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Saturday, June 13, 2015

POPE FRANCIS HAS GIVEN THE CHURCH A GIFT IN CARDINAL ROBERT SARAH

Yes, Virginia, this is the Ordinary Form of the Mass:
Yes, Virginia, this is the Extraordinary Form of the Mass:
Cardinal Robert Sarah's liturgy editorial in June 11th's edition of the Vatican's official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, dropped many bombshells. But the bombshells were to prepare modern liturgists (and as the old joke goes, what is the difference between a modern liturgist and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist!) for the option of making the Ordinary Form of the Mass appear to be in continuity with the Extraordinary Form of the Mass in its order and style.

His Eminence even encouraged bishops and rectors of Cathedrals to make sure their Masses are ad orientem and not just for the Liturgy of the Eucharist, but for the whole Mass, save I presume, the Liturgy of the Word. This is radical stuff coming from the Prefect for the Congregation of Divine Worship. No one, prior to Cardinal Sarah, holding this office has ever made such a bold statement in terms of the "reform of the reform."  Not even Cardinal Ratzinger or later Pope Benedict has ever suggested such a thing in such a specific way!

As you know, beginning in September, our Extraordinary Form Mass will move from the first Sunday of the month at 2 PM to the last Sunday of the month at our 12:10 PM time slot for Mass. I am bold enough to do this given the fact that our Ordinary Form Mass at 12:10 is ad orientem for the Liturgy of the Eucharist only and we use the full length of the altar railing for people to receive Holy Communion kneeling. (Those who wish to stand do stand if they don't wish to kneel, so the standers are not forced to become kneelers).

But when Cardinal Sarah publishes the new appendix for the Ordinary Form of the Mass (and certainly his editorial is preparing the Church for this), the only detectable difference between the Ordinary Form 12:10 Mass and the EF Mass will be the English language and the different lectionary.

However, we are now planning to teach all our Masses and to use regularly (meaning during the summer/fall Ordinary Time) the Latin Gloria. We plan to teach the 12:10 Mass the Credo III and Pater Noster in Latin too. All our Masses know by heart the Jubilatio Deo Sanctus and Agnus Dei and many already know the Latin Gloria and Credo III.

Thus, except for the last Sunday of the month, our 12:10 Mass will for all practical purposes be an EF Mass with a hybrid of Latin and English. Once the new appendix comes out, the entire Mass will be ad orientem and the Ordinary Form Mass will have the EF's Order of the Mass, PATFOTA, and EF Offertory and Last Gospel. The Liturgy of the Word will be as it normally is in the OF Mass.  Cool, no?

5 comments:

Ryan Ellis said...

I've said for a long time that one of the longer-term goals of the reform of the reform is for someone to stumble into any random parish Mass and not know whether the Mass being celebrated was an EF or an OF, except maybe for choice of language. The only exception here would be liturgical experts. Cardinal Sarah's appendix idea would make this a reality, though it will take decades to accomplish it down to the "Our Lady of the Mauve Suburb" level.

Anonymous said...

I would like to see reforms made to the Novus Ordo Missal to make it more like the Extraordinary Form such as adding the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, the old Offertory Prayers, the Last Gospel, lots of Latin, etc. First of all, you need to get rid of all of the abuses and innovations like altar girls, priest facing the people, Eucharistic Ministers, Communion in the hand, Protestant music, guitars, etc. This, in my mind will help generate more priestly vocations! It has be thanks to feminized liturgies, amongst other things that have contributed to the loss of priestly vocations and men going to Sunday Mass. My suggestion is to make gradual reforms to Paul VI's Missal in order to eventually go completely back to the 1962 Missal as so not to get so many of the liberals and Baby Boomers angry. It will take a lot of hard work, but given that the younger priests are becoming more orthodox, and that many of the old liberals are beginning to retire and die off, reforms to the Novus Ordo could happen sooner than expected in addition to more Traditional Latin Masses offered in everyday parishes (at least under a Burke papacy). Pray for liturgical peace!

Anonymous said...

But what about the bad theology behind the no us ordo? Who is going to fix that?
As that old saying goes, you can't polish rat turd.

Denis St. Paris

DJR said...

"I've said for a long time that one of the longer-term goals of the reform of the reform is for someone to stumble into any random parish Mass and not know whether the Mass being celebrated was an EF or an OF, except maybe for choice of language."

What was the point of changing the Mass then? It could have been merely translated into the vernacular, and that would have been it.

The people, including the pope at the time, who advocated the new missal did not subscribe to the above sentiments. They wanted a very truncated Mass, and that's what was given.

To "reform the reform" is actually the same as "reversing the reform," which of course will eventually happen as we proceed further into the Divine chastisement.

The Ordinary Form, so-called, will one day be a thing of the past.

Thomas Carney said...

The Novus Ordo in its present form is PROTESTANT. It is not Catholic. HOW CAN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SAY IT HAS PRESERVED THE ANCIENT FAITH WHEN THE GREAT MAJORITY OF NOVUS ORDO HAVE DEVOLVED TO A FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT?????