For the first time since the Second Vatican Council, a Pontifical Solemn Mass in Latin was celebrated by a bishop at St. James Cathedral-Basilica, Downtown Brooklyn (See The Edior’s Space, Page 12).
Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Secretary of the Bishops Conference of Kazakhstan, was the celebrant of the Jan. 5 liturgy sponsored by the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny, which advocates for the return of traditional rites.
Music for the liturgy was provided by Schola Cantorum of St. Mary’s Church, Norwalk, Conn., and members of St. Mary’s Student Schola, directed by David J. Hughes.
About 300 people attended the Mass which lasted two hours and 20 minutes and was carried live on NET television.
Is there a wide and generous application called for by Pope John Paul II — I see no evidence of that in the Brooklyn Diocese. What is the problem?
Benedict XVI states:
§ 3 For faithful and priests who request it, the pastor should also allow celebrations in this extraordinary form for special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations, e.g. pilgrimages.
Art. 5. § 1 In parishes, where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962, and ensure that the welfare of these faithful harmonises with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the guidance of the bishop in accordance with canon 392, avoiding discord and favouring the unity of the whole Church.
§ 2 Celebration in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII may take place on working days; while on Sundays and feast days one such celebration may also be held.
§ 4 Priests who use the Missal of Bl. John XXIII must be qualified to do so and not juridically impeded.
§ 5 In churches that are not parish or conventual churches, it is the duty of the Rector of the church to grant the above permission.
Art. 6. In Masses celebrated in the presence of the people in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII, the readings may be given in the vernacular, using editions recognised by the Apostolic See.
Art. 7. If a group of lay faithful, as mentioned in art. 5 õ 1, has not obtained satisfaction to their requests from the pastor, they should inform the diocesan bishop. The bishop is strongly requested to satisfy their wishes. If he cannot arrange for such celebration to take place, the matter should be referred to the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”.
John Paul II states:
“By virtue of my Apostolic Authority I Decree … respect must everywhere be shown for the feelings of those who are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition, by a wide and generous application of the directives already issued some time ago by the Apostolic See, for the use of the Roman Missal … of 1962.”
Perhaps if local parishes tried this instead of the ridiculous “folk masses” complete with guitars, bass and drums the church would be more than half filled. The emptiness of the folk mass and the other 28 minute quickie masses have generally lost their appeal. The local Bishops are hindering the expansion of the Latin mass while clinging to the failed initiatives of Vatican 2!~
Not to mention the lack of pastoral concern at the time of the introduction of the “New Mass” in 1970 — and a lot of people were upset at that time.
If it wasn’t for Archbishop Lefebvre who forced the issue of the Traditional Latin Mass, these “Extraordinary Rite” Latin Mass would never have been allowed by Rome.
After seeing the January 12th Tablet, I was thinking wait until you see the backlash on this Pontifical Tridentine Mass! Low and behold a Letter to the Editor by a religious, Brother James Loxham, F.S.C. , hits the Reader’s Forum today January 26. It makes “my heart ache,” to see how nasty the “progressives” get, when they perceive that the new order is failing and the old order is making a spectacular comeback, Praise God! No one is twisting brother’s arm to attend such “Victorian,” displays. If he doesn’t like it then by all means stay away, but don’t deny others the right to free religious expression and worship! Where’s the Christian charity in that? I guess it doesn’t extend to traditional Catholics. Brother has so many holes in his argument against the classical Latin Mass it’s hard to begin. I would start pointing out that Gregorian chant was never abrogated, in fact the Second Vatican Council reaffirmed the spiritual efficacy and necessity of the ancient chant. He further states, “I do not contest the validity and legality of a celebration of the Eucharist.”. Well thank you brother for your theological permission. The fact is the restoration of the Latin Mass is exactly because the “People of God” have asked and begged the Holy Father to restore what is rightfully theirs? Many of those people being the young who flock to these celebrations. I maintain that the Gregorian chant and the Classical Latin Mass still bring ” great grace upon those who worship in that culture.”. A culture that converted Europe and the pagan world and produced in the process, dare I say millions of saints! Yeah times have changed brother and not for the better. Mass attendance and overall reception of the sacraments has plummeted while apostasy has flourished with the march of the culture of death, relativism and materialism. It grieves me to see a religious brother using such descriptions of a Mass as “bad taste” and “comical.” I would expect such nasty comments from an anti-Catholic bigot and certainly not from a man of the cloth. Brother goes on to ask, what image does this( Latin Mass) bring of the Church? My response, one of beauty, piety, deep devotion and reverence, something very much needed in our dysfunctional world today.
Michael Mattes
Neponsit