Liturgical Transformation in Christ
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Liturgical Transformation in Christ
Sunday, July 6, 2025
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Like an internecine tribal war, an emerging pastoral problem within the Latin Rite revolves around an alleged irreconcilability between the post-conciliar new Mass (Novus Ordo) and the pre-conciliar, so-called Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). The difficulties affect parish communities and even families. Some of the tension is historical and healthy. Other forms are unjust, uncharitable, and unnecessary.
Those of us who have lived through the post-Vatican II turmoil recall that the pre-Vatican II accusation was paralyzing. A pre-Vatican II person stood accused of legalism, triumphalism, and intolerance. Today, many proponents of the TLM accuse fellow Catholics who attend Novus Ordo Masses as post-Vatican II.
Pope Francis’ restrictions on the TLM did not resolve tensions, as he said he intended, but fueled discontent. And recent revelations that most of the world’s bishops did not view the older Mass as a problem have stoked fires once more.
The Fathers of Vatican II taught that new liturgical change “should in some way grow organically from forms already existing.” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 23) They did not mandate the vernacular, but permitted it (and did not envision that the Roman Canon would depart from the Latin). Pope John Paul II’s doctrinal chief, then-Cardinal Ratzinger, tirelessly argued that a “hermeneutic of continuity” in liturgy and doctrine would eventually heal the perceived Vatican II rupture.
Sober Churchmen could have suppressed irreverent innovations: “Hootenanny Masses,” folk Masses, liturgical dance, narcissistic priests, and the many violations of liturgical guidelines. But ill-advised changes wounded liturgical practices. Most importantly, faith in the Real Presence suffered.
In the 1970s and 1980s, authorities often labeled an orthodox seminarian as archconservative, pre-Vatican II, and rigid. Although occasionally naïve and immature, he held fast to the doctrines of the Catholic faith, especially the teaching on contraception and abortion. He preferred traditional sacred hymnody and objected to the vapid Glory and Praise Jesuit hymnal. He was a liturgical lawman and hoped priests would faithfully read the words of the Mass, accompanied by the prescribed gestures.
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost celebrating Mass, 2024 [photo: Midwest Augustinian Province]
He silently endured the seminary authorities who forced everyone to stand (rather than kneel) during the Canon of the Mass. He rejected the bizarre innovation of liturgical dance, the abomination of clown Masses (sic), and a whole array of liturgical nonsense that haunts elderly Catholics today with flashback memories. A “pre-Vatican II” seminarian read the documents of Vatican II with a critical and faithful mind.
The typical “archconservative pre-Vatican II rigid” seminarian did not oppose the Novus Ordo. He lamented liturgical abuse and bad liturgical translations. In the 1990s, over 2,000 English-speaking Novus Ordo priests raised alarms over the revised liturgical translation. The bureaucratic plan was to desacralize the vocabulary (eliminate words such as spirit, holy, and Only Begotten) and distort the translation towards a feminist ideology. The translation wars continued until proponents of an accurate translation of the Latin Roman Missal declared victory with the release of a good English translation in 2011.
The return to relative liturgical stability and reverence enabled the restoration of the TLM – beginning with the Ecclesia Dei initiative of Pope John Paul II and continuing with the policies of Pope Benedict. Many hoped the reintroduction of the TLM into Church practice would help the Novus Ordo mature with the help of its elder brother.
The widespread celebration of the TLM encourages priests to reinforce and incorporate many of the reverent gestures of the TLM into the Novus Ordo without violence. Among the compatibilities: The crisp and reverent orans posture, downcast eyes (which immunizes a priest from the virus of narcissism), traditional sacred hymnody, celebrating Mass ad orientem (leading the people in prayer facing east), the handling of the Eucharist, etc.
Pope Leo XIV celebrating Mass, 2025 [Vatican Media]
Memories of traditional Church architecture – including the centrality of the tabernacle and installation of the Communion rail – also have a happy effect on restoring reverence. Young people rediscovered the ancient ritual with the smells, bells, reverence, and stability.
Mature Catholics have long ago identified the ill-advised teachings of Vatican II (e.g., the excessive optimism of Gaudium et Spes) but delight in the Council’s rock-solid teachings (e.g., the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei verbum). Friendly arguments among faithful Catholics encourage a deeper understanding of the faith. However, the threat of a renewed deconstruction of the Novus Ordo, repeating the post-conciliar liturgical and doctrinal revisions, looms large – especially in reaction to Pope Francis’ draconian restrictions on the TLM.
Conversely, faithful so-called Novus Ordo priests, who are often long-suffering proponents of the Catholic restoration, found themselves on the opposite end of the spectrum. Heretofore labeled pre-Vatican II for their orthodoxy in the decades following the Council, some TLM proponents now derisively dismiss them as Vatican II Catholics because they accept the Council’s teachings as authoritative.
There are many opportunities for productive and respectful discussions among proponents of the TLM and the Novus Ordo, if there is mutual respect and reverence for legitimate liturgical legislation. The institutional errors, however, will take time to remedy. A good deal of irreverence followed Pope Paul VI’s reluctant permission of Communion in the hand. Pope John Paul II famously disapproved (as did Mother Teresa), but the genie was out of the bottle. The return to Communion on the tongue will likely occur incrementally.
Circumstances may require a family to reject a liturgically-crippled parish. But the reverent celebration of the Mass, regardless of form, should never be a factor. The first three Commandments require devotion in worship. The Fourth Commandment requires our obedience to our parents and our lawful authorities (including Church authorities). The Fifth Commandment requires extinguishing hatred during misunderstandings and debates. The Sixth Commandment requires that husbands and wives not allow liturgical controversies to harm marriages.
Above all, the Mass – Novus Ordo or the TLM – is all about transformation in Christ. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
**Liturgical Transformation in Christ
Those of us who have lived through the post-Vatican II turmoil recall that the pre-Vatican II accusation was paralyzing. A pre-Vatican II person stood accused of legalism, triumphalism, and intolerance. Today, many proponents of the TLM accuse fellow Catholics who attend Novus Ordo Masses as post-Vatican II.
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