The Mass never changes….but here’s something new

It’s been the buzz of the Catholic media for the better part of the past year. Today, Pope Benedict finally released the long awaited decree – or motu proprio – on use of the Latin Mass. And now, it’s showing up across world media, though misunderstood by a lot of people.

Some liberals or ‘progressives’ fear the Church is returning to the dark ages, or at least the pre-Vatican II days. Some ultra-traditionalists never quite accepted the new form of the mass called for by Vatican II, which they (also) never accepted. But….this division is actually what Benedict is trying to heal by issuing the decree.

It’s called Summorum Pontificum, and here’s the full text of it. It issues new rules for use of the older Latin rite mass, allowing it to be celebrated again more freely though not requiring it to, and specifying that the newer mass celebrated since Vatican II remains the common one. Critical points.

Vatican Information Service issued this brief summary note explaining it. Most importantly, it refers to the mass Catholics are used to these days as the “ordinary form…that follows the liturgical reform of Paul VI in 1970”, which can also be said in Latin “always and everywhere”, though it remains the newer form (whether in Latin or the language of a particular country). And it refers to the older mass as the “extraordinary form” that follows liturgical norms put out by John XXIII in 1962.

But what I spent the most time with, highlighting pen in hand, was Pope Benedict’s letter to the bishops that went with this new decree on the mass.

“News reports and judgments made without sufficient information have created no little confusion.

He makes that point directly, up front, because of all the buzz of those rumors over the past year, especially lately. 

There have been very divergent reactions ranging from joyful acceptance to harsh opposition, about a plan whose contents were in reality unknown.

I like this….he takes it to them, all those voices buzzing about what the motu proprio would say. He knows there’s plenty of resistance to it, and says so.

“This document was most directly opposed on account of two fears, which I would like to address somewhat more closely in this letter.

“In the first place, there is the fear that the document detracts from the authority of the Second Vatican Council, one of whose essential decisions – the liturgical reform – is being called into question.

“This fear is unfounded.

I like how clear and straightforward he is. First, Benedict says… 

…the Missal published by Paul VI and then republished in two subsequent editions by John Paul II, obviously is and continues to be the normal form…of the Eucharistic liturgy.

So….relax.

The last version of the ‘Missale Romanum’ prior to the Council, which was published with the authority of Pope John XXIII in 1962 and used during the Council, will now be able to be used as a ‘Forma extraordinaria’ of the liturgical celebration.

Once again, there’s the “ordinary” and “extraordinary” versions of the mass celebration.

It is not appropriate to speak of these two versions of the Roman Missal as if they were ‘two rites.’ Rather, it is a matter of a twofold use of one and the same rite.

…just to clarify that point.

Now here’s a bit of eloquent bluntness, which isn’t an oxymoron when Benedict is doing the writing.

“As for the use of the 1962 Missal as a ‘Forma extraordinaria’ of the liturgy of the Mass, I would like to draw attention to the fact that this Missal was never juridically abrogated and, consequently, in principle, was always permitted.

In other words, the older “Latin Mass” as many people called it, was never made “illegal”, as one lapsed Catholic I know put it, and others have considered it. 

At the time of the introduction of the new Missal, it did not seem necessary to issue specific norms for the possible use of the earlier Missal…Afterwards, however, it soon became apparent that a good number of people remained strongly attached to this usage of the Roman Rite, which had been familiar to them from childhood.

He says in essence that some people faithful to the Church and the true reform of Vatican II still wanted to “recover the form of the sacred liturgy that was dear to them” but had disappeared after the Council. And he nails it here…

This occurred above all because in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal, but the latter actually was understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity, which frequently led to deformations of the liturgy

…better known as ‘liturgical abuse’…

which were hard to bear. I am speaking from experience, since I too lived through that period with all its hopes and its confusion. And I have seen how arbitrary deformations of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church.

(emphasis added)

He points out that John Paul II “sought to heal a wound” this caused by issuing new guidelines in 1988 calling for “the generous response of bishops towards the ‘legitimate aspirations’ of those members of the faithful who requested” to use the old rite. But because JPII didn’t spell out in detail what can be done and must be allowed, Benedict says that wound never got healed.

Now this is interesting.

Immediately after the Second Vatican Council it was presumed that requests for the use of the 1962 Missal would be limited to the older generation which had grown up with it, but in the meantime it has clearly been demonstrated that young persons too have discovered this liturgical form, felt its attraction and found in it a form of encounter with the Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist, particularly suited to them.

We’ll get to why in a moment here…

Right now, the other reason this decree was opposed before it was released.

“In the second place, the fear was expressed in discussions about the awaited Motu Proprio, that the possibility of a wider use of the 1962 Missal would lead to disarray or even divisions within parish communities. This fear also strikes me as quite unfounded. The use of the old Missal presupposes a certain degree of liturgical formation and some knowledge of the Latin language; neither of these is found very often.

Again, the unexpected but acute observation. So not to worry, he says, (those of you who do) because most of the faithful don’t know the old mass, or even Latin, anymore. This new guideline is not a threat.

But it holds promise, which gets back to the reason some “young persons” have ‘felt the attraction’ of the older Latin rite mass: It holds a certain sacredness for many people.

The celebration of the Mass according to the Missal of Paul VI will be able to demonstrate, more powerfully than has been the case hitherto, the sacrality which attracts many people to the former usage. The most sure guarantee that the Missal of Paul VI can unite parish communities and be loved by them consists in its being celebrated with great reverence in harmony with the liturgical directives. This will bring out the spiritual richness and the theological depth of this Missal.

That is a key point, which is why Benedict calls it a “sure guarantee”. People will respect this older mass form – maybe even embrace it – when it is “celebrated with great reverence” and “in harmony with” the Church’s directives. It would be really nice if the newer, commonly known mass taking place these days were celebrated with great reverence, actually.

Here, Benedict states his purpose, after getting some of the problems and misconceptions out of the way.

“I now come to the positive reason which motivated my decision to issue this Motu Proprio updating that of 1988. It is a matter of coming to an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church. Looking back over the past, to the divisions which in the course of the centuries have rent the Body of Christ, one continually has the impression that, at critical moments when divisions were coming about, not enough was done by the Church’s leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity.

And, he adds, “divisions were able to harden.” So look, he says, let’s all “open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows.”

“There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture. What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place.

So no matter what you’re hearing out there, that’s what the Pope said.