Back to the Future

What follows is a brief exerpt from a letter by Dominican Fr. Giovanni Cavalcoli, Professor of Theology in Bologna written to the Italian Journal Sì Sì No No known for stimulating the conversation on the restoration of Tradtition.

Father Cavalcoli is absolutely correct in reminding us that we, as Catholics dedicated to reform, simply can not ignore what has happened in the Church since the Second Vatican Council if we expect those opposed to authentic reform not to ignore the teachings of the Church prior to Vatican II.

We will never be able to erase the past. Nor can we turn our backs on our collective experience. Since the Traditional Mass really does transcend time and space, it is the perfect means by which we can respect our past, and doing so, look "back to the future," hoping for a return to Tradition. I am personally confident that by our efforts to promote a stronger Catholic Culture, the Church in America 60 years from now will look more like the Church 60 years ago, than it does today.

Fr. Giovanni Cavalcoli, O.P.:

"Trust in Our Lady is excellent, but Mary, Mother of the Truth and Founder of the Church, desires that you accept docilely and trustingly, not only the pre-conciliar Magisterium but also the post-conciliar one, making an effort to see the continuity and discerning in it, an enhanced knowledge of the Word of God.

The way to remedy this situation is specifically a correct interpretation and application of the Council, as the Pontiffs of the last fifty years have been saying. The problem is that Rome finds it hard to intervene in correcting the deviations because it does not have the support of the episcopate.

Modernism is indeed rampant and finds its greatest exponent in Karl Rahner. Modernism can be defeated, not by turning back to the past, but by a sound recall to Tradition and actually applying the Council which teaches us a healthy modernity. We are in fact, Christians of the 21st century not of the 19th or 16th [centuries].

If anything, let us ask the Holy Father to explain, to clarify or to interpret for us the controversial points in a definitive way, unequivocally and precisely, those that the modernists play with, but let us do it with trust not setting off with the false conviction that in reality there is no continuity. "

Thank you, Father Cavalcoli for engaging our intellects in the search for Truth.

Benedictus Deus in Donis Suis

Back to Basics

The first thing about the Traditional Mass which will impress even the casual observer is the direction the priest is facing at the altar. It is incorrect to say he has his “back to the people;” rather, he along with the congregation he leads faces “East” toward God. The direction of prayer flows to the altar, which is Calvary, and up to Heaven. The Priest can be likened to a military general, leading his army onto the battlefield. The Mass is our best defense in the battle between good and evil. The direction the priest faces at Mass also demonstrates the intimacy of the connection between the altar and the man who stands in the person of Christ, the High Priest. Offering the Mass, especially during the consecration, the priest loses himself and becomes a fitting instrument for the realization of Christ’s sacramental presence among us. He faces East, from where we expect the Lord to come in glory. We say the priest is liturgically positioned “ad orientem.” The priest must focus his attention on the action of the sacrifice, with as few distractions as possible. Facing the altar (and tabernacle) help to facilitate that.

In September 2009 Bishop Edward Slattery of the Diocese of Tulsa Oklahoma published an article in the Catholic Magazine of his diocese, explaining his decision to celebrate the Masses at his cathedral, in both forms “ad orientem,” with the priest using the high altar, facing the same direction as the worshiping assembly. He writes:

In the last 40 years, however, this shared orientation was lost; now the priest and the people have become accustomed to facing in opposite directions. The priest faces the people while the people face the priest, even though the Eucharistic Prayer is directed to the Father and not to the people. This innovation was introduced after the Vatican Council, partly to help the people understand the liturgical action of the Mass by allowing them to see what was going on, and partly as an accommodation to contemporary culture where people who exercise authority are expected to face directly the people they serve, like a teacher sitting behind her desk. Unfortunately this change had a number of unforeseen and largely negative effects.

First of all, it was a serious rupture with the Church’s ancient tradition. Secondly, it can give the appearance that the priest and the people were engaged in a conversation about God, rather than the worship of God. Thirdly, it places an inordinate importance on the personality of the celebrant by placing him on a kind of liturgical stage.

Bishop Slattery offered the traditional Mass on April 24, 2010 in a packed national Basilica in Washington DC, during which he preached perhaps one of the most poignant sermons on the restoration of tradition ever heard on American soil. The attention to the liturgical life of the Church happening in dioceses such as Tulsa, are key elements to the renewal of Catholic identity and culture envisioned by our Holy Father Pope Benedict; even since before his election to the Papacy. This is evident by the ideas he sets forth in his work “Spirit of the Liturgy” in the year 2000, and the pivotal 2005 Christmas address given to the Roman Curia, in which our Holy Father set forth his plan to heal the wounds of rupture, and thereby examine the true spirit of the Second Vatican Council and what its fathers intended, from a hermeneutic of continuity with the sacred Tradition of the Church.      

Reforming Our Vocabulary

Welcome to all who love our Catholic Faith, and desire to express that love by helping to restore the Traditional Latin Mass "back to the people."  Our Lord Jesus Christ has given His holy Church the mandate to offer the Sacred Mysteries of the Eucharist. This is the most noble act of perpetual gratitude for the gift of His life-giving Body and His most prescious Blood. The Mass is a dramatic re-presentation of the Sacrifice of Christ, begun at the table of the Lord's Supper and culminated at the Cross of Calvary. 

The Mass must be serious, but at the same time filled with joy. It is always and everywhere meant to lift us up, as Christ was lifted high on the Cross.  The joy of the Faith ought to give us a positive outlook on life, on the Church, and especially on divine worship.  As Catholics, united at the Cross, the instrument of salvation's hope, our discussion, our fellowship, indeed our prayer, is meant to have the same focus.

Our worship comes from the Cross of Christ, which gives us unity in direction. For almost all in antiquity, death by crucifixion was looked upon with derision. The Holy Cross itself was percieved as an object shame or a disgrace. Because of this, many turned their backs on Jesus. But He will never turn His back on us.

Jesus Christ, the Son, always leads us to the Father through the gift of the Holy Ghost. In so doing He does not turn His back on us, but rather shows us the way.  The Catholic priest, who at the altar, stands in the person of Christ, the Head of the Church does so by divine and sacred mandate. Through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the priest shows us the way to the Father. He does so, facing "liturgical east," oriented toward that direction to which we look in eager expectation of Christ's return. For this reason, all Catholics ought to be saddened by the negativity of comments which suggest that, at the Traditional Latin Mass, the priest is celebrating with his "back to the people."  The distortion of language to serve any agenda contrary to the preservation and propogation of authentic Catholic Faith and the culture which it inspires, must always and everywhere be rejected. 

One way we can assist the restoration of Tradition, is by reforming the vocabulary of the discussion, so that we are not intellectual slaves to those who would have us change the way we believe by changing the way we speak.  Perhaps it is time for Traditional Catholics to assert our right to "tell our own story," always being positive and not negative in our appeal to reason. This objective is one of the motivations for the blog, "Back to the People."

Benedictus Deus in Donis Suis

Bringing the Traditional Mass "Back to the People"