“Two Forms of One Roman Rite”

      That’s how the Pope described the status of both the Novus Ordo (the post Vatican II Mass) and the Traditional Latin Mass (of the 1962 Missal).  Thus he agilely dealt with the false claim of the past that the Latin Mass had been “abrogated,” a canonical impossibility:  no one would have the authority to do such a thing, not even the Pope.  Now that has been clarified.

      There were, though, some very interesting exceptions.  England, for example, received from Pope Paul VI a national indult to keep the traditional Mass.  The Primate of England at the time was the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, John Carmel Heenan, who procured the indult for his country, claiming that the new Mass would alienate men.  It seemed, rather, to alienate a lot of people, mostly the laity.  The indult did not survive, though, because the majority of the English bishops and priests were against it. It was, by and large, a clerical choice.

      At that time much the same situation existed in America:  most opposition to the new Mass came from the laity, while a majority of bishops and priests endorsed it.  This seems, I know, very strange now.  These days many priests of the younger generation are very much in favor of the old Mass, while a significant number of the laity, especially the older laity, prefer the new Mass.  Has the Pope thrown us a bone that will only divide and cause rancor?  That certainly is not his intention, obviously.  Rather, this is his decision to come to honesty about the dreadful situation that has been going on since 1970, and that is that somehow the Church (in her earthly, institutional leadership) could possibly do away with the traditional Roman Rite, whose history in the Church’s worship stretches back by a least a millennium.  Indeed, the Mass of the 1962 Missal (the last year it was slightly revised by Pope John XXIII) is recognizably present in the Mass of Pope Gregory the Great (sixth century).  And even when the traditional Latin Mass was codified by Pope St. Pius V (sixteenth century), the Holy Father exempted any western rite that could be proved venerable of age by a least 200 years, thus retaining the Mozarabic Rite in Spain, the Ambrosian Rite of north Italy, and a number of rites of religious orders, including the Dominican and Carmelite Rites.  The “rites” that were abrogated at that time were in reality only local varieties of the Roman Rite itself. 

      For better or worse – I firmly believe for the better – we have two forms of one Roman Rite, the ordinary (the modern form) and the extraordinary (the traditional form).  There is, the Pope is telling us, room for both.  Why is this for the better?  Well, again, it is a correction of the mistake of ever having considered the old Mass “abrogated.”  Secondly, there are numerous Catholics desirous of assisting at the old Mass.  Thirdly, Catholicism, by its very nature, is only healthy when in touch with its tradition and developing and adapting itself in line with that tradition.  And finally, and most controversially, the modern Mass needs help, for it has, in some degree, splintered into any number of “sub-rites,” the same Rite celebrated in vastly different fashions, most often after the whims of the priest-celebrant himself.  This becomes obvious, I’ve noticed, when a large number of priests concelebrate one Mass, and many do not know or bother about the proper rubrics.  Or, when, say, parishioners of this parish travel to another diocese and are scolded by a priest for kneeling during the Eucharistic Prayer:  “that is not our custom in this parish,” they are informed; but no single parish has any authority or legitimate “custom” that is at variance with the clear instruction given in the liturgical norms of the new Mass.  Priests who initiate such departures from the norms are shamefully breaking the oath they swore on the Gospels before God and His people to uphold all the teachings of the Church and her ecclesiastical norms, including those that are liturgical.  This is simply a matter of integrity.

      The old Mass is often criticized for being “too rubrical,” and all the rules and regulations can seem, to the celebrant, to be rather complicated.  But even with the vastly simplified rubrics of the new Mass, we still find priests unable or unwilling to restrain themselves within the boundaries given by the Church.  (Thus, the frequent criticism of the new Mass that it is too “priest-centered.”)  This has caused about as much dissension and division in the Church than even the introduction of the new Mass itself over thirty years ago.  The return of the traditional Mass – the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite – will supply, I believe, a kind of standard and influence needed to restore some very much needed uniformity.  Formlessness, which we now have in many places, has never been a principle of Catholic liturgy. 

      There are those, I realize, who seem to enjoy the “creativity,” personal antics and performance techniques of some priest-celebrants.  But this is offensive to other Catholics.  Where then is ground for arbitration between the two?  It can only be the norms given to us by the Church.  This is what I mean by a good measure of uniformity.  That’s always been the Catholic way.  Rebellion against the Church’s norms, though touted as a way of “enriching” the Mass and attracting more people, especially young people, has been simultaneous with a steep drop in Mass attendance.  Time to try Tradition again!

      So, we now have two forms of one Rite.  The new Mass is normative, yes, and will, obviously, be retained, and retained as the norm.  But there is freedom now for the offering of the Mass in the extraordinary form.  As of this writing, I will be in Charlotte this Wednesday for an initiatory meeting for the learning of the old Mass and then studying and practicing it for a few days in Hickory this December.  How and when the old Mass will be offered at St. Mary’s is still something for us to work out.  But I believe the Pope is right:  there is room for both.  And our good Bishop agrees and has been most generous in supplying opportunities for priests of this diocese to learn the extraordinary form.  A real openness of mind is required of all of us.  After all, both forms are the same in this:  they are the re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross and His offering to us His Body and Blood to nourish His life within us.  Pax Domini vobiscum!