Tridentine Mass

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A pre-Vatican II altar with reredosThe altar is preceded by three steps, as was most common for a church's main altar, though some main altars, such as that in Saint Peter's in the Vatican, had (and have) much more than three. Side altars usually had only one step.
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A pre-Vatican II altar with reredos
The altar is preceded by three steps, as was most common for a church's main altar, though some main altars, such as that in Saint Peter's in the Vatican, had (and have) much more than three. Side altars usually had only one step.

The Tridentine Mass is a term used for Mass celebrated in Latin in accordance with the successive forms of the Roman Missal from its December 5, 1570 promulgation by Pope Pius V, implementing a decision of the General Council, held in Trent, Italy[1] (Tridentine is the adjectival form of Trent), through its repeated revisions by later Popes,[2] especially in 1604,[3] 1634,[4] 1888, 1920 and 1955 and 1962. Some exclude from the definition Pope John XXIII's 1962 revision, and all exclude that of 1970 by Pope Paul VI and subsequent revisions.

Contents

The Roman Missal revised and published by order of Pope Pius V

In addition to "Tridentine Mass," traditional Catholics use the terms "ancient Mass," "traditional Mass," etc., because Pope Pius V's revision of the Roman Missal aimed at restoring the Missal "to the original form and rite of the holy Fathers".[5] At the time of the Council of Trent, the traditions preserved in manuscript Missals and being spread because of the invention of printing varied considerably, and standardization was sought not only within individual dioceses, but throughout the Latin West. Pope Pius V accordingly imposed uniformity by law, exempting only rites of an antiquity greater than 200 years. Several of the rites that thus remained legitimate were progressively abandoned, though the Ambrosian rite survives strongly in Milan, Italy and neighbouring areas, stretching even into Switzerland, and the Mozarabic rite continues in much more limited fashion in Toledo and Madrid, Spain. The Carmelite, Carthusian and Dominican religious orders also kept their rites until the second half of the twentieth century, when they chose to adopt the Roman rite, after this had been revised in accordance with the directives of the Second Vatican Council. The rite of Braga, Portugal seems also to have been abandoned.

Standardization was also required to safeguard against introduction into the liturgy of notions linked with the religious revolution initiated by Martin Luther, whose opinions and those of other reformers made it necessary for the Council of Trent to set forth Catholic teaching on the Eucharist in three of its sessions.

Liturgy of the traditional Mass

A Tridentine Mass being celebrated in St Joseph's Cathedral Chapel
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A Tridentine Mass being celebrated in St Joseph's Cathedral Chapel

The following is an outline description of the Roman-rite Mass as celebrated in the mid-twentieth century, including additions such as the Prayers after Mass or Leonine Prayers, introduced by Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903), but never included in the Roman Missal and not recited in Latin in English-speaking countries, unlike several other countries.

The wordings given are those found in typical Missals used by English-speaking Catholics who wanted to follow the prayers that the priest said in Latin and to which a response was usually given only by the altar servers.

Mass of the Catechumens

See Missal.

  1. Prayers at the Foot of the Altar
    • Asperges (Sprinkling with holy water, Psalm 51:9, 3). To the accompaniment of verses from a Psalm and some prayers, the priest sprinkles all in the church with holy water. This rite was in practice reserved for High Mass, and was not in use at the form of Mass that most parishioners were familiar with.
    • Sign of the Cross
      • The priest makes the sign of the Cross at the foot of the altar, after processing in with the servers and placing the veiled chalice on the centre of the altar.
    • Psalm 43|42("Judica me, Deus"), preceded and followed by the antiphon "Introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam", is recited by the priest, alternating with the servers, who symbolically represent the people. Then the priest makes again the sign of the Cross, saying: "Our help is in the name of the Lord", to which the servers add: "Who made heaven and earth."
    • Confession (Confiteor)
      • First the priest says: "I confess to almighty God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy apostles Peter and Paul, to all the saints, and to you, brethren, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault (in Latin, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa). Therefore I beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin ... and you, brethren, to pray to the Lord our God for me." The servers pray: "May Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you your sins, and bring you to life everlasting." Then it is the servers' turn to confess sinfulness and to ask for prayers. They use the same words as those used by the priest, except that they say "you, Father," in place of "you, brethren", and the priest responds with the same prayer that the servers have used for him.
    • Some verses are then said by priest and servers, ending with the priest saying: "Let us pray." After this he goes to the altar, praying silently "that with pure minds we may worthily enter into the holy of holies", a reference to Ex 26:33-34, 1 Kgs (or 3 Kgs) 6:16, 1 Kgs (or 3 Kgs) 8:6, 2 Chr (or 2 Para) 3:8, Ezek 41:4, and others. He places his joined hands on the altar and silently prays that by the merits of the Saints whose relics are in the altar God may pardon all his sins.
  2. The Priest at the Altar
    • Introit
      • The priest again makes the sign of the Cross and reads the Introit, which is usually taken from a Psalm. Exceptions occur: e.g. the Introit for Easter Sunday is adapted from Wis 10:20-21. This evolved from the practice of singing a full Psalm during the entrance of the clergy, before the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar were added to the Mass in medieval times. This is indicated by the very name of "Introit".
    • Kyrie
      • This part of Mass is a linguistic marker of the origins of the Roman liturgy in Greek. "Kyrie, eleison; Christe, eleison; Kyrie, eleison." means "Lord, have mercy; Christ have mercy;..." Each phrase is said (or sung) thrice. See also Gregorian chant and the music of the Mass.
    • Gloria in excelsis Deo
      • The first line of the Gloria is taken from Lk 2:14. The Gloria is omitted during liturgical seasons calling for penitence, such as Advent and Lent, both generally having the liturgical color violet.
    • The Collect
      • The priest turns toward the people: "Dominus vobiscum." "Et cum spiritu tuo." ("The Lord be with you." "And with thy spirit", an idiomatic phrase meaning "and with you too"). The Collect follows, a prayer not drawn directly from Scripture. It tends to reflect the season.
  3. Instruction; Acts of Faith
    • The priest reads in Latin the Epistle, primarily an extract from the letters of St. Paul to various churches.
    • The Gradual and Alleluia
      • The Gradual is partly composed of a portion of a Psalm.
    • The Gospel or the words of our Lord
      • Before reading the Gospel in Latin, the priest prays: "Cleanse my heart and my lips, O almighty God, who didst cleanse the lips of the prophet Isaias...", a reference to Isaiah 6:6. After being cleansed by the angel, Isaias was instructed to prophesy.
    • The Sermon
      • Before the sermon, the priest makes announcements, especially of marriages, requirements of the liturgical season such as fasting, events for the week, and requests to pray for the ill or deceased. It was customary also for the priest to read a vernacular translation of the Gospel passage that he had read in Latin.
    • The Creed
      • This is the Nicene Creed, professing faith in God the Father, in God the Son, the Word made flesh, in God the Holy Ghost, and in the Holy Church. At the mention of the Incarnation, the celebrant and the congregation genuflect.
    • The priest then turns to the people, greets them and says: "Let us pray." No particular prayer follows immediately, since the Prayer of the Faithful to which this invitation once served as an introduction was not preserved in the Tridentine Mass. (It has been restored in the 1970 revision of the Roman Missal.)

Mass of the Faithful

See Missal.

  • Catechumens, i.e. those being instructed in the faith,[6] were once dismissed at this point, not having yet professed the faith. Profession of faith was considered essential for participation in the Eucharistic sacrifice, cf. Didache, ca. A.D. 140: "Let no one eat or drink of the Eucharist with you except those who have been baptized in the name of the Lord..." (Jurgens §6).
  1. Offertory; Acts of Self-surrender
    • Offertory antiphon
      • An antiphon is a musical response, such as a verse.[7] The offertory antiphon is often taken from a Psalm, or from other Scripture.
    • Offering of Bread and Wine
      • Here the priest prays that, although he is unworthy, he offers to God the spotless host for his own innumerable sins, offences and neglects, for all those present, and for all faithful Christians living and dead, that it may avail unto salvation of himself and those mentioned. He then mixes a few drops of water with the wine, which will later become the Blood of Jesus, and offers “the chalice of salvation”. He then prays a prayer of contrition adapted from Dan 3:39-40.
    • Incensing of the offerings and of the faithful (if done)
      • The priest prays Psalm 141:2-4: "Let my prayer, O Lord, be directed as incense in Thy sight;..."
    • Washing the hands
      • The priest prays Psalm 26:6-12: "I will wash my hands among the innocent..."
    • Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity
      • This prayer asks that God, the Trinity, may receive the oblation being made in remembrance of the passion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and in honor of blessed Mary ever Virgin and the other saints, "that it may avail to their honour and our salvation: and that they may vouchsafe to intercede for us in heaven..."
    • Orate fratres and Secret; Amen concludes Offertory
      • Here the priest turns to the congregation and prays that "my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father almighty."
  2. Consecration; Acts of Gratitude and Hope
    • Preface of the Canon
      • "The Roman Canon[8] dates in essentials from St. Gregory the Great[9] [10] and earlier. It contains the main elements found in almost all rites, but in an unusual arrangement..
      • Dominus vobiscum. Et cum spiritu tuo. Sursum corda. Habemus ad Dominum. Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro. Dignum et justum est. The first part can be seen above at the Collect; the rest means: Lift up your hearts. We lift them up unto the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is meet and right.
      • Next a preface is prayed, indicating specific reasons for giving thanks to God. This leads to the Sanctus.[11]
    • Canon or Rule of Consecration [12]
      • Intercession (corresponding to the Reading of the Diptychs in the Byzantine Rite)
        • A diptych is a two-leaf painting, carving or writing tablet.[13] Here the priest prays for the living; that the Church may be united and that God may govern it together with the Pope and "all true believers and professors of the Catholic and Apostolic Faith". Then specific living people are mentioned, as are those present, and all those known to God as faithful. Then Mary ever Virgin, the Apostles, and Popes and other Martyrs are mentioned, for they live in Heaven as members of the Church Triumphant.
      • Prayers preparatory to the Consecration
        • A prayer that God may graciously accept the offering and deliver [us] "from eternal damnation".
      • Consecration (Transubstantiation) and major Elevation
      • Oblation of the Victim to God
        • An oblation is an offering;[14] the pure, holy Victim is now offered, with a prayer that God may accept the offering and command His holy angel to carry the offering up, and that those who will receive the Body and Blood "may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing."
      • Remembrance of the Dead
        • On the other 'leaf' of the diptych, the priest now prays for the dead ("those who have gone before us with the sign of faith and sleep the sleep of peace") and asks that they may be granted a place of refreshment, light and peace. This is followed by a prayer that we may be granted fellowship with the apostles and martyrs. Some martyrs, men and women, are then mentioned by name.
      • End of the Canon and minor Elevation; Amen ratifying the Canon prayer
        • The concluding doxology is: "Through Him, and with Him, and in Him, be unto Thee, O God the Father almighty, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honour and glory, world without end."
  3. Communion [15]
    • The Lord's Prayer and Libera nos
      • The "Libera nos" is an extension of the Lord's Prayer developing the line "sed libera nos a malo" ("but deliver us from evil"). The priest prays that we may be delivered from all evils and that the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, together with the apostles and saints, may intercede to obtain for us peace in our day.
    • Fraction of the Host
      • During the preceding prayer, the priest breaks the consecrated Host into three parts, and after concluding the prayer drops the smallest part into the Chalice while praying that this commingling and consecration of the Body and Blood of Christ may "be to us who receive it effectual to life everlasting."
    • Agnus Dei
      • "Agnus Dei" means "Lamb of God." The priest then prays: "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us." He repeats this, and then adds:"Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace."
    • The Pax
      • The priest asks God to look not to [our] sins but to [our] faith. He prays for peace and unity within the Church, and then, if a High Mass is being celebrated, gives the sign of peace, saying: "Peace be with you."
    • Prayers preparatory to the Communion
      • In the first of these two prayers for himself, the priests asks that by Holy Communion he may be freed from all his iniquities and evils, be made to adhere to the commandments of Jesus and never be separated from him. In the second he asks: "Let not the partaking of Thy Body, O Lord Jesus Christ...turn to my judgment and condemnation: but through Thy goodness may it be unto me a safeguard...."
    • Receiving of the Body and Blood of our Lord
      • Several prayers are made here. One of these, prior to communion, is based on Mt 8:8: "Lord, I am not worthy...." If anyone other than the priest will communicate at the Mass, i.e. receive the Eucharist – something not envisaged in the text of the Ordo Missae of the pre-1970 Roman Missal – then a member of the clergy or the altar server will again say the Confiteor (cf. above), as in the rite of giving Communion outside of Mass.
  4. Thanksgiving; Acts of Gratitude
    • Prayers during the Ablutions
      • The prayers now focus on what has been received, that "we may receive with a pure mind", "that no stain of sin may remain in me, whom these pure and holy sacraments have refreshed."
    • Communion Antiphon and Postcommunion
      • The communion antiphon is normally a portion of a Psalm. The Postcommunion Prayer is akin to the Collect in being an appropriate prayer not directly drawn from Scripture.
    • "Ite Missa est"; Blessing
      • "Go, you are dismissed." Thanks be to God."
    • The last Gospel (Jn 1:1-14)
    • Leonine Prayers
      • The Ave Maria, Salve Regina, and a prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel are offered at this point.
    • Canticle of the three youths, from Dan 3 if used.
  5. Sample prayers after Mass (not part of the liturgy)[16]
    • Spiritual books such as missals, which Catholics often carry to Mass with them, usually contain prayers suitable for after Mass, as well as for before Mass. Statues and works of art in the chapel or church are also aids to prayer.

Comparison with other rites

While other rites use more poetic language, the Roman rite is noted for its sobriety of expression and its formality. It is characterized by frequent genuflections, kneeling for long periods, and keeping both hands joined together, as is the custom also for East and South Asians at prayer. The Tridentine Missal minutely prescribed every movement, to the extent of laying down that the priest should put his right arm into the right sleeve of the alb before putting his left arm into the left sleeve (Ritus servandus in celebratione Missae, I, 3). Concentration on the exact moment of change of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ led to the host and the chalice being shown to the people immediately after that point. For this purpose, if the priest was offering Mass according to the typical form and was facing "ad orientem" (toward the east) or "ad altare" (toward the altar) and, therefore, had his back to the people, he elevated the consecrated host and chalice above his head.

The Roman rite no longer has the pulpitum, a dividing wall characteristic of certain Medieval cathedrals in northern Europe, or the iconostasis or curtain that heavily influences the ritual of some other rites. In large churches of the Middle Ages and early Renaissance the area near the main altar, reserved for the clergy, was separated from the nave (the area for the laity) by means of a rood screen extending from the floor to the beam that supported the great cross (the rood) of the church and sometimes topped by a loft or singing gallery. However, by about 1800 the Roman rite had quite abandoned rood screens, although some fine examples survive..

Western ears find the traditional chant of the Roman rite, known as Gregorian chant, less ornate than that of the eastern rites: except in such pieces as the graduals and alleluias, it eschews the lengthy melismata of Coptic Christianity, and, being entirely monophonic, it has nothing of the dense harmonies of present-day chanting in the Russian and Georgian Churches. But, when Western Europe adopted polyphony, music at the Roman-rite Mass did become very elaborate and lengthy. While the choir sang one part of the Mass, the priest said that part quickly and quietly to himself and continued with other parts, or he was directed by the rubrics to sit and await the conclusion of the choir's singing. Another peculiarity was that, while in all the other ancient rites, the liturgy was chanted throughout, in the Tridentine form of the Roman rite the priest normally merely spoke the words of the Mass, to a large extent silently. Chanting by the clergy was usually confined to special occasions and to the principal Mass in monasteries and cathedrals.

Comparing the Roman to the Eastern Rites, Adrian Fortescue is reported to have said, "No Eastern Rite currently in use is as ancient as the Roman Rite." However, the information given in the article of the Catholic Encyclopedia on the Liturgy of the Mass[17] makes it clear that it was Saint Gregory the Great (Pope from 590 to 604) who "finally recast the (Roman) Canon (of the Mass) in the form it still has." The Anaphora or Eucharistic prayer normally used in the Byzantine rite is attributed to Saint John Chrysostom, who died in 404, exactly two centuries before Saint Gregory the Great. And the East Syrian Eucharistic prayer of Maris and Addai, which is still in use, is certainly older than that. The Catholic Encyclopedia article actually states: "at Rome the Eucharistic prayer was fundamentally changed and recast at some uncertain period between the fourth and the sixth and seventh centuries."

Different levels of celebration

There are various forms of the Tridentine Mass:

  • Pontifical High Mass celebrated by a bishop accompanied by a deacon and subdeacon and other ministers
  • High Mass (called in Latin, Missa solemnis (Solemn Mass)), offered by a priest who is assisted by a deacon and subdeacon or by two priests taking the parts assigned to these, each chanting his part, and with a choir to respond.
  • Sung Mass or "Missa Cantata", celebrated by a priest alone, without deacon and subdeacon. The most common form of a Mass with chanting, used for the principal Sunday and Holy Day Mass, at least on special occasions, in many parishes and chapels
  • Low Mass, the usual form of Mass, recited without chanting, although sometimes accompanied by hymns sung by a choir.

Revision of the Roman Missal

On 4 December 1963, the Second Vatican Council decreed in Chapter II of its Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy [18] that “the rite of the Mass is to be revised ... the rites are to be simplified, due care being taken to preserve their substance. Parts which with the passage of time came to be duplicated, or were added with little advantage, are to be omitted. Other parts which suffered loss through accidents of history are to be restored to the vigor they had in the days of the holy Fathers, as may seem useful or necessary. The treasures of the Bible are to be opened up more lavishly so that a richer fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God’s word ... A suitable place may be allotted to the vernacular in Masses which are celebrated with the people ... communion under both kinds may be granted when the bishops think fit...as, for instance, to the newly ordained in the Mass of their sacred ordination, to the newly professed in the Mass of their religious profession, and to the newly baptized in the Mass which follows their baptism...”

Pope Paul VI implemented the Council's directives, ordering with apostolic constitution Missale Romanum[19] of Holy Thursday, 3 April 1969, publication of a new official edition of the Roman Missal, which appeared in 1970.

Opposition to the 1970 revision of the Roman Missal

Traditionalist Catholics claim that the revision went against the "4th Anathema" of the Council of Nicaea, Pope St. Pius V's bull Quo Primum promulgating his edition of the Roman Missal, the alleged Papal Oath attributed to Pope St. Agatho, etc.; that it failed to promote proper reverence; and that it led to Protestantized belief. They still maintain these claims: see Novus Ordo Missae.

When a preliminary text of two sections of the revised Missal was published in 1969, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre gathered a group of twelve theologians, who, under his direction,[20] wrote a study of the text, making the claim that it "represents, both as a whole and in its details, a striking departure from the Catholic theology of the Mass as it was formulated in Session 22 of the Council of Trent."[21]. Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, a former Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, supported this study with an open letter to Pope Paul VI, which was published with the study. However, after the revised Roman Missal appeared in 1970, he wrote that Pope Paul VI’s doctrinal exposition of the revised liturgy in its definitive form meant that “no one can any longer be genuinely scandalized”.[22]. He signed the letter that contained this statement, but some, including Jean Madiran, editor of the French journal Itineraires, claimed that the letter was fraudulently given for the signature of the old and blind cardinal by his secretary, Monsignor Gilberto Agustoni, who had been a member of the Consilium ad exsequendam Constitutionem de Sacra Liturgia, the commission charged with implementing the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Liturgy, including the revision of the Roman Missal, and that, as a result, Agustoni was fired as the Cardinal's secretary.

In October 1967, a meeting of the Synod of Bishops had already given its opinion on a still earlier draft. Of the 187 members, 78 approved it as it stood, 62 approved it but suggested various modifications, 4 abstained, and 47 voted against.[23]

In the 1960s, 1970s and beyond, Western countries experienced a drop in Mass attendance (in the U.S., from 3 out of 4 Catholic attending in 1958, to 1 out of 4 attending by 2002). These same countries also saw a decline in seminary enrollments (in the United States of America from 1,575 ordinations in 1954 to 450 in 2002), though on a worldwide scale there was an increase in total numbers: from 72,991 major seminarians in 1970 (the first year of the Statistical Yearbook of the Church and, coincidentally, the year of publication of the revised Roman Missal) to 113,199 in 2002. The same holds for the number of priests (again in contrast to the global trend) and for adherence to fundamental truths of the Catholic faith, as expressed by Catholics in Western countries. The geography of the declines suggests they are part of the general phenomenon of secularism and libertarianism that these countries were already experiencing since the 1960s, before the liturgy was revised. But some, instead, attribute the declines to the changes in the liturgy, and point to opinion polls in which people indicated they thought there was such a link, and which showed that acceptance of core Catholic doctrine and discipline was substantially diminished among Western Catholics.[24]

image:mass44.jpg
Recitation of the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar at the start of a "Tridentine" Mass

Present official status of the "Tridentine" Mass

The present Roman Missal is, doubtless, the text that the Roman rite will use for many years to come, while the Holy See has made provision also for those attached to the earlier form of the Roman rite. The letter Quattuor abhinc annos[25] of 3 October 1984 authorized for them celebration of Mass in accordance with the pre-1970 Roman Missal. In his letter Ecclesia Dei[26] of 2 July 1988, Pope John Paul II stated that “respect must everywhere be shown for the feelings of all those who are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition”. That this was a reference not only to the use of the Latin language but also to the pre-Vatican II form of the Roman liturgy is shown by his urging “a wide and generous application of the directives” in the 1984 document.

Authorization for a priest to use the 1962 Missal can be granted either by the Holy See or by the local diocesan bishop. Such authorization has in fact been granted to many individual priests and to several priestly societies. Not all diocesan bishops, however, have thought it appropriate to grant permission for the celebration of the Tridentine Mass. On some occasions, the difficulty is that those seeking authorization openly accuse the Holy See of contradicting what the Church has always taught (see traditionalist Catholic).

An example of a priestly society whose members celebrate only the Tridentine Mass is the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP). In 2005, the FSSP had 194 priests and 115 seminarians in 15 countries. There are some twenty other such groups of priests and religious operating with full papal approval,[27] most notably the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest[28], which has 40 priests and over 60 seminarians in 11 countries.

Another well-known priestly society which uses only the Tridentine Mass is the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), founded by the French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970. In October 2005, its website put its membership at 4 bishops, 450 priests, about 180 seminarians, 50 brothers, 110 sisters, and 50 oblates. Since in 1988 Archbishop Lefebvre consecrated four bishops in contravention of an express prohibition by the Pope, the Holy See views the bishops and priests of this society as validly ordained, but canonically suspended from exercising their functions. Mass offered by them is valid, and, though the Holy See holds that Archbishop Lefebvre and the bishops he consecrated committed a schismatic act, it does not view the fraternity as a schismatic organization and sees relations with the fraternity as an internal matter of the Catholic Church.

See also

External links and further reading

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