Over at his blog, Liturgy Guy, 1P5 contributor Brian Williams offers something dug up from before the Asteroid hit that tells us people knew what was coming:
The below Manifesto of the Catholic Laity was drafted by English Catholics twenty years before the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium. Dated Pentecost 1943, the long forgotten letter was discovered in the Archives of the Archbishop of Westminster, and appears as a footnote in Dom Alcuin Reid’s excellent work The Organic Development of the Liturgy (Ignatius Press, 2005, pp. 103-104).
This articulate and heartfelt plea of English Catholics for the preservation of something as venerable as the liturgical language of the Roman Rite is still inspiring to read over seventy years later. It also serves as an important reminder that the “reformers” of the twentieth century Liturgical Movement were very busy in the decades leading up to the Council. Knowing as we do now that the words of this manifesto would have little impact, and that the liturgical revolution would commence in twenty short years, makes this an even more compelling read today.
Here’s an excerpt of the Manifesto:
“We, the undersigned Catholic Layfolk, desire…to make known our true feelings with regard to the present controversy concerning the language used by the Church in her public worship.
“We utterly repudiate the subversive efforts that are being made to discredit the use of the Latin Liturgy, a precious heritage brought to the English people by Saint Augustine of Canterbury from our glorious Apostle, Saint Gregory the Great, and which we are proud to have preserved intact these fourteen hundred years, even throughout the hardships and dangers of the penal times.
“We therefore protest that we are opposed to all attempts to tamper with this venerable Liturgy, or to substitute for it a copy of any non-Catholic rite, however beautiful or impressive.
“We strongly resent the implication that we and our children are not sufficiently intelligent to understand the simple Latin of the Mass, and we declare our readiness to do all we can to equip ourselves with the necessary knowledge so as to be able to take a more active and intelligent part in our parochial Mass…
In other words: “Hey Bishops? How about you stop messing with our worship and calling us stupid and do your jobs!”
Head over to Brian’s post to read the rest of this excellent response to liturgical fiddling.
Hey, this is impressive and great, on your guys’ Facebook Page, I shared this link to a note that I typed up from what I read in the Life of Pope Pius VII by Professor Robert Anderson which explains the Bishops and the Bishop conferences and why they did what they did.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/pray-for-the-cause-of-pope-pius-vii-to-become-saint/how-the-national-bishop-conferences-were-founded/582687611834829
I think it is us who will teach the bishops a lesson on the Mass.
Ransacking the Mass means ransacking the world, because the Church is ransacked by it.
Very good. The Mass in the vernacular could be considered part of the “dumbing down” trend that has gone on for decades now in education, art, architecture, liturgy, entertainment, music, etc. It reflects a view of modern man as stupid, soulless, and concerned only about his material well being. The Manifesto of the Catholic Laity got this early on.
You got it! All of it is part of fitting in to the ‘one world’ plan which at the present is being spearheaded by Francis with his climate change encyclical, and his push to bring all religions together. And yes, they got it early on.
Hmmm…
I always think someome “put the shotgun on Holy Father’s head,” and yes, he is of One World Movement.
I don’t think we’ll ever witness a liturgical restoration; I believe, in my heart of hearts, that the post-conciliar, pseudo-iconoclastic and heretical “Spirit of Vatican II” will dominate the Church for the remainder of our lives. Lex orandi, lex credendi: as a whole, Catholics worship as pseudo-protestants, and therefore most of us act and believe as protestants.
This isn’t a Church I wish to raise my children within; I fear for their souls. I’m on to the Orthodox. I wish I had the fortitude of you godly folks (I’m not writing this in a sarcastic tone: you truly exhibit the spirit of St. Robert Bellarmine).
If the Orthodox had held the line on divorce and remarriage, their claims would be more credible (and attractive) to many. They didn’t.
If that direction suits you, why not Byzantine, Ukranian, Melkite, et. al.?
Ben, I went to the Romanian Rite of the Catholic Church. Don’t leave the Faith. Find a good Byzantine Rite parish and teach your children from the Catechism of Pius X or another orthodox catechism. It is up to us to cling to true teaching which is not found in the Orthodox. The Orthodox are in error in many ways, and it is no bed of roses over there. My brother went to the Orthodox and it has been problematic for him ever since.
Say the rosary for and with your children and attend a Byzantine parish. Even the SSPX is a better option than the Orthodox. Please don’t leave the Faith. The bishops and even the Pope may have left it, but we must cling to Christ and the Faith no matter what. Trust God and you will come through it. I will pray for you and your family tonight.
As someone who had a 10 year long conversion process, I seriously considered Orthodoxy. The liturgy is beautiful, it has the ancient roots of Rome-there were some tempting aspects. But, I couldn’t reconcile the laxity of the Orthodox in regards to divorce/remarriage/contraception/abortion.
There were also problems with the lack of a single authority. No matter what group you belong to, ultimate authority must fall on 1 person. Orthodoxy has its problems too. It isn’t greener on the other side, just a different view of the lawn, so to speak. They have sexual/pedophilia/financial scandals as well. There are also some lingering issues as some national churches were collaborators during the Cold War. Currently, I think it’s worrisome that Putin seems to be tying his ‘rule’ very closely to the Russian Orthodox Church. A little too close for comfort.
Finally, as appealing as the Orthodox worship is, it can be very hard for converts from a different ethnic tradition. Some Orthodox are downright hostile to whom they consider to be outsiders. I was shocked to discover some Orthodox hate Rome as much as Bob Jones/Jack Chick/Ian Paisley/Loraine Boettner.
It’s not easy these days in the Latin Rite, but it’s worth hanging on to. Converting to Orthodoxy can’t be a decision just based upon liturgical form. I have found tremendous consolation in the SSPX, and in an Independent Traditional parish (with faculties & legit ordination) if that’s an option for you.