Fr. Bouyer recalls exchange with Paul VI on liturgical reform

The following is from an article posted yesterday by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, who was just here in Metro Detroit on October 10th to address the 12th Call to Holiness Conference on "The Treasures of the Mass."

In his post, "Fr. Bouyer and an anecdote about how the liturgical reform was imposed" (WDTPRS, October 14, 2009), Fr. Z cites his proximate source as a global email from the editor of Inside the Vatican, Robert Moynighan, and observes: "It concerns the behind the scenes story of the post-Conciliar liturgical reform. The characters involved are the famous liturgist Fr. Louis Bouyer and Paul VI. This is a bit removed, but it is perhaps useful." Here is Moynihan's email:

Letter from a Reader about the Liturgy

I just received this letter from a reader:

Dear Dr. Moynihan,

These newsflashes are really informative and important for many of us to help us understand what is going on in Roma.

Given some of the past (and somewhat unfinished) newsflashes, I was wondering if you had seen this, from Fr. Anthony Chadwick (TAC priest in France) on his Civitas Dei web site http://pagesperso-orange.fr/civitas.dei/reflections10.09.htm, translating from a French traditionalist email group:

(Note: here follows the text from the web site; the incident occurred in about 1974.)

=============================

October 3rd—Sainte Thérèse de l’Enfant Jésus (Roman calendar and a local Saint here in Normandy)...

Father Louis Bouyer (photo): I wrote to the Holy Father, Pope Paul VI, to tender my resignation as member of the Commission charged with the Liturgical Reform. The Holy Father sent for me at once (and the following conversation ensued):

Paul VI: Father, you are an unquestionable and unquestioned authority by your deep knowledge of the Church’s liturgy and Tradition, and a specialist in this field. I do not understand why you have sent me your resignation, whilst your presence, is more than precious, it is indispensable!

Father Bouyer: Most Holy Father, if I am a specialist in this field, I tell you very simply that I resign because I do not agree with the reforms you are imposing! Why do you take no notice of the remarks we send you, and why do you do the opposite?

Paul VI: But I don’t understand: I’m not imposing anything. I have never imposed anything in this field. I have complete trust in your competence and your propositions. It is you who are sending me proposals. When Fr. Bugnini comes to see me, he says: "Here is what the experts are asking for." And as you are an expert in this matter, I accept your judgement.

Father Bouyer: And meanwhile, when we have studied a question, and have chosen what we can propose to you, in conscience, Father Bugnini took our text, and, then said to us that, having consulted you: "The Holy Father wants you to introduce these changes into the liturgy." And since I don’t agree with your propositions, because they break with the Tradition of the Church, then I tender my resignation.

Paul VI: But not at all, Father, believe me, Father Bugnini tells me exactly the contrary: I have never refused a single one of your proposals. Father Bugnini came to find me and said: "The experts of the Commission charged with the Liturgical Reform asked for this and that". And since I am not a liturgical specialist, I tell you again, I have always accepted your judgement. I never said that to Monsignor Bugnini. I was deceived. Father Bugnini deceived me and deceived you.

Father Bouyer: That is, my dear friends, how the liturgical reform was done!

==============================

(The letter to me then continues):

Of course, this plays into the I think unfinished story you were recounting about Cardinal Gagnon’s investigation, and the aftermath. I must add that I saw on another traditionalist list group a few years back the comment from Prof. Luc Perrin (Strasbourg) that he himself had a typescript copy of Fr. Bouyer’s memoirs, which could not then be published due to family opposition or something of the sort, but that they contained bombshells ...

Fr. Z concludes: "You have to know that Paul VI was perhaps overly trusting."

[Hat tip to J.M.]

A critic of the "Reform of the Reform" from the left

Our Canadian friend Paul Borealis just called our attention to John F. Baldovin's Reforming the Liturgy: A Response to the Critics(Liturgical Books, 2009), via J. Peter Nixon's review, "Engaging the Opposition" (America, September 14, 2009).

Looking up the book on Amazon, I found an ample review by Alcuin Reid(scroll down), which gives it three stars and begins with this quotation from Mahatma Gandhi: "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." While Reid concedes that it is far too early to declare victory, particularly in debate over the production of modern rites, his incisive discussion, highlighting numerous flawed assumptions and arguments in Baldovin's 197-page book, leaves the reader doubting whether there is much if anything to be learned from this book that has not been already stated numerous times before by partisans of the liturgical status quo.

Nixon's review of Baldovin's book in America strikes a balanced tone, but bears the luggage of all the-usual-suspect assumptions found among those drifting among the flotsam and jetsam of the AmChurch mainstream. It refers to the Novus Ordo as if it were an established "rite" (It is not: it is the Roman Rite's "ordinary form," whose unsettled form continues to be debated) and the intended product of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council (It is not: they did not envision free-standing altars, the removal of Communion rails, Communion in the hand, the ordinary use of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, women serving in the sanctuary, etc.), rather than a series of progressively institutionalized innovations stretching over the last four decades; and we're still waiting for the latest changes in the once-again-reformed vernacular translations of the Lectionary.

Nonetheless, if there is anything positive here, it may be the simple fact that the once trendy-lefty radicals who are complacent with the status quo have finally noticed that there is, in fact, an opposition with substantive arguments and attempted engagement.

[Hat tip to Paul Borealis and Alcuin Reid]

Huzzah! Exsurge Domine!

Fr. Z, "Bp. Sample (D. Marquette) to Bp. Gumbleton: please don’t come" (WDTPRS, October 11, 2009): "Bp. Gumbleton was invited to speak in Marquette by a group called Marquette Citizens for Peace and Justice. Because of Bp. Gumbleton’s well-known positions on homosexuality and women "priests", Bp. Sample asked Bp. Gumbleton not to come. Apparently they did not come to an agreement."

Saint Damien: the rest of the story

Just yesterday (October 11, 2009), Pope Benedict XVI canonized Father Damien, a Belgian priest who spent the last 16 years of his life working ministering to a colony of lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai in the 1800s.

In the late 1880s, when a certain Presbyterian pastor named Dr. Hyde wrote a letter to a fellow clergyman speaking ill of Father Damien, Robert Louis Stevenson, the famous protestant novelist, who had visited Molokai shortly after Father Damien himself died of leprosy, wrote a scathing open letter of rebuke to Dr. Hyde.

Here is a brief summary of the exchange, with several of Hyde's one-line slurs met by Stevenson's response (http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2009/10/saint-of-molokai.html):

Sunday, October 11, 2009

The Saint of Molokai

Damien was COARSE.

It is very possible. You make us sorry for the lepers, who had only a coarse old peasant for their friend and father. But you, who were so refined, why were you not there, to cheer them with the lights of culture? Or may I remind you that we have some reason to doubt if John the Baptist were genteel; and in the case of Peter, on whose career you doubtless dwell approvingly in the pulpit, no doubt at all he was a ‘coarse, headstrong’ fisherman! Yet even in our Protestant Bibles Peter is called Saint.

Damien was DIRTY.

He was. Think of the poor lepers annoyed with this dirty comrade! But the clean Dr. Hyde was at his food in a fine house.

Damien was HEADSTRONG.

I believe you are right again; and I thank God for his strong head and heart.

Damien was BIGOTED.

I am not fond of bigots myself, because they are not fond of me. But what is meant by bigotry, that we should regard it as a blemish in a priest? Damien believed his own religion with the simplicity of a peasant or a child; as I would I could suppose that you do. For this, I wonder at him some way off; and had that been his only character, should have avoided him in life. But the point of interest in Damien, which has caused him to be so much talked about and made him at last the subject of your pen and mine, was that, in him, his bigotry, his intense and narrow faith, wrought potently for good, and strengthened him to be one of the world’s heroes and exemplars.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Open Letter to the Rev. Dr. Hyde of Honolulu

[Letter by the Protestant writer in response to

the accusations of Dr.C. M. Hyde, Presbyterian minister in Honolulu]

Sydney, February 25, 1890

Related

[Hugo Mendez, from the Rorate Caeli comment box yesterday]

Ahh! You forgot the most pertinent words of Stevenson today to Dr. Hyde:

"If that world at all remember you, on the day when Damien of Molokai shall be named a Saint, it will be in virtue of one work: your letter to the Reverend H. B. Gage."

That day is today (!). Over a century later, we continue to honor the works of St. Damien, who gave his entire life for the healing of the diseased and outcast. As for Dr. Hyde, the world cannot remember a significant work of mercy, act of charity, or lasting gift to humanity, he provided. Instead, his entire legacy is a footnote in history... for slandering St. Damien with false accusations. This is his only legacy in the year 2009.

Welcome to the history books, Rev. Hyde.

[Hat tip to Rorate Caeli.]

The controversial founding of Columbus Day

"One may not think of the month of daylight savings time, breast cancer awareness, and Oktoberfest as particularly controversial, but beneath the surface of several Catholic holidays in October are truths and memories that bring a maelstrom of protest from the modern world," writes Michael P. Foley in "The Controversial Holidays of October" (Latin Mass magazine, Summer 2009). In a previous article, Foley already discussed one of these: the Feast of the Holy Rosary's commemoration of the defeat of the Turks at Lepanto (October 7). In the current issue, he turns to two more "October surprises" -- Columbus Day (October 12 or the second Monday in October) and All Hallows' Eve (October 31).¹ Here we limit our attention to Columbus Day:

I should probably be given the stake for discussing a secular holiday in a column on the liturgical year, but Columbus Day merits our attention for several reasons. First the holiday owes its existence to the efforts of U.S. Catholic citizens, particularly the Knights of Columbus. In the 1900s the Knights lobbied state legislatures throughout the country to make the anniversary of America's discovery a holiday; not only did most states acquiesce, but the federal government eventually did as well, first as a national holiday in 1937 and then as a legal holiday (on which banks close) in 1971. Though they were instituted as a fraternal benefits organization, the Knights of Columbus were also keen to dispel anti-Catholic prejudice in the United States. One way to meet this goal was to emphasize America's debt to Catholic figures, starting with its papist discoverer. Not coincidentally, this fraternity, founded by an Irish priest, was named not after Saint Patrick but after the daring Italian who reached the shores of our hemisphere on a Spanish ship.

The Knights' strategy of claiming Columbus as a most Catholic of heroes was also a well-aimed counterattack. American historians had tried mightily to turn the famous seafarer into an Enlightenment figure, a secular saint championing scientific progress in the face of a superstitious Church still clinging to outdated ideas of a "flat earth." As it turns out, Columbus had nothing to do with the flat-earth debate; the story was invented out of whole cloth by Washington Irving in 1828 and later used as anti-Catholic propaganda to "prove" that that clerical religion was inherently hostile to rational inquiry.² Queen Isabella's geographical advisers knew the globe was globular; they rejected Columbus' proposal because they had a much more accurate grasp of it's massive circumference, rightly concluding that his plan to reach China via a western route in a matter of weeks was unsound.

Given the prevalence of the anti-Catholic flat-earth myth, it is not surprising that Pope Leo XIII celebrated the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus' maiden voyage with these stirring (and perhaps overly generous) remarks:

But there is, besides, another reason, a unique one, why We consider that this immortal achievement should be recalled by Us with memorial words. For Columbus is ours; since if a little consideration be given to the particular reason of his design in exploring the mare tenebrosum ... it is indubitable that the Catholic faith was [his] strongest motive ... so that for this reason also the whole human race owes not a little to the Church.³

Take that, Know Nothings!

Pall Over the Holiday

Ironically, after winning the battle for Columbus Day, many Catholics today would prefer not to be associated with either the man or his holiday. While most Latin American countries commemorate the date of Columbus' discovery as the Día de la Raza (the Day of the Race, that is, the day the races met), Hugo Chávez's Venezuela observes observes Día de la Resistencia Indigena (Day of Indigenous Resistance). Similarly, Ward Churchill, the Colorado professor who made headlines for calling the victims of September 11 "little Eichmans,"⁴ has led the American Indian Movement's protests against the Columbus Day in Denver.

What Chavez and Churchill, in their characteristically understated ways, are alluding to the bleak events that followed Columbus' discovery. Despite the friendliness of the natives, Columbus' men initiated hostilities with them that culminated in a massacre, while Columbus himself enslaved a thousand Indians and instituted the repartimiento system that led to the serfdom of countless others for years to come. Combined with a wave of unintentionally imported diseases the local immune system had never encountered before, such treatment quickly decimated the Native American population.

Assessing Columbus

What, then, should we make of Columbus in light of his spotty record? I suggest five things.

First, it is clear that Columbus was not a good administrator on the land, and his incompetence led to cruelty. In fairness, however, before his undisciplined men destroyed relations with the native Taino or Arawaks, his goal was to protect them from the cannibalistic Caribs (one of the most savage peoples in the Americas) who were fast advancing. Indeed the Caribs remind us that the first step in assessing the Columbian legacy is overcoming any assumption that either side in the conflict has a monopoly on evil.

Second, it is important to remember that many of Columbus' contemporaries also deplored his deeds. Queen Isabel certainly did, which is why Columbus' third return to Spain was in chains, and Spanish law, thanks in large part to the Church's teaching about the full humanity of Native Americans, consistently condemned the actions of rapacious colonists. This is significant, for no other civilization has shown such a capacity for healthy self-criticism as the Christian. Indeed, the shrill condemnations of a Chavez or a Churchill are possible only because of the tradition of public self-examination first developed in Catholic societies.

Third, despite tragic costs, the benefits of European contract with the New World did far more good than harm. This is particularly true in the realm of evangelization. Columbus' genuine zeal to convert all peoples to Christianity should be commended rather than condemned. To depict all New World conversions as forced and foreign is, ironically, to patronize people of color, who were and are every bit as capable of seeing the beauty, truth, and goodness of the Gospel as their unwashed invaders.

Fourth, despite his flaws Columbus was a devout Catholic who, as Pope Leo XIII noted, was motivated by his Faith. His favorite prayers was Jesus cum Maria sit nobis in via -- "may Jesus, along with Mary, be with us on the way."⁵ Columbus chose to depart into the unknown the morning after August 2, the feast of Our Lady of the Angels, so that his men could celebrate this Marian feast with their families; he even made sure that they received confession and Holy Communion in order to obtain the plenary indulgence available that day.⁶ Columbus' prayers were apparently answered: his tiny fleet reached land on October 12, the day after the Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin.

Finally, Columbus Day praises not Columbus' explorations on land but his exploits at sea. We know that a single-minded man convinced the monarchs of Spain to fund an extremely hazardous journey with little likelihood of return, and that he pulled it off, not once but four times. We know that he was exceptionally courageous and resourceful, and we know that he was an outstanding seaman. There is nothing wrong with raising a glass to genuine courage and persistence, as long as one does not go on to use these to excuse other crimes and misdemeanors. I wonder if much of the animus against Columbus today really springs from a contemporary disdain for honor that would like to purge manhood of its chivalry and daring. As the historian William Carroll notes, "It is right to criticize the failings [of heroes], but wrong to deny their greatness and the inspiration they can give."⁷

And if there is any note of sorrow or regret to be struck on this otherwise celebratory occasion, it should not be fore the exceptional evil of the white man or the Catholic faith but for the universal darkness in man's heart so aptly explained by the doctrine of original sin. Yet, thanks be to God, this spiritual blight is never allowed to dwarf the triumph of the Cross, which providentially uses both vessels of honor and dishonor to meet its goals.

What to Do

How should one celebrate Columbus Day? In 1892 Pope Leo decreed that the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus' discovery should be marked with a Solemn High Mass of the Most Holy Trinity either on October 12 or on the following Sunday.⁸ (This was mandatory for Spain, Italy, and the two Americas, and recommended for the rest of the world, since "it is fitting that an even from which all have derived benefit should be piously and gratefully commemorated by all"). Certainly Mass would be a good idea today as well, along with a fervent prayer for the spiritual future of both the Old and New Worlds. And all of the documents I have cited are worth reading for more information on Christopher Columbus.

Perhaps one could even enjoy these readings with one of the items rumored to have returned with Columbus on his first voyage: tobacco. I would recommend a pipe for the occasion, as a cigarette is far too lowly a thing for honoring either the noble savage or the noble explorer. As for food, one could turn to any of the nationalities involved: American, Italian, Spanish, or even Caribbean. And for the little ones, miniature Niñas, Santa Marias, and Pintas can be made out of walnut shells, toothpick masts, and paper sails and used to adorn a cake or have a race in the bathtub.(To be continued ...)

Notes

1. "The Feast of Our Fearsome Lady," TLM 16:4 (Fall 2007), pp. 60-61. [back]


2. For the fascinating history of this myth, see Burton Russell, Inventing the Flat Earth: Columbus and Modern Historians(New York: Praeger, 1991). [back]


3. Quarto Abeunte Saeculo (1892), 2, italics added. [back]


4. He has also been sanctioned by his university for repeated acts of "serious research misconduct." [back]


5. For more on Columbus' fascinating Catholicism, see Fr. John Hardon's lectures on Columbus at http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Christopher_Columbus.htm. [back]


6. The indulgence of the Portiuncula. [back]


7. "Honoring Chrisopher Columbus," http://www.ewtn.com/library/HOMELIBR/COLUMBUS.HTM [back]


8. Quarto Abeunte Saeculo (1892), 9. [back]

[Michael P. Foley is associate professor of patristics at Baylor University. He is author of Wedding Rites: A Complete Guide to Traditional Vows, Music, Ceremonies, Blessings, and Interfaith Services(Eerdmans, 2008) and Why Do Catholics Eat Fish on Friday?: The Catholic Origin to Just About Everything(Palgrave Macmillan, 2005). Our present post was excerpted from Dr. Foley's article, "The Controversial Holidays of October," Latin Mass: The Journal of Catholic Culture and Tradition Vol. 18, No. 3 (Summer 2009), pp. 36-39, and is reproduced here by kind permission of Latin Mass, 391 E. Virginia Terrace, Santa Paula, CA 93060.]

Related

New Catholic offers has posted a copy of Leo XIII's encyclical on the Columbus quadricentennial, Quarto abeunte saeculo highlighting those parts of the text of special interest at "COLUMBUS NOSTER EST" (Rorate Caeli, October 12, 2009).

The Extraordinary Form in Ordinary Churches

Tridentine Community News (October 11, 2009):

Last Sunday, October 4, Fr. Mark Borkowski, organist and cantor Wassim Sarweh, and a team of altar servers traveled to St. Joseph Church in Jackson, Michigan to celebrate the parish’s 10:30 AM Tridentine Mass. The occasion was the anniversary of the founding of the parish, which Fr. Mark attended as a young man. The experience had lessons to teach, as readers of this column are accustomed to grand, historic churches providing a most apt setting for the Extraordinary Form liturgy.

St. Joseph’s current church dates from circa 1968. It is an octagonal structure, reminiscent in many ways of Birmingham’s St. Regis Church, albeit somewhat smaller. There is no high altar, only a main altar on a large sanctuary platform. A semicircle of steps separates the sanctuary from the nave (where the pews are), if one can even properly call it a nave. There is no Communion Rail; kneelers are temporarily moved into place before Holy Communion.

The organ console is located to the right of the sanctuary. The organ itself is, fortunately, a pipe organ, but a simple one. The organist faces the congregation while playing. However, the music stand on top of the organ blocks the organist’s view of the altar. Essentially parallel to the altar, the organist cannot easily determine if the celebrant is at the Epistle, Gospel, or center positions at the altar, making it challenging to determine quickly where the priest is in the Mass. If you have seen a competent organist ply his or her craft, it is not always a pretty sight; one must be fairly athletic to be able to jump around the various keyboards, set the stops, play the pedals, and turn the pages of the music. Whether one considers this a display of virtuosity, downright ridiculous looking in a Wizard of Oz fashion, or somewhere in between, most would agree that seeing the organist’s machinations is a distraction from what is going on at the altar. There is a reason why organs and musicians in a Catholic church are traditionally located out of sight: they are not supposed to provide any sort of visual accompaniment.

Acoustically, the church was dead. Omnipresent carpet and sound-absorbing wood in the ceiling killed off any reverberation from the organ and cantor. Lift a finger off a key on the organ, and the church is immediately quiet.

At the altar, Fr. Mark and the servers were somewhat disoriented. Where does the sanctuary begin? What constitutes the equivalent of the altar platform? The entire, large sanctuary area? If so, the steps at the front of the sanctuary platform are quite a bit further away from the altar than the steps in front of a traditional high altar. If there are sufficient servers that some could serve as torch bearers, where would they go? The steps in front of the sanctuary are close to the first row of pews; there is not the traditional large flat space between the altar and the nave. The rubrics of the Extraordinary Form are quite specific and presume a classic church layout according to the norms prescribed by St. Charles Borromeo at the time of the Council of Trent, yet those rubrics must be dynamically interpreted in a setting such as this.

Despite our misgivings and uncertainties about the execution of the Mass in this space, afterwards, several regulars at St. Joseph commented that this was one of the most memorable Tridentine Masses they had seen. The primary reason was that most of their Masses are Low Masses. The experience of chanting the Ordinary of the Mass and hearing the Propers sung, along with the extra liturgical elements of the Aspérges and the use of incense, were things to which that congregation was not accustomed. Wassim was impressed that St. Joseph’s organist even seemed inspired to attempt a sung Mass, now that an example had been given.

Also worth noting is that St. Joseph Church is viewed by the Jackson Tridentine Community as quite an upgrade from their former home, the storefront Sacred Heart Chapel. Let’s also not forget that the solid liturgy and parish life practiced at this parish for many years was the source for Fr. Mark’s vocation. We cannot focus too heavily on the building.

We point all of this out because if we are collectively to promote the Extraordinary Form of Holy Mass, and wish to see it celebrated in more churches, including those in the suburbs, then we will have to deal with architecture such as this. There are only so many historic churches in North America. Yes, we are starting to see some modern churches being re-done in a more traditional fashion, but that will be a slow process. The reality is that we must learn to make the Tridentine Mass work in such buildings. We must not be dismissive but rather supportive of such efforts.

That being said, we have been entrusted with quite a gift in being able to hold our own Masses in such striking historic churches. Because God expects more of those to whom more was given, we have a responsibility to strive to make the best possible use of these edifices for the purpose for which they were built, the solemn celebration of the Church’s Classic Liturgy.

Solemn High Anniversary Mass at Windsor’s Assumption Church Next Sunday, October 18 at 2:00 PM

Until now, well-known priests from outside the Diocese of London, Ontario have been invited as celebrants of Windsor’s annual Anniversary Mass. This year, as the community enters its “adulthood” at age 18, we have something different in mind:

Over the past year, several young priests of the Diocese of London have begun studying the Extraordinary Form Mass. While several young priests of the Archdiocese of Detroit have long held an interest in the Traditional Mass, this is a new phenomenon in the London Diocese. It is therefore only appropriate that we invite one of those young priests to be our celebrant this year: Fr. John Johnson, transferred to Windsor this summer and presently pastor of the cluster of St. Theresa and St. Vincent de Paul Parishes.

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@stjosaphatchurch.org. Previous columns are available at www.stjosaphatchurch.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Josaphat bulletin insert for October 11, 2009. Hat tip to A.B.]

Bellarmine: Who belongs to the Church, and why

"Our declaration is that there is only one Church, not two; and that the only one true Church is the community of men united by the profession of the true Christian faith and the communion of the same sacraments, under the government of legitimate shepherds and, above all, of the sole Vicar of Christ on earth, the Roman Pontiff. From this definition one can easily see who belongs to the Church and who does not belong to her. Indeed, this definition is made up of three parts: profession of the true Faith, communion of the sacraments and submission to the legitimate shepherd, the Roman Pontiff. The first part excludes all infidels, those who were never in the Church such as the Jews, Turks and pagans, or those who once were in it and later fell away, like the heretics and apostates. The second part excludes the catechumens and excommunicated, since the former are not admitted to the sacraments and the latter are excluded from them. The third part excludes the schismatics, who have the Faith and the sacraments but do not submit to the legitimate shepherd .... All others are included, even if they are reprobates, delinquent and impious.

"Between our declaration and the others there is this one difference: all the others require interior virtue to declare that someone is a member of the Church, and thereby make the true Church invisible. We, on the contrary, believe with certainty that in the Church are found all the virtues, Faith, Hope, and Charity and the others; however, we do not believe that any interior virtue is required to be able to say that someone is somehow part of the true Church, of which the Scriptures speak, but only the external profession of Faith and the communion of the Sacraments, which can be perceived by the senses. Indeed, the Church is as visible and palpable a community of men as the community of the Roman people, the Kingdom of France or the Republic of Venice." [my emphasis] (Disputationes de Controversiis Christianae Fidei adversus huius Temporis Haereticus (1586-1593) (Venice, 1721), 53, quoted in La Civilta Cattolica, Editorial: "Dalla 'societa perfetta' ala Chiesa 'mistero'" 1/9/1985, p. 107).

[Hat tip to R.R.-D.]

Related (updated 10/13/09):

New Catholic, "In the Church, the bad are many and the good few" (Rorate Caeli, October 9, 2009).

Research: women on pill favor girly men

David Derbyshire, "Taking the pill for past 40 years 'has put women off masculine men'" (MailOnline, October 8, 2009). Enjoy the photos.

Where is global warming when you need it?

Andrew Greinger, "No Kidding: Snow on Sunday!" (NBC Chicago, October 8, 1009).

Vanity Fair in Copenhagen

Our clandestine correspondent we keep on retainer just wired in this item for review:

"Why it has probably never been more fun to be George Will: 'Olympic Gold for Narcissism' (Townhall.com, October 5, 2009)" -- excerpt:

In the 41 sentences of her remarks, Michelle Obama used some form of the personal pronouns "I" or "me" 44 times. Her husband was, comparatively, a shrinking violet, using those pronouns only 26 times in 48 sentences. Still, 70 times in 89 sentences was sufficient to convey the message that somehow their fascinating selves were what made, or should have made, Chicago's case compelling.

[Hat tip to K.K.]

Still choking on the (Cannabis?) smoke

In "The Fire is Out" (New Liturgical Movement, September 20, 2009), Jeffery Tucker offers an insightful review of Ken Canedo's illuminating book, Keep the Fire Burning: The Folk Mass Revolution (Oregon: Pastoral Press, 2009). He writes:

For years I've search for the missing link to explain what became of Catholic liturgy by the time I came to know it. One finds old Missals in bookstores or attends the Extraordinary Form or looks back at old instructional books in music or catechesis and it is overwhelming to consider the lost knowledge, the immense chasm that separates what was from what is today.

I've gathered that we've been through the worst of it and Pope Benedict is taking many steps to heal the great pre- and postconciliar divide. But the mystery remains, at least in my mind, as to what happened and why. The answer is not found in the documents of Vatican II where we find ringing endorsements of Gregorian chant and stern warnings not to change the liturgy in unnecessary ways. I've long examined the world of the 1970s and found interesting clues about what drove that lost generation.

Canedo's book, says Tucker, provides the missing link: it's the only book he's found that looks in depth at the Catholic music of the 1960s to provide an empirical account of the rise of the folk music movement in the Church (circa 1963-1960) -- a movement that was about much more, in fact, than music. Canedo's book provides "... a fascinating if deeply harrowing look at the dismantling of Catholic liturgy that occurred not so much at the hands of the hierarchy but rather at the instigation of a handful of activists and publishers that shoved contemporary styles down everyone's throat in the name of keeping up with the times, as a cowed and fearful clerical class did its best to imagine that they were onto something."

In one intriguing passage, Tucker observes:

One reason that this period has long been shrouded in mystery is that most all of the folk music of the period is long gone. None of it remains in the Missalettes. Nearly all—in fact, all but one—of the guitar strummers of the period who were the darlings of the new ethos left the Church in a huff and never returned. The strong fashion for folk music (phony folk music, to be sure) was a flash in the pan (1963-1969). What they left was a wasteland of confusion and disorientation just as the Novus Ordo Missa was promulgated. The damage had been done and how.

It should be noted that Canedo does not intend his book as an indictment, but to argue that the Folk music revolution in the Church made substantial contributions to Catholic life, such as making Mass livelier and getting people in the pews to sing. Yet, while he ultimately fails to make this case, Tucker says that Canedo has done some incredible research in this book, shedding invaluable light on the origins of the Folk Mass Revolution: "Despite his spin, he provides enough information for most any reader to be shocked and astounded at the sheer arrogance and ignorance of a generation that believed they could reinvent Catholicism with guitars, bongos, and extremely bad music."

Tucker is overly modest about his own limitations as a reviewer when he writes:

Now, I'm probably not the best reader of this book, since I've never really understand what this phony folk music thing was all about anyway. It seemed to begin in 1963 and end a year or so after the Beatles came to the U.S., a shorter period of time than even Disco lasted a decade later.

I've heard some of the music, and it strikes me as strangely naïve and simple, with childlike lyrics that somehow secretly mask a kind of revolutionary proletarian movement of some sort, like workers and peasants struggling for something or other....

In any case, it was gravely unfortunate that permission for vernacular in the liturgy came about just as this music was temporarily popular, just after the Council closed. As the author points out, the composers and performers of this material didn't care a flying fig about the actual documents of the Council and what they intended. All they knew was that these were new times; old forms had to be thrown out and new forms come into being. So we went through some five years of experimental liturgies around the country that the "youth" were just crazy for, though the "youth" are often nuts for all sorts of things and civilization is usually wiser than to pay any attention. This time, however, it stuck.

In a more recent follow-up to this article, Tucker addresses the demographics of the period in "Vatican II and the Baby Boom" (New Liturgical Movement, October 1, 2009), where he writes:

Now you only need to ask yourself: how old were these people when the Vatican Council closed? Those born in 1948 were 17 in 1965. You can do the rest of the math. What it means is that pastors looked out at their congregations and, completely unlike today, they saw a sea of teenagers, late teens in particular. They might have been a majority....

It was essentially a demographic illusion that one generation believed itself to have unprecedented cultural power. In other words, this might have happened anytime in history but it so happened that it happened just at the this time, coinciding perfectly with the end of a Council that was widely believed to have changed everything.

Tucker concludes his review of Canedo's book with these telling observations:

"Interestingly," the author writes, "most, if not all, of the original class of ordained or professed Folk Mass composers eventually left the religious life." The non-religious left the Catholic Church altogether. Relaying this fact isn't about a personal attack; I have no doubt of the sincerity of their music efforts or the sincerity about the decision to leave Catholicism. It does become relevant as to the success of this genre in terms of securing people's attachments to the actual Catholic faith. The critics said that the folk music movement was deeply dangerous to Catholicism; it was apparently exactly that to the very people who composed, sang, and pushed this music. The rest of us are left to pick up the pieces.

I really can't recommend this book highly enough. It is the essential tableau for understanding where we've been and where we are going. I put the book down so deeply thankful that I wasn't around in those days to see the wreckage taking place. Even reading about it I found to be a great challenge but absolutely necessary. Regardless of Canedo's own attempted positive spin, he has written a very important documentary history of 1960s Catholicism that I'm quite certain will earn a place in the history of our times. The book is titled Keep the Fire Burning but the reality is that his narrative is the movement's tombstone.

The fire may indeed have gone out, and Canedo's book may indeed be the movement's tombstone; but many of us surely still find ourselves choking on the (Cannabis?) smoke.

Fr. Charles Arminjon on the blessing of trials

Fr. Charles Arminjon's End of the Present World and the Mysteries of the Future Life (Sophia Institute, 2008), was a life-changer for St. Therese of Lisieux. The book consists of a series of conferences given by Fr. Arminjon at the Cathedral of Chambery (Savoy). I quote from one of the notes:

St. Ambrose held that a life free of trials was a certain sign of divine malediction, and said, "I should not wish to live for a single night under the roof of a man who has never suffered." Another saint said, "Why attach any importance to afflictions? Temporal life is but a transition. A whole lifetime of pain in this world is of no more consequence than an uncomfortable night in a bad hostelry."

[Hat tip to Sir A.S.]

Tridentine Travelogue: Public Displays of Catholicism in Bavaria

Tridentine Community News (October 4, 2009):

Germany has been getting quite a bit of bad press recently in traditional Catholic circles. One hears of renegade bishops, liturgical abuses, architectural oddities, low Mass attendance, encroaching secularism in the society, and outright antagonism towards the Extraordinary Form. All is not lost, however. During a recent trip to Bavaria, this writer was struck by public displays of Catholic piety that would be hard to imagine in North America.

Wayside Shrines

Scattered along main avenues, side roads, twisting mountain access roads, and in fields are small shrines. Most consist of a crucifix sheltered inside a wooden frame. Others have a small statue of our Blessed Mother. Fresh flowers are often placed on shelves below, indicating that someone cares enough to maintain the shrine. Some are memorials to deceased individuals, some are traditional places to pause for prayer during long journeys, and others are there simply to inspire devotion. Mountain tops are also often capped with crucifixes, quite a symbol of a goal to be reached for hikers.

Central Churches and Mountain Chapels

Bavaria is home to numerous small towns nestled between the majestic Alps. Unlike the comparatively sparsely populated areas around the Rockies, one alpine town is not far from the next. In almost all of them, a Catholic church with an onion-dome steeple is the center of the town and its most prominent architectural feature. The church is typically surrounded by a handful of one to three story chalet-style buildings, timeless in design.
Many of the mountains surrounding these towns have cable cars, gondolas, and cogwheel trains that operate year-round, ferrying skiers in the winter and hikers and tourists in warmer weather. The mountains are an extension of the town. In Garmisch-Partenkirchen, for example, seven mountains have cable cars, supported by a mind-boggling number of chairlifts and tow ropes. Restaurants, mountain lodges, homes, and, of course, cows and sheep with cowbells are scattered throughout the mountain landscape. There are even whole villages nestled in the mountains, such as Wamberg, complete with their own prominent parish churches. One can take a cable car up one mountain, walk over to a neighboring mountain, and take another cable car down, and never be far from a place to catch a meal.

Scattered throughout the mountain paths, as well as at ground level, are numerous miniature chapels, tiny buildings with a steeple, an altar, and space for perhaps four worshippers. (The tape over the entrance in this photo of a chapel on the Graseck mountain is there to keep the cows out.) Some chapels are privately owned, some owned by the state, and some by the diocese. Not surprisingly, the altars inside are mostly designed for ad oriéntem celebration. The vicariate maintains a web page explaining the history of the chapels in the area: http://www.kath-pfarrei-partenkirchen.de/?s1=kirchen&s2=gedaechtniskapellen

Germany’s tallest mountain is the Zugspitze. A bowl just below the peak hosts virtually year-round skiing. Right in the center of the bowl is Germany’s highest mountain chapel, larger than most, seating about 25. It is open all day, and (Ordinary Form) Mass is celebrated every Sunday at noon. Inside is a photo of Cardinal Ratzinger celebrating Mass there in 1981. Stop and ponder: You take a cable car to the top of the mountain, another one down to the center of the bowl, and you are faced with four options: a restaurant, a gift shop, a number of ski lifts, and a Catholic chapel. What statement does that make about the faith of the Bavarian people, and their priorities?
Lest anyone think that these mini-chapels are just decorative artifacts, we quote the following paragraph from a promotional brochure of the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn, a company that operates cable cars on several mountains: “Lots of holy Masses will be held for visitors and hikers again this summer on our mountains around Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Grainau. All those wishing to enjoy the very special and contemplative atmosphere of the beautiful mountain world are most welcome to attend.”

Where are the Tridentine Masses?
With the exception of the U.K., Europe doesn’t seem to have the plethora of Latin Mass directories that we take for granted in North America. The only one appears to be WikkiMissa: http://honneurs.free.fr/Wikini/wakka.php?wiki=PagePrincipalEn. This site reveals that there are numerous Extraordinary Form Masses sprouting up in Bavaria. It’s probably only a matter of time before one of those picturesque and architecturally suitable mountain chapels plays host to one.

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@stjosaphatchurch.org. Previous columns are available at www.stjosaphatchurch.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Josaphat bulletin insert for October 4, 2009. Hat tip to A.B.]

Young Einstein on God, physics, metaphysics of privation

[Hat tip to S.S.]

Interesting Books

Tridentine Community News (September 27, 2009):

We occasionally come across some books that merit mention in this column. They might interest our readers on a liturgical level, as prayer books, or simply because of their uniqueness.

Pontifical

As has previously been announced, Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron will be visiting St. Josaphat Church on November 29 to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation according to the Extraordinary Form. Have you ever considered where the texts of Extraordinary Form Sacraments may be found?

To our knowledge, there is no book currently in print that contains the Sacrament of Confirmation as administered by a bishop. Reprinted ritual books, such as the 1950s Weller edition of the Rituále Románum, only contain Confirmation as administered by a priest in case of necessity (yes, that was permitted pre-Vatican II).

Leave it to Fr. Borkowski to come up with a solution: He unearthed a 1934 edition of the Pontificále Románum. This book contains not only the Sacrament of Confirmation, but a variety of other Episcopal ceremonies.

Cantus Históriæ Passiónis

During Holy Week, the Passion of Our Lord is chanted by three voices in the sanctuary, traditionally a priest, a deacon, and a third voice who can sustain the lengthy Narrator part. The music for the Passions is lilting and memorable. It is not found in the conventional altar missal. The music is rather contained in a three-book set, known as the Cantus Históriæ Passiónis Dómini Nostri Jesu Christi. The three volumes are named for each of the chanters: Christus (Christ), normally sung by the celebrant; Synagóga (Crowds); and Chronísta (Narrator). Each volume contains notes only for the individual concerned.

Finding the correct edition for the Extraordinary Form is a challenge. The Vatican Press currently sells a 1989 Novus Ordo Latin single volume version of this book, Pássio Dómini Nostri Iesu Christi Liber Cantus, too different to be useful. The web site www.musicasacra.com offers a downloadable Tridentine edition, however it suffers from two problems: 1) It is a single volume edition, which can be confusing to the singers, and 2) It is an edition from before 1955, and thus the excerpts of the Gospel terminate in the wrong places. Hand editing must thus be done to end the Passion at the right point to match the 1962 edition of the missal.

After years of asking booksellers to notify us, borrowing others’ books, and searching on-line, we finally located and purchased an actually-in-force edition: a 1956 version of the three-book set. Publishers out there: There is a market, albeit small, for a reprinting of these books.

Blessed Be God

Are you looking for a comprehensive prayer book, with traditionally-phrased prayers? Back in print is Blessed Be God, a 750 page compendium of numerous devotions, novenas, and the Sacraments. The book is available for $30 from www.pcpbooks.com, or (866) 241-2762.

Daily Roman Missal

It is easy to get spoiled by the various Latin/English hand missals for the Extraordinary Form. They are beautiful aids to prayer.

It is worth reminding our readers that at least one reasonably impressive hand missal exists for the Ordinary Form: the Daily Roman Missal, published by Midwest Theological Forum ($49-99 for various editions, from www.theologicalforum.org, (630) 739-9750). MTF also publishes a lovely Novus Ordo Latin Altar Missal we have previously mentioned.

The Daily Roman Missal includes Latin for the Proper Antiphons (Introit, Responsorial Psalm, Alleluia, Communion) and Ordinary of the Mass. Caveat: The Entrance and Communion Antiphons provided are those for spoken (Low) Masses. At sung Masses, different antiphons are used, taken from the 1974 Graduále Románum. This is a peculiar inconsistency for those of us accustomed to be able to trust the antiphons in our 1962 missals.

A collection of devotional prayers are provided at the back of the current edition. Overall, the book generally resembles the Magníficat subscription paperback missal.

While it is not as comprehensive as most Extraordinary Form hand missals, the Daily Roman Missal is the best such product for the Novus Ordo that we have yet seen, and the only one to include Latin. Note that there have been several revisions of this book, with each successive version improving upon the earlier ones.

With the impending changes to the English translations of the Mass, now may not be the best time to invest in an English hand missal. We do expect MTF to issue an updated edition of this missal when the new translations are released, and at that time, this book will likely be worthy of your investigation.

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@stjosaphatchurch.org. Previous columns are available at www.stjosaphatchurch.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Josaphat bulletin insert for September 27, 2009. Hat tip to A.B.]