We worship God at Mass in the manner which He has established for His worship. We are present at Calvary.  Rather than merely remembering the life and death of Christ, we are present at it and partake of its eternal fruits which flow to us from the altar and during the Canon when the priest stands in the place of Christ and offers the Eternal Victim on the Altar to God.  We can further receive grace by partaking of the Holy Eucharist if we are Catholics in the state of grace. This view of the Mass as a propitiatory Sacrifice has been lost in the Novus Ordo and replaced by notions of community, where the priest is a presider, and many Catholics falsely view receiving Holy Communion as the purpose of going to Mass, rather than being present at the august sacrifice of the Eternal Victim.

As Archbishop Lefebvre noted in Chapter 4 of the Open Letter to Confused Catholics, the changes to the Mass in the offertory, the sermon, the canon, and elsewhere mimic the changes sought by Martin Luther! They are in their very core protestant, especially for instance in the newly created prayers of the Offertory which bear no similarity to the Offertory in the Tridentine Mass.

Of course, while any validly ordained priest may consecrate bread and wine using the words of consecration, even while omitting the rest of the Mass (which is done at times in cases of necessity for instance by priests who are imprisoned and can only smuggle in a small piece of bread and a small amount of wine), this is not the same as promoting and saying protestantized prayers. 

Jean Guitton, an intimate friend of Paul VI wrote: “The intention of Pope Paul VI with regard to what is commonly called the [New] Mass, was to reform the Catholic liturgy in such a way that it should almost coincide with the Protestant liturgy. There was with Pope Paul VI an ecumenical intention to remove, or, at least to correct, or, at least to relax, what was too Catholic in the traditional sense in the Mass and, I repeat, to get the Catholic Mass closer to the Calvinist Mass.” And we know that the Calvinists - and any protestants for that matter - do not have a valid rite of Mass and do not confect the Holy Eucharist.

The Faith is not defined by merely external actions. Archbishop Lefebvre rightfully criticized the Novus Ordo – even when accompanied by Latin, ad orientem postures, and the external appearance of piety.  Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted a set of doctrines and established His one True Church as the means of bringing about the conversion of souls and their salvation. He did not institute merely external gestures while telling His disciples to ad lib the rest. And on the opposite extreme, the Lord also did not teach His disciples the precise words for Sacramental validity and tell them that their external postures, garments, and actions were useless since only the internal mattered. Our Faith not only includes heart-felt prayers, works of charity, and pious devotions, but also includes rich liturgical music, elaborate cathedrals, and ornate vestments. Even the presence of Eucharistic miracles in Novus do not mean that the Novus Ordo is pleasing to God.

Are We Obligated to Ever Attend Offensive Worship?

More than mere validity is necessary in the worship of God. If validity was the only basis for whether worship was pleasing to God, Catholics would be able to have their children baptized by an Anglican minister or attend receive the valid Eucharist from schismatic Greek orthodox priests. Yet, we know that attending the worship of any other denomination is a sin against the First Commandment. 

Consequently, we have an obligation to seek out not only valid Masses but those which are offered according to the Church’s immemorial rubrics and customs. We should not feel obligated to attend a Novus Ordo Mass – even on Sundays or Holy Days – since attending them is often a grave danger to our spiritual lives. 

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Must Catholics Obey Traditionis Custodes?

Jorge Mario Bergoglio (centre) in Argentina c 1976. Photograph: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Today, in the sharpest reversal and attack on a predecessor, Pope Francis has issued Traditionis Custodes, which seeks to make the celebration of the Tridentine Mass harder. It is in effect a reversal and repudiation of both Pope Benedict XVI and Summorum Pontificum.

For those seeking to understand the issue and its implications, I encourage the following articles: Rorate Caeli: Canon Lawyer's Analysis of the Anti Summorum Pontificum Motu Proprio & Latin Mass Society: Some Comments on the Apostolic Letter 'Traditionis Custodes'.

In good news, reports already are surfacing of diocesan bishops affirming the continued celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass in places ranging from San Francisco to Albany to Arlington. Pittsburgh has affirmed such as well. And the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius in Chicago affirmed that they will continue doing so as well. Of course, this could change at a moment's notice in any of these places or elsewhere. The Diocese of Little Rock, Arkansas has just ended all Diocesan TLM's in the state except for two FSSP locations.

But all of this forces the question: Do Catholics have to obey Traditionis Custodes or any motu proprio? Yes but with two very important exceptions but of which are based on Church law and common sense legal arguments:

1. If the person issuing the statement lacks authority, no law is created.

A law must come from a valid lawgiver. It requires the government to pass laws according to the rules of the Constitution and laws already in place. The one issuing the law must do so in the lawful manner and have the power to do so by the office he holds. Not just anyone can do this. 

In the Church, this requires the Pope generally to issue a law. A man who is truly elected Pope ceases to be the pope and thus a valid lawgiver when he died, abdicates, or loses his office due to heresy. For instance, if Pope Francis was a heretic, he would not possess the authority to rule. And if he lacks the authority, this motu proprio can - and must - be rejected. This is based on developed and established Church teaching as shown, among others, in the following two sources:

X. Wernz, P. Vidal (1943) 

"Through notorious and openly divulged heresy, the Roman Pontiff, should he fall into heresy, by that very fact [ipso facto] is deemed to be deprived of the power of jurisdiction even before any declaratory judgement by the Church.. A pope who falls into public heresy would cease ipso facto to be a member of the Church; therefore, he would also cease to be head of the Church." Ius Canonicum. Rome: Gregorian 1943. 2:453. 

Udalricus Beste (1946) 

"Not a few canonists teach that, outside of death and abdication, the pontifical dignity can also be lost by falling into certain insanity, which is legally equivalent to death, as well as through manifest and notorious heresy. In the latter case, a pope would automatically fall from his power, and this indeed without the issuance of any sentence, for the first See [i.e., the See of Peter] is judged by no one. 

"The reason is that, by falling into heresy, the pope ceases to be a member of the Church. He who is not a member of a society, obviously, cannot be its head. We can find no example of this in history." Introductio in Codicem. 3rd ed. Collegeville: St. John's Abbey Press 1946. Canon 221.

Thus, a papal document like a motu proprio must come from a valid Pope who has not lost his office. Otherwise, the document is worthless. 

2. If the law is harmful to souls, it must be rejected.

Assuming that the person has authority a law must still be rejected if it is harmful to souls or encourages, promotes, or orders what is sinful. The adage "salus animarum, suprema lex" (the salvation of souls is the supreme law) which is this blog's motto underpins all of this. For this reason, while obedience is to be highly valued, if a superior orders what is sinful, we must disobey his command.

Is the Latin Mass harmful to souls? No. It was and is the Mass of the saints. Are the fruits of the Latin Mass overwhelmingly positive? Yes. And is the fruit of the Novus Ordo evil? Sadly yes. Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre famously said, "The Novus Ordo Missae, even when said with piety and respect for the liturgical rules, is impregnated with the spirit of Protestantism...it bears within it a poison harmful to the Faith." He was right and the rotten fruits of fifty years show us this.

One point which Pope Francis seems to make - that there may not be two forms of the Roman Rite- is a position that I have come to believe as well. These "forms" are not the same Rite and not the same religion. Their spirituality and entire orientation are diametrically opposed - one is centered on man and one is centered on God.

Pope Francis stated in this document that the Novus Ordo Mass is the "lex orandi" of the his Church. Well said. If the "lex orandi" of Francis' church is the Novus Ordo, we know that is not the "lex orandi" of the Catholic Church. The Novus Ordo which is impregnated with the spirit of Protestantism is not the "lex orandi" of the Catholic Church. 

As I mentioned some years ago in Should Traditional Catholics Attend the Novus Ordo, the very nature of the Novus Ordo Sacraments, while not necessarily invalid (but questionable in many instances), bear in them the theology of the New Rite and the Post Vatican II Church.  To frequent these Sacraments is to mix the good, true, and beautiful with that which is present in the New Sacraments: novelty.  By receiving the Novus Ordo Sacraments, you profess your Communion in and with the beliefs of the Novus Ordo Church, even those beliefs that are flawed.

Even those who generally follow the current Pope will admit that serious ambiguities exist in this document, raising questions on their legal effects, ramifications, and implementations. 

For those in this line of thinking, perhaps Bishop Schneider said it best when he stated in part: "In disobeying formally such an unheard-of prohibition of an inalienable patrimony of the Roman Church, one in fact obeys the Catholic Church of all ages and all the Popes who diligently celebrated and commanded the preservation of that venerable and canonized form of the Mass."

Conclusion:

All Catholics should affirm either statement 1 or 2 above. As such, Catholics are not required to obey this document and must actually resist it openly. Traditionis Custodes is to be rejected totally and entirely without reservation. Salus animarum, suprema lex. Long live Tradition. Long live the True Catholic Church. Down with the counterfeit Church of the Modernists.

Reject Traditionis Custodes and direct your money to traditionalist orders and priests who do likewise.

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Solemn Mass & the Divine Office: Tools for Evangelization

Ars Orandi Celebration (Photo by Bartosz Skrzypczak)

“Let nothing be preferred to the Work of God” (Rule of St. Benedict 43:3)

It is no surprise that I have for many years now strongly asserted the need to restore the Church to Her traditional Liturgy, Her soundness of doctrine without ambiguity, and Her devotions and cultural traditions that incorporate Faith in all the rudimentary ways of life. As the years have passed, I have also understood more now than before that to restore the Catholic Faith and all things in Christ - to use the words of St. Pius X - does not mean returning to the year 1962 or even the 1950s. 

The 1962 Liturgical Calendar, while vastly preferable to the 1969 Calendar used in the Novus Ordo, was transitional in nature and reflects a number of modernist elements that aided in the expunging of Catholicism from daily life. Likewise, the reduction in fasting and Holy Days of Obligation, which began several centuries ago, left the Church in the early 1900s with a mere shell of these former glorious customs. The words of Pope Benedict XIV remarking that the weakening of the Lenten fast from its form in the mid-1700s would be to the Church's utter detriment have come true.

For those Catholics who understand that we have lost a pearl of great price, restoring the Church and the work of God to the center of a Catholic's life is of primary importance. While I have strongly advocated for the observance of fasting as practiced even before the weakening changes in the 18th and 19th centuries, I have only recently understood the importance of restoring the public worship of God in grandeur and splendor (i.e. the Sunday Solemn High Mass) to every parish.

It should come as no surprise that the first and foremost way to restore the Catholic Faith is to abolish the Novus Ordo. The Novus Ordo is deficient in its Theology, reflecting a fundamental error that can not be rectified by merely turning the priest ad orientem, adding incense, incorporating Latin chants, and rearranging externals. At its core, the Novus Ordo prayers were written by a committee and they are a rupture from Tradition. The Novus Ordo and the purity of the Catholic Faith are irreconcilable.

But, simply returning to the mentality in America in the mid-1900s to offer only Low Masses is also not the answer. 

But why? As the Baltimore Catechism reminds us: "All Masses are equal in value in themselves and do not differ in worth, but only in the solemnity with which they are celebrated or in the end for which they are offered." While all valid Masses are truly Catholic and pleasing to God (i.e. efficacious since Christ the Lord is truly offered on the altar and the Sacrifice of the Cross is made present again), the varying degrees in solemnity are for our benefit. However, even a Low Mass is preferable to the Novus Ordo since the Mass said according to the older liturgical books is at its core Catholic, it is valid, and it is pleasing to God assuming the priest offers it with reverence and with due care.

The solemnity in which the Mass is offered distinguishes Masses into four categories as the Baltimore Catechism reminds us:

1. When the Mass is sung by a bishop, assisted by a deacon and sub-deacon, it is called a Pontifical Mass; 
2. When it is sung by a priest, assisted by a deacon and sub-deacon, it is called a Solemn Mass; 
3. When sung by a priest without deacon and sub-deacon, it is called a Missa Cantata or High Mass;
4. When the Mass is only read in a low tone it is called a low or private Mass.

In the decades before Vatican II, the trend intensified for parishes to merely offer Low Masses - even on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. The chants that were to accompany such sacred days were lost. The Faithful in the pews were also often robbed of the Divine Office which had ceased to be offered regularly even in cathedrals. Nowadays even in parishes that only offer the Tridentine Mass, it is exceedingly rare to find one that publicly offers the Divine Office in Latin using the traditional Divino Afflatu (pre-1955) liturgical books. Even the updated 1960 Divine Office is rarely ever publicly offered except in a few monasteries.

Solemn High Mass at St James London

Why has the Church ceased to offer Solemn Masses on Sundays and on Holy Days of Obligation? Why have parishes ceased to chant Vespers on such days? In fact, the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1866 in Chapter Three of Title VI "De cultu divino" mandated the singing of vespers on all Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, a law that had been on the books since 1791. 

As an article from America Press Volume 27 written 1922 remarks, the Divine Office, especially Vespers and Compline, along with the Solemn High Mass are powerful not only for the Faithful but for missionary work among Protestants:

"But the most amazing thing of all is to see the way the most valuable instruments that the clergy have are left unused. The evening service, which could be made so attractive, is now usually a hit-or-miss compilation of private devotions made to serve a public need. The rosary, so strange to Protestants in any case, is recited in so rapid a manner that hardly a word is understood by the Protestant who is present. Even Benediction is often given in a slap-dash manner. From all this the Protestant forms the opinion that the great thing about Catholic prayer is to have it over as soon as possible. Can we blame him so much?

"In the average parish High Mass is very seldom sung except at a funeral. Yet many a soul has been converted by a High Mass. Even where High Mass or the Missa Cantata is the Sunday custom, the Proper of the Mass is left unsung and so the real teaching part of the service is not known by the poeple, and never is put before the truth-seeker at all. Yet the Missal is a storehouse of missionary material. What a splendid thing it would be if in every parish church it were possible to take one's Protestant friends to Solemn Mass or Vespers! What could be better adapted to attract Protestants than Compline properly changed? Why is it that with all the wealth of the liturgy at her disposal the Church in this country makes no effort to use it? Even in our cathedrals the Divine Office is not performed, nor a daily High Mass sung. Is it any wonder if the Protestant comes to think that the Catholic is weary of the worship of God? Music, art, the dramatic instinct, all these things could be used to advantage in this country."

There is much value in the Low Mass. I do not intend to dissuade priests from offering the Low Mass early on Sundays and throughout the week. Aside from Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, I prefer the quiet and the stillness of an early morning Low Mass said quietly by a priest as the sun is rising. Years ago I read an article on this very topic by Dr. Peter Kwasniewski where he recounted a trip to a monastery where he experienced the beauty of monks offering private Low Masse in silence at the same time. This is a beautiful thing and this should not cease. In fact, silence is the language of God, as Dr. Kwaniewski has well remarked. However, despite this, he also wrote a fitting piece reflecting on the Problem of the Dominant Low Mass and the Rare High Mass. I would add to his work to also reflect that the rushed prayers of Rosary and Benediction in the evening, the absence of the Divine Office publicly chanted, and the lack of any regular Pontifical High Masses have hurt the missionary efforts of the Church and the ability to strengthen the devotion of lay Catholics.

Priests, please help us restore the sacred. Please offer Solemn High Masses and the Missa Cantata on Sundays and all Holy Days of Obligation (including the many former Holy Days like the feasts of the Apostles). Help us to experience Matins, Lauds, Prime, Vespers, or Compline. Help us hear the chants of the liturgical year, experience the many blessings throughout the year from wine to herbs to throats to candles and cars, and help us observe strict fasting. May all of this help restore in our own homes a Catholic ethos and may we slowly but surely restore our own families, homes, towns, governments, and nations as faithful servants of Christ the King.

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Within the Octave of Our Lord's Nativity

We are now within the Octave of Christmas. This is one of only three Octaves retained in the 1962 Missal and one of only two kept in the Novus Ordo. This Octave, like the many in place up until 1955, is worth understanding so we can better enter into its mysteries and continue living and celebrating them throughout the Octave. 

The Octave of Christmas is unique since the Feasts of St. Stephen, St. John the Apostle, and the Holy Innocents which are celebrated on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th days respectively of the Christmas Octave used to be Holy Days of Obligation. The three are sometimes known as the “Comites Christi " (Companions of Christ). An article from a few years ago on liturgical notes for the Octave is worth reading at the New Liturgical Movement.

The Connection of the feasts around Christmas with the Octave is worth a special study. Canon Aaron B. Huberfeld, Rector of St. Mary’s Oratory in Wausau, Wisconsin shared the following reflection that was published on the New Liturgical Movement. He wrote in part:

No sooner do we conclude the office of Christmas Day than we celebrate the feast of the first Martyr. Why is this so? Does the feast of St Stephen just happen to fall on December 26? Why would the Church turn so quickly from the creche to consider the deacon who was stoned to death after Our Lord's Resurrection? And what about the feasts of the following days? What is their connection with Christmas?

The first three feasts of the Christmas Octave have been observed since antiquity. They were always devoutly referred to as the Three Companions. We begin with St Stephen, murdered at the direction of Saul of Tarsus, whose conversion we shall celebrate one month later. Stephen was a martyr loquendo et moriendo, by his words and by his death. The next day we return to white vestments, for St John is the only Apostle not celebrated in red. He was the only Apostle who did not abandon his Savior at Calvary, and so God decreed that he should be a martyr loquendo sed non moriendo, by his words but not by his death, for he would be miraculously preserved from his execution and end his life in peace on the island of Patmos. Then on December 28 we celebrate Childermas, the feast of the Holy Innocents, those little ones of Bethlehem who, as we pray in the collect of their Mass, bore witness to Christ non loquendo, sed moriendo, not by their words, but by their deaths, for they were killed by raging Herod on the chance that one of them might be the newborn King.

Herods are to be found in every age, for sinful rulers always view the kingdom of Christ as a threat to their earthly power. And so on December 29 we keep the feast of Thomas Becket, the holy bishop of Canterbury who upheld the freedom of the Church from the interference of the state and so was cut down by King Henry II’s men during Christmas Vespers.

On December 30 we take up again the Mass and Office of Christmas, like a beautiful refrain, and then remain in white vestments for the conclusion of the Octave. December 31 is the feast of St Sylvester, celebrated in white because he is the first pope who was not a martyr, bringing the age of martyrs to a close with the peace of Constantine. 

Brief History of Octaves:

By the 8th century, Rome had developed liturgical octaves not only for Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas but also for the Epiphany and the feast of the dedication of a church.

After 1568, when Pope Pius V reduced the number of octaves (since by then they had grown considerably), the number of Octaves was still plentiful.  Octaves were classified into several types. Easter and Pentecost had "specially privileged" octaves, during which no other feast whatsoever could be celebrated. Christmas, Epiphany, and Corpus Christi had "privileged" octaves, during which certain highly ranked feasts might be celebrated. The octaves of other feasts allowed even more feasts to be celebrated.

To reduce the repetition of the same liturgy for several days, Pope Leo XIII and Pope St. Pius X made further distinctions, classifying octaves into three primary types: privileged octaves, common octaves, and simple octaves. Privileged octaves were arranged in a hierarchy of first, second, and third orders. Christmas was a Privileged Octave of the Second Order along with the Octave of Epiphany. Only the Octaves of Easter and Pentecost ranked higher as Privileged Octaves of the First Order.

Collect:

Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that the new birth of Thine only-begotten Son in the flesh may set us free, who are held by the old bondage under the yoke of sin. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God . . .

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A Monthly Catholic Planner For Traditional (1962 Missal) Catholics

This week I had a chance to review The Ultimate Catholic Bundle, a one-of-a-kind Traditional Catholic monthly planner.

The Ultimate Catholic Bundle is a monthly subscription to a PDF file. A new bundle is released each month around the 20th and subscribers have a dedicated place to access the files online. The November bundle for instance was a beautiful designed 31-page file containing a monthly calendar, weekly planner pages, prayer journal pages, a nice novena checklist, a lectio divina guide, a Scripture reading checklist, a Poor Souls Prayer Journal, and quite a few pieces of holy art including 3 coloring pages. 

It's very nice to see a Traditional Catholic Planner, as most Catholic planners will only follow the Novus Ordo's 1969 calendar. While I would prefer to see the pre-1955 calendar kept, the 1962 calendar is very close (aside from a few feast deletions, removed octaves, and suppressed vigils). I certainly do think that anyone who prefers the pre-1955 calendar could still use this monthly bundle with only a handful of changes likely required each month.

The ability to write prayer intentions in various categories (e.g. thanksgiving, repentance, protection, etc) in addition to tracking novenas is something that I have not seen in any other Catholic planner that I have tried.

There is a lot of value in using a planner. I have used one for many years. This one features nice notes and to-do list sections that incorporate our Catholic faith. For instance, in the first picture above, you can see a reminder to pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory. That is something you will never find in a standard planner sold by a secular office supply store.

And besides all of these benefits, it is a beautifully designed work. The font, the spacing, the artwork, and the illustrations all exude true beauty. The only way to really develop the habit of using and benefiting from a planner is to use one that you enjoy using. And something this beautiful is inspiring and motivating to use. 

I am happy to recommend this planner after having tried out the November edition. If you are in the market for a planner and are looking to support a Catholic business, please give The Ultimate Catholic Bundle a close look. By supporting fellow small businesses owned by Catholics, we help support one another and do good (cf. Galatians 6:10). 

Lastly, anyone who is interested in signing up may take 50% off of their first-month bundle by using discount code BLOG50.

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The Proper Mass of St. John Vianney

The Feast of St. John Vianney has moved around in the 20th century. Before 1955, it was kept on August 9 before moving to August 8th in the 1962 Missal and then being swapped with St. Dominic on August 4th in the Novus Ordo.

In the Angelus Press Missal on page 1346, the Mass said for his feastday indicates it is simply the Mass Os justi of a Confessor with only a proper collect. Nothing special. But in the back of the missal on page 1675 in the section for Masses said "in some places and congregations" (pro aliquibus locis) there is a special Mass for St. John Vianney. While using the special collect already mentioned, it lists a completely unique set of propers. 

After a few years of searching, I determined the source of these special propers, which are not mentioned in the missal's notes like most other pro aliquibus locis propers.

This proper mass was granted to all French dioceses on April 12, 1905. It is also in use chez the Franciscans. Corpus Christ Watershed has a PDF of a Franciscan supplement to the Gradual containing this Mass. Proper antiphons for the Benedictus and Magnificat were also assigned to the feast St John Vianney for France. Here is a 1960 French supplement to the Breviary.

I sincerely hope more places use these beautiful propers in honor of the patron saint of parish priests, the great St. John Vianney. May he intercede for all of the wayward, persecuted, tempted, and suffering priests today.

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Why You Should NOT Attend the Novus Ordo

Sometimes I hear people ask the question of whether they can or should attend the Novus Ordo if the Tridentine Mass is not accessible locally. The closest Mass may be more than an hour's drive away. Or someone may be on vacation and there is no Tridentine Mass in the local area - or even in the country. What should someone do? Should they attend the Novus Ordo instead, even though they often attend the Tridentine Mass? Alternatively, I have heard some people ask whether it would be better to attend Eucharistic Adoration instead of the Novus Ordo Mass during the week.

After having attended the Tridentine Mass exclusively now for 10 years, and after having left the Novus Ordo seminary after two years in it, I do not hesitate to say that no one is bound to attend (or should attend) the Novus Ordo.

Why such a dramatic view that the Novus Ordo should never be attended? The Novus Ordo is unfortunately impregnated with the very spirit of Protestantism. It is harmful to the Faith, even when exterior acts of reverence are inserted into it.

I'd like to briefly outline why I would encourage every Catholic to leave the Novus Ordo behind and cease attending it, promoting it, or donating to it.

1. The Novus Ordo Prayers are Protestant at the Core

Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre famously remarked, "The Novus Ordo Missae, even when said with piety and respect for the liturgical rules, ...is impregnated with the spirit of Protestantism. It bears within it a poison harmful to the faith." Simply put, every Novus Ordo is harmful to one's faith. Even though it is possible for God to work good out of evil and lead to the Truth even those in false religions or heretical denominations, this does not make the Novus Ordo as praiseworthy, as honoring, or as fitting for God. Rather, the defects in the Novus Ordo are not merely external but intrinsic in the very prayers created for the New Rite of Mass.

The Holy Mass is the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. The purpose of Mass is to be present at the Sacrifice of Christ that is made present again through the priesthood of Jesus Christ.  We worship God at Mass in the manner which He has established for His worship. We are present at Calvary.  Rather than merely remembering the life and death of Christ, we are present at it and partake of its eternal fruits which flow to us from the altar and during the Canon when the priest stands in the place of Christ and offers the Eternal Victim on the Altar to God.  We can further receive grace by partaking of the Holy Eucharist if we are Catholics in the state of grace. This view of the Mass as a propitiatory Sacrifice has been lost in the Novus Ordo and replaced by notions of community, where the priest is a presider, and many Catholics falsely view receiving Holy Communion as the purpose of going to Mass, rather than being present at the august sacrifice of the Eternal Victim.

As Archbishop Lefebvre noted in Chapter 4 of the Open Letter to Confused Catholics, the changes to the Mass in the offertory, the sermon, the canon, and elsewhere mimic the changes sought by Martin Luther! They are in their very core protestant, especially for instance in the newly created prayers of the Offertory which bear no similarity to the Offertory in the Tridentine Mass.

Of course, while any validly ordained priest may consecrate bread and wine using the words of consecration, even while omitting the rest of the Mass (which is done at times in cases of necessity for instance by priests who are imprisoned and can only smuggle in a small piece of bread and a small amount of wine), this is not the same as promoting and saying protestantized prayers. I do not hold the Novus Ordo lacking merely because it does not have as many beautiful prayers. I hold it as protestantized because the prayers which are a part of it were written with the intention of appealing to protestants.

Jean Guitton, an intimate friend of Paul VI wrote: “The intention of Pope Paul VI with regard to what is commonly called the [New] Mass, was to reform the Catholic liturgy in such a way that it should almost coincide with the Protestant liturgy. There was with Pope Paul VI an ecumenical intention to remove, or, at least to correct, or, at least to relax, what was too Catholic in the traditional sense in the Mass and, I repeat, to get the Catholic Mass closer to the Calvinist Mass.” And we know that the Calvinists - and any protestants for that matter - do not have a valid rite of Mass and do not confect the Holy Eucharist.

2. The Novus Ordo was Formed Under the Error of Archeologism

Those who encourage or at least tolerate the Novus Ordo often do so by saying that Paul VI sought for the Church to merely return to a more ancient manner of saying the Mass. This view is actually the error of Archeologism as Fr. Peter Scott explains:

"Pius XII inveighs against the error of those who would want to use the pretence of antiquity to bring
about changes in the Church’s prayers and ceremonies: “It is neither wise nor laudable to reduce
everything to antiquity by every possible device” (§ 62), for “ancient usage must not be esteemed
more suitable and proper, either in its own right or in its significance for later times and new
situations, on the simple ground that it carries the savor and aroma of antiquity” (§61). This is the
error of Archeologism, namely that because something is older it is necessarily better, and it denies
that the development of liturgical rites over the centuries owes its “inspiration to the Holy Spirit,
Who assists the Church in every age”. (Ib.)

"This error of those who try to justify liturgical revolution by ancient practices is clearly condemned
by the Pope: “The temerity and daring of those who introduce novel liturgical practices, or call for
the revival of obsolete rites out of harmony with prevailing laws and rubrics, deserve severe
reproof” (§ 59). Here are some of the examples of archeologism listed by the Pope:

• Replacement of Latin by the vernacular in the august Eucharistic Sacrifice
• Transferral of feast days to Sundays
• Deletion from the liturgy of some texts of the Old Testament
• Replacement of the altar by a table – “one would be straying from the straight path were he
• to wish the altar restored to its primitive table-form” (§ 62)
• Excluding black as a liturgical color
• Eliminating the use of sacred statues and images
• Crucifixes not showing Christ’s suffering (Risen Christ)

"It is interesting to note that twenty years later every single one of these examples of abuses
condemned by Pope Pius XII had been incorporated into the New Mass, always under the pretence
that it is returning to old things. Other examples Pius XII did not mention are the procession for the
presentation of the gifts and the Kiss of peace for the laity, the abolition of the prayers at the foot of
the altar, the elimination of “mystery of faith” from the words of consecration, the elimination of
the Roman Canon (although it is the truly oldest part of the Mass), many feast of saints, the Last
Gospel and the prayers after Mass."

Even if we claim that Paul VI imposed the Novus Ordo under good intentions, they are still nevertheless imbued with archeologism. And this is not just "bad." It is heretical as Fr. Scott further explains:

"Pius XII further explains that this“exaggerated and senseless antiquarianism”(§64) is not new,but derives from the illegal Council of Pistoia, condemned by Pope Pius VI in 1794.  Due protestant influence this false council wanted to promote a return to the simplicity of the earlyChurch, despising later developments. Its principle is found in the first proposition, which Pius VIcondemned as heretical: “In these latter times there has been spread a general obscuring of the more important truths pertaining to religion, which are the basis of faith and of the moral teachings of Jesus Christ”(Db 1501). This is precisely the reasoning of the modernists, when they want to do away with devotions to the Sacred Heart, to the Blessed Virgin, to the Blessed Sacrament, to the saints. Yet it is condemned as heretical."

3. The Novus Ordo's Fruits are Manifestly Rotten

We do know from first-hand experience, the fruits that have followed Vatican II, the New Mass, Communion in the Hand, and the near elimination of fasting and abstinence. Christ, Himself said, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. By their fruits you shall know them" (Matthew 7:15-16). What are these fruits? These are the fruits as shown by the Old Evangelization Website:

The results are grim beyond the statistics shown above. Only 30% of Americans who were raised Catholic are still practicing, and 10% of all adults in America are ex-Catholics.

Turning again to the words of Archbishop Lefebvre, who saw firsthand the effect of the Novus Ordo on the African continent and how it eroded the successful work that Catholic missionaries had done there, he writes:

"Furthermore it can be said without any exaggeration whatsoever, that the majority of Masses celebrated without altar stones, with common vessels, leavened bread, with the introduction of profane words into the very body of the Canon, etc., are sacrilegious, and they prevent faith by diminishing it. The desacralization is such that these Masses can come to lose their supernatural character, “the mystery of faith,” and become no more than acts of natural religion. 

"Your perplexity takes perhaps the following form: may I assist at a sacrilegious Mass which is nevertheless valid, in the absence of any other, in order to satisfy my Sunday obligation? The answer is simple: these Masses cannot be the object of an obligation; we must moreover apply to them the rules of moral theology and canon law as regards the participation or the attendance at an action which endan- gers the faith or may be sacrilegious."

Conclusion

For those who are unable to attend a Tridentine Mass on Sundays and Holy Days, it is better to pray the Rosary, sanctify the day by abstaining from servile works, read the prayers of the Missal, listen to good sermons, perform works of charity, and even to watch a live stream of the Mass.

I do not hold any animosity toward those who do go to the Novus Ordo through mere ignorance. The truth is that the vast majority of Catholics do not know of the Tridentine Mass or at least do not view it as important. They do not see the errors in the New Church and have likely been told to avoid the Latin Mass or at least the SSPX or groups more traditional than them. These people may even view the FSSP for instance as traditional enough and posit them as an ideal, claiming falsely that the SSPX is schismatic (which it is not).

 

The changes to the Catholic Church in the past fifty years have been disastrous and that is in a significant part due to the imposition of the Novus Ordo. As I mentioned in my article 20 Immediate Actions to End the Protestantization of the Catholic Church, the Restoration of the Traditional Latin Mass - the Mass of All Times - in all Latin Rite parishes and the abolition of the 1969 Rite of Mass known as the Novus Ordo is necessary.

Please join me in praying for the Restoration of the Roman Mass.

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Fast & Abstinence on the Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul

Commemoration (1954 Calendar): June 28

The Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul, like the vigils of the other apostles which used to be days of fasting and preparation, has fallen by the wayside after the changes to the Church's liturgical life even before Vatican II. This particular day of fasting is one of the few remnants of the Apostles Fast, which was instituted by Pope St. Leo the Great in 461.

Part of the reason for preparation was on account of the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul being a Universal Holy Day of Obligation in many places. In fact, all of the feasts of the Apostles were Holy Days of Obligation on the Universal Calendar from 932 AD - as cited by Father Weiser on page 279 in his "Christian Feasts and Customs" - to 1911. However, most localities did not observe all of these feastdays as Holy Days. The Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul was the most commonly observed Holy Day among the feasts of the apostles.

At the time of America's formation, the holydays of obligation, in addition to every Sunday, were as follows for the new country: the feasts of Christmas, Circumcision, Epiphany, Annunciation, Easter Monday, Ascension, Whitsun Monday, Corpus Christi, Ss. Peter and Paul, Assumption, and All Saints. The fasting days were the Ember Days of each of the seasons; the forty days Lent; Wednesdays and Fridays in Advent; and the vigils of Christmas, Pentecost, Ss Peter and Paul, and All Saints. Abstinence was required on days of fasting as well as Fridays and Saturdays throughout the year. Notice, the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul as well as the Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul on the list.

The Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul ceased being a fast day in America by 1842. Pope Gregory XVI in 1837 dispensed all the dioceses then in the United States from the obligation as to Easter Monday and Whitsun Monday and in 1840 from that of the feast of St Peter and St Paul and the same Sovereign Pontiff relieved the faithful from the fast on Wednesdays in Advent.

Yet it remained as a Holy Day in many other places. Even after the significant changes made by Pope St. Pius X to the list of Holy Days in 1911, Ss. Peter and Paul remained a Holy Day of Obligation in the Universal Church, though it was not reestablished as such in the United States: "Where, however, any of the above feasts has been abolished or transferred, the new legislation is not effective. In the United States consequently the Epiphany and the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul are not days of precept" (Catholic Encyclopedia).

In Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, and Canada the Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul remained a day of fasting and abstinence up until the 1917 Code of Canon law. In 1902, the Holy Father granted a special dispensation for Catholics in England from fasting on the Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul in honor of the coronation of King Edward VII, illustrating historical proof of its observance in the early part of the 20th century.

Per the 1917 Code, fasting and abstinence were not observed should a vigil fall on a Sunday as stated in the code: "If a vigil that is a fast day falls on a Sunday the fast is not to be anticipated on Saturday, but is dropped altogether that year." However, beforehand, the fast was observed to the Saturday previous. As a result, in years when the Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul (June 28th) falls on a Sunday, we can observe the fast and abstinence on Saturday. Other years, we can voluntarily observe June 28th as a day of fasting and abstinence to prepare for the Feast in honor of Ss. Peter and Paul.

The wisdom of Dom Gueranger, written in the late 1800s, can apply to us even today:

Let us, then, recollect ourselves, preparing our hearts in union with holy Church, by faithfully observing this vigil.  When the obligation of thus keeping up certain days of preparation previous to the festivals is strictly maintained by a people, it is a sign that Faith is still living amongst them; it proves that they understand the greatness of that which the holy liturgy proposes to their homage.  Christians in the West, we who make the glory of Saints Peter and Paul our boast, let us remember the Lent in honour of the Apostles begun by Greek schismatics on the close of the Paschal solemnities, and continued up to this day.  The contrast between them and ourselves will be of a nature to stir softness and ingratitude hold too large a share.  If certain concessions have, for grave reasons, been reluctantly made by the Church, so that the fast of this vigil is not longer observed, let us see therein a double motive for holding fast to her precious Tradition.  Let us make up by fervor, thanksgiving and love, for the severity lacking in our observance, which is yet still maintained by so many Churches notwithstanding their schismatic separation from Rome.

While the Vigils of the other Apostles were removed by Pope Pius XII in 1955, the Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul remained and is preserved in the 1962 Missal. At the time of the formation of the Tridentine Calendar, the Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul was commemorated on June 28th as it fell on the Feast of St. Leo II. In 1921, the Feast of St. Leo II was moved to July 3rd, and St. Irenaeus was added to the Universal Calendar on June 28th; the Vigil of Ss. Peter and Paul remained commemorated. However, in 1960, St. Irenaeus was moved to July 3rd, and St. Leo II disappeared from the Calendar to free up the 28th entirely for the Vigil. Sadly, the vigil disappeared altogether in the Novus Ordo 1969 Calendar. Therefore, how the Vigil is celebrated or commemorated on June 28th will depend on the year of the Missal. You can read more about the liturgical feasts on June 28th at the New Liturgical Movement.

Collect:

O Almighty God, let no disturbance upset us, for You have established us upon the rock of Your apostles. Through our Lord . . .

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St. Gregory Barbarigo

In the 1962 Missal, the Feast of St. Gregory Barbarigo falls on June 17th. Previously, this day was a feria and often falls during the Octave of Corpus Christi or the Octave of the Sacred Heart. St. Gregory Barbarigo was Italian Cardinal Archbishop of Padua renowned for giving away his own household goods for the relief of the poor, and for traveling to every village throughout his diocese to teach and preach.

Matins Reading from the 1961 Breviary:

Gregory Barbarigo, born at Venice of a very old family, obtained his degree in Canon and Civil Law Magna cum Laude at the college of Padua. While attending the peace congress of Muenster at the age of nineteen, he met the papal legate Fabio Chigi, and with his encouragement decided to became an ecclesiastic, and was admitted to holy orders. When Fabio Chigi became pope under the name of Alexander VII, he appointed Gregory bishop of Bergamo, and soon raised him to the college of Cardinals, transferring his to the See of Padua. In entering upon his episcopal duties, he strove to model himself upon St. Charles Borromeo. It was his lifelong endeavor to extirpate vices and cultivate virtues in obedience, to the warnings and decrees of the sacred synod of Trent. In both dioceses he enlarged the seminaries. At Padua especially he improved the library, and the press, which published books for distribution among the peoples of the Near East. He strenuously fostered Catechetical instruction and zealously traveled to every village of the diocese to teach and preach. He was distinguished for his works of charity and the holiness of his life. So generous was he to the needy and poor, that he even give away his household goods, his clothes and his bed to help them. Finally, after a brief illness, he fell asleep peacefully in the Lord on June 18, 1697. Renowned for his merits and his virtues, he was inscribed among the Blessed by Clement XIII and among the Saints by John XXIII.

St. Barbarigo's beatification was celebrated in 1761 under Pope Clement XIII, while Pope John XXIII canonized the late cardinal in 1960. John XXIII held Barbarigo as a great role model and fostered a devotion to him since the pope had hailed from Bergamo. His liturgical feast was affixed to 17 June and remains so in the General Roman Calendar of 1960 celebrated by Traditional Catholic priests who keep the 1962 Missal. In 1969, his feast was moved to 18 June as part of the General Roman Calendar of 1969, where it remains for priests who offer the Novus Ordo.

Collect:

O God, who willed that Blessed Gregory, Your Confessor and Bishop, be renowned for the care of his flock and compassion for the poor; favorably grant that we who honor his merits may imitate the example of his charity. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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