Showing posts with label Ad Orientem Mass. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ad Orientem Mass. Show all posts

Friday, April 17, 2026

THE MASS ABOVE ALL ELSE


By incorporating it into the Holy Mass, our prayer not only enters the mighty river of liturgical prayers—which would already give it a special dignity and efficacy ex opere operantis Ecclesiae (through the action of the Church at work)—but it also merges with the infinite prayer of Christ. The Father always hears Him: “I know that you always hear me” (Jn 11:42), and in consideration of Him, He will grant us all that we need (and that truly serves our souls).

Consequently: No novena or triduum can compare to the impetrative efficacy of a single Mass. How much confusion there is among the faithful regarding the objective value of things! What we do not obtain through the Holy Mass, we will never obtain through any other means. The use of those other methods blessed and approved by the Church is certainly good; it is undeniable that God grants many graces through them;  But let's put everything in its proper place. The Mass above all else.

Fr. Antonio Royo Marín, O.P.


Wednesday, September 17, 2025

THIS IS THE MASS THAT SANCTIFIED THE CHURCH FOR CENTURIES


For centuries before 1970, this was the way Mass was celebrated throughout the world, the same Mass that nourished the souls of saints and sinners for centuries. The priest stood before the altar with the people, offering a sacrifice to God, present in the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the tabernacle. With the exception of the sermon to the people, the Mass was sung, chanted, or spoken entirely in Latin.

⚜️This is the Mass where St. Joseph of Cupertino was seen levitating.

⚜️This is the Mass that St. Gregory the Great inherited, developed, and solidified.

⚜️This is the Mass that St. Thomas Aquinas celebrated, wrote with love, and contributed to (he composed his own Mass and the Office for the Feast of Corpus Christi).

⚜️This is the Mass that Saint Louis IX, the King of France, attended three times a day.

⚜️This is the Mass that Saint Philip Neri had to distract himself from before celebrating it, because it so easily sent him into an ecstasy that lasted for hours.

⚜️This is the Mass that was first celebrated on the shores of the Americas by Spanish and French missionaries, as the North American Martyrs.

⚜️This is the Mass that priests said in secret in England and Ireland during the dark days of persecution, and this is the Mass that Blessed Miguel Pro Juárez risked his life to celebrate before being captured and martyred by the Mexican government.

⚜️This is the Mass that Blessed John Henry Newman said he would celebrate every waking moment of his life if he could.

⚜️This is the Mass that Father Frederick Faber called "the most beautiful thing this side of heaven."

⚜️This is the Mass so beloved by great artists such as Evelyn Waugh, David Jones, and Graham Greene that they mourned its loss with grief and alarm.

⚜️This is the Mass so revered that even non-Catholics such as Agatha Christie and Iris Murdoch came to its defense in the 1970s.

This is the Mass persecuted and fought against by modernism because it perfectly and unambiguously expresses holy Catholic doctrine and must be restored throughout the Church 


Thursday, September 11, 2025

PROPOSES REFORMING LITURGICAL REFORM IN ACCORDANCE WITH TRUE CATHOLIC TRADITION


The Liturgical Revolution of Paul VI “Implanted Protestantism in the Heart of the Church”

By Edwin Botero Correa

September 8, 2025. Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has initiated a profound debate on the need to reform fundamental aspects of the Mass according to the rite of Paul VI, known as the Novus Ordo, pointing out historical parallels with Martin Luther’s liturgical proposals that have generated considerable discussion in theological circles.

The current structure of the Novus Ordo, implemented after the Second Vatican Council, grants the celebrant a certain flexibility in several moments of the celebration—a characteristic that, according to various liturgical experts, can give rise to interpretations and practices not always in accord with Catholic tradition. This liturgical freedom, although intended to facilitate the participation of the faithful, has been a matter of concern for theologians respectful of and faithful to Sacred Tradition, not without weighty reasons on their part.

Among the proposed modifications, a return to the celebration ad orientem stands out, in which both the priest and the congregation face the liturgical east during the most sacred parts of the Mass, especially from the offertory onward. This common orientation in prayer represents, according to experts, a physical expression of the unity of the Church in her worship of God.

A crucial point of the suggested reform is the restoration of the Roman Canon as the only Eucharistic Prayer permitted in the Roman Rite. The term “canon,” meaning “rule” or “norm,” underscores the importance of maintaining an established and venerable form of Eucharistic prayer, avoiding the multiplicity of options that characterizes the current rite.

The manner of receiving Holy Communion is also under consideration. It is proposed to return to the age-old practice of receiving it kneeling and on the tongue, a gesture that emphasizes the reverence and adoration owed to the Blessed Sacrament. This form of reception expresses more clearly the faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

The offertory prayers have been identified as a particularly problematic area. The current prayers, inspired by blessings from the Jewish Sabbath ritual and containing elements from the Talmud, do not adequately express the sacrificial character of the Mass, reducing its meaning to that of a simple commemorative meal. This historical modification reflects, according to critics, a direct influence of Martin Luther’s thought, who firmly opposed the Catholic conception of the Mass as a sacrifice.

The preservation of Latin, at least in the Roman Canon, is presented as another essential element for maintaining continuity with the Church’s liturgical tradition. The use of the Latin language, beyond its historical and universal value, serves as a tangible link with the Church’s two-thousand-year-old heritage.

These proposed reforms are framed within a broader context of reflection on the postconciliar liturgy and its relationship with Catholic tradition. Such modifications would strengthen Catholic identity and correct the deviations introduced during the liturgical reform of Paul VI.

The discussion on these proposed changes continues to generate debate among liturgists, theologians, and the faithful, reflecting a tension between tradition and renewal in the liturgical life of the Catholic Church. The dialogue on these fundamental issues remains a vital part of theological and ecclesial reflection on the best way to celebrate the sacred mysteries.

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

THERE IS NO HIGHER WORSHIP


 

"What an incomparable honor we have in participating in the Holy Mass! If we were to combine all the merits and virtues of all the saints who have ever existed and will ever exist, with all the love of the blessed, including the angels and the Blessed Virgin Mary herself, all of them together could not give God as much honor, praise, or satisfaction as He receives in a single Holy Mass." Father Pedro Vignes

Thursday, November 16, 2023

ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE HOLY MASS FOR THE LIVING AND THE DEAD


Upon ordination, the priest receives the power to offer the holy sacrifice of the Mass for the living and the dead.

The divine sacrifice of the Mass contains and immolates the same Jesus Christ who offered Himself on the Cross, but without the shedding of blood.

Through Him we obtain mercy and find grace, succor, and blessing.

Let us draw near to God with a contrite and penitent heart, with a right faith, and in a spirit of fear and respect.

The Mass is offered for the sins, the sorrows, the satisfactions, and other necessities of the faithful.

The Mass is offered for the living and for those who have died in Jesus Christ, and who are not yet entirely purified.

There is nothing more beautiful, greater, and holier than offering Holy Mass for the living and for the dead.

It is the perfect act of divine worship, the only one capable of reconciling men with God.

The holy sacrifice of the Mass relieves the souls in purgatory.

The Holy Mass spreads on sinners the fruits of Christ's Passion and all the benefits of heaven.

(Fuente: Exposición de la doctrina sobre el sacrificio de la , Concilio de Trento, 17 de septiembre de 1562 – Fsspx.News)


Thursday, November 16, 2017

Polish Bishops Reaffirm the Traditional Doctrine of the Church and Say “No” to Allowing Communion to the Divorced and Remarried

No to Communion to the divorced and “remarried”

The cardinals refuse the possibility of allowing Communion for couples living more uxorio, that is without being united by the Sacrament of Marriage.

The Polish Episcopal Conference, which met in plenary session in Lublin with the assistance of the Nuncio, has pronounced a resounding 'no' to giving Communion to the divorced and remarried, according to Nuova Bussola Quotidiana.

The central theme of the meeting was, precisely, to discuss the text with which to define the application of the Papal Exhortation Amoris Laetitia to the Polish Church, and although the final text has not yet been made public, Nuova Bussola has obtained from an "optimal source” its basic guidelines in which the cardinals reject the possibility of giving access to Communion to couples who live 'more uxorio' – as husband and wife - without being united by the Sacrament of Marriage.

It goes without saying that the same applies to cohabitating couples. They cannot receive sacramental Communion, nor spiritual communion as long as they are in a situation of open contradiction with the Eucharist, which represents the conjugal bond of our Lord with His faithful Church, a bond that is indissoluble and fecund.

The Pontiff himself, after the publication of the exhortation, left the bishops free to interpret with evangelical discernment its application according to the concrete practice of their regions, something that the Polish bishops seem to have taken advantage of to decide their own, which it is based on what has been the constant practice of the Church for centuries.

Why is this news important? In the first place, because it denies (as if it was necessary) the 'official line' unleashed against the critics of the exhortation and the cardinals signatories of the Dubia in the sense that the ambiguity of the text breaks Catholicity, by making, in a crucial matter for three sacraments and for the very concept of sin, lawful what is unlawful, and what is unlawful, lawful and permitted according to the each diocese.

In fact, we have already mentioned some regions where the chosen interpretation is diametrically opposed to the one decided by the Polish Episcopal Conference, as is the case of Germany.

But the decision of the bishops gathered in Lublin is no less crucial in the sense that it is opposed - there is no other way to say it - to what the Pope himself, in a private letter that was published by L'Osservatore Romano, described as "the only possible interpretation" of the pontifical text.

Indeed, Francis, in a letter addressed to the president of the Episcopal Conference of his country of origin, Argentina, congratulates his colleagues in the episcopate for the chosen application, "the only possible one" among the interpretations of the exhortation. And precisely in the Argentine dioceses it has been decided to allow, according to the discernment of the priest, (the sacrilege of*) giving Communion to divorced people who are "married" again.

The issue is thorny. Taking into account the aforementioned letter, the decision of the Poles could be understood as a challenge to the Pontiff, and even provide a vague ball of oxygen to the signers of the 'Correctio Filialis'.

But, on the other hand, the Polish episcopate is doing nothing but embrace the interpretative freedom opened by Francis himself, which is almost forced by the same ambiguity of the wording in the points relating to this question (and proclaim the infallible doctrine that always and everywhere has been taught by the Catholic Church for two thousand years*).

Source: Infovaticana, Article from Carlos Esteban

* Parentheses: Notes of Catholicityblog.