Father Z. 1, Boston Globe 0

Father Zuhlsdorf over at "What Does the Prayer Really Say?" has an excellent critique of today's Boston Globe op-ed by Prof. Frank Flinn of Washington University.

To put it bluntly, Father Z. kicks Prof. Flinn's cafeteria-loving fanny!

So What Do We Do Now That the "Motu Proprio" is Out?

The Catholic blogosphere is naturally abuzz with discussion of the "Motu Proprio" released by the Vatican today. I came across a couple of really good posts with some practical advice for those of us Catholics who are supportive of the new policy.

First, Shawn Tribe from "The New Liturgical Movement" passed along some great advice from one of his readers who is a priest about how to convince one's local parish to start offering the Tridentine Mass. The post is entitled "After the Motu Proprio is released: advice from a Parish Priest".

Second, Richard Salbato from Unity Publishing wrote an excellent article in the May issue of his newsletter called "Learning the Tridentine Mass" explaining what parish churches, priests, and worshippers need to know about the Tridentine Mass. This information may seem basic to those who remember the way things were prior to Vatican II and for those who already attend a TLM. Bear in mind, however, that the majority of Catholics of my generation have never worshipped at a Tridentine Mass. A growing number have embraced orthodoxy but have not had the opportunity to attend a Tridentine Mass because of their limited availability.

Third, Father Jim Tucker over at "Dappled Things" has a great post from a few years ago called "7 Tips for Participating in the Traditional Mass". Again, it's geared towards newbies. (HT: Drew from "Shrine of the Holy Whapping").

I'll post links to other helpful articles as I come across them!

The "Motu Proprio" on the Tridentine Mass is Out!

Catholic World News has published an English translation of Pope Benedict XVI's "Motu Proprio" on expanding the use of the 1962 Latin Mass and the accompanying letter to the Bishops. The documents confirm that the Novus Ordo Mass will continue to be the "Forma ordinaria" but that where parish members desire it and there is a priest trained to perform it, the Tridentine Mass should also be offered.

I was especially glad to see Pope Benedict XVI criticize in his letter to the bishops the liturgical abuse that has been occurring in some areas:

"in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal, but the latter actually was understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity, which frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear. I am speaking from experience, since I too lived through that period with all its hopes and its confusion. And I have seen how arbitrary deformations of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church."

Amen to that! I can remember growing up one parish priest we had who "condensed" the Mass such that it was over and done with in about 30 minutes. As a kid, I thought this was great because I did not understand, but now when I look back I am outraged. This was the same priest who supervised my First Holy Communion catechesis and told me that the Host was just "symbolic" of Christ's Body and did not require us children to go through Reconciliation prior to receiving our First Holy Communion. He was personally very nice but obviously his theology was pretty unorthodox!

Anyways, I am hopeful that this new "Motu Proprio" will result in the Tridentine Mass becoming available in my local area once again.

UPDATE: The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' webpage has posted a newsletter to explain the "Motu Proprio" to American Catholics.

"Motu Proprio" Expanding Use of Tridentine Mass to be Released on July 7th?

New Catholic over at Rorate Caeli has a bunch of posts suggesting that the Vatican may release the expected "moto proprio" expanding the use of the 1962 Tridentine Latin Mass on July 7th.

I've never worshipped at a Tridentine Mass and my current diocese has not granted any indults for its use. There is one over at St. Margaret Mary in Oakland and one at Our Lady of Peace down in Santa Clara but those are just too far for us :-(

I'm not sure I would want to attend a Tridentine Mass every Sunday while our kids are small (we have enough of a challenge getting them to behave through a Novus Ordo Mass), but I would be interested in perhaps attending once a month by myself if one were offered locally.

Most parishes offer multiple weekend Masses. My current parish offers 6- shouldn't one of those be the Tridentine Rite? Perhaps it could be the 7:30 A.M. Sunday service since serious Catholics would not mind getting up early in order to celebrate a Traditional Latin Mass.

UPDATE: The Vatican has released the official Latin text and both Catholic World News and the USCCB home page have unofficial English translations.