Authority of the New Mass
& Aristocratic Tone

TIA,

Can you verify whether or not Paul Vl imposed the Novus Ordo Mass or merely proposed it to the Church Universal? What kind of Papal authority was used, if any at all?

St.Pius V, pray for us

     S.M.


TIA responds:

S.M.,

There is a necessary distinction to be made regarding the force of law given to Paul VI’s Novus Ordo Mass

1. One is its juridical authority, which can be found in Apostolic Constitution Missale Romanum, the papal document that preceded the text of the Novus Ordo Mass and the General Instruction that followed it.

Paul VI ended that Apostolic Constitution with these words:

In conclusion, we wish to give the force of law to all that we have set forth concerning the new Roman Missal. … While leaving room in the new Missal, according to the order of the Second Vatican Council, “for legitimate variations and adaptations” we hope nevertheless that the Missal will be received by the faithful as an instrument which bears witness to and which affirms the common unity of all. Thus, in the great diversity of languages, one unique prayer will rise as an acceptable offering to our Father in heaven, through our High-Priest Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit.

We order that the prescriptions of this Constitution go into effect November 30th of this year, the first Sunday of Advent.

We wish that these Our decrees and prescriptions may be firm and effective now and in the future, notwithstanding, to the extent necessary, the apostolic constitutions and ordinances issued by Our predecessors, and other prescriptions, even those deserving particular mention and derogation. (original here)

Theoretically speaking, therefore, the door was not completely closed to other forms of Mass in the Latin Rite, although Paul V clearly affirmed he wanted to have the "unity of all."

2. Another is the practical way it was applied. In practice, after a period of adaptation, the Traditional Rite of St. Pius V, know today as Tridentine Mass, was entirely forbidden.

The then Card. Joseph Ratzinger gave testimony to this radical prohibition. In his book Milestones: Memoirs, 1927-1977, he wrote:

The second great event at the beginning of my years in Regensburg was the publication of the Missal of Paul VI, which was accompanied by the almost total prohibition, after a transitional phase of only half a year, of using the missal we had had until then. I welcomed the fact that now we had a binding liturgical text after a period of experimentation that had often deformed the liturgy. But I was dismayed by the prohibition of the old missal, since nothing of the sort had ever happened in the entire history of the liturgy. (Milestones - Memoirs: 1927-1977, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1998, p. 146)

In practice, therefore, the Novus Ordo Mass was imposed everywhere by Paul VI and the Tridentine Mass was forbidden.

We hope this response will clarify the matter for you.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondent desk

Dear TIA,

Thank you for this article [on aristocratic tone]. It gives a beautiful reminder that to use such pieces of elegance at a table is an honor and a custom that should be continued in the confines of our homes as we teach our children to appreciate all that is elevated to the service of God. Second, fostering the appreciation of this type of decorum only enhances our dignity and gratitude, I believe.

It is a gift to receive this information at a time when all true beauty seems at risk of being obliterated by the vulgarity and obscenity of the Revolution.

     E.S.

TIA,

Abomination!! If this is allowed in a cathedral, it’s got to be a New Church!

This is surely evidence of just how bad things are in the conciliar Church. What is more, this is in Germany, and therefore Pope Benedict XVI is most certainly aware of this unabashed and blatant insult to Jesus.

The words of St. Vincent Lerins are now far more important than when he said them. The great saint said:

"What then should a Catholic do if some portion of the Church detaches itself from communion of the universal Faith? What choice can he make if some new contagion attempts to poison, no longer a small part of the Church, but the whole Church at once? Then his great concern will be to attach himself to antiquity which can no longer be led astray by any lying novelty."

Thank the good Lord that the SSPX turned down Rome’s ”invitation” to be “reintegrated” into a Church, which so insults Our Lord.

     R.B.

Dear TIA,

I received this clip where someone is dressed as the Virgin Mary and standing as a statue where the faithful would pray and light candles. This "Virgin Mary" would snuff out the candle with her foot and smile at the person praying. There is also someone dressed as a nun who pretends to be "awed" by the whole spectacle and keeps making the sign of the cross.

I am assuming that the people praying were not acting and were not in on the "prank". While I can't say for certain that the church staff was in on this prank, it is from a Canadian TV show, and so it would involve more than someone simply shooting a video with a camera. It would seem to suggest that the church had to be involved, because how could you move the real Virgin Mary statue without church assistance?

So my question would be: What church was in cahoots with this production, and who were the Bishop and priests who thought it was okay to treat the Mother of God in this fashion?

     Yours in Christ,

     M.R.

Dear brothers and sisters,

I want to thank you for collecting all these wonderful photos and articles demonstrating how great and diverse my Church is.

Peace be with you!

      T.S.

TIA,

[Regarding the book review of The Da Vinci Code]: While I appreciate your pointing out (with bristling defensive fervor, I might add) the blasphemous "thesis" of the novel, which is of great use to me for some academic endeavors, I would just like to point out that it is a fiction novel. I do not know if this was picked up on by whoever reviewed the book and I am just letting you all in on the secret.

     B.U.

Hello,

My question is: Have you at Tradition in Action ever heard of the Cardinal Siri Thesis? If so, do you personally believe it to have any validity? This website thepopeinred.com has all the information on this subject.

     D.M.



TIA responds:

Hello D.M..

Yes. We have heard about this thesis, but we do not agree with it. For documents refuting this thesis, you may click here, here, here and here.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk