The
first Mass was said by Christ at the Last Supper (Mt. 26:26-29, Mk.
14:22-24, Lk. 22:19-20, 1 Cor. 11:23-29). At that Mass, Christ
told the Apostles - the predecessors of today's bishops - to repeat his
actions in commemoration
of his death. Since
that time, the Church has faithfully followed the Lord's instructions,
celebrating Mass even during the height of persecutions.
Under
the direction of the Holy Spirit, the Roman Mass naturally developed,
and the established customs became "ritualized" over the
centuries. The 'legalization' of Christianity furthered the process, and
it became possible to have more elaborate ceremonies which better
emphasized the dignity of what occurs in Mass. Such additions were
considered natural developments since the Church went from being
"illegal" and underground (necessitating its Masses to be
"brief and simple") to legal, and even protected. Although
various additions were made, this gradual development was natural,
organic, and respected the previous traditions.
As
early as the fourth century, fixed liturgical rites can be found in the
Church. And, in fact, we can see that the core of the Canon of the
Traditional Mass (as it appeared before the Second Vatican Council)
existed at least since the end of the fourth century. These fixed rites
made it possible for persons to easily remember what was necessary, and
they protected the liturgy from error. Although there were a number of
legitimate rites in the early Church, each rite had various points of
congruence, and it is believed that the most important points of the
ancient rites could be traced to Apostolic times.
The
Roman Missal was reformed during the pontificate of Pope St. Gregory the Great
(590-604 A.D.), but his reforms were faithful to Tradition. His work
remained virtually unchanged until the Second Vatican Council. As stated
by one liturgical scholar: "From roughly the time of [Pope] St. Gregory [the
Great, d. 604] we have the text of the Mass, its order and arrangement,
as a sacred tradition that no one has ventured to touch except in
unimportant details." (Fortescue, 1912 A.D.)
Eventually,
the Roman Rite spread throughout the West and became
predominant. Note that it is a common error to assume that the Eastern liturgies
are older than the Roman liturgy. As stated by Davies: "[T]here
is no existing Eastern liturgy with a history of continual use
stretching back as far as that of the Roman Mass."
In
fact, the central elements of the Roman Rite remained virtually
untouched until the Protestant 'Reformers' instituted
drastic changes to the Mass in the 16th century. Their changes were
designed to destroy the faith of Catholics. They even dared to touch the
Canon of the Mass, and they removed all references to sacrifice and
other elements that contradicted their false theology. Never before had anyone
dared a major reform of the liturgy.
The
Church, however, the ever-watchful
 guardian of the liturgy, protected the Mass by
codifying the so-called 'Tridentine' Rite, which was promulgated by Pope
St. Pius V, the last sainted pope until Pope Pius X in the 20th century.
This Rite was not a new rite of Mass, but rather the
codification of the existing Roman Rite, which could be traced back, in
all essential elements, even to apostolic times.
"The
Order of Mass as found in the 1570 Missal of St. Pius V (1566-1572), apart
from minor additions and amplifications, corresponds very closely with
the Order established by St. Gregory (d. 604 A.D.)." (Davies)
"All
later modifications were fitted into the old arrangement, and the most
important parts were not touched. From, roughly, the time of St. Gregory
we have the text of the Mass, its order and arrangement, as a sacred tradition
that no one has ventured to touch except in unimportant details [until
the Second Vatican Council]." (Fortescue)
"Essentially,
the Missal of Pius V is the Gregorian Sacramentary; that again is formed
from the Gelasian book, which depends on the Leonine collection. We find
the prayers of our Canon in the treatise De Sacramentis [of St. Ambrose, c.
340-397] and allusions to it in the IVth century. So our Mass goes
back, without essential change, to the age when it first developed out
of the oldest liturgy of all." (Fortescue)
This
formal promulgation of the 'Tridentine' Mass served to protect the
liturgy from error, and protected it from those outside the Church
who sought to destroy the Mass. The
promulgation of the 'Tridentine' Rite in the 16th century was the first time in history that
the liturgy was legislated - as it were "canonized". With the
codification of the 'Tridentine' Rite and the invention of the printing
press, it was possible to have liturgical standardization throughout the
world, wherever it was used. As stated by Pope St. Pius V:
"[I]t
is most becoming that there be in the Church only one appropriate manner
of reciting the Psalms and only one rite for the celebration of
Mass"
From
the time of its formal codification, the canon of the Mass was generally
considered virtually "untouchable" until the Second Vatican
Council. As stated by Davies:
"One
cannot emphasize enough that St. Pius V did not promulgate a new
Order of Mass (Novus Ordo Missae). The very idea of composing a new
order of Mass was and is totally alien to the whole Catholic ethos,
both in the East and in the West. The Catholic tradition has been to
hold fast to what has been handed down and to look upon any novelty with
the utmost suspicion. The essence of the reform of St. Pius V was, like
that of St. Gregory the Great, respect for tradition." (emphasis
added)
He
also states:
"[T]he
unbroken tradition of East and West for over 1,600 years, that the
Eucharistic Liturgy should never be subjected to radical reform -
although it might develop through the addition of new prayers and
ceremonies - was breached in 1970 when the newly composed Missal of Pope
Paul VI was published, the New Order of Mass having been published in
1969." (Davies)
Unlike
Pope St. Pius V's 16th century reform which consisted of a codification
of an existing rite and was faithful to tradition, Pope Paul's 1960's
Novus Ordo Missae (Novus Ordo Mass) was fabricated by a committee (with
the assistance of Protestant 'observers') and constitutes an unprecedented,
and radical, break with tradition. The revolutionary nature of the
changes incorporated in the New Rite of Mass are striking, and as
Cardinals Ottaviani and Bacci stated:
"[T]he
Novus Ordo Missae - considering the new elements, susceptible of widely
differing evaluation, which appear to be implied or taken for granted -
represents, as a whole and in detail, a striking departure from the
Catholic theology of the Holy Mass as it was formulated in Session XXII
of the Council of Trent, which, by fixing definitively the 'canons' of
the rite, erected an insurmountable barrier against any heresy which
might attack the integrity of the Mystery."
It
is clear that there are many differences between the New Rite of Mass and the
'Tridentine' Rite of Mass. Note: Click
here for more information on this topic. Further, in the decades
since its imposition on the faithful, the New Rite of Mass been plagued by
numerous troubles - including liturgical abuse, sacrilege, doctrinal
confusion, loss of faith, reduced Mass attendance, loss of the sense of
the sacred, loss of fear of the Lord, loss of belief in the Real Presence,
blurring of the distinction between the priest and laity, etc.
Thankfully,
however, the glorious 'Tridentine' Mass has been protected from such misfortunes and
remains as a valid option to faithful Catholics throughout the world. Note:
Click
here for more information on the status of the 'Tridentine' Mass. Click
here for 'How to Find a Tridentine Mass' . This incomparable Mass
has been called "the Mass that will not die". Its history
shows this to be true.
Also
See...
Traditional Latin Mass (Topic Page)
Latin
Mass Facts
Why
the Latin Mass?
Latin
Mass &
Catholic Tradition: Q & A
The
Traditional Latin Mass vs. the Novus Ordo (New) Mass
Status
of the Latin 'Tridentine' Mass
How
to Find a Latin 'Tridentine' Mass
The
Holy Eucharist / Mass (Sacraments Section)
Holy
Eucharist / Mass Reflections (Sacraments Section)
Quo
Primum (Promulgates the "Tridentine" Mass)
[Vatican View Section]
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