News Item: : From a Symphony to a Cacophony
(Category: Torch of The Faith News)
Posted by admin
Saturday 28 January 2017 - 17:49:58

The good Frank Walker at Canon 212 was right to make a headline article out of the news that Pope Francis has ordered a review of the recent Mass translations that followed Liturgiam authenticam.

Given that these translations more fully expressed Catholic orthodoxy in the Mass than those that came immediately after the Second Vatican Council, and that so many Modernist dissenters have resisted them in recent years, this is big news indeed.

As Fr. Z reflected last night, under the title The liturgical attack begins: ''We saw this coming, didn't we? There was the appointment of new consultors to the CDW... What's next? I think we know.''

Indeed...

Sandro Magister goes further by suggesting that this revisiting of Liturgiam authenticam will bring about its effective demolition.

To be honest with you, by the time the new translations were implemented here in England during November 2011, Angie and I were already well on the way to only ever attending the Traditional Latin Mass, and eventually living solely from the Traditional Calendar.

Nevertheless, we figured that anything which enabled parishes everywhere to more fully express Catholic theology in liturgy, prayer and catechesis could only be for the good in the longer term.

Therefore, we used to find it very tiresome when so many aging Modernists, as typified by the more outspoken members of the radically dissenting A Call to Action (ACTA) organization, resisted the translations and complained that words like ''consubstantial'' and ''incarnation'' no longer meant anything to today's society! 

Sadly, their attempts to impose their own meanings on the liturgy, caused so much energy to be expended on looking inwards into the Church, in defence of the Faith, that could otherwise have been spent on looking outwards to effectively evangelize a society that had by now forgotten all about Christ and His Church. Instead of bringing outsiders to appreciate the mysteries expressed by these words, the Modernists effectively kept them locked outside.

As a convert of 1993 vintage, I could never understand these dissenting voices. Their lack of receptivity to Catholic orthodoxy in doctrine, liturgy, prayer and morality seemed closer to the ideology of post-modernity than to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It seemed to me that the mysteries of the Faith, being divinely revealed, were life-giving in ways I could never have imagined. Surely, as Catholics, we are to let the Sacred Liturgy change us; rather than us attempting to change It!

This can perhaps be most clearly discussed in terms of the Modernistic lack of receptivity to Tradition as it is in its very essence; and the resulting desire of Modernists to impose their own meanings on it.

But, if these folks were to win in this imposition of self, then all we would be left with is a community in their image and likeness; rather than the Mystical Body of Christ.

It strikes me that receptivity to the Faith, as it is in its very essence, is an essential part of what it means to actually be a Catholic.

In a sense, this brings us back to the Traditional Latin Mass.

More than any other setting, this is the ''place'' where we have found it most possible to receive from Christ and the fullness of His Truth. Unlike the Novus Ordo, this is the Mass which grew and matured organically, like a splendid and fruitful vine, over very many centuries.

Whereas the Post-modern wants to impose their own selfish will, and their own created meanings onto reality, orthodox Catholicism is instead like a flowing river into which one enters to find the overall meaning that gives real life and true sense to to one's own existence.

It is not that our own lives are submerged, or worse drowned, by that overarching meaning, but that they are instead nurtured, refreshed and buoyed along. 

That is because, Catholicism and the Holy Mass at its heart, is about Christ. The God-man. He Who is like us in all things, except for sin and ignorance. He is the image of God par excellence. In Him we find God and we truly find ourselves.

Alas, the article I was orginally writing about the Traditional Latin Mass, this afternoon, was lost when my lap-top suddenly crashed. That means that I do not have time now to say more about the Traditional Latin Mass today.

What I will say is that I think that those, like Fr. Z and Sandro Magister, who express fears about ''what comes next'' from the CDW under Francis are on the money with their concerns.

It is not hard to see that moves will likely be made at some future point to outflank Summorum Pontificum. Perhaps the illicit behaviour of Bishop Malloy of Rockford Illinois in recent days represented an opening salvo in that regard.

What then, can be done?

Although perhaps too few noticed it, Rorate Caeli wrote about this on 11th January.

They said: ''The time to agitate is now: Traditionalists around the world must make clear the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum (which was not an act of mercy, but a mere recognition of justice and logic) cannot be touched.''

One of the things that finally moved me to convert to the Catholic Faith in 1993, was the realization that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was being offered somewhere in the world at all times. Unlike in Protestantism, where every pastor, to say nothing of every other believer, held varying views on key doctrines, it was wondrous to discover the True Church and her unity of belief, liturgy, prayer and moral teaching.

Although he was actually a 19th-Century Evangelical, this mystery found some kind of expression in J. Ellerton's hymn, The Day Thou Gavest, Lord is Ended.

I think particularly of the words: ''We thank Thee that Thy Church unsleeping, while earth rolls onward into light, through all the world her watch is keeping, and rests not now by day or night... As over continent and island, the dawn leads on another day, the voice of prayer is never silent, nor dies the strain of praise away.''

As I say, this unity of worship and life helped to move me to convert to the Catholic Faith in 1993. As the years progressed, I came to appreciate more that it was a unity that also extended back in time through all the centuries of Catholic history, and also into the realms of Purgatory and Heaven.

Then again, as I came to study more about the Traditional Latin Mass, and to experience it regularly, I began to see how this was a more uniform expression of Catholic Truth and unity; both in this world, when It was offered everywhere, and also beyond this world in those other realms of the Communion of Saints.

It strikes me that the possible demolition, to use Sandro Magister's word, of the new translation can only further break down the Church's unity, and the visible expression of that unity, from a beautiful symphony into a disastrous cacophony.

I must conclude now, for time is running out for today. As it becomes clear that the Sacred Liturgy is now likely also under threat from the revolutions of the Bergoglian era, I encourage readers to enter more deeply into the Traditional Calendar and Mass.

Perhaps it may be physically hard, or even impossible for you to attend a Traditional Latin Mass regularly. However, if you can at all, even if this requires sacrifice and travel, we highly recommend this to you. In any case, we recommend readers obtain a Traditional Latin Missal to pray from; and begin to prayerfully study books about the Traditional Latin Mass.

In the meantime, may we also take this opportunity to present to you the marvellous LiveMass website. This is an apostolate of the FSSP, which provides live Traditional Latin Masses each day via a webcam from Florida, Guadalajara and Fribourg; complete with time-clocks, time-zones and time-zone widgets for you to access the Masses at the correct times from your locality.

If you are not used to attending the Traditional Latin Mass, this can be a good place to start; especially if you obtain a Latin-to-English Mass book, or Missal, to follow with. We recommend that folks who are new to the Traditional Liturgy, also say a prayer to God at the outset to help them with His grace to appreciate its mysteries.

Also, be patient with yourself: it took us at least a couple of months to get to a place where we could follow along with the priest at all parts of the Mass. We've now been doing this for several years. We promise you that, with God's grace, and perseverance on your part, you will not be disappointed! 

We aim to get a working link to LiveMass at our Links Page ASAP.

Dominus Vobiscum!

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This news item is from Torch of The Faith
( http://www.torchofthefaith.com/news.php?extend.1537 )