Spiritual Direction: Looking For A Traditional Mass- Head In Different Direction: East

Horace Greeley once said, "Go West, young man, go West. There is health in the country, and room away from our crowds of idlers and imbeciles."  Horace was a wise man but he was not of the three wise men. These wise men journeyed from the East to find Jesus and now you too can do the same. How?  It is easy-journey back through history, see how the traditional early Christian Liturgy was actually done.  Now is the time, and this is place for you to discover the richness of the Catholic Church and our historical roots of Catholicism. For people looking for a traditional Catholic Mass- why not try the original early Catholic Divine Liturgies and look to the East.  The east is where Jesus came from, the east is where Jesus will come again from, go east and you will experience the richest parts of the Catholic Church.  This is especially true after the recent statements from Pope Francis about the Traditional Latin Mass. 

In a 16 July 2021 statement from the Vatican, Pope Francis issued a statement about the traditional Latin Mass as follows:

APOSTOLIC LETTER

ISSUED "MOTU PROPRIO"

BY THE SUPREME PONTIFF

FRANCIS

«TRADITIONIS CUSTODES»

On the Use of the Roman Liturgy

Prior to the Reform of 1970

 Official translation

 Guardians of the tradition, the bishops in communion with the Bishop of Rome constitute the visible principle and foundation of the unity of their particular Churches. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, through the proclamation of the Gospel and by means of the celebration of the Eucharist, they govern the particular Churches entrusted to them. 

In order to promote the concord and unity of the Church, with paternal solicitude towards those who in any region adhere to liturgical forms antecedent to the reform willed by the Vatican Council II, my Venerable Predecessors, Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI, granted and regulated the faculty to use the Roman Missal edited by John XXIII in 1962. In this way they intended “to facilitate the ecclesial communion of those Catholics who feel attached to some earlier liturgical forms” and not to others.

In line with the initiative of my Venerable Predecessor Benedict XVI to invite the bishops to assess the application of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum three years after its publication, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith carried out a detailed consultation of the bishops in 2020. The results have been carefully considered in the light of experience that has matured during these years.

At this time, having considered the wishes expressed by the episcopate and having heard the opinion of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I now desire, with this Apostolic Letter, to press on ever more in the constant search for ecclesial communion. Therefore, I have considered it appropriate to establish the following:

Art. 1. The liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II, are the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.

Art. 2. It belongs to the diocesan bishop, as moderator, promoter, and guardian of the whole liturgical life of the particular Church entrusted to him, to regulate the liturgical celebrations of his diocese. Therefore, it is his exclusive competence to authorize the use of the 1962 Roman Missal in his diocese, according to the guidelines of the Apostolic See.

Art. 3. The bishop of the diocese in which until now there exist one or more groups that celebrate according to the Missal antecedent to the reform of 1970:

§ 1. is to determine that these groups do not deny the validity and the legitimacy of the liturgical reform, dictated by Vatican Council II and the Magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs;

§ 2. is to designate one or more locations where the faithful adherents of these groups may gather for the eucharistic celebration (not however in the parochial churches and without the erection of new personal parishes);

§ 3. to establish at the designated locations the days on which eucharistic celebrations are permitted using the Roman Missal promulgated by Saint John XXIII in 1962. In these celebrations the readings are proclaimed in the vernacular language, using translations of the Sacred Scripture approved for liturgical use by the respective Episcopal Conferences;

§ 4. to appoint a priest who, as delegate of the bishop, is entrusted with these celebrations and with the pastoral care of these groups of the faithful. This priest should be suited for this responsibility, skilled in the use of the Missale Romanum antecedent to the reform of 1970, possess a knowledge of the Latin language sufficient for a thorough comprehension of the rubrics and liturgical texts, and be animated by a lively pastoral charity and by a sense of ecclesial communion. This priest should have at heart not only the correct celebration of the liturgy, but also the pastoral and spiritual care of the faithful;

§ 5. to proceed suitably to verify that the parishes canonically erected for the benefit of these faithful are effective for their spiritual growth, and to determine whether or not to retain them;

§ 6. to take care not to authorize the establishment of new groups.

Art. 4. Priests ordained after the publication of the present Motu Proprio, who wish to celebrate using the Missale Romanum of 1962, should submit a formal request to the diocesan Bishop who shall consult the Apostolic See before granting this authorization.

Art. 5. Priests who already celebrate according to the Missale Romanum of 1962 should request from the diocesan Bishop the authorization to continue to enjoy this faculty.

Art. 6. Institutes of consecrated life and Societies of apostolic life, erected by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, fall under the competence of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies for Apostolic Life.

Art. 7. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, for matters of their particular competence, exercise the authority of the Holy See with respect to the observance of these provisions.

Art. 8. Previous norms, instructions, permissions, and customs that do not conform to the provisions of the present Motu Proprio are abrogated.

Everything that I have declared in this Apostolic Letter in the form of Motu Proprio, I order to be observed in all its parts, anything else to the contrary notwithstanding, even if worthy of particular mention, and I establish that it be promulgated by way of publication in “L’Osservatore Romano”, entering immediately in force and, subsequently, that it be published in the official Commentary of the Holy See, Acta Apostolicae Sedis.

Given at Rome, at Saint John Lateran, on 16 July 2021, the liturgical Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in the ninth year of Our Pontificate.

Do you wonder why there is a problem here?  If you still do then let us look at this:

Dating back to the time of Our Lord and the Apostles themselves, the Latin Rite Mass has remained substantially the same for nearly 20 centuries. For over 1900 years, this Mass – the Traditional Latin Mass – was the only Rite which the vast majority of Catholics ever knew. 

Wow, 2,000 year of the Latin Rite Mass.  Where is their history?  Was Latin spoken in the Jewish Synagogues?  Did all of the early Apostles speak Latin?  Did Jesus speak Latin to his early Apostles?  In fact was it not true that the earliest converts to Christianity were Jews who spoke Aramaic?  Then would not Aramaic be the language of the early Church?  Was it not also the language that Jesus spoke to his Apostles?  Was this not the language of the early Church?

So if we were to be correct, the Aramaic Mass (Divine Liturgy) would be almost 1450 years older than the Traditional Mass, correct?  We see this formal promulgation of the 'Tridentine' Mass served to protect the liturgy from error, and protected it from those outside the Church who sought to destroy the Mass. The promulgation of the 'Tridentine' Rite in the 16th century was the first time in history that the liturgy was legislated - as it were "canonized". With the codification of the 'Tridentine' Rite and the invention of the printing press, it was possible to have liturgical standardization throughout the world, wherever it was used. As stated by Pope St. Pius V:

"[I]t is most becoming that there be in the Church only one appropriate manner of reciting the Psalms and only one rite for the celebration of Mass"
From the time of its formal codification, the canon of the Mass was generally considered virtually "untouchable" until the Second Vatican Council. As stated by Davies: 
"One cannot emphasize enough that St. Pius V did not promulgate a new Order of Mass (Novus Ordo Missae). The very idea of composing a new order of Mass was and is totally alien to the whole Catholic ethos, both in the East and in the West. The Catholic tradition has been to hold fast to what has been handed down and to look upon any novelty with the utmost suspicion. The essence of the reform of St. Pius V was, like that of St. Gregory the Great, respect for tradition." 
On May 2, 1995, Pope John Paul II promulgated his Apostolic Letter, Orientale Lumen - "The Light of the East," calling all members of the Catholic Church to an increased awareness of the rich spiritual traditions of the Eastern Catholic Churches. The Holy Father began this letter with these words: "The light of the East has illuminated the universal Church, from the moment when 'a rising sun' appeared above us (Lk 1:78): Jesus Christ, our Lord whom all Christians invoke as the Redeemer of man and the hope of the world. "That light inspired my predecessor Pope Leo XIII to write the Apostolic Letter Orientalium Dignitas in which he sought to safeguard the significance of the Eastern traditions for the whole Church.
Now, with the inability to have as many Traditional Latin Masses as we once did, should we not begin to look at attending the original Traditional Mass - the Eastern Divine Liturgy? 
In 1894, Pope Leo XIII stated, “The Churches of the East are worthy of the glory and reverence that they hold throughout the whole of Christendom in virtue of those extremely ancient, singular memorials that they have bequeathed to us. For it was in that part of the world that the first actions for the redemption of the human race began, in accord with the all-kind plan of God. They swiftly gave forth their yield: there flowered at first blush the glories of preaching the True Faith to the nations, of martyrdom, and of holiness. They gave us the first joys of the fruits of salvation. From them has come a wondrously grand and powerful flood of benefits upon the other peoples of the world, no matter how far-flung. When blessed Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, intended to cast down the manifold wickedness of error and vice, in accord with the will of Heaven, he brought the light of divine Truth, the Gospel of peace, freedom in Christ to the metropolis of the Gentiles.
   

Three Popes (Pope Leo XIII, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope John Paul II)  in the past 130 years have encouraged Catholics from around the world to attend Eastern Churches.  I would very much like to agree with them and add if you enjoy the Traditional Latin Mass and are no longer able to attend one, then by all means go to the East-check out the original Traditional Catholic Mass (Divine Liturgy) at your nearest Eastern Catholic Church. You will really enjoy it.  Amen