California Catholic Daily reports that St. Mary's by the Sea will not be using the new lectionary for the celebration of the Tridentine Mass, despite Fr. Martin Tran's bulletin for July 14-15, 2007, which had indicated that it would.
Here's the story: “Until such time that the Ecclesia Dei Commission gives further direction”
To be fair to Fr. Tran, the hybrid Mass initially proposed was not Fr. Tran's idea, as California Catholic Daily reports:
The introduction of the New Rite’s vernacular readings into the Tridentine Mass was not by Tran’s initiative. Brown, in a July 10 memorandum to the priests of the Orange diocese, said he favored the use of the new lectionary so that “‘the entire parish community, whether utilizing the forma ordinaria [the Missal of Paul VI] or the public forma extraordinaria [the Missal of Pius V] may be united in heart and mind around a single proclamation of God’s word.”
It is my opinion that Fr. Tran has always been a kind, obedient priest who only sought to comply with the directives and expressed or perceived wishes of Bishop Tod Brown, even during the "kneeling when Bishop Brown says not to kneel is a mortal sin" controversy which sparked the Los Angeles Times' front page article, A Ban on Kneeling? Some Catholics Won’t Stand for It.
California Catholic Daily reports that Ms. Lesa Truxaw, Bishop Tod Brown's director of the Office for Worship for the Diocese of Orange, has issued a memo clarifying that the readings for Tridentine Masses in Orange County will come from the correct calendar and the Missal of Blessed John XXIII, including the readings from that Missal, will be used.
Quote from Lesa Truxaw:
“After September 14, the Exhalation [sic] of the Holy Cross,” said the memorandum, “when the Motu Prioprio [sic] becomes effective and when the forma extraordinaria is celebrated, the calendar of the Missal of Blessed John XXIII along with the readings contained in the Missal should be used until such time that the Ecclesia Dei Commission gives further direction.”
My own opinion, and this is not meant to be taken as an attack, is that confusion like this indicates that even leaders within the Church (including bishops) don't know very much about the Tridentine Mass, which is the only explanation for making mistakes like suggesting a hybrid Mass using the new lectionary. It may be charitable to suggest that perhaps a good deal of the opposition to the Tridentine Mass on the part of many Catholics (again, including some bishops and/or "liturgical experts") is rooted in similar confusion and genuine ignorance.
I would also suggest that arguments against kneeling are also rooted in varying degrees of ignorance, as Pope Benedict XVI indicates here: The Theology of Kneeling
Here's something else to consider...
Although Summorum Pontificum sets September 14th, 2007, the Feast of The Exaltation of the Holy Cross, as the date by which the motu proprio must be implemented, it isn't entirely accurate to say that's the day the motu proprio "becomes effective". There is absolutely nothing which prevents Bishop Tod Brown from allowing the Tridentine Mass to be celebrated at St. Mary's by the Sea (or anywhere else) prior to the September 14th deadline for the implementation of Summorum Pontificum.
Still, all of this can only be seen as more good news from Bishop Tod Brown and the chancery offices of the Diocese of Orange.
It is my own hope that parishioners at St. Mary's by the Sea will ask Fr. Tran to have a daily Tridentine Mass, in addition to the daily 8:00 AM celebration of the morning Mass according to the Missal of Paul VI.
The celebration of a daily Tridentine Mass is allowed by Summorum Pontificum. In addition to the celebration of daily Tridentine Masses, it is also permissible to celebrate the Tridentine Mass "for special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations, i.e., pilgrimages". It should also be noted that it is not necessary to seek permission from the local ordinary (the bishop) for Sunday, daily, or "special circumstance" celebrations of the Tridentine Mass. All that is necessary is for parishioners to request this of their pastors and for their pastors to have the means of providing a priest who is competent to properly celebrate the Tridentine Mass.
Quote from Summorum Pontificum:
Art. 5. §1 In parishes, where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962, and ensure that the welfare of these faithful harmonizes with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the guidance of the bishop in accordance with Canon 392, avoiding discord and favoring the unity of the whole Church.
§2 Celebration in accordance with the Missal of Blessed John XXIII may take place on working days; while on Sundays and feast days one such celebration may also be held.
§3 For faithful and priests who request it, the pastor should also allow celebrations in this extraordinary form for special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations, i.e., pilgrimages.
§4 Priests who use the Missal of Blessed John XXIII must be qualified to do so and not juridically impeded.
§5 In churches that are not parish or conventual churches, it is the duty of the rector of the church to grant the above permission.
The Pope explodes the myth of the “forbidden” Mass
First of all, the Supreme Pontiff—we rejoice simply to see the use of this honorific again in the Motu Proprio!—has put an end to the lie that has hung like a funeral pall over the Church for the past forty years; the lie so assiduously cultivated by liberal bishops and “conservative” Catholic spokesman alike: that Paul VI forbade the traditional Latin Mass without special “permission” in the form of an indult. Art. I of the Motu Proprio and Pope Benedict’s Explanatory Letter to the bishops leave no room for argument, declaring that the traditional Missal was never abrogated and that no permission was ever needed to use it:
Art. 1:
The Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the Lex orandi [Law of prayer] of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. Nonetheless, the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same Lex orandi, and must be given due honour for its venerable and ancient usage….
It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church….
Explanatory Letter:
As for the use of the 1962 Missal as a Forma extraordinaria of the liturgy of the Mass, I would like to draw attention to the fact that this Missal was never juridically abrogated and, consequently, in principle, was always permitted….
What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.
Pope Benedict himself confirms, precisely as traditionalists have always contended, that as a matter of ecclesiastical law Pope Paul never did anything more than promulgate his own Missal. While the Pauline rite in its vernacular translations became in practice the “ordinary form” of Mass in the Western Church, with the traditional Latin Mass thus becoming “extraordinary”—which is only a statement of the obvious—this development in no way amounted to a prohibition of the traditional Missal. Therefore, its use was “always permitted” in principle even if it was de facto excluded in practice. Paul VI did not—indeed, could not—“ban” the received and approved Latin rite of the Mass.
The Motu Proprio only reflects a truth about the Church that Benedict acknowledged when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger: “[T]he Church, throughout her history, has never abolished nor forbidden orthodox liturgical forms, which would be quite alien to the Spirit of the Church….”2 That is, to “forbid” the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass would be contrary to the Church’s very nature in the Holy Ghost. It would also be contrary to the very nature of the Petrine office as the guardian of liturgical tradition. As the former Cardinal Ratzinger wrote only five years before his election as Supreme Pontiff:
After the Second Vatican Council, the impression arose that the pope really could do anything in liturgical matters, especially if he were acting on the mandate of an ecumenical council. Eventually, the idea of the givenness of the liturgy, the fact that one cannot do with it what one will, faded from the public consciousness of the West. In fact, the First Vatican Council had in no way defined the pope as an absolute monarch. On the contrary, it presented him as the guarantor of obedience to the revealed Word. The pope’s authority is bound to the Tradition of faith, and that also applies to the liturgy. It is not “manufactured” by the authorities. Even the pope can only be a humble servant of its lawful development and abiding integrity and identity.3
The same Cardinal Ratzinger also wrote that the suppression of the traditional Missal (under the false pretext of a de jure abolition) “introduced a breach into the history of the liturgy whose consequences could only be tragic…[T]he old building was demolished, and another was built…[T]his has caused us great harm.”4
These truths have now been translated into a papal decree that reaffirms the legal status of the traditional Latin Mass as part of the inviolable and indispensable patrimony of the Holy Catholic Church. The Motu Proprio is not, therefore, a “universal Indult”; it does not give “permission” for that which, as the Pope himself states, was “never abrogated” and “was always permitted.” The Motu Proprio thus does not expand upon the 1984 and 1988 “indults”; rather, it simply abolishes them by substitution (“the conditions for the use of this Missal as laid down by earlier documents Quattuor abhinc annos’ and ‘Ecclesia Dei’, are substituted as follows…”).
I cannot emphasize enough how much we can all be grateful to Pope Benedict XVI! I encourage catholics everywhere to show the Holy Father an abundance of gratitude through letters of thanks, prayers, spiritual bouquets (indicating that the sender will undertake certain devotional acts on behalf of another person, as in honor of a special occasion or in memoriam), works of mercy, and even donations to Peter's Pence.
Nota bene: Adoremus Bulletin has an excellent article by Helen Hull Hitchcock on Summorum Pontificum which can be read here: Pope Extends Use of the "1962 Missal" – What Does this Mean?
Any thoughts?
When I attended the TLM at St. Mary's by the Sea, the little church was packed to the rafters (if you count the choir in the loft). I am sure it will once again have an overflow crowd. It may become necessary to add more TLM Masses. That little, old church church near the beach could become a "jewel" of the diocese. It almost makes me want to move back to Southern California (if only the pope could do something about the traffic).
Posted by: Patrick | Tuesday, July 24, 2007 at 01:47 PM
You wrote: "It is my opinion that Fr. Tran has always been a kind, obedient priest who only sought to comply with the directives and expressed or perceived wishes of Bishop Tod Brown."
As someone who has had the good fortune to be in a parish with Fr. Martin, I would like to thank you for those words. Fr. Martin did not - and does not - deserve the calumny I have seen on the Internet regarding him.
Posted by: Stephanie A. Richer | Tuesday, July 24, 2007 at 04:03 PM
How much does it cost to learn to know enough about saying the Traditional Mass? Obviously, the priest doesn't have to know how to speak latin fluently. He shouldn't read the verses without understanding the words either. There must be an in between ability. Is there some knowledgeable religious order, perhaps from out of state, who is willing to donate their teaching services for the young priests in the LA diocese? Might the parishioners going to partially help out with the finances? Just a thought. It is worth it for centuries to come!
Posted by: Thomas Liang | Wednesday, July 25, 2007 at 02:34 PM
Just wanted to ask when they'll start saying the Tridentine Mass at St. Mary's by the Sea - Or is it happening now? If so what are the Mass times.
Posted by: Catholig | Sunday, July 29, 2007 at 02:03 AM
Not until the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, September 14, 2007.
The TLM is scheduled to resume at St. Mary's by the Sea on that day.
The Mass will be at 12:00 PM.
It is my hope that St. Mary's parishioners will request and get a daily Tridentine Mass, as well, but some time after that.
Pax,
Thomistic
Posted by: Thomistic | Sunday, July 29, 2007 at 03:05 AM