The "Novus Ordo Paradigm" — What It Is and Why It Matters

A new article that examines historical documents from the Catholic News Archive sheds light on what really happened.

Excerpt:
"Historical documents left in newspapers show not just saddened and confused laypeople, but priests in rebellion and scholars horrified by the sweeping cultural loss. Those concerned about or opposed to the new Mass had no recourse, and — critically — were told that the old Mass was not allowed.

The resultant picture is a Catholic Church in America that, from roughly the 1960s-’80s (if not later) was in an all-out civil war. The postconciliar iconoclasm has been well documented [1], and the fruits of the past 50 years of reforms have been seen as well.

This article, instead, highlights how the old Mass died and the new Mass survived by looking at American newspapers, a primary point of recourse for the average American Catholic. More specifically, this series examines what information was presented to the average Catholic as truthful, in keeping with the Council, and faithful to Rome. Its sole source is the Catholic News Archive, a full-text database of Catholic newspapers.

This article will explore the experience of the lay faithful from this period. Does it match the official pronouncements of the postconciliar popes that the TLM was never abolished? How did the transition to the new Mass occur, and what did that mean for the TLM as it had been known?"

Not Authorized: The Untold Story of the Death of the Old Mass
Sharon Kabel August 27, 2019
https://onepeterfive.com/not-authorized-death-mass/

 

It is incredible how Latin is downplayed repeatedly in these articles and those who wish to worship and pray using it are brushed off as simply nostalgic and veneraters of the antique. Latin is lighly praised for its cultural and educational values yet is not raised to it's rightful place as a Holy language.

Funny how today "venerating the antique" is used to exemplify the virtues of receiving communion standing and in the hand while those who extol Latin and the Latin Mass, the mass which uses one of three languages written on the cross of Our Lord is merely waxing nostalgic.

It is heartening that there were those who resisted this madness regardless of the cost.

 

How did we get to the stage where Latin is treated with such disdain and has been completely erased from the Liturgy at Mass. I know that there's nothing prohibiting the inclusion of some Latin in the Ordinary Form but in practice it's extremely rare. (Apologies if that's explained in the linked documents but I'm too lazy and too tied for time to read them).

I'm not a fan of these extreme "you're either with us or against us" camps surrounding Holy Mass. While I love the silence and reverence of the old Mass, there are also some things I like about the new Mass.

What concerns me most about Latin being abandoned is that, if priests and/or sufficient numbers of the laity are not learning the language, there could be long term consequences for the official documents of the Church. With an ever shrinking pool of people proficient in Latin, will the Church transition to using a different, less precise language for its official documents - most likely Italian? The meanings of words and phrases in modern languages can change within a fairly short period of time. Sometimes the same word or phrase can have different meanings depending on its context, and over time even what was intended by the context could be debatable. If the Church were to replace Latin with Italian as its official language, is there a danger that translations of Church documents from Italian to other languages could result in the translation conveying a meaning contrary to what is contained in the official document?

Sorry if that doesn't make sense, but it is something that occurred to me when I see the arguments about Latin v the vernacular in Liturgy.

 

Bump
I think there might be an inaccuracy in this article concerning the Archdiocese of Arlington and Bishop Thomas Welsh. I think there was more than one priest in Vienna, Virginia celebrating the TLM in the time period circa 1977. One priest was the late Fr. Joseph E. Gedra, who said the TLM in his home which was unauthorized by the Church and became unacceptable in his housing development. There also was, and I am drawing on memory, St. Athanasius Catholic Church near the beltway in Northern Virginia. That church is still there. I think it may have been SSPX but I am not sure. And I am not sure of its affiliation today.
I think it might be becoming clearer that the bishops might have been culpable in this issue of the murkiness surrounding the TLM. I dare to say.
Addendum: Remember the prophecy given to Pope Leo XIII, wherein he heard a conversation between the Lord and Satan, with Satan asking for 100 years to destroy the Church. The Lord granted that request. Remember also that the Church was infiltrated during this time. I believe the disillusionment is a result.

 

Bump