De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

The direction the priest faces at Mass seems to be one of the most controversial aspect of liturgical discussion today. How many times have you heard the Old Rite referred to as 'Mass with the priest turning his back to the people'? For the uninitiated, going to Mass with the priest's back to you can be rather disconcerting if you do not understand why. The LMS have just produced this great informative new video explaining the history and relevance of Mass ad Deum. Watch it and make up your own mind.

In his preface to the French edition of Msgr. Klaus Gamber's book, The Modern Rite (St Michael's Abbey Press, 2002), Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger has this to say on the subject of post-conciliar renewal: "What happened after the Council was something else entirely: in the place of liturgy as the fruit of development came fabricated liturgy. We abandoned the organic, living process of growth and development over centuries, and replaced it - as in a manufacturing process - with a fabrication, a banal on -the-spot product. Gamber, with the vigilance of a true prophet and the courage of a true witness, opposed this falsification, and, indefatigably taught us about the living fullness of a true liturgy". What, then, does this true prophet have to say about a reform which is, in reality, a continued revolution? "The pastoral benefits that so many idealists had hoped the new liturgy would bring did not materialize. Our churches emptied in spite of the new liturgy (o...

I love it! According to Rorate Caeli , Pope Francis said Mass ad orientem yesterday. Lots of people are reporting this because it is the way Mass was always said before the changes in the seventies. The Mass was at the tomb of Pope John Paul II, so some are saying that because the tomb is pushed against a wall and it's impossible to stand behind it, Francis had no choice. However, if it had mattered that much to him a makeshift versus populum table could have been easily arranged. So what does this mean? Tim Stanley in the Telegraph seems to have it right I think: "The likeliest interpretation of this isn't that Francis is a liturgical conservative but rather that he  just doesn't care  about the protocol sensitivities of either trads or liberals. We have a Pope who, for better and worse, isn't that bothered about liturgy and is far more focused on evangelism and charity. That's bad in the sense that it means traditionalists have lost a champion in t...

One issue that has interested me for some time is the question of orientation for Mass. I recall clearly hearing stories that in "The Old Days" the priest used to have his back to the people. How crazy was that?!! I vaguely recall, when I delved deeper into why such a bizarre practice should have taken place at all, I was informed that the whole altar used to be blocked off and that's where we get altar rails and bells from. It took me a long while to glean an objective perspective on the practice. Like much that was boarded over with plywood in the sixties, I have learned that a bit of restorative investigation can yield all kinds of spiritual rewards. Perhaps the seminal contemporary work on all this is Ratzinger's  'The Spirit of the Liturgy' , inspired by Romano Guardini's book of the same title. I found it such essential reading because it attempts (and really succeeds) to educate the reader and deepen their understanding and love of the Litu...

On Saturday it was my great pleasure to take part in a very special Mass. It was Father Kevin's 28th anniversary of ordination. He was travelling to France for someone else's ordination and had asked me if I would drop him off at the airport. As he wouldn't get another chance to say Mass that day, he suggested we meet at the Church at 7am for Mass and leave after that. I love Mass, I think there's no better way to start the day, and God knows, I have lots to pray about. So, of course I jumped at the opportunity. Clearly this was an opportunity for Father to, liturgically speaking, please himself, and in doing so, please God, by offering the most perfect Mass he could. He used the altar in the Lady chapel, which necessitates ad orientum , and said the Novus Ordo in Latin. This presented somewhat of a challenge to me as the only respondent! I am, by now, fairly conversant with the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, and where all the parts are. I am less familiar with...