Diversity and Unity in Liturgy

This was posted in July of 2007. I am bringing it over from my other blog. 

“Take and Eat”
We can almost imagine being there with the apostles as Jesus gave them his Body and Blood for the first time at the Last Supper - the First Mass - because He does the same for us, each time we receive Holy Communion.

Just as Our Lord made the apostles into His first bishops and priests, they in turn ordained and consecrated more bishops and priests, taking the Holy Mass far and wide into many lands with many differing cultures.

In the midst of so many different cultures, there arose many differences in the ways the Mass was offered. Is it really the same Mass everywhere? Does each rite of the Mass have the marks of the Catholic Church: one, holy, Catholic (or universal), and apostolic?

Regardless of the differences in ceremonies and prayers, the Mass has always remained the same in essence.  Everywhere that there is the Mass, there is the Sacrifice of Calvary and there is the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Each Mass has the same three principal parts: the offering of the bread and wine; followed by the consecration of the bread and wine into the Precious Body and Blood of Our Divine Lord; followed by the partaking of Holy Communion.

Differences in Culture
In some cultures, people showed reverence by kneeling. In other cultures, they showed reverence by standing. Ways of approaching God and the world differed. As the Church spread throughout the world, the bishops took into consideration the different customs and ways of the people, and thus the different rites of the Mass came to have somewhat different prayers and ceremonies.

In the East, there arose the Greek rite, the Russian rite, the Ukrainian rite, and more. After the Great Schism, some of the churches of the Eastern rites remained faithful to the Holy Father and united with Rome.

The Mass of Pope St. Pius V
In the West, through the first fifteen centuries of the Church, the ceremonies and words of the Mass became more and more diverse. Then Pope Saint Pius V appointed learned men to study the ancient ceremonies and prayers, and to rewrite the Roman Missal, bringing unity to the words and ceremonies of the Mass. In 1570, he commanded this Missal to be printed and published, and to be the only Missal in use…except for those rites that had been in use for two hundred years or more, principally the Eastern Catholic rites.

In 1962, Pope John XXIII added the name of St. Joseph to the Roman rite Mass, and set down some new guidelines for the liturgical year.

The Mass of Pope Paul VI
In 1969, after Vatican Council II, Pope Paul VI made major changes to the Roman rite Mass, changing ceremonies and the wording of many of the prayers, and allowing the Mass to be offered in the language of the people.

Since the introduction of the Mass of Pope Paul VI, the “old Latin” Mass of Pope Pius V has continued to be offered by retired priests, as well as by some groups of priests both inside and outside the Catholic Church. In the 1980’s, an Indult was granted by Pope John Paul II, authorizing bishops to provide for a Tridentine Latin Mass in their diocese for those who prefer it.


Motu Proprio
Now that Pope Benedict has issued his Summorum Pontificum, there will be greater opportunity for the expansion of the Mass of Pope Pius V, for those who are particularly drawn to worship God through its venerable prayers and ceremonies.

The Four Marks
The Mass, in every form that the Popes have approved, has the four marks of the Church.

It is one: one Sacrifice and one Sacrament, offered in union with the one Holy Father.

Each Mass is holy and produces the means of holiness for its members, even producing saints. We have the great Saint John Chrysostom, the golden-tongued orator, an early Greek Father of the Church. We have St. John Bosco, the gentle but zealous apostle to youth, who celebrated the Tridentine Mass of Pope St. Pius V.  In our own time, we have Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who ministered to Jesus in the poorest of the poor, who attended the Mass of Pope Paul VI.

The Mass is Catholic or universal, reaching out to people everywhere and in all ages, striving to reach different people in the ways that they are best able to bring their hearts and minds to the worship and love of Almighty God.

The Mass, in every rite, is apostolic, having been passed down to us in all its essentials from the apostles, who received it from Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Elements of the Mass

I am bringing this over from the archives of my other blog. 

I wrote it in July of 2007. 

The context of the time was the issuing of an Apostolic Letter by Pope Benedict XVI on the celebration of the Roman Rite according to the Missal of 1962. 

Having attended the traditional Mass most of my life, along with an Eastern rite Catholic Mass, I wanted to share some of the comparisons I had recently made.

A COMPARISON OF SOME OF THE ELEMENTS OF THE DIFFERENT MASSES

Key:
1=Parish mass of Pope Paul VI
(from Seasonal Missalette, April 15 to August 11, 2007, World Library Publications)
2=Tridentine Mass of Pope St. Pius V/Blessed John XXIII
(from St. Andrew Daily Missal, 1962.)
3=Greek Divine Liturgy
(from My Prayer Book, Divine Services, Prayers and Hymns for the American Catholics of the Greek (Slavonic) Rite, 1962.)

Sorrow for Sins
1-Penitential Rite followed by Kyrie
2-Confiteor followed by Kyrie
3-Petition: For…the pardon and remission of our sins and transgressions, let us implore the Lord. Grant it, O Lord.

Gloria
1-Glory to God in the highest and peace to His people on earth…
2-Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace to men of good will…
3-Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever. Amen. O, only begotten Son and Word of God…


Epistle

Gospel

Profession of Faith – Nicene Creed

Offertory
1-Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life. Blessed be God for ever. Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. It will become for us our spiritual drink. Blessed be God for ever. Pray, brethren, that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God the almighty Father. May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and good of His name, for our good, and the good of all His Church.
2-O God, who in a wonderful manner didst create and ennoble human nature, and still more wonderfully hast renewed it; grant that by the mystery of this water and wine, we may be made partakers of His divinity who vouchsafed to become partaker of our humanity, Jesus Christ They son, our Lord… Brethren, pray that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father almighty. May the Lord receive the sacrifice at your hands, to the praise and glory of His name, to our own benefit, and to that of all His holy Church.
3-That we may elevate the King of all, invisibly borne in triumph by the Angelic choirs. Alleluia…For the precious gifts offered, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy.


Preface
1-Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
2-Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is meet and just…
3-Let us lift up our hearts. We have them lifted to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord. It is meet and just to adore the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the holy, consubstantial and indivisible Trinity.

Holy, Holy, Holy
1-Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power, God of might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.
2-Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
3-Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of hosts, Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who cometh in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest.


Consecration

Our Father

Preparation for Holy Communion
1-This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper. Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.
2-Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace…Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof; say but the word and my soul shall be healed.
3-With fear of God and with faith approach. Blessed is He who cometh in the name of the Lord; God is the Lord and hath appeared to us.

Reception of Holy Communion

Blessing

The Mass is the Mass

As some of you know, I'm a convert, having come to the Catholic Church at the age of 18, via a pseudo-Catholic cult. Finding my way back to the real Fold was an interesting journey.

Along the way, I acquired some ideas that I no longer hold. One of those was the concept that the new Mass (changed in the sixties) was inferior, and worse, not good and something to avoid attending at all costs.

I don't believe that anymore, and I am so delighted now - every time I am able to attend either the traditional Mass or the mainstream Mass (sometimes called the "new Mass").

So when I read this blog post tonight at Venite Missa Est, I really enjoyed it. You can read it here (scroll down to In Defense of Novus Ordo Missae).

What My Husband Does

When Ed isn't working or spending time with the family, he's practising his Gregorian chant. He sings often at the traditional Latin Mass at historic St. Alphonsus in Baltimore, where there has been an Indult for years now.

"Actually," says Ed, "the Mass is offered at St. Alphonsus every Sunday in both the traditional and the new rite, so nothing at all had to be changed with the advent of Motu Proprio."

At this blog, you can see pictures and scroll down to a video, where you can hear him and others singing at a Latin Mass at St. Rita's of Alexandria, Virginia, probably the first offered there since the Summorum Pontificum went into effect.

What to Call the Summorum Pontificum Mass

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf has a poll going at his blog until October 4, if you'd like to head on over and register your opinion. The question? Whaddya call this Mass?
The choices:

Extraordinary form/use
Traditional Latin Mass
Tridentine Mass

As far as I know, this isn't something that's going to Rome or anything. But hearing others' ideas helps to give us ideas on how better to express ourselves. So far the one that's in the lead is the one I think easiest to explain to people what I'm talking about. Can you guess which one that is? Hop on over and see which one is leading by clicking here.



Hat tip to Sean at The Blue Boar.

Summorun Pontificum Contact Database

What a great idea! Someone has started a database to bring together the laity who want the Tridentine Latin Mass and the priests who would like to offer it.



Hat tip to Nancy.

"But I Don't Know Latin"

Have you perhaps heard about the Summorum Pontificum, which will make the Tridentine Mass more available, and thought: That's all very interesting, "but I don't know Latin". Not to worry. The Latin Missals have the Latin and English side by side.

Here is a an affordable Latin-English Missal that has just been produced by Roman Catholic Books. It doesn't include the full set of Sunday readings. But it does have the ordinary of the Mass for Sunday, and the full Requiem and Nuptial Masses. (For anyone for whom that last sentence was "Greek", the "ordinary" is the words and ceremonies that occur at every Mass, in other words all except the prayers that change with the Church year. A "Requiem Mass" is a Mass for someone who has died, and a "Nuptial Mass" is a Mass offered with a wedding.)

This book has 20 full-color illustrations by masters, and yet costs only $8.95.



Hat tip to Nancy Brown.

Summorum Pontificum Takes Effect Today

Today is the day that the Motu Proprio: Summorum Pontificum goes into effect! This evening my husband is singing at historic St. Alphonsus Church in downtown Baltimore where St. John Neumann and Blessed Francis Seelos were once pastors (at different times). I was hoping to be there tonight, but wasn't able to make it.

I wrote two posts on the subject when the motu proprio first came out. If you didn't read them then, you can find them here.

Sean P. Daily at his The Blue Boar blog has also written some of his posts today on the subject of the Summorum Pontificum.

The Tridentine Latin Mass is a part of our heritage, having been the Mass of the Latin rite Church for many centuries, offered and attended by countless saints, full of beauty.

Thank you, Holy Father. Thank you, Holy Spirit.

A Beautiful Website for the Beautiful Mass of the Motu Proprio

I couldn't believe how beautiful the background of this website is - with it's parchment paper, script and shield. The theme is carried out beautifully throughout. More importantly, what a wonderful service they are providing! The Canons Regular of St. John Cantius, in Illinois, have fashioned this website for the express purpose of teaching the Latin Mass, the Missal of 1962, which has been encouraged by our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in his Motu Proprio.

If you know any priests who are saying, "I'd like to offer the Tridentine Mass, but I don't know how," here's something you can share with them. All the rubrics (the details of the ceremonies) are explained, beautifully. There is rich text, describing all the details of the Mass. There is also a sample liturgy (low Mass of Trinity Sunday), where you can choose to view a series of slides (gallery) or a video. And they have more planned for the future.

You will want to visit this website, if only so you can see its beauty.



HT: Jean at Catholic Fire.