The WDTPRS Parodohymnodist, inspired by the reposting of his offering 5th years ago, has come to our service again.
COMPOSER’S NOTE: To the Beatles’ “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” – unfortunately, to fit the tune, you have to put the emphasis on the last syllable of “Summorum”, but it works.
Father Elgin Prist, an accomplished Latinist,
Offered Mass alone,
Using a decree his old bishop wrote,
Long ago…Bishop John McClees, brand new to the diocese,
Plotted on his throne
How to make Father Prist use the
Novus Ordo-o-oBut as he inks his sig-a-net ring
to seal his new decree…Down comes Summorum Pontificum
On that July dawn
Bang! Bang! With a motu proprio,
obstacles were gone!Priests in Timbuktu, dusted off their Fortescue,
Liturgists were stunned,
Shaking like a nun with a
Tambourine,
e-e-ene.“Mass is more profound, when the altar’s turned around,”
cries the NCR,
readers pop their Geritol,
and bemoan
o-o-oanBut Benedict’s got his Marshall Plan,
to reform the reform,Here comes Summorum pontificum
on that July dawn,
Bang! Bang! With a motu proprio,
Obstacles are gone!It’s spectacular, better than vernacular,
The Mass of ’62!
Offered now wherever a priest wants to,
Oo, oo, ooSweet polyphony, streaming from the balcony
While we pray as one,
not distracted by a guitarist’s
Solo-o oExtraordinary, indeed!
God bless Pope Benedict!Thanks for Summorum Pontificum
Now we’re five years on.
Bang! Bang! With a motu proprio,
Obstacles were gone!
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For the “bang bang” would Pope Benedict use the silver hammer used for opening the Holy Year door?
Organising and promoting Masses in the old rite in the UK is now marginally easier, but the real problem lies in the indifference or (still latent or overt) opposition from the clergy. The fact is that most Catholics in the benches have no idea what Summorum Pontificum means and believe that the Mass is Latin died out years ago. It is never mentioned in their presence or preached about; most dioceses have no strategy in place for promoting it and what Masses there are are organised by the few – mostly through the Latin Mass Society, which does sterling work but risks being seen as the sole motivator and ‘customer’ which is not at all true – with the same few clergy, Masses pushed in corners or at difficult times – 3pm being a favourite in these parts. The small congregations they produce can then be held up as proof of its irrelevance.
What is most difficult is overcoming the notion that the place for the EF is in the parishes, and it is not there to satisfy the needs of a few old codgers who live in the past. The real pastoral advantages are thus never seen. For all the aforegoing, needless to say, there are glorious exceptions (eg Bishop Davies in Shrewsbury) but they are not the norm. London, with its exceptional resources and focus, cannot be taken as the norm and the large, public events, High Masses etc are wonderful but difficult to find elsewhere.
The greatest effect of Summ Pont in practice has been to silence the Bishops’ general hostility, Most will either give lip-service to supporting it, or in most cases expect anyone but themselves to do something about it. In short: “You want it, you sort it.”
I am sure things will come right but 5 years on, one would have expected much more progress. We read with envy of all that goes on in the US, which would appear to be considerably more than here. God bless their endeavours and send them over here!
The comment on the indifference of clergy is not so much false, as it is incomplete. In some parts of the country, where pastors are administering two, three, even four parishes, there is barely time to do the essentials, never mind learn to say Mass in an additional way.
Even where it is available, and priests are anxious to do it, the problem of supply is solved, only to be met by one of demand. The fact is, in many places where the TLM is readily available, there are very few people who want it. As a result, it is relegated to an inconvenient time, or is not done regularly. This is most unfortunate, but will, God willing, be a problem that solves itself in time.
Until then, while it is understandable, one cannot expect things like this to happen overnight.
I have a vague memory of the Beatles’ ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’, so it would be nice there was a video to go with the words. Any chance of that happening?
But….BRAV-O, Tim Ferguson!