LET’S BE CLEAR, IF IT IS THE MANUFACTURED LITURGY OF VATICAN II OR THE HISTORIC LITURGY CODIFIED IN THE 1962 ROMAN MISSAL, THE POINT OF BOTH THE MANUFACTURED ONE AND THE HISTORIC ONE IS TO WORSHIP GOD AND GIVE HIM PROPER PRAISE AND WORSHIP

 The manufactured Ordinary Form of the Mass celebrated by Pope Francis ad orientem in organic continuity with the organically developed Extraordinary Form of the Mass:

Finally Father Anthony Ruff, OSB of Praytell confirms what Pope Benedict XVI often said about the “reformed” Mass now known as the Ordinary Form of the Mass. It was manufactured and imposed upon Catholics both clergy and laity. It did not develop in an organic way as the Tridentine Mass did over the centuries with the final organic development encoded in the 1962 Roman Missal.

This is what Fr. Anthony says about the manufacturing of the “Reformed Liturgy” which confirms Pope Benedict’s critique:

All the evidence indicates that the fathers of Vatican II intended not that the old rite continue, but rather that it be entirely replaced by a reformed rite. Here is a quick selection of relevant phrases from Sacrosanctum Concilium:

… “reform of the liturgy,” “rites revised,” “a general restoration of the liturgy itself,” “elements subject to change,” “both texts and rites drawn up,” “new forms,” “liturgical books revised as soon as possible,” “revision of the liturgy,” “rites should be short, clear, and unencumbered by useless repetitions,” “more reading from holy scripture, more varied and suitable,” “no rigid uniformity,” “legitimate variations and adaptations,” “drawing up rites and devising rubrics,” “adaptations,” “an even more radical adaptation of the liturgy,” “restoration of the liturgy,” “necessary experiments,” “rite of Mass revised,” “rites simplified,” “elements discarded,” “elements restored,” “more representative portion of the holy scriptures,” “prayer of the faithful restored,” “communion under both kinds,” “new rite for concelebration,” “changes have become necessary,” “particular rituals prepared,” “catechumenate restored,” “both rites of baptism of adults revised,” “rite for baptism of infants revised,” “baptismal rite should contain variants,” “a new rite drawn up,” “rite of confirmation revised,” “rite and formulas for sacrament of penance revised,” “number of anointings adapted,” “prayers of rite of anointing revised,” “ordination rites revised,” “marriage rite revised and enriched,” “sacramentals to undergo a revision,” “rite of religious profession drawn up,” “rite of burial of infants revised,” “Compline drawn up,” “Matins adapted,” “Prime suppressed,” “revising the Roman office,” “psalms no longer distributed throughout one week,” readings from sacred scripture arranged,” “liturgical year revised,” “more use of baptismal features proper to the Lenten liturgy,” “an edition prepared containing simpler melodies,” “revision of the liturgical books,” “laws less suited to the reformed liturgy harmonized or abolished” …

My comments: The Ordinary Form of the Mass is what it is and even since 1970, there has been some 51 years of organic development of that 1970 Roman Missal. The best organic development was the new and glorious English translation of the Mass which may need some further organic development. 

What Fr. Anthony doesn’t get is that in terms of the organic implementation of Vatican II with the hermeneutics of continuity which is a valid hermeneutic by the way, a future pope, like Pope Benedict reinstated the 1962 Roman Missal as a valid liturgy for the Universal Church just as the Ordinariate’s Liturgy is such also. 

But, and this is a big but for both the orthodox and heterodox to recognize, the liturgy is for the worship of God and in the Ordinary Form today, chances are that a person will attend Mass in a language unknown to them but it won’t be Latin. 

But even if I attend Mass in Chinese and don’t understand a word of it, that Mass is still the worship of God. 

And no one should go to Mass because there is an army of liturgical ministers, especially Eucharistic Minsters, parading throughout the church building at Communion time to show that the Mass has lay ministers. That is not worship of God that is a sociological function in the extreme horizontal way. 

The Tridentine Liturgy erases such silly sentiments and places the focus on the worship of God alone.