OPTIONS! OPTIONS! OPTIONS! WERE THESE CREATED TO KEEP THE CELEBRANT FROM BECOMING BORED AND WHAT OPTIONS IN THE BUGNINI MASS COULD BE CURTAILED BY A BISHOP, WILLY, NILLY?

We have already discussed the truly rabid clericalism, built-in and not built-in, of the Bugnini Mass. 

For brevity, the not built-in clericalism is the Bugnini Mass hijacked by the personality of the priest, his liturgical hospitality, manipulation of words and gestures, disregard for the rubrics and general instruction of the Roman Missal. And bishops do it too; so there isn’t any correction of the lowerarchy by the hierarchy.

But worse is the institutional clericalism of the Bugnini Mass with its plethora of options and choices made exclusively by the priest-celebrant or others to whom he might delegate various choices. 

The Propers of the Mass (Introit, Offertory, Communion anthiphons) might be used or maybe not and normally never!

The several choices for the Penitential Act or omitting it in favor of the Asperges!

Many different Eucharistic Prayers and prefaces—who picks? Why, of course, the priest! 

Prayer over the People or Solemn Final Blessing, yea or nea?  It depends on how tired I am. And yes, by all means Eucharistic Prayer II because it is shorter and then allows for a long Universal Prayer which are mini homilies, and mini-homilies at the Introductory Rite, before the Scripture Readings and after Holy Communion. 

Pope Leo in his first lengthy interview as pope said that the (Bugnini) Novous Ordo Mass may be celebrated in Latin now.

But is that true? A bishop in my Province of Atlanta, specifically, The Diocese of Charleston, does not allow this to happen. Other bishops around the world too. And clearly, Holy Communion under both forms is explicitly allowed in the Roman Missal’s Instruction by way of Intinction—meaning the Communion Minister intincts the Host and places the Host on the Communicant’s tongue. I implemented this many years ago in one of my previous parishes only to have a now former bishop ask me not to offer Holy Communion this way. I wanted to ask him, sarcastically, but my good sense prevailed and I didn’t, are you going to tell me which Eucharistic Prayer or Penitential Act I can’t use???????

Let me let you in on a secret. If the TLM is to be suppressed as Pope Francis indicated that the goal of Traditionis Custodis was/is, I felt it should have simply be killed and not linger and make the laity and priests who celebrate it angrier and angrier, and unnecessarily. 

I recommended to my bishop that he allow priests to celebrate the Bugnini Mass in a way that imitates the TLM. I recommended that the Introductory Rite using exclusively the “I Confess” with absolution be said at the “foot of the altar.” The priest and servers ascend for the Kyrie, Gloria and Collect, all prayed at the altar in the fashion of the TLM and ad orientem, with the priest facing the people for the Collect to say or chant “Let us Pray” and going to the Epistle side to pray the Collect. Of course the Introductory Rite Procession utilizing the Gregorian chant for the Introit. The Liturgy of the Word as in the Bugnini Mass, but with the Gradual from the revised Roman Gradual and any and all tracts and sequences from the same source. After the homily, the Credo and Universal Prayer Litany at the altar, ad orientem, as well as the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Communion kneeling and at an altar railing. 

Allowing this, in place of the TLM, and by any priest in any parish who requested it or simply did it as yet another choice would have been better than the slow death that we are seeing now with the TLM.