What Does The Prayer Really Say?
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» 2007-08-05 22:37
Francia: morto cardinale Lustiger
Ex arcivescovo di Parigi, aveva 80 anni
(ANSA-AFP) – PARIGI, 5 AGO - Il cardinale Jean-Marie Lustiger, ex arcivescovo di Parigi, e’ morto oggi nella capitale francese, all’eta’ di 80 anni.Lo si e’ appreso da fonte governativa. Nell’ottobre 2006, lo stesso Lustiger aveva annunciato che era affetto da una ‘malattia grave’. Nato il 17 settembre 1926 a Parigi da una famiglia di commercianti ebrei di origine polacca, Aaron Lustiger si era convertito nel 1940 al cattolicesimo, scegliendo il nome di Jean-Marie. Era stato ordinato sacerdote nel 1954.

The Bishop of Altoona-Johnstown, His Excellency Most Reverend Joseph V. Adamec, has issued his statement on the older form of Mass and the Motu Proprio in the The Catholic Register.

My emphases and comments.

Altoona-Johnstown Catholic Diocese – Catholic Register 08/05/2007 Bishop’s Message

For The Good Of The Household

Extraordinary Form Of The Mass

08/06/2007

The Holy Father has issued an important document in the form of a Motu Proprio (“on his own initiative”) regarding the celebration of the Mass.
Specifically, it gives permission, under certain conditions, for priests to celebrate Mass according to the Missal of Blessed Pope John XXIII.
The Pope is not speaking merely about a language, since there is no question about Latin already being allowed for the celebration of the Mass. [Right!] Rather, it is a blanket permission for priests to be able to celebrate Mass in one of two different ways under certain conditions. [Hmmm… that same phrase twice…]

It is obvious that the Holy Father does not wish that this special permission be divisive in the liturgical life of the Church. He reaffirms the legitimacy of the Second Vatican Council and refers to a twofold use of the one rite for the celebration of Mass. Celebrating Mass in accord with the Missal published by Pope Paul VI following the Second Vatican Council continues to be the ordinary form of celebrating the Eucharist.

On reading the document, one can see that certain clarifications will need to be made before its effective date of September 14. I plan to issue brief guidelines in this regard, based on the reminder by the Holy Father that the bishop continues to be the moderator of the liturgy in his own diocese.

It is clear that any priest of the Latin Rite may celebrate Mass in the extraordinary form when celebrating privately and without a congregation being present. Individual members of the Faithful may join him, however, provided that liturgical laws are observed. It is also clear that it is the pastor who makes the decision as to whether or not the extraordinary form is used for the whole parish. His decision is to be in response to a specific request on the part of the Faithful within the parish of which he is the pastor. [It seems from this statement that the number of people to be considered may not include people not registered in the parish.  Right?] It other words, a parish priest does not celebrate a regularly scheduled Mass using the extraordinary form as a result of his own preference.  [However, the priest is also a member of the faithful.  He is there continuously.  He is able to be part of the group desiring the older form of Mass.]

Less clear is the identification of the group that may make the request for a parish Mass in Latin to be celebrated in accord with the Missal of Blessed Pope John XXIII. The Holy Father speaks of such a group as being one that has had an attachment to the former form of Mass and has consistently existed [I am not sure that this is a good way to render the provision of the Motu Proprio.  This sounds as if there has to be a group how, for a long time, has wanted the old Mass.  The Latin of the M.P. says that the group merely be there consistently.  That does not mean that the group couldn’t form itself and identify itself as a group on, say 14 September at midnight.  If they were registered parishioners, they would be a consistently present group of people.] in a particular parish. In other words, it is not to be merely a novelty. How large does such a group need to be? The document does not say. Certainly, one or two individuals may not impose [why that word?] a change upon the whole parish.

While Pope Benedict XVI is most generous in his Motu Proprio to the Faithful who continue to be [or who will become attached] attached to the former way of celebrating Mass, he admits that such celebrations will not be widespread. To quote him, “The use of the old Missal presupposes a certain degree of liturgical formation and some knowledge of the Latin language, neither of these is found very often.” Pastors are encouraged to be sympathetic to those of their congregation who request the Mass in the extraordinary form. Nevertheless, they are not obligated to learn another set of liturgical rules for the celebration of Mass.  [The Latin suggests something stronger than "encouraged to be sympathetic".  I wonder if a priest doesn’t have a duty to learn how to celebrate his Rite.  Still, a priest is not obligated to celebrate the older rite.  However, would that not mean he is not obligated to celebrate the newer?]

Since the Holy Father’s Motu Proprio does not take effect until September 14 of this year, no changes are to be made before that date.
By that time, I plan to have ready some brief guidelines. It is my intention to assist our pastors in reaching out to those who have been [or will become?] consistently attached to the older form of Mass, while maintaining a unity within our diocesan liturgical life.

I see this statement as being very "correct", though it is not welcoming.  It is guarded, in its tone.  The guidelines will be interesting. 

Here are links to earlier articles on the prayers for this Sunday’s Mass using the Novus Ordo. 

Adesto, Domine, famulis tuis,
et perpetuam benignitatem largire poscentibus,
ut his, qui te auctorem et gubernatorem gloriantur habere,
et grata restaures, et restaurata conserves.

ICEL (1973 translation of the 1970MR):

Father of everlasting goodness,
our origin and guide,
be close to us and hear the prayers of all who praise you.
Forgive our sins and restore us to life.
Keep us safe in your love.

LITERAL TRANSLATION:
Be present to Your servants, O Lord,
and grant Your unending kindness to those seeking it,
so that You may restore favors to those who
glory in having You as author and guide,
and You may preserve them once restored.

Propitius, Domine, quaesumus, haec dona sanctifica,
et, hostiae spiritalis oblatione suscepta,
nosmetipsos tibi perfice munus aeternum.

ICEL (1973 translation of the 1970MR):

Merciful Lord,
make holy these gifts,
and let our spiritual sacrifice
make us an everlasting gift to you.

LITERAL TRANSLATION:

In your mercy, we beseech you, O Lord, sanctify these gifts
and, as the offering of this spiritual sacrifice is received,
perfect us ourselves into an eternal offering worthy of you.

Quos caelesti recreas munere,
perpetuo, Domine, comitare praesidio,
et, quos fovere non desinis,
dignos fieri sempiterna redemptione concede.

ICEL (1973 translation of the 1970MR):

Lord,
you give us the strength of new life
by the gift of the eucharist.
Protect us with your love
and prepare us for eternal redemption.

LITERAL TRANSLATION:

Accompany, O Lord, with your continual protection,
those whom you have refreshed by this heavenly gift,
and grant that those whom You do not cease to cherish,
may become worthy of eternal redemption.

Pope Liberius (352-366) was Bishop of Rome in difficult times. In 350 Constans was assassinated and Constantius became the sole Emperor by defeating Magnentius. Some bishops in the East who opposed St. Athanasius in Egypt appealed to Liberius to get involved with the Arian controversy Athanasius was embroiled in.

The Arian heresy and controversy was raging.  (Arians didn’t want to acknowledge Christ as consubstantial with the Father: sound familiar?) Thus, Liberius called a for a Synod in Rome, but the Synod came to nothing. Liberius then made an appeal to Constantius to call a council to be held at Aquileia.

Constantius had Athanasius condemned by both the Synod of Arles (353) and the Synod of Milan (355) and tried to win Liberius over to his side. When Liberius resisted, Constantius summoned Liberius to Milan and then exiled him to Bearea in Thrace. Liberius eventually acquiesced to Constantius once he was weakened from his sufferings in hardship and the Thracian cold.

St. Hilary of Poitier preserved letters of Pope Liberius attesting to what happened (Frag. Hist. 4,6).

Eventually Constantius let Liberius come out of his exile in Thrace. He went to Sirmium in 358 and then back to Rome. In Rome Felix II had taken over as bishop, but the people backed Liberius as the true Bishop of Rome.

Liberius had more than likely subscribed to the formula of Sirmium of 351 which was a "fundamentally" orthodox statement. Some Eastern bishops and "moderate" Arians met in the presence of Constantius to oppose Photius. Photinus was condemned. Liberius did not subscribe to Sirmium 357, however. This meeting issued a pro-Arian statement. Nevertheless, St. Athanasius and St. Hilary and others considered Liberius to have erred gravely, but they were probably mistaken. Granting that Liberius was weak and his pontificate was fraught with problems, partly of his own creation, Liberius seems to have been more sinned against than sinner.

Yes, Liberius did condemn Athanasius, that staunch defender of Nicaean faith against the heretic Arians. but he was forced under duress and perhaps even torture to give support to the Arians. Nevertheless, Liberius refused to subscribe to an obviously Arian formula of faith and instead signed on that, while not explicitly condemning Arianism, did support for the most part the Nicaean faith. Sometimes anti-Catholics will fling Liberius in our faces as an example of how the Pope cannot be thought to teach infallibly. SSPXers often invoke him and Athanasius as a way of justifying their disobedience. Liberius, however, is a complex figure in difficult times and much of the "story" of his "fall" in weakness is not properly grasped.

After Constantius, the infamous Julian adopted a policy of toleration. Pope Liberius issued a letter to the bishops of Italy in 362 and a letter of reply to the bishops of the East in 366 which both affirmed the faith of the Council of Nicaea.

Pope Liberius is important to us today because of the feast we celebrate: the Dedication of St. Mary Major, known as the Liberian Basilica. The Basilica is associated with Pope Liberius because of the famous story we all know about the miraculous snowfall on this day on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. Anyone who has been in Rome in August will not question that at a snowfall would be indeed a miracle. To give you an idea of how hot it is in Rome in August, the soles of a pair of my running shoes melted and the layers came apart. In any event, the Basilica was completed by Pope Sixtus III and his archdeacon Leo (later Pope Leo I "the Great"). Here is what the Roman Martyrology says:

Dedicatio basilicae Sanctae Mariae, Romae in Exquilis conditae, quam in memoriam Concilii Ephesini, in quo Maria Virgo Dei Genetrix salutata est, Xystus papa Tertius plebi Dei obtulit.... The dedication of the basilica of Saint Mary founded in Rome on the Esquiline hill, which Sixtus III, Pope consecrated for God’s People as a memorial of the Council of Ephesus during which the Virgin Mary was hailed as Mother of God.

In the basilica you can see the great triumphal arch decorated with beautiful mosaics prepared and directed by the future Pope Leo I having anti-Manichean themes. On the summit of the curve of the arch you see the name of "Xystus Episcopus Plebi Dei" even to this day.

The following was transcribed and sent by a faithful WDTPRSer.  It is an article from The Western Kentucky Catholic, wherein His Excellency Most Reverend John McRaith, Bishop of Owensboro, expresses himself about the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

My emphases and comments.

Diocese Will Strive To Make the Tridentine Rite Latin Mass More Accessible [The the onset, this sounds very positive!] To The People of God

My Dear Friends,

On July 7, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI promulgated an Apostolic Letter “Motu Proprio” on the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the reform of 1970.  In his Apostolic Letter, the Holy Father allows for the wider use of the Tridentine [we should move away from calling it this, though it is still useful] Rite Latin Mass – the Mass in use prior to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.  Our Holy Father acknowledges that some members of the faithful are still [not just "still".  Also, "newly". ] attached to this form of the celebration of the liturgy, and it is his desire to provide them with a greater opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist according to the 1962 Roman Missal.

The authority to permit the celebration of this Mass has been at the discretion of all Bishops for some time now, but the Pope’s new legislation simply permits all priests to celebrate such a Mass- as an “extraordinary expression” – if there is a call for it, and he is qualified to do so.  In his letter, the Holy Father makes it clear that the Novus Ordo, the rite that we currently use for the celebration of the Mass, is the “ordinary form” of the Mass, and the former liturgy (the Tridentine Rite) is the “extraordinary expression.”  No priest is required to celebrate this form of Mass. [I believe, therefore, the other argument could be made, no?  No priest is therefore "required" to say the newer form?  Unless, of course, he really doesn’t need a salary.]

The ordinary form for celebrating the Mass and the Sacraments will continue to be the Novus Ordo.

The issue is not merely about celebrating the Mass in Latin, [thank you thank you thank you] since all priests may choose to celebrate the current form of the Mass in Latin.  [thank you thank you thank you] The Tridentine Mass calls for a specific form or rituals of the liturgy.

The official spokesman of the Vatican described this new law as “a reconciliatory gesture” to a relatively small number of people attached to the old liturgy.  It is the Holy Father’s wish that those who truly desire to worship using the Tridentine Rite will be given the opportunity to do so.  This should not be seen as undermining the Second Vatican Council or liturgical reform in any way; nor does it “impose any return to the past.”  The spokesman noted that the new order of Mass is the one celebrated regularly by our Holy Father, who has “spoken eloquently about its richness.”

I would like to express to you my commitment to carry out the wishes of the Holy Father in making the Tridentine Rite Latin Mass available to those who desire it in our diocese, providing that all of the guidelines of the Apostolic Letter are followed.  This is a call that I take seriously, as does the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).  [Quod est demonstrandum.] The USCCB subcommittee, the Committee on the Liturgy, has already begun to address many of the issues surrounding the carrying out of the Holy Father’s wishes in this regard.

Please know that I, in conjunction with our diocesan Office of Worship and in consultation with the Bishop’s Committee on the Liturgy, will continue to work toward addressing these issues to carry out the Holy Father’s desire to make the Tridentine Rite Latin Mass more accessible to the People of God.

If you would like to read the Holy Father’s Apostolic Letter in its entirety, it may be found at http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/bclnewsletterjune07.pdf.  Those without access to this resource may contact my office for a copy by calling 270-683-1545.

God’s blessings on you always

Sincerely in Christ,

+John J McRaith (signed)

In the balance this is a very good letter.  I don’t know what dispositions there are presently in place in that diocese, but it sounds like the MP has the backing of the bishop.