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The site of  MyFox in St. Louis, MO has a story about the Extraordinary Form of Mass with the 1962 Missale Romanum.  Let’s have a glance with my emphases and comments.   Look past the sloppy terminology "Latin Mass".
   

 

In Good Faith: Latin Mass
Last Edited: Monday, 05 Nov 2007, 5:38 PM CST

by Dan Gray

St. Louis, MO (KTVI – myFOXstl.com) —

  More Catholics are worshiping at Latin masses in the St. Louis Archdiocese.  St. Francis de Sales Church in South St. Louis has been offering the Latin mass for two years where nearly one-thousand people worship every Sunday.  By the end of this year, three other parishes will be celebrating the old worship.  In July, the pope relaxed restrictions on celebrating the Latin mass.

     In Good Faith on Monday night, in a rare one on one interview St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke shares why he supports the Latin mass.

    The Latin mass is a liturgy laden with mystery, beauty and formality. It is worship form centuries old making a comeback in 2007.  "The worship of the church is organic, in other words its not possible for us to think that the mass that is celebrated today is ruptured from the mass in 1962 or in the 1800s, there is an organic development," Burke said.  [He is perfectly in line with Joseph Ratzinger in this and how he expressed it.] The archbishop celebrates the Latin mass about a half dozen times a year.  In June he ordained two men to the priesthood during a Latin mass.  The extraordinary mass as it’s called by church officials doesn’t replace the new mass, but some Catholics have complained about abuses of the new mass.

   "People have commented that in some places the sacred nature of the Holy Mass for instance was seriously lost.  The perception of it…that it became informal, a lot of the introduction of the personality of the priest into the celebrations and so forth. [Again, this is in harmony with the Holy Father in Sacramentum caritatis.] So the Holy Father is hoping that by having the two forms of the celebration will enrich one another," the Archbishop said.

Gray:  "Is the Latin mass a more reverent celebration?"

Burke: "Not necessarily, I think reverence that way the mass is celebrated by the priest and by the people who participate in the holy mass. it has a tendency to be reverent simply because it was very highly articulated and disciplined and no opportunity for innovation."  [This is what I wrote yesterday here.]

 Gray: "When I talked to some people who prefer worshipping at the Latin liturgy, they say they believe that’s where Heaven meets Earth?"

  Burke: "There is a real sense of Heaven meeting Earth. Its very rich and there’s a lot of symbolism involved in it.  I grew up in it myself until I was a junior in high school.  I love the old form of the mass, but Heaven meets Earth also with the new order of the mass.

   The Archbishop emphasized the heaven meets earth in the new mass as well.  More than 30 priests in the Archdiocese have expressed interest in learning the Latin mass and Kenrick-Glennon Seminary is offering courses to prepare seminarians to celebrate the old worship.  [Behold, the good shepherd.  Look what happens when the bishop doesn’t try to intimidate priests.  Remember, Summorum Pontificum is also very much about priests, who they are in the Church.]

      Tuesday (11/6/07) on Fox 2 News at 5, more of the one on one interview with Archbishop Burke.  He will share his vision of the archdiocese and how he reacts to those he has alienated.

Click here to listen to samples of a Latin Mass.

 

It is so nice to be able to post positive stories.

I think the tide is turning.

Here is an uplifting article from the Cincinnati Enquirer about the situation of the older form of Mass in Covington, KY.  Summorum Pontificum is having an impact.

My emphases and comments.

Latin mass link to the ages
With Pope Benedict’s encouragement, more churches return to ancient rite
BY SCOTT WARTMAN | SWARTMAN@NKY.COM

The traditional Tridentine Latin Mass practiced by all Roman Catholics for centuries before the 1960s has started to creep back into Catholic parishes across the country.

The Rev. Phillip DeVous has brushed up on his Latin at the request of some parishioners at St. Bernard parish in Dayton who wanted the old-fashioned Latin Mass.

"I think Catholics should check it out," DeVous said. "The church has a 2,000-year history. Even if people don’t prefer the traditional Latin Mass, the Holy Father gives them the option. They should know about it."  [That is a reasonable position.  People should know their Rite: as Pope Benedict explained in Sacramentum caritatis, we are our rites.]

Pope Benedict XVI decreed in an apostolic letter on July 7 that pastors of the Latin rite can decide to offer the old Latin Mass without seeking approval from a bishop.  [Exactly.  I would add that the pastor probably doesn’t even need requests of the faithful for this, perhaps even for a public and regularly schedule Mass.]

St. Bernard, a church of about 265 families, started offering the Latin Mass a week ago at 12:15 p.m. on Sundays. The Latin Mass [We hope for better terminology in the future.] moved from the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington to St. Bernard so the 100 devotees could have a regular priest and parish to call their own, DeVous said. The congregation comes from all over the Greater Cincinnati region.  [This sounds like personal parish.  Maybe we need some on the spot reporting.   But it should stay at the Cathedral too!]

"It will provide an opportunity for St. Bernard’s to be a spiritual home for them," DeVous said.

A Mass that can last as long as two hours in an ancient language might seem like something that would appeal only to old-timers.

But in the handful of area churches that offer a traditional Latin Mass, the congregations tend to have a younger mix.  [That’s right.  This isn’t about nostalgiaor rejecting Vatican II, blah blah blah.   This is about people looking for something to nourish their souls.]

Many people in their 20s and 30s fill the pews at these Masses.

Ashley Paver became enamored with the old rite in his native England when he converted [It would be interesting to poll congregations and check who is a convert.  I bet quite a few are converts or reverts.] to Catholicism. Paver, 32, of downtown Cincinnati, attended the Latin Mass at Covington’s cathedral and now attends St. Bernard.

"It is very beautiful," Paver said. "Sometimes people overplay the aesthetics element, but it does have great importance. There is a striking beauty to the Mass."  [Beauty reflects and leads to Truth.]

It was this beauty that drew Chris and Tracey Cusick and their seven children to start attending the Masses in Covington.

The Cusicks moved from New Jersey to Union in March. They now attend St. Bernard.

Chris Cusick, 35, said the reverence and beauty in the old Mass will instill in their children a greater respect for God.

"The priest at our previous parish had done such a beautiful job celebrating the new rite liturgy, we were afraid that if we didn’t find something similar, they would lose the mysticism they had gained in the Mass," he said.

Many of those who attend the Mass are young with big families like his, Cusick said.

A CONNECTION WITH THE PAST

By making it easier for priests to offer the Latin Mass, the pope [also] hopes people will experience a closer connection with the history of the Catholic Church, DeVous said.

The connection with the past appeals to many like Paver.

"It is not only connected with Catholics all over the world now, but all Catholics that have ever been," Paver said. "It is the continuity, the way we use the same symbols. We pray in the same way they have through the centuries."  [This priest gets it: continuity.]

The Masses can last one to two hours depending on whether it’s a high or low Mass. Chants and polyphonic choruses fill the church.

Some people have come to misunderstand certain aspects of the traditional Latin Mass, DeVous said.

The priest saying Mass with his back to the congregation isn’t a haughty gesture. The position signifies the priest is facing the same direction as the congregation and leading them in the worship of God, DeVous said.

But the long Masses can be hard to adjust to at first, Cusick said.

"It is a challenge the first few times, especially with kids," he said. "We feel we are called to go because of the reverence shown in the Mass."

SPREADING AROUND U.S.

Since the 1980s when Pope John Paul II encouraged dioceses to offer the old form of the Mass, it has spread throughout the country, said Mary Kraychy, executive director of the Coalition in Support of Ecclesia Dei, an Illinois-based organization devoted to promoting the traditional Latin Masses.

The number of U.S. parishes offering Latin Masses has grown from six in 1988 to more than 120, Kraychy said.

Requests for Latin translation missals from Ecclesia Dei have risen from 1,000 a month to 1,000 a week [!] since the pope’s July decree, Kraychy said.

"Many of them come to Mass totally confused at first," Kraychy said. "They feel this is part of their heritage that has never been explained to them. There is this wonderful sense of awe at this treasure."  [Yes!  The "I’ve been robbed!  Why didn’t people let me have this before?" phenomenon is pretty common.]

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has had some slight additional interest in expanding the number of Tridentine Latin Masses in addition to the two parishes that offer the Mass, said Dan Andriacco, archdiocese spokesman.  [LOL!   How predictable.  The archdiocesan spokesman says there is "slight" additional interest.]

Two archdiocese priests have expressed interest in bringing the Latin Mass to their parishes.

But the number of Catholics who practice the older Mass remains a small percentage of the total membership in the Cincinnati Archdiocese, with 100 people attending the Latin Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Camp Washington and about 200 people at Our Lady of the Rosary in Dayton, Andriacco said. 

But some see the appeal growing.

"In a world with so much busyness, this particular Mass is popular," DeVous said. "Some feel maybe too much was stripped away too quickly.

"It communicates to me with the music of traditional chants and polyphony. I remember it communicated an immediate sense of the sacred. It communicated the grand nature of God."

Nice, huh? 

I was very happy to receive the news that Solemn Mass will be sung at St. George’s Cathedral in Southwark (UK).  Here are some of the details:

Solemn High Mass (Traditional Rite)

11am, Saturday 8^th December, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

St George’s Metropolitan Cathedral,
Lambeth Road
LONDON SE1
(www.southwark-rc-cathedral.org.uk)

Mass sung to chant by the Gentlemen of the Cathedral Choir

Nearest tube – Lambeth North (Bakerloo line); Waterloo tube and BR; numerous bus routes. See Cathedral website for further directions.

I will be in Rome during that period.  I am hoping that His Holiness will pontificate with the older rite on either 2 or 9 December.  However, maybe I ought to pop up to the sceptred isle for this event. 

I am so pleased for my priest friends, fellow bloggers and non-bloggers, of Southwark.  This is a great benchmark for them all!

If you are anywhere within striking distance of Lambeth on 8 December, consider attending!  I will!

In regard to the photo posted here of the Holy Father saying Mass on Monday for his deceased predecessors, a question arose about the position of the Cross/Crucifix on the altar.

The altar is the "Altar of the Chair" in St. Peter’s Basilica.  Alas, this is no longer Bernini’s glorious altar, rippped out in the 1990’s when Card. Noe was in charge of the Basilica (I was there that morning and saw it happen).  The altar in use there is an awful picnic table altar set up during the time of Paul VI.  So, at this newer Altar of the Chair, the celebrant faces geographical East, when also "facing the people". 

A regular WDTPRSer, Roman Sacristan, sent a note to me about the placement of the Crucifix on the altar.

Here is what Roman Sacristan wrote (edited):

When Mass is ad orientem, this question really doesn’t arise, but when the priest says Mass "facing the opposite direction of the people" if there is a crucifix on the altar, is the corpus supposed to face the people or the priest?
 
Now, I hate to refer to the 2002 GIRM since it is either translated badly or ambiguous, but I have heard priests use #308 to say the crucifix has to face the people.

("308. There is also to be a cross, with the figure of Christ crucified upon it, either on the altar or near it, where it is clearly visible to the assembled congregation. It is appropriate that such a cross, which calls to mind for the faithful the saving Passion of the Lord, remain near the altar even outside of liturgical celebrations." [my emphasis])
 
It seems a bit ambiguous, since even if the corpus is facing the priest, the cross is visible to the people.  And I always thought the crucifix was more for the priest to have a visual "reminder" of what he is carrying out.  But I also have heard that the crucifix is to be a sign to the people of what is going on upon the altar at the Consecration.
 
I know it’s a minor technicality, but with these seemingly conflicting reasons that have been going on with the introduction of Mass "facing the people," I just want to know what the real liturgical principle is on this point.

Let’s take a look at what GIRM 308 really says (my emphases):

308. Item super altare vel prope ipsum crux, cvm effigie Christi crucifixi, habeatur, quae a populo congregato bene conspiciatur. ...  Likewise, on the altar or near it there is to be a Cross with the likeness of Christ crucified, which is easily seen by the congregation. ...

The problem in figuring out the Latin revolves around what that quae refers back to.  Since quae is feminine singular, it goes back to something feminine and singuar.  There are two options, crux ("Cross") and effigies ("likeness").  So, that thing which must be easily visible to the congregation is either the Cross or the image of the Lord on the Cross.  If quae goes back to effigies, then we should read this to mean that the Cross on the altar ought to be turned so the image of the Lord on it it is in the direction of the people.

However, I am sure that quae does not refer back to effigies.  It refers back to crux.  That little clause, cvm effigies Christi crucifixi, simply describes something specific about the object placed on or near the altar: it is to be a Crucifix and not just a Cross. Our quae must go back to crux because the adverb and verb bene conspiciatur goes back to the physical location of the crux on or near the altar.

In the PODCAzTs I did a while back, I read parts of Joseph Ratzinger’s The Spirit of the Liturgy and Feast of Faith.  He describes the position of the Crucifix on the altar in the context of his discussion of why in the Roman Rite we ought to be facing the liturgical East (priest and congregation facing the same way, in expectation of the coming of the Lord).  So, Ratzinger suggests that even in those places where Mass is still going to be said "facing the people", the Crucifix should be placed on the altar between the priest and people so that It becomes the common point of focus … not the priest himself.  In that case, it seems to me that the image of the Crucified could be either way on the altar. 

However, I would prefer that it be turned so that it is toward the priest.   Why?

The role of the priest at Mass is of such importance that it is desirable for him to be firmly anchored in his focus on the Lord, and not on himself.  This proper interior orientation of the priest will affect the entire ars celebrandi (the manner, style, attitude of how Mass is celebrated).

This is actually pretty good news:

Bush to Nominate Harvard Law Professor to Be Vatican Ambassador
Andrew Miga
The Associated Press
11-06-2007

President Bush plans to nominate Harvard University law professor Mary Ann Glendon to be his new U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.

Glendon, 69, is an anti-abortion scholar and an opponent of gay marriage who also has written on the effects of divorce and increased litigation on society. Her 1987 book "Abortion and Divorce in Western Law" was critical of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a legal right to abortion.

The White House announced Monday that Bush will nominate Glendon to the post, which requires Senate confirmation.

Glendon was appointed by Pope John Paul II in 1994 to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, a panel that advises the Roman Catholic church on social policy.

Glendon has served as an adviser to the Vatican in several capacities. In 1995, she was the first woman to lead a delegation of the Holy See at the United Nations Women’s Conference in Beijing. She has also served on the Pontifical Council for the Laity and as a consultant to the Pontifical Council on the Family.

A native of Dalton, Mass., Glendon taught at Boston College and became a visiting professor of law at Harvard in 1974. She became a full professor there in 1986.

 

I have Glendon speaks several times.  As a matter of fact one of the very first posts on this blog dealt with a conference hosted by the Becket Fund and Prof. Glendon was one of the speakers.