The Past & Future of the Traditional Movement: “The Truth Always Rises to the Surface”

I'm not worried about the future of Traditionalism. The Novus Ordo is committing suicide by contracepting and not appealing to the young. 

From One Peter Five

By Jodi Lacroix, BA

We considered it an honor to fight for the Mass.

I remember being one of a small number of folks who were privileged to be asked in 2021 to view a rough draft of what would soon become “Mass of the Ages/ Episode II: A Perfect Storm.”  Having been interviewed for this documentary in 2020, I was asked for my suggestions for the final cut.

When I viewed the scene of the demonstration for the prayers of the Latin Mass and the subsequent deletions and additions that took place to create the prayers for the Novus Ordo Mass in the 1960s, I realized what an amazing feat the “Mass of the Ages” crew had accomplished.

To my knowledge, no one before had visually shown in such a clear way the transition of the prayers from the ancient rite to the new order. Many Catholics believed that the Novus Ordo Mass was the exact translation of the Latin Mass into English, or into the vernacular language of each region in the world.

This scene was now demonstrating just how major these prayer changes were between the two Mass forms.

And the scene would also therefore beg the question of “why?” What could have been the reason to change these prayers so dramatically in the 1960s?

On September 11, 2025, Father David Nix (pen name Padre Peregrino) posted on Substack, “How to Meditate at the TLM: Medieval Meditations from each part of Holy Mass.”

The meditations can be found beginning on page 103 of the Manual of the Purgatorian Society published by the Redemptorist Fathers in 1894.

These meditations are beautifully matched with each event in the Most Sorrowful Passion of Our Dear Lord, His Resurrection, and the Descent of the Holy Ghost.

For example, “At the Gospel: Jesus is mocked as a fool and sent back to Pilate.” Or “At the elevation of the Chalice: The Blood of Jesus flows from His wounds.”

I’m now bringing these mediations with me to the Latin Mass, and the result is that I’m having a much deeper and richer spiritual connection with Our Lord at each Mass. Attending the Latin Mass will never be the same for me again.

I took these meditations to a Novus Ordo Mass, and I found that the prayers at the foot of the Altar, which represent Jesus in the Garden of Olives, and one of the three parts of the Kyrie Eleison, which represent Peter denying Jesus three times, are missing from the Mass. Some of the other meditations were either difficult to find, or a challenge to be able to follow in the correct order.

Considering the theory that ‘the truth always rises to the surface,’ and applying these medieval Mass meditations to both Mass forms, the Novus Ordo Mass will most likely need to become a closer version of the Latin Mass in order to restore all the events of the Passion, Resurrection, and Descent of the Holy Ghost back into the prayers for that form of the Liturgy.

A good number of young conservative diocesan priests wish to incorporate more traditional prayers and customs into their Novus Ordo Masses, and in some cases, they are becoming the subject of persecution for the changes they are trying to make in their parishes.

There is also a desire among young conservative diocesan seminarians to see the restoration of a more traditional formation within the diocesan seminaries that they attend.

Thirty years ago, in the babyhood of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Latin Mass community in Denver, we were a tiny group of ‘Davids’ in a ‘Goliath’ diocese.

We were very grateful to have a borrowed home for daily and Sunday Latin Masses, and to have a rented church for Christmas and Holy Week Masses. Building our own Church seemed daunting and impossible. We cherished each step forward in growth, and we always worked to maintain the stability of our apostolate. We never gave up, as we considered it an honor to fight for the Mass that we loved so much.

Now in 2025, we are now a parish of the Archdiocese of Denver, with a church, a parish hall, and a rectory. The five Masses each Sunday are packed, and we continue to grow and to thrive.

Just as in the Lighting of the Beacons scene from “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” traditional Catholics are currently spreading the word about the Latin Mass in Denver and to all the corners of the world.

Thirty years from now and beyond, the young clergy and the Catholic laity will be taking over the reins of the Church. I’m writing this article with them in mind.

Many young Catholics have told me that they yearn for a true community center, a “third place” to gather, somewhere different from their homes and their workplaces.

America used to have vibrant VFW halls, restaurants, and pubs, where folks felt like they were part of a larger community family. Our society has now become quite isolated, overworked, and exhausted.

Perhaps Catholic parish halls and basements can fill this void and provide a welcome place for everyone to spend time together.

I will pray that younger Catholics can build these strong “third places.”

These emergent Catholics also would like to absorb as much as they can about the entire history of the Catholic Church, through orthodox classes, books, podcasts, and workshops, etc.

I will pray that they will search without ceasing to know the incredible richness of the faith.

Most especially, young conservative lay Catholics greatly desire access to the Latin Mass and to the Sacraments in the old rite everywhere in the world.

They wish to get married at a Latin Mass, and to raise their children and to maybe live to see their children’s children raised with this Mass and with these Sacraments.

I will pray that they will come to know the abundant graces of Catholic family life, while persevering against all odds to hold these treasures dear to their hearts.

I believe that the Latin Mass may become the dominant form of the Mass in the distant future. I also believe that today there is a young priest or a seminarian who loves the Latin Mass and who will someday become a pope.

In these current times the order of the Catholic Church may appear unrecognizable, like the way in which Our Dear Lord became unrecognizable to all who looked upon Him during His Passion.

And yet the truth always rises to the surface, as when Our Lord rose again from the dead at the Resurrection.

The completeness of the Passion and Resurrection of Our Dear Lord Jesus Christ and the Descent of the Holy Ghost, as represented in the medieval meditations for the prayers of the Latin Mass, have stood the test of time for over fifteen centuries.

It’s beautiful to know that this truth will last forever, while endless ages run.

Editor’s note: the author has now published a memoir about her late husband and their experience in the traditionalist movement in Colorado. Beautiful Agony: A Story of Joy, Grief and Hope