Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts

Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts

Reintroducing Logic and Reason to the Age of Sentimentalism

Novus Ordo Mass

All of the posts under the "Novus Ordo Mass" category.

Novus Ordo Logic: The Latin Mass is Eh, the Novus Ordo is Great!

In this first of a new series, I’d like to explore a particular phenomenon that you may witness in many Catholic parishes these days which I’d like to dub “Novus Ordo Logic.”

Novus Ordo Logic is how modern Catholics apply illogical conclusions to post-conciliar and pre-conciliar Catholicism or the excuses they make for the inconsistencies between the two.

Tridentine Mass

One common difference comes when comparing those who prefer the Traditional Latin Mass to the Novus Ordo Mass. Whenever a Catholic who prefers the Novus Ordo talks about how they don’t like the Traditional Latin Mass and try to avoid it at all costs, they receive words of consolation confirming them that they are okay for having this opinion.

In contrast, whenever a Catholic who prefers only the Traditional Latin Mass expresses his preference and unwillingness to go to the Novus Ordo, they are reproached for being “schismatic,” “holier than thou,” “pharisaical,” or some other offense from the litany of insults.

Novus Ordo Vs Traditional Latin Mass

It is interesting to see the complete difference in attitudes. Both the Novus Ordo preferring Catholic and the Latin Mass preferring Catholic have the same stance, yet one is received with generosity and love, the other with hostility and hate. Even more intriguing, the one who prefers the Mass which many of our Catholic Saints had celebrated during their time here on Earth and is about 17 centuries old, is the one who receives attacks.

Novus Ordo Catholicism doesn’t like traditional Catholicism, as Novus Ordoism perceives tradition as old, stale, difficult, and the Truth. The anger, hatred, and eagerness to discredit the Traditional Latin Mass and those who attend it is a concerning trend within the Church today. According to Novus Ordo Logic, you can dislike the TLM and discuss how great the NO is, but when you dislike the NO and discuss how great the TLM is, you are treated worse than an actual enemy of the Church.

Jeff May 9, 2017 1 Comment Permalink

A Convert’s Perspective Going From the Novus Ordo to the Traditional Latin Mass

Many Catholics are afraid to venture into the mysteries of the Traditional Latin Mass. One of the many reasons I have heard is that they are unfamiliar with what is going on. As a convert, I can understand where they are coming from.

Traditional High Altar

There was a time where I had no clue what was going on with the Novus Ordo. I had no clue what anybody was doing, or why they were doing it. I was lost. I didn’t have the benefits of being a cradle Catholic and knowing what everyone was up to (albeit, maybe not understanding). But, this didn’t stop me.

I continued to go to Mass week after week, and I learned what we were doing. Eventually, I picked up a missal so that way I could follow along. As time progressed, I even began learning about the theology behind the Mass as to why we did what we did. It took some time, but eventually I got there.

Now that I have made the jump into the Traditional Latin Mass, even though it is not as often as I’d like, I can attest that the situation is very similar. I am now going to a Mass that is “unfamiliar” and “foreign.” I’m having to learn again what the congregation is doing. I’m back to following along in a missal. I have to learn the theology behind the Mass, again.

Having reflected upon these similarities, it raises questions.

When someone comes into the Church, the Church doesn’t make excuses or compromises about why the convert can not come to the Mass. Instead, we teach them what the Mass is and isn’t and how to follow along. We do this because Catholicism is the Truth and you do not compromise the Truth.

When it comes to the Mass of All Ages, we are far too comfortable making the same excuses that a convert might make and these are all accepted as stumbling blocks. Somehow, these reasons are severe enough that we can’t have the Traditional Latin Mass. It’s too hard, and people might leave.

The Traditional Latin Mass has been the Mass which has been in effect for centuries; it is as Catholic as you can get when it comes to the Mass. It is worth every effort to restore into every single Catholic Church in the world.

The Truth is something worth fighting and sacrificing for, even if it hurts. I think it is time we stop making excuses for why we can’t make the transitions and start making reasons for why we can.

Jeff December 5, 2016 2 Comments Permalink

Fatima and the Third Secret

Our Lady of Fatima was instrumental in bringing me into the Catholic Church. I honestly don’t know if I’d be Catholic today if it weren’t for her. Of course, I certainly hope I would have eventually come into the Church, but it was after reading about Fatima and having a minor miracle happen that pushed me into diving head first into Catholic thought.

statue-of-our-lady-of-fatima

It’s intriguing to me that after having come into the Church via a rather traditional path I ended up down the road of Modernistic thinking. Over time, I became your typical neo-Catholic who thought that Vatican Two was the greatest thing to happen to the Church and how all the popes since then were de facto saints. After all, I was a convert, what did I know about Catholicism?

Having no Catholic foundation when I read about Fatima, I didn’t understand everything I was reading. What I did know was that the message of Fatima, praying for the conversion of the world to prevent souls from going to Hell was a vastly different message than what most Christians were teachings me. The Jesus of Fatima wasn’t the happy, happy, joy, joy Jesus, but a serious Jesus, who died for our sins and demanded that we follow Him and His teachings.

I never went back to review Fatima until relatively recently as a good friend asked me about what I thought about the Third Secret. I had thought it was a done deal. The consecration was “accepted by Heaven”. Russia stopped their communistic ways. The Third Secret was revealed by the Vatican headed by Cardinal Ratzinger. I figured it was a closed chapter.

However, in the last week, two important stories have broken from One Peter Five in regards to the Third Secret of Fatima.

The first story came Thursday where Dr. Alice Von Hildebrand revealed that she had been told by Cardinal Luigi Ciappi (1909-1996) of the true Third Secret, which revealed: “that a great apostasy in the Church will begin at the top.”

The second story broke Sunday and tells how Pope Benedict XVI confided in a close priest friend, Fr. Ingo Dollinger, about how “there is more than what we published.” Specifically, the part of the secret which was unpublished discusses “a bad council and a bad Mass” which was to happen shortly.

This secret was given by Our Lady of Fatima in 1917 to Sr. Lucia. It speaks volumes as to why Pope John XXIII did not reveal the 3rd Secret in 1960 like he was requested and passed it on to one of his successors stating that the Third Secret “does not concern my pontificate.” If the Third Secret reveals that apostasy would “begin at the top” and would allow for a “bad council and a bad Mass,” then it explains that the Second Vatican Council and the Novus Ordo is not pleasing to God, despite being told the opposite these last 50 years.

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of Fatima. It is important that we take heed of her warnings. Go to confession, pray the Rosary daily, pray for the conversion of the world. Pray for the Pope that he consecrates Russia like he and his predecessors were asked to do. The world is in spiritual shambles around us, and Our Lord and Our Blessed Mother have given us a special role in rebuilding it.

Jeff May 17, 2016 3 Comments Permalink

Pope Francis Proves the Novus Ordo Doesn’t Care About Rules

Pope Francis has changed the rules and is now allowing women to have their feet washed during the Holy Thursday Mass. Granted Pope Francis has done this every single Holy Thursday since he’s been Pope; he has now codified it. If the Pope can make drastic changes to the Liturgy based on his personal preference and the Liturgy allows for it, then you know you do not have a God-given Mass, but a man-made Mass.

Careful Consideration

During the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, we saw the renewal of the traditions that make the Catholic Mass Catholic. We saw the return of Ad Orientem, Latin, and of course, the Tridentine Mass. The faithful credited the Holy Spirit for this renewal of the Liturgical rubrics. Since March 13, 2013, we have seen many rubrics thrown to the wayside for novelties and the personal whims of the reigning Pontiff. And yet, the faithful credit the Holy Spirit for this breath of fresh air.

So the question must be asked; does the Holy Spirit have multiple personalities? The answer is no. The Holy Spirit, who IS GOD, can not contradict Himself, as God is unchanging throughout all time. He is the same yesterday as He is today as He will be tomorrow. To say that the changes made under both of these pontificates are what God wants would be incorrect; it must either be one or the other and since God is unchanging, it is safe to say that tradition will uphold over novelties.

But maybe we are looking at this from the wrong perspective. Maybe the Novus Ordo doesn’t have the clear rubrics as we once thought and proclaimed? For the longest time, faithful Catholics who desired a reverent Novus Ordo would cite the rubrics to demonstrate what should and shouldn’t be done at the Mass. But as mentioned above, if the Pope can change these rubrics at any given moment, why does it matter?

The thing is, Pope Francis has been abusing the Holy Thursday foot washing rite for a very long time. During his time as an archbishop and Cardinal, he would abuse the liturgical rubrics and allow women have their feet washed, despite clear wording in the laws of the rite that state otherwise. Now that he is the Pope, he has struck out the rule so that he will no longer be breaking said rule. It reminds me of

Cardinal Bergoglio Washes Womans Feet

And this is the funny thing about the creation of the Novus Ordo Mass. The entirety of the Mass, except several parts that have been lifted from the Tridentine Mass, were all abuses that had crept their way into the Mass in one way or the other. Reception of Communion in the hand, bringing up the gifts, versus populum, unworthy music, Mass in the vernacular, receiving the Precious Blood, holding hands during the Our Father, the Sign of Peace, altar girls, etc, were all abuses that have now been deemed “permissible” by the Church. If a Rite doesn’t care about rules and ends up throwing them away when it becomes inconvenient, then why have any rules in the first place? And if it doesn’t have any rules, can we trust that it is truly pleasing to God, the giver of Divine Law?

The fact is the Novus Ordo doesn’t care about the rubrics. If it did, it wouldn’t be subject to so many drastic changes from day to day. Much like a teenage girl who can’t figure out what she wants to wear on her first day of school, the Novus Ordo can’t figure out what rules she should keep or throw away.

Jeff January 25, 2016 3 Comments Permalink

The Real Reason We Can’t Have the Latin Mass

We can’t have the Traditional Latin Mass because the vast majority of prelates at all levels within the Church hierarchy do not want the Traditional Latin Mass. Many of these men are indeed enemies of the Church and are only priests so that they can attempt to change the Church from within. Those brave men who do want to offer the Traditional Latin Mass are given pushback by their parishioners and their bishops.

The parishioners who actively resist the Traditional Latin Mass do so with such venom that it is hard to call them faithful Catholics. The Traditional Latin Mass has been around for the vast majority of the Church’s existence, the same Mass which has formed and sanctified the majority of those select few we can call Saints. It is obvious that they are either enemies of the Church or demonically possessed. I say this because if you mention the Traditional Latin Mass around them, they begin to squirm and become uneasy.

Meanwhile, the priests who want to celebrate this beautiful liturgy are faced with pushback from their bishops. These bishops, who have been entrusted with the care of souls, do more harm than good by denying his flock the graces found at this superior liturgy. Sometimes it is out of malice, and sometimes it is because the bishop is a deviant and doesn’t want the grace of God to be given to the souls entrusted to his care.

Many will argue that it’s about “the numbers.” Others will say there’s a lack of interest. But until the TLM is made available at every single parish, the Church will continue its downward spiral into chaos and anarchy.

The Novus Ordo is a different theology that embraces the people who are present at the Liturgy and places God as secondary. The Tridentine Mass is Catholic theology which embraces God and forces those present to recognize their sins and beg God for forgiveness.

Catholics today don’t want a Mass that will bring them closer to God to live a good and holy life. They want a Mass that will bring them into communion with their neighbor, complete with feel-good homilies from a pastor who tells them what they want to hear, how they are doing their best and God won’t judge them. This is why you can’t have the Traditional Latin Mass.

Jeff January 11, 2016 25 Comments Permalink

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