Monsignor Sozeman: "Once on a plane ..."

Monsignor Sozeman writes from Rome an occasional series on Facebook entitled "Faith". Here is his latest offering.

Mons Soseman posted in Faith . Mons Soseman 10:28am May 17 Once on a plane, the stewardess asked the gentleman next to me whether he preferred the lasagna or the chicken breast. He didn't quite understand the question, or she didn't understand the answer, but he answered: "Yes" She became even more confused, and then he became confused, and finally he reached up and took both entrees. "No," she said strongly "you get either one or the other." You see, he was wanting a complete meal. Whereas in the US, and most parts of the world, pasta is a complete meal, for Italians pasta is just the first course. We were seated near the back of the plane, and the stewardess considered the situation, and finally the gentleman on the plane was able to keep his whole meal. This happens in life sometimes, we fall short from either wanting too much, or settling for too little. We want everything our own way, or we are hesitant to ask for even a little bit more. So, most of us end up living our lives in the middle, neither excelling nor failing, never doing anything extravagant, either by it's excess or defect. We say sometimes that truth is found in the middle of things. G.K. Chesteron said something about constantly living life this way. He said if we are always moderate, we are not being moderate in moderation. Moderation is good, but if we never embrace life in its fullness, if we never "go for the gusto," we are being immoderately moderate. How many of us look at the grand challenges of life yet shrink back: We shrink back from a conversion in life, perhaps not embracing the Church because of what others might say or do. We hold back from considering a religious vocation, because a life of sacrifice seems too much, and we cannot also see that it is a lifetime of joy. We decide it is too much to think about having another child, ignoring grand and glorious feat that being pro-creators of a new child is. We even might hold back from splurging on a gift for our family once in a while, because saving money for an occasion like that takes time. So, don't forget: Occasionally, when you are asked if you want chicken or pasta, it is OK to say "Yes" View Post on Facebook · Edit Email Settings · Reply to this email to add a comment.

Cardinal Burke: "The sacred liturgy ... can never be reduced to the activity of any individual, not even a priest"

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke from Province of Saint Joseph on Vimeo.
"Worship is owed to God as He Himself has instituted it...must be governed with respect to the divine right" (ius divinum.)

"Every consideration with respect to the sacred liturgy must be essentially theocentric."

Quoting Father Nicola Bux:

" 'What more is there to say? The Church has established the matters that are to be observed in the liturgy and those that are not to be done. But the crisis and the uncertainty of the authority and of Church and liturgical discipline connected to the conviction that to manipulate sacred liturgy is not a serious sin renders the norms a dead letter.'

"This follows precisely from having trampled upon the divine right and the juridical dimension of the liturgy. It is in the liturgical act above all that man must put into practice the way of the beatitude, the poverty of spirit, which recognizes the Lord as Creator of the world and Lord of history and with humility and total fidelity offers to Him due worship."

Regina caeli, laetare, Alleluia!

Quia quem meruisti portare, Alleluia!

Resurrexit sicut dixit, Alleluia!

Ora pro nobis Deum, Alleluia!

Fourth Sunday of Easter: Members of the flock of the Church "do not recognize the voice of strangers" but only that of Christ the true Shepherd

There are many voices in the world today. In addition to cell phones, email, Facebook, chat and Skype we have the internet, news outlets, presidents on one side and terrorist jihadists on the other, bloggers, TV demagogues and talk show hosts, self-help gurus and purveyors of popular spiritual books through public appearances; all these and more have joined the chorus of voices calling out for our very limited attention along with those of our family members, our communities and our bishops.

With our very great limitations as human beings how do we remain open to others in a way that would be pleasing to God, would be holy and in imitation of Jesus Christ our Lord, who exercised compassion for the many who sought him out for a sympathetic hearing, while also obeying Christ's command to refuse falsehood and error?

We must be willing to listen in love to those others who ask for our attention as an expression of love, except in cases where we would be participating in sins such as gossip about the faults of others or lies about others. These are called detraction and calumny, excluded by the laws of God and matters for sacramental confession. We must also avoid listening to any talk such as abusive and angry speech, denigration of the gift of the marital act through lustful speech, advocacy of gratuitous violence outside of legitimate needs for self-defense, or speech which takes the Lord's Holy Name in vain.

Priests, when hearing confessions for example, sometimes must ask the penitent to limit the description of any sins they are confessing to the briefest detail in order to avoid the near occasion of sin. And it is helpful to remind here that penitents are asked to name sins only by type, or species, and number.

For the full text of today's homily, please visit MCITL.


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Vatican: 1962 Liturgy Needs "Appropriate Honor"

ZE11051311 - 2011-05-13

Vatican: 1962 Liturgy Needs "Appropriate Honor"
New Document Clarifies Pope's Expansion of Extraordinary Form

VATICAN CITY, MAY 13, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Almost four years after Benedict XVI's "Summorum Pontificum" expanded use of the 1962 Missal, clarifications on its use were released today by the Vatican.

The July 7, 2007, document on the "extraordinary form" of the Roman Rite made the liturgy used before the reforms of the Second Vatican Council more accessible to the universal Church.
The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei clarified "Summorum Pontificum" today with "Universae Ecclesiae." Jesuit Father Federico, director of the Vatican press office, also released a statement about the new document. "Universae Ecclesiae" carries the signature of the Ecclesia Dei president, Cardinal William Levada.

"Universae Ecclesiae" reiterates what the Pope said in 2007: "There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the Liturgy growth and progress are found, but not a rupture."

For the rest of the article visit Zenit.org

PONTIFICAL COMMISSION ECCLESIA DEI INSTRUCTION on the application of the Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum of HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI

"each particular Church must be in accord with the universal Church not only regarding the doctrine of the faith and sacramental signs, but also as to the usages universally handed down by apostolic and unbroken tradition. These are to be maintained not only so that errors may be avoided, but also so that the faith may be passed on in its integrity, since the Church's rule of prayer (lex orandi) corresponds to her rule of belief (lex credendi)."¹

PONTIFICAL COMMISSION ECCLESIA DEI

INSTRUCTION
on the application of the Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum of
HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI given Motu Proprio

I.
Introduction

1. The Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum of the Sovereign Pontiff Benedict XVI given Motu Proprio on 7 July 2007, which came into effect on 14 September 2007, has made the richness of the Roman Liturgy more accessible to the Universal Church.

2. With this Motu Proprio, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI promulgated a universal law for the Church, intended to establish new regulations for the use of the Roman Liturgy in effect in 1962.

3. The Holy Father, having recalled the concern of the Sovereign Pontiffs in caring for the Sacred Liturgy and in their recognition of liturgical books, reaffirms the traditional principle, recognised from time immemorial and necessary to be maintained into the future, that "each particular Church must be in accord with the universal Church not only regarding the doctrine of the faith and sacramental signs, but also as to the usages universally handed down by apostolic and unbroken tradition. These are to be maintained not only so that errors may be avoided, but also so that the faith may be passed on in its integrity, since the Church's rule of prayer (lex orandi) corresponds to her rule of belief (lex credendi)."1

4. The Holy Father recalls also those Roman Pontiffs who, in a particular way, were notable in this task, specifically Saint Gregory the Great and Saint Pius V. The Holy Father stresses moreover that, among the sacred liturgical books, the Missale Romanum has enjoyed a particular prominence in history, and was kept up to date throughout the centuries until the time of Blessed Pope John XXIII. Subsequently in 1970, following the liturgical reform after the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI approved for the Church of the Latin rite a new Missal, which was then translated into various languages. In the year 2000, Pope John Paul II promulgated the third edition of this Missal.

5. Many of the faithful, formed in the spirit of the liturgical forms prior to the Second Vatican Council, expressed a lively desire to maintain the ancient tradition. For this reason, Pope John Paul II with a special Indult Quattuor abhinc annos issued in 1984 by the Congregation for Divine Worship, granted the faculty under certain conditions to restore the use of the Missal promulgated by Blessed Pope John XXIII. Subsequently, Pope John Paul II, with the Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei of 1988, exhorted the Bishops to be generous in granting such a faculty for all the faithful who requested it. Pope Benedict continues this policy with the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum regarding certain essential criteria for the Usus Antiquior of the Roman Rite, which are recalled here.

6. The Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI and the last edition prepared under Pope John XXIII, are two forms of the Roman Liturgy, defined respectively as ordinaria and extraordinaria: they are two usages of the one Roman Rite, one alongside the other. Both are the expression of the same lex orandi of the Church. On account of its venerable and ancient use, the forma extraordinaria is to be maintained with appropriate honor.

7. The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum was accompanied by a letter from the Holy Father to Bishops, with the same date as the Motu Proprio (7 July 2007). This letter gave further explanations regarding the appropriateness and the need for the Motu Proprio; it was a matter of overcoming a lacuna by providing new norms for the use of the Roman Liturgy of 1962. Such norms were needed particularly on account of the fact that, when the new Missal had been introduced under Pope Paul VI, it had not seemed necessary to issue guidelines regulating the use of the 1962 Liturgy. By reason of the increase in the number of those asking to be able to use the forma extraordinaria, it has become necessary to provide certain norms in this area.

Among the statements of the Holy Father was the following: "There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the Liturgy growth and progress are found, but not a rupture. What was sacred for prior generations, remains sacred and great for us as well, and cannot be suddenly prohibited altogether or even judged harmful."2

8. The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum constitutes an important expression of the Magisterium of the Roman Pontiff and of his munus of regulating and ordering the Church’s Sacred Liturgy.3 The Motu Proprio manifests his solicitude as Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pastor of the Universal Church,4 and has the aim of:

a.) offering to all the faithful the Roman Liturgy in the Usus Antiquior, considered as a precious treasure to be preserved;

b.) effectively guaranteeing and ensuring the use of the forma extraordinaria for all who ask for it, given that the use of the 1962 Roman Liturgy is a faculty generously granted for the good of the faithful and therefore is to be interpreted in a sense favourable to the faithful who are its principal addressees;

c.) promoting reconciliation at the heart of the Church.

II.
The Responsibilities
of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei

9. The Sovereign Pontiff has conferred upon the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei ordinary vicarious power for the matters within its competence, in a particular way for monitoring the observance and application of the provisions of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum (cf. art. 12).

10. § 1. The Pontifical Commission exercises this power, beyond the faculties previously granted by Pope John Paul II and confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, artt. 11-12), also by means of the power to decide upon recourses legitimately sent to it, as hierarchical Superior, against any possible singular administrative provision of an Ordinary which appears to be contrary to the Motu Proprio.

§ 2. The decrees by which the Pontifical Commission decides recourses may be challenged ad normam iuris before the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.

11. After having received the approval from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei will have the task of looking after future editions of liturgical texts pertaining to the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite.

III.
Specific Norms

12. Following upon the inquiry made among the Bishops of the world, and with the desire to guarantee the proper interpretation and the correct application of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, this Pontifical Commission, by virtue of the authority granted to it and the faculties which it enjoys, issues this Instruction according to can. 34 of the Code of Canon Law.

The Competence of Diocesan Bishops

13. Diocesan Bishops, according to Canon Law, are to monitor liturgical matters in order to guarantee the common good and to ensure that everything is proceeding in peace and serenity in their Dioceses5, always in agreement with the mens of the Holy Father clearly expressed by the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.6 In cases of controversy or well-founded doubt about the celebration in the forma extraordinaria, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei will adjudicate.

14. It is the task of the Diocesan Bishop to undertake all necessary measures to ensure respect for the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite, according to the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

The coetus fidelium (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art. 5 § 1)

15. A coetus fidelium ("group of the faithful") can be said to be stabiliter existens ("existing in a stable manner"), according to the sense of art. 5 § 1 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, when it is constituted by some people of an individual parish who, even after the publication of the Motu Proprio, come together by reason of their veneration for the Liturgy in the Usus Antiquior, and who ask that it might be celebrated in the parish church or in an oratory or chapel; such a coetus ("group") can also be composed of persons coming from different parishes or dioceses, who gather together in a specific parish church or in an oratory or chapel for this purpose.

16. In the case of a priest who presents himself occasionally in a parish church or an oratory with some faithful, and wishes to celebrate in the forma extraordinaria, as foreseen by articles 2 and 4 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, the pastor or rector of the church, or the priest responsible, is to permit such a celebration, while respecting the schedule of liturgical celebrations in that same church.

17. § 1. In deciding individual cases, the pastor or the rector, or the priest responsible for a church, is to be guided by his own prudence, motivated by pastoral zeal and a spirit of generous welcome.

§ 2. In cases of groups which are quite small, they may approach the Ordinary of the place to identify a church in which these faithful may be able to come together for such celebrations, in order to ensure easier participation and a more worthy celebration of the Holy Mass.

18. Even in sanctuaries and places of pilgrimage the possibility to celebrate in the forma extraordinaria is to be offered to groups of pilgrims who request it (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art. 5 § 3), if there is a qualified priest.

19. The faithful who ask for the celebration of the forma extraordinaria must not in any way support or belong to groups which show themselves to be against the validity or legitimacy of the Holy Mass or the Sacraments celebrated in the forma ordinaria or against the Roman Pontiff as Supreme Pastor of the Universal Church.

Sacerdos idoneus ("Qualified Priest") (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art 5 § 4)

20. With respect to the question of the necessary requirements for a priest to be held idoneus ("qualified") to celebrate in the forma extraordinaria, the following is hereby stated:

a.) Every Catholic priest who is not impeded by Canon Law7 is to be considered idoneus ("qualified") for the celebration of the Holy Mass in the forma extraordinaria.

b.) Regarding the use of the Latin language, a basic knowledge is necessary, allowing the priest to pronounce the words correctly and understand their meaning.

c.) Regarding knowledge of the execution of the Rite, priests are presumed to be qualified who present themselves spontaneously to celebrate the forma extraordinaria, and have celebrated it previously.

21. Ordinaries are asked to offer their clergy the possibility of acquiring adequate preparation for celebrations in the forma extraordinaria. This applies also to Seminaries, where future priests should be given proper formation, including study of Latin8 and, where pastoral needs suggest it, the opportunity to learn the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite.

22. In Dioceses without qualified priests, Diocesan Bishops can request assistance from priests of the Institutes erected by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, either to the celebrate the forma extraordinaria or to teach others how to celebrate it.

23. The faculty to celebrate sine populo (or with the participation of only one minister) in the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite is given by the Motu Proprio to all priests, whether secular or religious (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art. 2). For such celebrations therefore, priests, by provision of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, do not require any special permission from their Ordinaries or superiors.

Liturgical and Ecclesiastical Discipline

24. The liturgical books of the forma extraordinaria are to be used as they are. All those who wish to celebrate according to the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite must know the pertinent rubrics and are obliged to follow them correctly.

25. New saints and certain of the new prefaces can and ought to be inserted into the 1962 Missal9, according to provisions which will be indicated subsequently.

26. As foreseen by article 6 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, the readings of the Holy Mass of the Missal of 1962 can be proclaimed either solely in the Latin language, or in Latin followed by the vernacular or, in Low Masses, solely in the vernacular.

27. With regard to the disciplinary norms connected to celebration, the ecclesiastical discipline contained in the Code of Canon Law of 1983 applies.

28. Furthermore, by virtue of its character of special law, within its own area, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum derogates from those provisions of law, connected with the sacred Rites, promulgated from 1962 onwards and incompatible with the rubrics of the liturgical books in effect in 1962.

Confirmation and Holy Orders

29. Permission to use the older formula for the rite of Confirmation was confirmed by the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum (cf. art. 9 § 2). Therefore, in the forma extraordinaria, it is not necessary to use the newer formula of Pope Paul VI as found in the Ordo Confirmationis.

30. As regards tonsure, minor orders and the subdiaconate, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum does not introduce any change in the discipline of the Code of Canon Law of 1983; consequently, in Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life which are under the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, one who has made solemn profession or who has been definitively incorporated into a clerical institute of apostolic life, becomes incardinated as a cleric in the institute or society upon ordination to the diaconate, in accordance with canon 266 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

31. Only in Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life which are under the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, and in those which use the liturgical books of the forma extraordinaria, is the use of the Pontificale Romanum of 1962 for the conferral of minor and major orders permitted.

Breviarium Romanum

32. Art. 9 § 3 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum gives clerics the faculty to use the Breviarium Romanum in effect in 1962, which is to be prayed entirely and in the Latin language.

The Sacred Triduum

33. If there is a qualified priest, a coetus fidelium ("group of faithful"), which follows the older liturgical tradition, can also celebrate the Sacred Triduum in the forma extraordinaria. When there is no church or oratory designated exclusively for such celebrations, the parish priest or Ordinary, in agreement with the qualified priest, should find some arrangement favourable to the good of souls, not excluding the possibility of a repetition of the celebration of the Sacred Triduum in the same church.

The Rites of Religious Orders

34. The use of the liturgical books proper to the Religious Orders which were in effect in 1962 is permitted.

Pontificale Romanum and the Rituale Romanum

35. The use of the Pontificale Romanum, the Rituale Romanum, as well as the Caeremoniale Episcoporum in effect in 1962, is permitted, in keeping with n. 28 of this Instruction, and always respecting n. 31 of the same Instruction.

The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, in an audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei on 8 April 2011, approved this present Instruction and ordered its publication.

Given at Rome, at the Offices of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, 30 April, 2011, on the memorial of Pope Saint Pius V.

William Cardinal LEVADA
President

Mons. Guido Pozzo
Secretary

_______________

1 BENEDICTUS XVI, Litterae Apostolicae Summorum Pontificum motu proprio datae, I, AAS 99 (2007) 777; cf. Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, tertia editio 2002, n. 397.

2 BENEDICTUS XVI, Epistola ad Episcopos ad producendas Litteras Apostolicas motu proprio datas, de Usu Liturgiae Romanae Instaurationi anni 1970 praecedentis, AAS 99 (2007) 798.

3 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 838 §1 and §2.

4 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 331.

5 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canons 223 § 2 or 838 §1 and §4.

6 BENEDICTUS XVI, Epistola ad Episcopos ad producendas Litteras Apostolicas motu proprio datas, de Usu Liturgiae Romanae Instaurationi anni 1970 praecedentis, AAS 99 (2007) 799.

7 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 900 § 2.

8 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 249; Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, 36; Declaration Optatum totius, 13.9 BENEDICTUS XVI, Epistola ad Episcopos ad producendas Litteras Apostolicas motu proprio datas, de Usu Liturgiae Romanae Instaurationi anni 1970 praecedentis, AAS 99 (2007) 797.

Benedict to issue instruction on Summorum Pontificum tomorrow

Rome will publish a document on how to implement Summorum Pontificum tomorrow, May 13, 2011. Even more interesting would be to know: why this has become necessary?

The instruction is entitled l’Istruzione Universae Ecclesiae della Pontificia Commissione Ecclesia Dei sull’applicazione della Lettera Apostolica Motu Proprio data “Summorum Pontificum” di S.S. Benedetto XVI / Instruction for the universal Church by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei on the application of the Apostolic letter motu proprio called "Summorum Pontificum" of His Holiness Benedict XVI.

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More on this by Dr Robert Moynihan:
A long-awaited document from the Holy See containing guidelines on the implementation of the Pope's 2007 motu proprio permitting wider use of the old Tridentine liturgy -- the "old Mass" -- will be published tomorrow.

The Holy See Press Office announced yesterday that the Instruction would be entitled Universae Ecclesiae. It has been written by the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" (PCED). Its topic is the application of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum of July 7, 2007 -- almost four years ago.

The text will be made public at noon on Friday, May 13th -- the anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lay to the three shepherd children at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917.

The text will be published that afternoon in the May 14th edition of L'Osservatore Romano. The Instruction will be published in its Latin typical version, and in Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese translations. I will also be sending out a copy of the text in this newsflash.
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A second document will be published Monday, May 16: a Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Circular Letter that will contain directives to help Episcopal Conferences in the drafting of National Guidelines on how to deal with cases of sexual abuse of minors by clergy.
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Although the Press Release mentions no Press Conference for the presentation of the document, it informs that the Holy See Press Office will release, together with the Instruction, an explanatory note (Nota redazionale) to the press.

Here is the full text of the Vatican Press Release in Italian, including not only the information regarding the PCED Instruction, but also reference to the second, CDF document on child abuse:

AVVISO AI GIORNALISTI

Venerdì 13 maggio 2011 verrà resa nota dalla Sala Stampa l’Istruzione Universae Ecclesiae della Pontificia Commissione Ecclesia Dei sull’applicazione della Lettera Apostolica Motu Proprio data “Summorum Pontificum” di S.S. Benedetto XVI. L’Istruzione sarà pubblicata sull’edizione pomeridiana dell’Osservatore Romano, con data 14 maggio.

Il testo dell’Istruzione – in lingua latina, italiana, francese, inglese, tedesca, spagnola e portoghese, sarà a disposizione dei giornalisti accreditati a partire dalle ore 10 di venerdì 13 maggio, con embargo fino alle ore 12. Con il testo dell’Istruzione verrà fornita anche una Nota redazionale.

Lunedì 16 maggio p.v. la Sala Stampa pubblicherà la Lettera Circolare della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede, scritta per aiutare le Conferenze Episcopali nel preparare Linee guida per il trattamento dei casi di abuso sessuale nei confronti di minori da parte di chierici.

La Lettera Circolare – in lingua italiana, francese, inglese, tedesca, spagnola, portoghese e polacca – sarà a disposizione dei giornalisti accreditati a partire dalle ore 10 di lunedì 16 maggio, con embargo fino alle ore 12. Con il testo della Circolare verrà fornita anche una Nota di Sintesi, a cura della Sala Stampa.”



=======================
Confusion over the Liturgy

It is by now commonly agreed that there has been great confusion over the Church's liturgy during the post-conciliar period.

Pope Benedict is attempting to lessen or end that confusion with the documents he has written or authorized.

In the process, he has run into opposition both from the "left" and from the "right." (Though these "political" terms are inadequate to describe the different camps within the Church, I use them simply to get across the idea of the spectrum of opposition Benedict faces).

On the "left," the Pope's decision to allow wider use of the old rite has been met with irritation and consternation, as if he were trying to "roll back" all of the new "openness" which followed Vatican II, not just in liturgical matters, but in all doctrinal and ecclesial matters whatsoever. So the decision to support the "old" Mass is seen as a "sign" of a much larger agenda. For this reason, many cardinals and bishops have opposed the wider use of the old liturgy. They argued their point vigorously with Benedict in the months before he released the motu proprio on July 7, 2007, and this is why he delayed publication of Summorum Pontificum for more than a year.

On the "right," the Pope's decision to allow wider use of the old rite has been generally greeted with appreciation and praise, with two major reservations. The first, that the Pope has not made clear to bishops that they really should embrace and support the celebration of the old rite (very few bishops have done so, for the reasons just stated). The second, that the Pope has not gone far enough -- in the view of the most traditional Catholics on the "right" -- to distance himself from what are seen as weaknesses, even defects, in the new Mass.

So, whatever the new document released tomorrow says, it remains unclear how all this will work out for the Church.

Some actually still foresee the "old Mass" slowly dying out -- permitted by the Pope, but quietly strangled by the rest of the hierarchy.

Others actually see the "old Mass" slowly going from strength to strength, over coming years and decades, and the "new Mass" eventually dying out, as an "un-organic" development of the Church's liturgy which the post-conciliar Church tried with all its strength to impose, but which will slowly be revealed to be a side path that does not lead forward.

Some believe the two forms of the Latin rite will slowly "merge," the new Mass becoming more solemn and the "old" Mass having more use of the vernacular and more participation from the laity.

This "merging" vision is of concern to more traditional Catholics, who resist any alteration of the old liturgy, fearing such alteration may lessen or diminish the holiness and effectiveness of the liturgical action.

Of course, the goal of all Catholic liturgy is to worship the Triune God with a true, perfect, universal ("from east to west") and holy sacrifice. What does this really mean?

The word "sacrifice" is a fascinating word. It is a compound of the words for "sacred" or "holy" and "to make" (facio, facere) so a "sacrifice" means, literally, to "make sacred," "make holy."

But only God is holy. So a liturgy has to enter into the very life or being of God to accomplish its purpose.

This is why the Catholic liturgy is entirely centered on the re-enactment of the sacrifice (the universal "making holy") of Jesus Christ on the cross almost 2,000 years ago -- with the active participation of the faithful -- it is the one moment of human history when we know that a divine grace was poured out on an act of sacrifice. We know this because of the Resurrection, when he who was sacrificed, when the offering which was sacrificed, rose to new life.

Pope Paul VI decided to change the form and prayers of the old Mass out of a desire to overcome a number of issues which seemed serious to him: the lack of understanding of Latin by many of the faithful; the lack of simplicity in certain aspects of the old Mass, which made it seem "encrusted" with gestures and prayers the ordinary faithful either did not understand, or could not participate in.

But he himself was hesitant when he chose to promulgate the new Mass. (It is said that when he saw the new Mass celebrated for the first time, he lifted his hands and said: "What have you done? Where is the mystery?" Of course, this was precisely the point of the reform -- to remove the mystery, to bring all aspects of the Mass out into the light of day, the light of human reason. The question is, is such an aim, of removing the mystery, a valid and desirable aim? I note that the word "mystery" in Greek is the same word as the word "sacrament" in Latin -- if one takes away the mystery, in fact, one takes away the sacrament -- literally speaking.)

The position of Pope Benedict, who was trained prior to the Council and who celebrated the old Mass for many years prior to the reform in the late 1960s, is that something went tragically wrong with the reform.

Instead of a new age of vibrant Christian faith, accompanied by unswerving service of God and man, we have millions leaving the Church, not attending Mass, and evidently not understanding the inner meaning of the sacrament even in the new liturgy. Faith is the "Real Presence," according to surveys, has fallen to a very low percentage of all Catholics.

Benedict knows this well.

This is why his entire pontificate has been marked by the theme of "the reform of the reform." Benedict wishes to accomplish some sort of "reform" of that "reform" which he himself helped to bring about as a young man at the Council, when the Council Fathers voted for a "reform" of the liturgy -- and ended up with years and decades of liturgical confusion.

Benedict himself celebrates Mass according to its ordinary form, the rite of Paul VI, the so-called "new Mass." (He has not celebrated the "old" Mass, the "extraordinary" form, since he was elected; if he were to do so, it would be dramatic.)

However, he generally celebrates the new Mass in the way that Mass was celebrated when the extraordinary form was ordinary.

He employs Latin and traditional altar appointments and vestments; his manner of celebration certainly takes its cues from the traditional Latin liturgy, and not from the more modern forms.

There is Latin chant and polyphony when the Pope celebrates the ordinary form.

He is providing an example for the rest of the clergy when he does what he does.
So we await the publication tomorrow of the document which has been announced, and hope that it will bring us a step closer to the "reform of the reform" which Benedict has so profoundly desired.

(From an email communication by Dr. Robert Moynihan of Inside the Vatican Magazine. For more info click this link.)