Chapter 1: Equally Valid and Holy

I no longer drive and it's 25 miles to the nearest TLM, but I'm blessed to be able to attend one later this morning!

You may read the Introduction to Dr Schaeffer's series here.

From One Peter Five

By Edward Schaeffer, PhD

Editor’s note: we continue our weekly serialisation of Dr. Edward Schaefer’s new book A Simple Man’s Case for Tradition. This book is an excellent introduction to Traditionalism and provides an easy way for Trads to introduce the movement to fellow Catholics who are seeking deeper answers to today’s questions. Proceeds from the book sale also help promote the Collegium Sanctorum Angelorum, one of only two traditional Catholic colleges in the United States.

Part One: Liturgical Matters

Chapter 1: Equally Valid and Holy

Recently a priest and I were having a conversation that quickly became heated.  He commented that while his priest colleagues all believed in the validity of the novus ordo Missae, many did not believe that this Mass was as holy as the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM).  He adamantly disagreed with them, and then asked me what I thought.  I hesitated to answer because I sensed that this was a litmus test question, and the answer, while simple enough, requires some explanation.  I also did not have the sense that he would listen to any explanation.  He just wanted a “yes” or “no” that would allow him to label me as faithful or unfaithful.  When I did not answer, he dismissed me, not quite as schismatic, but certainly as not in conformity with the mind of the Church.  The conversation ended abruptly.  So, here I will give you my answer and the explanation that I would have given him.

As I mention above, the answer is simple enough.  While some argue that the novus ordo Missae and the TLM are both valid, and, therefore, equally holy, I respectfully disagree.  They are not equally holy.  Let me now offer the explanation.

Definitions

First, let’s define the terms.

Validity – Validity of the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist requires proper form, matter, and intent.  As long as the priest says the proper words (form), uses unleavened bread and wine (matter), and does what the Church does, then the Sacrament is valid.  It does not matter if the priest is irreverent, in the state of serious sin, or does something else that might make the action sinful for him.  If the form, matter, and intent are present, the Sacrament is valid.

Holiness – Holiness is a virtue that describes a union with or closeness to God.  Holiness has various stages.  Perhaps one could even describe it as a continuum.  The beginning, or first stage, of holiness is the rejection of evil.  The final stage of holiness is a complete and peaceful union with God.  Between the first and last stages, there is a middle stage of coming to know and embrace God.  As I mentioned above, it might be better to consider this middle stage as a kind of continuum in which we progress from simply rejecting evil to practicing the virtue more and more effectively, and, in so doing, come closer and closer to a complete union with God.

We venerate and imitate the saints as holy people, because they practiced the virtue of holiness to human perfection, coming to a complete and peaceful union with God, often through great suffering.

We also refer to things as holy when those things help us to practice the virtue of holiness.  We even bless objects to signify their holiness.  For example, we think of Rosary beads as holy objects, because they encourage us to meditate upon the mysteries of our Redemption and to pray, both actions of which bring us closer to God. 

We might also think of a missal as a holy book, because it contains Scripture, ancient prayers, antiphons, and the texts of the Mass given to us by our ancestors and preserved through the centuries so that we might give right worship to God, thereby joining ourselves to the Sacrifice of Calvary and coming closer to God.

Validity and Holiness

The argument that both Masses are valid and, therefore, equally holy, follows this logic:

• If the Mass is valid – and we acknowledge fully that both the novus ordo Missae and the TLM celebrated properly are valid – then the Sacrifice of Calvary is made present, and the infinite graces merited by that Sacrifice are made available.
• Therefore, since the infinite graces of Calvary are made present in both Masses, then both Masses are also equally holy.

If “holy” here refers to the union between Christ and God the Father, then, of course, this view is true.  However, if we are talking about the Mass as a vehicle for our holiness, then we must take a closer look.

If both Mass are equally holy simply by virtue of their validity, then a Mass celebrated by a bare-chested priest wearing swim trunks in a lake and confecting the Eucharist on a raft,[1] or a Mass with dancing girls,[2] or a Mass with clowns,[3] or a Mass with giant puppets,[4] would be equally holy to a solemn high Mass with Gregorian chant and a Renaissance polyphonic Mass setting sung beautifully by schola and choir.  Instinctively, we know that is simply not true, but why?

Infinite Grace; Finite and Sensory Humanity

It is true that the graces of the Mass are infinite.  However, we are not infinite, but finite beings.  Therefore, we cannot avail ourselves of all the graces available.  We are also sensory beings, that is, we are affected by our senses.  Therefore, our senses, depending on how they affect us, can dispose us, more or less, to receive the graces available to us.

Our senses experience some of the examples above in ways that do not dispose us to holiness, that is, to receive grace and enter into a closer union with God.  They dispose us, in the case of the “Mass on a raft,” to irreverence toward the Mass (perhaps even to the extent of sinning, that is, embracing evil rather than rejecting it), and in the cases of the other examples, toward entertainment and self-indulgence.  Certainly, they do not help us to place ourselves at the foot of the Cross, join ourselves spiritually to the Sacrifice of Calvary, and thereby come to a closer union with God.

Extreme Examples vs. Normal Masses

“OK,” you say, “but these are extreme examples.  They do not represent normal celebrations of the novus ordo Missae.” That is true, but even the typical celebrations of the novus ordo Missae are laden with practices – practices that are very common to the novus ordo Missae – that do not dispose the faithful to receive the graces of the Mass.  For example, here are some typical practices around the reception of Holy Communion:

• The sacred vessels and the Holy Eucharist are handled by lay people, people whose hands are not consecrated.
• These same lay people distribute Holy Communion, and they rarely perform the ablutions afterward, in which case particles of the Precious Body fall here, there, and everywhere.
• The faithful receive Holy Communion standing rather than kneeling.
• The faithful receive Holy Communion in their hands, also with no ablutions, in which case particles of the Precious Body fall, here, there, and everywhere.

All of this, cumulatively, leads to a lack of respect for the Eucharist, as evidenced by the fact that approximately two-thirds of Catholics today do not believe in the Real Presence,[5] that is, that the Holy Communion they receive is truly the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ.  While it may be true that God can infuse grace regardless of the state of the receiver, I would contend that this lack of faith is generally an impediment to being disposed to receive the graces available in the Mass.  (Is this not why we bar people who don’t share our faith from receiving Holy Communion?  They would not receive the graces of the Sacrament.  Indeed, their lack of faith would be at least an act of irreverence and perhaps an act of blasphemy toward the Eucharist.)

In contrast to the novus ordo, none of this is permitted in the TLM.  Only the priest (or a deacon) ever touches the Eucharist.  Ablutions are performed carefully by anyone who touches the Eucharist.  The faithful receive Holy Communion kneeling and on the tongue.  All these practices are followed to show and to inculcate in the hearts of the faithful proper respect for the Real Presence, thereby assisting the faithful, through such respectful and reverent practices, to dispose themselves toward receiving the graces of the Sacrament.

This example regarding the reception of Holy Communion is just one example, but many are possible.  The emphasis in the novus ordo Missae on the Mass being a shared meal rather than the Sacrifice of Calvary has led to the practice of everyone going to Communion (partaking of the meal), even though few go to confession.  It would be an insult to suggest that someone is not worthy to share in the meal.  Yet, is it likely that only a few have serious sins to confess before receiving Holy Communion?  We must remember that St. Paul tells us that receiving communion unworthily is a recipe for condemnation, not disposal toward receiving the grace of the Sacrament.[6]

Contrarily, there is no lack of emphasis on the Mass as Sacrifice in the TLM.

The dramatic reduction of the mention of sin, hell, and the need for repentance in a large portion of the Scripture readings and the prayers of the novus ordo Missae has led to prominent members of the hierarchy preaching such things as

• it is reasonable to say that  all men will be saved;[7]
• “Hell does not exist, only the disappearance of sinful souls.”[8]

Not only are these statements contrary to the perennial teaching of the Church, but they also do not entice the faithful to avoid sin, have a healthy fear of hell, and devote their lives to repentance, that is, to turning away from sin and toward the Lord (practicing holiness).  If one does not see the need for holiness, is that person more or less likely to dispose himself to receive the grace of the Mass?

On the other hand, there is no lack of emphasis on sin, hell, and the need for repentance in the TLM.

Summary

While both the Novus ordo Missae and the TLM, are valid, and, as such, they make the infinite graces of Calvary available, the two Masses are not structured in ways that equally assist the faithful to dispose themselves of the graces available.  The novus ordo Missae has intrinsic flaws, exemplified above, that dispose the faithful less toward the available graces than is the case with the TLM.

Exception

Suppose a priest were to celebrate the novus ordo Missae in a most reverent manner. Suppose that he preached constantly on the Real Presence, the reality of sin and hell, and the need for repentance.  Suppose that the faithful in his Masses all knelt to receive Holy Communion and received on the tongue and that no lay people touched the Eucharist.  Would such a Mass be equal in holiness to the TLM?  I would say that it could be, but because of the heroic efforts of the priest, rather than the prohibitions contained in the new Roman Missal.

Conclusion

If you want to practice holiness and avail yourself to the greatest extent to the graces of the Mass, then the TLM is a good place to start.

Continued next week.