WHAT WAS SAINT POPE PAUL VI'S LITURGY COMMITTEE THINKING? THEY WEREN'T AND WE ARE SADDLED WITH THEIR STUPIDITY...

Let me say that I am not opposed to the organic development of the Liturgy. We would not have the 1962 Roman Missal if not for that organic development. 

As I have written time and time again, Sacrosanctum Concilium gave a very conservative and sober direction to liturgical renewal. The Fathers of Vatican II were not out to destroy the Liturgy but to make the Mass better, without going backwards to the 2nd Century or forward to some unknown century.

So with that said. I want to rant some more about some abysmal aspects of  state of the Modern Version of the Roman Rite Mass.  

I've already ranted about the loss of the pre-Lenten season of Septuagesima. What was that worship committee thinking. They weren't!

I've already ranted about the loss of the mandated propers, especially Entrance Chants, of the Roman Missal, so much so the wearing of Rose vestments on Guadete and Laetare Sundays makes no sense in the parishes that substitute something else in place of the official Introits of those Masses. What was that worship committee thinking? They weren't! 

Now to cap off my rants about the Modern Mass idiocy (actually that dang worship committee that wasn't thinking) let me write about the 5th Sunday of Lent and the covering of statues. 

Did your parish cover the crucifix and statues? Does anyone in the Modern Mass know why this is done?

No they don't know why! The reason for this is that that dang worship committee in Rome, not thinking, changed the Gospel reading for the 5th Sunday of Lent, eliminating the Gospel of the TLM's lectionary altogether in order to provide three others. What was that worship committee thinking? They weren't!

The TLM's Gospel for each and every 5th Sunday of Lent, known as Passion Sunday and the beginning of Passiontide, is from John 8:46-59. This is the last sentence of that Gospel and reason for covering the crucifix and statues. This says it all, but only a small minority of TLM Catholics heard this Gospel and thus understand why the crucifix and statues are covered. If this Gospel isn't used, it makes no sense to cover anything!!!!!

"So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple".

 And not reading the TLM's Gospel for Passion Sunday removes the Passiontide designation for the last two weeks of Lent. There is only a remnant of that in the Modern Missal which for daily Mass requires that we begin to use the Passion Prefaces instead of the Lenten ones, but that isn't required on 5th Sunday of Lent in the Modern Mass or for Passion/Palm Sunday. What was that worship committee thinking? They weren't!

I've already ranted about the elimination of so many private/devotional (but prescribed) prayers of the priest in the modern Missal. Oftentimes, the organic development of the Mass that admitted these now deleted prayers were not just for the priests' own piety, but they were of course, but to allow the liturgy be be celebrated in a way that things happening behind the priest could be carried out in the needed time allowed, especially think about the Suscipe after the Lavabo that gives the servers enough time to incense the congregation and return to the places or the Placeat prior to the final blessing that gives the laity a chance to kneel prior to the blessing. It all fits together, but now gone in the Modern Mass. 

 What was that worship committee thinking? They weren't!