"NIHIL OPERI DEI PRAEPONATUR"

Let nothing be preferred to the Work of God

(Rule of Saint Benedict, 43)

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Reform of the Reform

In this section, I will be publishing some of my own reflections together with other Roman Catholic and Anglican commentators.

 

History of the Liturgy

Here are a few links on topics related to liturgical history.

 

Victorian Anglican Ritualism

This following link from the Canterbury Project gives information on some of the leading protagonists of Victorian Anglican ritualism together with some texts from the period.

 

Musical Resources for the liturgy in English and Latin

  • Musica Sacra - The "Chant Books" section is amazing, as is this whole site.

 

The Reforms of Pius XII and John XXIII

The reforms to the Missal and Breviary in the 1950's and early 60's were not universally welcomed, as attested by a criticism dating from 1960.

 

The Post-Conciliar Reforms

The reforms by Paul VI and John Paul II have caused a considerable amount of contestation. I include here a paper on the subject that expresses original thought.

 

The Roman Rite

Since the summer of 2007, there are two officially recognised "uses" of the Roman rite in the Roman Catholic Church: the "extraordinary use" (1570-1962) and the "ordinary use" (1969).

  • The Canonical Mass of the English Orthodox by Dr. Raymond Winch (pdf file). This was an attempt dating from 1988 at reconstructing the Mass of Ordo Romanus Primus and the Gregorian Sacramentary for use in a western rite Orthodox context.
  • The Latin Rite Mass - what was in use in the Roman Catholic Church until Vatican II, and still used by a number of traditionalist communities. In 1969 Pope Paul VI replaced it by a newly composed Novus Ordo.
  • Roman Rite (1570) - amost identical with the Ordo Missae of the 1474 Princeps Edition, broadly speaking a restoration of the Roman liturgy of the 11th century, but with a number of new elements derived from existing use and scholastic theology. It was codified by Pope St Pius V following the directives of the Council of Trent.
  • Tridentine Latin Mass Project - a site containing texts from the Roman Missal in Latin and English.
  • Novus Ordo (1969) - the work of Msgr Annabile Bugnini and the Consilium, promulgated by Paul VI in 1969. This artificial rite is now the official usage of the Roman Catholic Church ("Latin" Rite), and its refusal motivated the existence of a traditionalist movement. The Vatican allows the usage of the 1962 edition of John XXIII (simplified calendar and rubrics, new 1955 Holy Week ceremonies of Bugnini / Pius XII)
  • Altar cards for the old Roman Mass (Latin) in Microsoft Publisher 2000 format : file - Click with your right mouse button to save the file onto your hard disk. Note: this file works only with MS Publisher (part of the Office 2000 package). You must adapt the printer and page setup parameters to your own system, and you can change the text style and size within the contraints of the text frames and general size desired. Click here for the altarcards in pdf format - but this file cannot be modified and is designed for European A4 paper format. Then print the cards on off-white or cream coloured paper and frame them.
  • Learn how to celebrate the Tridentine Mass (the same rules apply to the English Missal)

 

Non-Roman Latin Rites

  • Lyons Rite - of the Archdiocese of Lyons (France) and surrounding area. St Jean Viannay, the Curé d'Ars, celebrated according to this rite. Note certain similarities with the Dominican rite.
  • Dominican Rite - the rite of the Order of Preachers. It is used by the Fraternity of St. Vincent Ferrer (Chemeré-le-Roi, France), by the SSPX Dominicans at Avrillé near Angers, France, and by a few Dominican priests in Rome and elsewhere. It is strikingly similar to Sarum and other diocesan uses, but is based on 13th century Roman usage.
  • The Dominican Liturgy Blog - Fr. Augustine Thompson OP
  • Ambrosian Rite - the rite of the Archdiocese of Milan until its reform on Novus Ordo lines around 1970. It had been used in much of the north of Italy and Switzerland, and a few parts of southern France. It was found used in the English parish of Telford in the 15th century. We are informed that there are some textual errors in this page. Use www.google.com to find alternative versions.
  • Mozarabic Rite (Toledo, Spain) - the rite of the Cathedral of Toledo, Spain, used once a year in a special chapel since being replaced by the Roman Rite.

 

The Use of Sarum

 

Post-Reformation Anglican Liturgies