What Does The Prayer Really Say?
W D T P R S

Someone asked a a rather off topic question in another entry. The question was worthy of attention in its own right, so here it is.

Why is it that many Diocesan Priests that love the TLM and pray for its freedom still often still pray the Novus Ordo versus Populum, on a table altar (instead of a high altar), and utilizing lay lectors? ... I understand how Diocesan Priests are between a proverbial rock and a hard place with their Bishops in being forced to celebrate the Novus Ordo, but why does it ever have to be celebrated in the manner described above?

I think the answer lies very much in the second point you made: they are between a rock and a hard spot.

Many priests I know would more than likely switch to an ad orientem celebration of Holy Mass, and get rid of all the extraneous personnel around the altar (to name just two issues), but they know that if they do, they will unleash of fire storm complaints from many lay people who will accuse them of “trying to turn the clock back” and, after word gets around, many diocesan bishops will usually side with the lay people and then hammer the priest into dust. And this he can do in a thousand ways.

Parish priests, pastors, have so many headaches to cope with already, that they do not want to court additional problems. Assistants in parishes sometimes have to deal with a liberal, aging-hippy, pastor, or at least one who is unsure of what to do in the face of a tradition they didn’t learn and forms no part of their world-view. I am sure priests who read this blog will back me up on this. (Remember, Fathers, you can post anonymously on this blog.) They may be entirely convinced about the better way to do things, but they just don’t need another problem. What would be required would be a) a place that was already priest friendly (and it is amazing how many parishes are not priest friendly) and b) a long process of liturgical catechesis and the c) a reasonable expectation that the bishop won’t decide to crucify him.

Keep in mind that a priest can be right right right all day long, he can have an ability to speak with the tongue of angels, can back up everything with flawless documentation, can have strong backing from a good number of people. None of that makes any difference if the bishop he doesn’t like it. Sometimes just one complaint letter from a person who understands nothing about anything but is expressing “hurt” or “pain” will get every consideration, leaving the priest twisting in the wind with his bishop.

At the same time, priests can go about things the wrong way and scuttle their own chances of success, no matter what the project, worthy or unworthy.

I believe that the situation I am describing is becoming less and less common, as time goes by. I sincerely hope it is. There is a new liturgical wind blowing in a new direction and more and more ecclesiastics are moving in the right direction. It is the beginning, perhaps of the new liturgical movement His Holiness hoped to contribute something to, as he stated in The Spirit of the Liturgy. Nevertheless, that is more than likely the reason why many priests who otherwise would be very interested in the older form of Mass are still celebrating ad orientem and still have more lay ministers than are truly necessary.

It keeps the peace.

I am pleased to report that there were some 60 comments on the entry to "name" the upcoming Motu Proprio to derestrict the older form of Mass.  Some of the proposals are pretty creative and very funny.  Others are rather sad, reflecting the pain of the many years of suffering from abuses and disrespect from pastors of souls who have lacked compassion and flexibility.

The server problem that was causing the blog to freeze and that pesky Wordpress error page to pop up seems to have been resolved.  It was an SQL problem (and not my fault!).

A couple more of you have kindly sent donations through the button on the sidebar.  Thanks!  It all helps.

Since installing the word verification plugin (to thwart the slime peddlers) there has not been a single spam comment requiring my electronic portculis to slam shut.  Victory!   I added a few new terms today, which am sure you will eventually see.

As the interesting rougeclassicism remind us, in the very much more ancient traditional Roman calendar, today, is ante diem v idus januarias.  It is one of the Agonalia (or Agonia or Agnoium), one of four dies agonales (9 January, 17 March, 21 May and 11 December.  On 9 January the Rex Sacrorum would sacrifice a ram in the Regia.  Today’s dies acknowledges the god Janus, giving name to the present month.  Janus had two faces, looking to the past and the future.  The doors to the temple of Janus were closed only where there was a state of peace.  Augustus Caesar closed the doors of the temple of Janus, which fact he reported in his famous Res gestae about which I wrote elsewhere.  This was probably the occasion of the fulness of time, when the Roman state, so important for the foundation and "culture" of the Catholic Church Christ founded, was a peace.

The "confusion of schedule" as we call it in Italian is taking its usual toll. I functioning, however. My spies are beginning to report in and I am once again news gathering.