Saturday, October 28, 2006
Introduction to the Tridentine Mass
The sacred liturgy is the public worship which our Redeemer as Head of the
Church renders to the Father, as well as the worship which the community of the
faithful renders to it Founder, and through Him to the heavenly Father. It is,
in short, the worship rendered by the Mystical Body of Christ in the entirety of
its Head and members.-Pope Pius XII, Mediator Dei, Article 20.
What is the Traditional Latin Mass? This is the Mass which was normally celebrated throughout the Western Church up until 1969. The Traditional Latin Mass is sometimes (although mistakenly) referred to as the Tridentine Mass, because the Roman Missal was first published by Pope Saint Pius V, at the specific request of the Fathers of the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century (the adjective Tridentine is derived from the name Trent). It is important to recall, however, that what Pius V published in 1570 was a Missal based upon the continuous liturgical practice of the Church since the time of Pope Saint Gregory the Great in the sixth century.
Over the course of the centuries from the time of the Apostles, various prayers and ceremonies were added to the Rite of the Mass. Parts of it are very ancient: the Collects were composed before the fifth century and are believed to be the work of Popes Saint Damasus (366-384) and Saint Leo the Great (440-461); the Canon of the Mass is believed to have been arranged, in part, by Saint Ambrose, bishop of Milan, in the fourth century, but the Preface, the Sanctus, the formula of Consecration and the Anamnesis are much older. The sequence of readings (which differs from the three cycles of the New Order of Mass) would seem to have been set by the sixth century. The Lord's Prayer and the Embolism which follows it were set in place by Pope Saint Gregory the Great (590-604), although the use of the Lord's Prayer goes back, of course, to the earliest days of the Church. Other prayers were added somewhat later: the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar (between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries); the Offertory Prayers (fourteenth century); the Beginning of the Gospel of John at the conclusion of Mass (sixteenth century). The ceremonies of the Traditional Mass - as distinct from the prayers - are recognisable from the sixth century.
Until 1965, the Mass had been entirely in Latin, but after the Second Vatican Council (and even before it in Germany), vernacular language (according to the spoken language of each nation) was introduced into the Mass in stages. Significant structural changes and the complete use of the vernacular were introduced in 1969 with the publication of the New Order of Mass by Pope Paul VI.
In 1984, and again in 1988, Pope John Paul II issued the decrees Quattuor Abhinc Annos and Ecclesia Dei Adflicta, respectively, which entitled bishops to authorise the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass again in their dioceses. The latter stated inter alia:
"To all these faithful Catholics who feel bound by some previous liturgical and
disciplinary forms of the Latin tradition, I would like to express my own will -
and I ask bishops and all those who fulfil the pastoral ministry in the Church
to join their will with mine - to facilitate their ecclesial communion by means
of measures to guarantee respect for their just aspirations ... Furthermore, the
spirit of all those who feel tied to the Latin liturgical tradition must be
respected everywhere by the far-ranging and generous application of the
directives which the Apostolic See already issued some time ago on the use of
the Roman Missal according to the editio typica of 1962."
These decrees require that the Roman Missal of 1962 (and associated liturgical books) be used for the celebration of such Masses. Certain changes to the rubrics (the regulations for the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy) of the Roman Missal were introduced in 1960, which are still binding upon the celebration of the Traditional Mass, whereas changes introduced into the Mass after 1964 are not binding.
The rubrics of the 1962 Roman Missal refer to two kinds of Masses, Sung (or High Mass) and Low Mass. A Sung Mass is described as a Solemn Mass if the Celebrant is assisted by a deacon and subdeacon. "A Mass is High if the celebrating priest actually sings the parts prescribed by the rubrics to be sung by him; otherwise it is called Low Mass." (rubric no. 271). What needs to be emphasised immediately is that the usual form of Mass envisaged for the Traditional Liturgy is the Sung Mass. The ancient traditions of the Church have always assumed that Mass is to be sung. It should be added that the rules for Low Mass are derived from the rules for Sung Mass. Although in Australia most Sunday Masses before the 1960's would not have been Sung Masses, what was the usual thing in the past does not take away from the importance the Church places upon the Mass being sung.
The Low Mass had its origins as a private Mass - celebrated by a priest, assisted by one server, with no congregation present. Furthermore, from the earliest days of the Church, the Funeral liturgy was often celebrated without singing at the place of entombment. As the liturgy of the Church changed at the beginning of the middle ages and as the number of priests in any one diocese increased, churches began to have several altars for the celebration of Mass. Whereas at this time, the main Mass of the Parish was sung solemnly with the ancient chants of the Church, priests would celebrate other Masses privately, saying rather than singing them. After the time of the "Reformation" in the sixteenth century, practising the Catholic Faith became a criminal offence in England and Ireland: Masses had to be celebrated secretly and silently. Three centuries later, when the Faith was brought to Australia by English and Irish Catholics, the long-lasting effects of the persecution were reflected in the celebration of Mass. This very simplified history accounts for why so few parishes before the Second Vatican Council knew the Sung Mass.
Whether in sung or said form, the Traditional Latin Mass is divided into two parts, the Mass of the Catechumens and the Mass of the Faithful. These two names reflect the practice of the early Church whereby those preparing for baptism were permitted to attend the first part of the Mass, but were excluded from the principal part of the Mass. Consequently the Mass of the Catechumens may be considered a preparation. It consists of the Celebrant's private prayers and confession at the foot of the altar, the Introit, Kyrie eleison, the Gloria, the Collect, the Epistle, Gospel and Creed (on Sundays and greater Feasts).
The principal part of the Mass, known as the Mass of the Faithful, commences with the Celebrant's offering of bread and wine and the Secret Prayer; the Preface follows, leading to the canon of the Mass in which bread and wine are transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ. Holy Communion is preceded by the Lord's Prayer. The Mass concludes with the Postcommunion prayer, the Celebrant's blessing and the beginning of the Gospel of John.
[Reproduced, with some modifications, from The Order of Mass, by The Ecclesia Dei Society (Newcastle Praesidium) 1996].
The rubrics of the 1962 Roman Missal refer to two kinds of Masses, Sung (or High Mass) and Low Mass. A Sung Mass is described as a Solemn Mass if the Celebrant is assisted by a deacon and subdeacon. "A Mass is High if the celebrating priest actually sings the parts prescribed by the rubrics to be sung by him; otherwise it is called Low Mass." (rubric no. 271). What needs to be emphasised immediately is that the usual form of Mass envisaged for the Traditional Liturgy is the Sung Mass. The ancient traditions of the Church have always assumed that Mass is to be sung. It should be added that the rules for Low Mass are derived from the rules for Sung Mass. Although in Australia most Sunday Masses before the 1960's would not have been Sung Masses, what was the usual thing in the past does not take away from the importance the Church places upon the Mass being sung.
The Low Mass had its origins as a private Mass - celebrated by a priest, assisted by one server, with no congregation present. Furthermore, from the earliest days of the Church, the Funeral liturgy was often celebrated without singing at the place of entombment. As the liturgy of the Church changed at the beginning of the middle ages and as the number of priests in any one diocese increased, churches began to have several altars for the celebration of Mass. Whereas at this time, the main Mass of the Parish was sung solemnly with the ancient chants of the Church, priests would celebrate other Masses privately, saying rather than singing them. After the time of the "Reformation" in the sixteenth century, practising the Catholic Faith became a criminal offence in England and Ireland: Masses had to be celebrated secretly and silently. Three centuries later, when the Faith was brought to Australia by English and Irish Catholics, the long-lasting effects of the persecution were reflected in the celebration of Mass. This very simplified history accounts for why so few parishes before the Second Vatican Council knew the Sung Mass.
Whether in sung or said form, the Traditional Latin Mass is divided into two parts, the Mass of the Catechumens and the Mass of the Faithful. These two names reflect the practice of the early Church whereby those preparing for baptism were permitted to attend the first part of the Mass, but were excluded from the principal part of the Mass. Consequently the Mass of the Catechumens may be considered a preparation. It consists of the Celebrant's private prayers and confession at the foot of the altar, the Introit, Kyrie eleison, the Gloria, the Collect, the Epistle, Gospel and Creed (on Sundays and greater Feasts).
The principal part of the Mass, known as the Mass of the Faithful, commences with the Celebrant's offering of bread and wine and the Secret Prayer; the Preface follows, leading to the canon of the Mass in which bread and wine are transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ. Holy Communion is preceded by the Lord's Prayer. The Mass concludes with the Postcommunion prayer, the Celebrant's blessing and the beginning of the Gospel of John.
[Reproduced, with some modifications, from The Order of Mass, by The Ecclesia Dei Society (Newcastle Praesidium) 1996].
Labels: Liturgy, Traditionalism
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