In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen
My dearly beloved in Our Lord,
Last Sunday we have started to meditate on the teachings of the Holy Council of Trent about the Sacrifice of the Mass. We have gone over the chapters on the institution of the Mass and its propitiatory end.
In the following chapter it is explained how the Mass is offered in honor of the Saints:
„CHAPTER III.
On Masses in honour of the Saints.
And although the Church has been accustomed at times to celebrate, certain masses in honour and memory of the saints; not therefore, however, doth she teach that sacrifice is offered unto them, but unto God alone, who crowned them; whence neither is the priest wont to say, "I offer sacrifice to thee, Peter, or Paul;" but, giving thanks to God for their victories, he implores their patronage, that they may vouchsafe to intercede for us in heaven, whose memory we celebrate upon earth.“
It is stated very clearly that the Mass can only be offered to God because He is the allmighty Creator to whom alone adoration is due. This is the constant teaching of the Church. It does not exclude, though, that the Holy Sacrifice be offered in honor of the Saints, who are our intercessors with Christ. Christ alone is the mediator with the Father.
The next chapter is short and very important.
„CHAPTER IV
On the Canon of the Mass.
And whereas it beseemeth, that holy things be administered in a holy manner, and of all holy things this sacrifice is the most holy; to the end that it might be worthily and reverently offered and received, the Catholic Church instituted, many years ago, the sacred Canon, so pure from every error, that nothing is contained therein which does not in the highest degree savour of a certain holiness and piety, and raise up unto God the minds of those that offer. For it is composed, out of the very words of the Lord, the traditions of the apostles, and the pious institutions also of holy pontiffs.“
Not only, then, is the Canon – the part of Mass between Sanctus and Communion – of the Roman rite free from error; it also reflects in a particular manner the sanctity and piety of the Church. Here we find a most striking difference with the “new Mass” which is entirely centered on man’s earthly existence. It has no power and no intention to “raise up unto God the minds of those that offer”.
“CHAPTER V
On the solemn ceremonies of the Sacrifice of the Mass.
And whereas such is the nature of man, that, without external helps, he cannot easily be raised to the meditation of divine things; therefore has holy Mother Church instituted certain rites, to wit that certain things be pronounced in the mass in a low, and others in a louder, tone. She has likewise employed ceremonies, such as mystic benedictions, lights, incense, vestments, and many other things of this kind, derived from an apostolical discipline and tradition, whereby both the majesty of so great a sacrifice might be recommended, and the minds of the faithful be excited, by those visible signs of religion and piety, to the contemplation of those most sublime things which are hidden in this
sacrifice.”
The use of sensible objects, ceremonies and customs in the liturgy of the Church militant are grounded in human nature. What do we mean by that? Man is a composite of body and soul. The God-given and individually created spiritual soul is the essential form of the human being. The body without the soul is a corpse or a carcass, not a living or functioning human being, its essential form being that of a corpse separated from the spiritual soul.
The material, bodily element of human nature requires the use of sensible objects and gestures, as the Council explains and teaches.
It should be remarked here that during the Council two books were laid out for consultation: Holy Scripture, i.e. the Vulgate edition; and the Theological Sum by St Thomas Aquinas. The Angelic or Common Doctor, as the Church calls him, embodies the flourishing of Catholic Philosophy and Theology. One of the fundamental insights is that of hylemorphism, the fact that all things created are composed of materia and form.
The following chapter shows again how the makers of the Montini Mass have followed in the footsteps of the “Reformators”.
“CHAPTER VI.
On Mass wherein the priest alone communicates.
The sacred and holy Synod would fain indeed that, at each mass, the faithful who are present should communicate, not only in spiritual desire, but also by the sacramental participation of the Eucharist, that thereby a more abundant fruit might be derived to them from this most holy sacrifice: but not therefore, if this be not always done, does It condemn, as private and unlawful, but approves of and therefore commends, those masses in which the priest alone communicates sacramentally; since those masses also ought to be considered as truly common; partly because the people communicate spiritually thereat; partly also because they are celebrated by a public minister of the Church, not for himself only, but for all the faithful, who belong to the body of Christ.”
Very early the Popes have ordered that the faithful should receive Holy Communion at Mass, and many Councils have repeated this order and wish. The Council of Trent insists that the faithful who for some reason are kept from receiving Our Lord sacramentally, make a spiritual communion. It also declares that, and how the Mass is always public, official worship, even if the priest celebrates Mass behind closed doors.
When the “missa normativa” drafted by Bugnini was performed in front of the competent body of prelates on October 24, 1967, the Superior of a monastic Order asked how such a celebration could be imagined in the case of low Masses in a monastery. The answer was astonishing and bewildering: They had not thought about it… The nonsensual concelebration has indeed for the greater part done away with the individual celebration of Mass. It needs to be said that theologically it is not even clear whether a concelebration is one single Mass, or as many Masses as concelebrating priests! But this question is of no interst to the “moderns” because their understanding of Mass has totally changed.
Again I ask you to re-read the texts of the Council of Trent carefully so that you understand them well. They should give you many points for reflection and prayer: “Doctrina cum pietate”.
May Our Blessed Lady obtain for us, and preserve in us fidelity to the true, unchanged Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Altough not a priest, she offered Christ, her Son, in a very special manner to the Father. May she bring forth in us the right attitude towards the Mass so that we may participate in its fruit more and more.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
P. Arnold Trauner (paterarnold@hotmail.com), njemački i engleski
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