Novus Ordo Mass Set For Extinction

Elevation during the (Tridentine) "Extraordinary Form" of the Roman Rite

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The Novus Ordo mass, as we know it today, has been selected for extinction. That's the word from one high-ranking official in the Vatican...

(Catholic Culture) - The Instruction issued this week, underlining Pope Benedict’s desire for wider use of the “extraordinary form” of the Mass, is part of the Pontiff’s overall plan for a liturgical “reform of the reform,” according to one top Vatican official.

Cardinal Kurt Koch, the new president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, said that the Pope hopes for the eventual development of a newly reformed liturgy, combining elements of both the traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo liturgy...

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This "newly formed liturgy" does not necessarily imply an extinction of the Tridentine mass as we know it. Rumors have been circulating in Rome for years now that an entirely new Roman Missal is in the works, and some claim to have seen a prototype of it. If indeed such a prototype does exist, it is more likely a working model for development, and not anything that will be released anytime in the near future. The existence of "two forms" of the Roman Rite, both ordinary and extraordinary, is an odd development in the history of the Catholic Church. It is the result of what Pope Benedict XVI referred to as the "hermeneutic of rupture" following the misinterpretations and misapplications of the Second Vatican Council. By bringing the Tridentine liturgy back to the forefront of the Church as the "extraordinary form" of the Roman right, the pope hopes to reintroduce a "hermeneutic of continuity" back into the mainstream Church. By allowing the "ordinary form" and "extraordinary form" to exist side-by-side for a set period of time, the Holy Father hopes to allow a natural and organic development of tradition to unfold, drawing the two forms closer together in practice, as priests learn to celebrate the ordinary form with more extraordinary reverence. This coupled with better vernacular translations and liturgical guidance from the Vatican, will in a relatively short time revive the historical tradition of the Roman Catholic ethos.

The idea here is that a time will come, someday in the not-too-distant future (perhaps in another 8 to 16 years) when the separation of the two forms will no longer be necessary. A new missal will be released, which will essentially be Tridentine in nature, but with an expanded lectionary, tightening the rubrics for the Liturgy of the Eucharist in comparison to today's Novus Ordo, and loosening the rubrics for the Liturgy of the Word in comparison to today's Tridentine mass. Thus the Liturgy of the Eucharist would be set in stone, thoroughly Tridentine in nature, while the Liturgy of the Word would have some flexibility. Priests who want to make their celebration as traditional as possible will be able to do so easily, and exclusively in Latin if they prefer. While priests who want to make their celebration a bit more contemporary will also do so easily, likely using the vernacular translations. The Liturgy of the Eucharist would remain constant for all priests, regardless of their persuasion, and the canon of the mass (the consecration itself) will likely be said exclusively in Latin, regardless of the vernacular translation being used for the rest of the liturgy. This is what the 'Knight' has heard will be the framework of a future Missal for the Roman Rite.

Meanwhile the pope has made it clear that the Anglican ordinariates are to develop their own exclusive liturgy which will be based loosely on 'Rite One' from the Book of Divine Worship. This new liturgy will be used throughout ALL the Anglican ordinariates, without exception, not excluding the two forms of the Roman Rite which may be celebrated as well. Elements from the Sarum Use will likely be introduced to this Anglican ordinariate liturgy as well as some very "Tridentine-like" rubrics. In time, it is possible this will become a very popular liturgy for the English-speaking people throughout the world.

The Novus Ordo mass, as we know it today, has been slated for extinction. The horrid English translation of the Novus Ordo mass will expire later this year. The liturgical abuses and innovations that followed it, will likewise be dealt with one by one in the coming years. The clergy that gave us the Novus Ordo culture and the "hermeneutic of rupture" are likewise slated for retirement in the years ahead. The new seminarians coming out now are far more traditional and orthodox in nature. A fundamental paradigm shift has just occurred with the release of Summorum Pontificum (2007), Universae Ecclesiae (2011) and Anglicanorum Coetibus (2009). It's a paradigm shift that is unstoppable now, but won't be realized in it's fullness for at least a decade. By then the Catholic Church will have been so radically transformed from what it is today that it will be barely recognizable to the modern Catholic, but strikingly familiar to the ancient Catholic.

What becomes of the Novus Ordo mass, and poor vernacular translations, we are all so painfully familiar with today? They will live on of course, just no longer in the Catholic Church. They will become the designated liturgy for wannabe-catholic Protestant denominations and schismatic-liberal Catholic sects that left full-communion with the Church in rebellion over women's ordination and other heretical notions.