Set the world on fire The Latin Mass Society remembers Michael Davies

September witnessed the twentieth anniversary of the death of Michael Davies, a staunch defender of the Traditional Mass through the difficult years that followed Vatican II.  The Latin Mass Society remembered this hero of tradition at its annual Sung Mass at Snave, in Kent, which was offered for the repose of his soul. We reproduce by way of tribute the conclusion of an article he wrote in the Latin Mass Society’s newsletter the year before he died:

‘We members of the Latin Mass Society have to become a people who have come to kindle a fire upon the earth. If we rouse ourselves from our lethargy, if we make the restoration of Tradition the true motivating force of our lives, if we kindle a fire in this country and devote our lives to feeding its flames, if we emulate the zeal and the courage of the faithful remnant of penal times, then the Catholic remnant of the third millennium may indeed be a Traditional remnant. But it means that when asked to recruit at least one new member we must do so, and not just one but two, three, or even four. And when a priest is willing to offer Mass for us, we must show our appreciation to him and our love for Tradition by travelling to assist at it

‘In a book that was endorsed by Cardinal Ratzinger, Mgr Klaus Gamber wrote:

“In the final analysis the traditional rite of Mass must be retained in the Roman Catholic Church ... as the primary liturgical form for the celebration of Mass. It must become once more the norm of our faith and the symbol of Catholic unity throughout the world, a rock of stability in a period of upheaval and never-ending change.”

‘An impossible dream? Not if we become a people who wish to set the world on fire.’