CHARTING LITURGICAL CHANGE
Comparing the 1962 Ordinary of the Roman Mass to changes made during the Anglican Schism; Compared in turn to changes adopted in the creation of Pope Paul VI’s Mass in 1969
Ne transgrediaris terminos antiquos quos posuerunt patres tui
(Prov 22:28)
The chart on the reverse is a concise comparison of certain ritual differences between three historical rites for the celebration of the Catholic Mass
Vetus Ordo: “Old Order,” the Roman Rite of Mass as contained in the 1962 Missal, often referred to as the “Traditional Latin Mass.” The Ordinary of this Mass is that of Pope St. Pius V (1570) following the Council of Trent (1545-63), hence the occasional moniker “Tridentine Mass.” However, Trent only consolidated and codified the Roman Rite already in use at that time; its essential form dates to Pope St. Gregory the Great (+604), in whose time the Roman Canon was fixed, drawing in turn from still earlier liturgical forms. This Canon has remained unaltered for fourteen centuries, with the exception of the invocation of Saint Joseph added in 1962. The chart below offers parentheticals with brief notes regarding certain Catholic doctrines expressed by its ancient ceremonies.
Cranmer’s Rite: Thomas Cranmer, the apostate Archbishop of Canterbury (1489-1556), championed the Anglican schism of King Henry VIII and worked to undermine Catholicism in England by imposing a state-sponsored liturgical revolution per his newly contrived rite of Mass. The initial 1549 edition was designed as a doctrinally ambiguous “compromise rite,” amenable to both Catholic and Protestant theology; by its 1552 edition, it was manifestly Protestant. As this rite supplanted the Catholic Sarum Missal (the Roman Rite as used in England, essentially identical to that later codified at Trent), some of the changes introduced do not apply directly to the Vetus Ordo, hence the “N/A” entries given in the chart below.
Novus Ordo: “New Order,” the Missal of Pope Paul VI (1969). Original in many parts and as a whole, this Missal was crafted by the Consilium (liturgical committee) appointed after the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) to undertake the unprecedented creation of a new rite of Mass. The chart below limits itself to noting only those officially prescribed changes indicated in the Missal itself and the accompanying rubrics for the United States. That Pope Paul VI recognized the apparent discontinuity of his Novus Ordo with the centuries-old Vetus Ordo was evident during its preparation and in its promulgation, as illustrated by his General Audiences of March 17, 1965 and November 26, 1969. An excerpt from the latter follows:
(Prov 22:28)
The chart on the reverse is a concise comparison of certain ritual differences between three historical rites for the celebration of the Catholic Mass
Vetus Ordo: “Old Order,” the Roman Rite of Mass as contained in the 1962 Missal, often referred to as the “Traditional Latin Mass.” The Ordinary of this Mass is that of Pope St. Pius V (1570) following the Council of Trent (1545-63), hence the occasional moniker “Tridentine Mass.” However, Trent only consolidated and codified the Roman Rite already in use at that time; its essential form dates to Pope St. Gregory the Great (+604), in whose time the Roman Canon was fixed, drawing in turn from still earlier liturgical forms. This Canon has remained unaltered for fourteen centuries, with the exception of the invocation of Saint Joseph added in 1962. The chart below offers parentheticals with brief notes regarding certain Catholic doctrines expressed by its ancient ceremonies.
Cranmer’s Rite: Thomas Cranmer, the apostate Archbishop of Canterbury (1489-1556), championed the Anglican schism of King Henry VIII and worked to undermine Catholicism in England by imposing a state-sponsored liturgical revolution per his newly contrived rite of Mass. The initial 1549 edition was designed as a doctrinally ambiguous “compromise rite,” amenable to both Catholic and Protestant theology; by its 1552 edition, it was manifestly Protestant. As this rite supplanted the Catholic Sarum Missal (the Roman Rite as used in England, essentially identical to that later codified at Trent), some of the changes introduced do not apply directly to the Vetus Ordo, hence the “N/A” entries given in the chart below.
Novus Ordo: “New Order,” the Missal of Pope Paul VI (1969). Original in many parts and as a whole, this Missal was crafted by the Consilium (liturgical committee) appointed after the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) to undertake the unprecedented creation of a new rite of Mass. The chart below limits itself to noting only those officially prescribed changes indicated in the Missal itself and the accompanying rubrics for the United States. That Pope Paul VI recognized the apparent discontinuity of his Novus Ordo with the centuries-old Vetus Ordo was evident during its preparation and in its promulgation, as illustrated by his General Audiences of March 17, 1965 and November 26, 1969. An excerpt from the latter follows: