Chairman’s Message Joseph Shaw on the positive role of the ancient liturgy

For the good of souls

Joseph Shaw on the positive role of the ancient liturgy

As I write, the Latin Mass Society’s enforced inactivity, as far as public events have been concerned, is coming to an end, and I hope our supporters will not need too much urging to join us at Masses and all sorts of special events which we are organising. There are many such events, listed conveniently in this edition of Mass of Ages in the events pages and also in the Classified section.

I know Mass of Ages is read by many non-members. For what end, such readers may ask, is all this busy activity directed? For the good of the Latin Mass Society? No. We have no share-holders to reward; the Society exists for an end beyond itself. In order to promote a particular form of the liturgy? Not quite: even the liturgy is a means to an end. What we are concerned about, ultimately, is the glory of God and the sanctification of our fellow creatures. If that sounds a little beyond our pay-grade, I should explain that we aim to do this in the very simple ways that lay people have used over many centuries, when they have promoted devotions, helped with the liturgy in one way or another, and given or received instruction in the Faith.

For these are among the things that lay people can do to make real their participation in the spread of the Gospel, a participation incumbent on every baptised Catholic. The 1983 Code of Canon Law expresses it this way:

Can. 210 All the Christian faithful must direct their efforts to lead a holy life and to promote the growth of the Church and its continual sanctification, according to their own condition. Can. 211 All the Christian faithful have the duty and right to work so that the divine message of salvation more and more reaches all people in every age and in every land.

What makes us think that the Church’s ancient liturgy, specifically, has a positive role to play in spreading the divinum salutis nuntium, the divine message of salvation? Well, in addition to whatever personal experience we may have, this liturgy enjoys the hearty endorsement of the Saints, Popes, and Doctors, of the ages. That is enough to show that our work is legitimate. It doesn’t have to be the best possible means to spread the Gospel. The Church is not a Utilitarian institution, where people are only allowed to do what will bring about the best possible results. A Catholic can promote some old devotion, like that of the Holy Name, or some relatively obscure saint, like the Society’s Welsh Patron St Richard Gwyn, or some neglected place of worship, as St Francis rebuilt the little church of San Damiano, and be doing God’s work. We promote the ancient Mass: it is a legitimate liturgical form, we feel drawn to it, and we know it helps others, too, grow in holiness, as it has for so many centuries. That is all that needs to be said.

I have been stimulated to think the matter through in this way by the American Jesuit Fr Thomas Reese, who has recently penned a list of things he would like to see happen, including the following item: The church needs to be clear that it wants the unreformed liturgy to disappear and will only allow it out of pastoral kindness to older people who do not understand the need for change. Children and young people should not be allowed to attend such Masses.

Fr Reese’s liturgical preferences are well known; what is interesting is that he expresses himself in such an extreme way. It is not enough, for him, to promote what he thinks needs to be promoted: he has the means, one would think, to do that to his heart’s content. But no, he is like the rich man in the prophet Nathan’s parable: he ignores his own resources and seeks to kill his poor neighbour’s one ewe-lamb (2 Sam 12:4).

This was the attitude of not a few influential people in the Church over the decades, and the Latin Mass Society has long done its work in the teeth of opposition. Times have changed, however, and it is now rare to hear such silly stuff. When we do, it says more about the speaker than about the ancient Mass, which Pope Francis welcomes into St Peter’s every year for the annual Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage. Our work can now be done in a spirit of harmony and serenity, not for the good of any institution, or as if there were some puerile competition going on between liturgical forms, but simply for the good of souls.

'Got any better idea?' from Cracks in the Clouds by Dom Hubert Van Zeller OSB (erstwhile Brother Choleric), 1976