Within your temple, we ponder your loving kindness, O God. As your name, so also your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with justice. (Psalm 48:10-11)

    Already we see two different focuses for each liturgy to begin with. As has been noted before time and time again (though we must continue to re-emphasize this point) is the fact that the Novus Ordo never talks about our faith in relation to those things temporal, which is on this vale of tears. For the Novus Ordo, they simply focus on the eternal, as if nothing that happens on Earth really matters. They do not paint God as actively interacting with the world even today. The Mass of Tradition tells us an entirely different story. It recounts that God protects us, and that those enemies of God's people will be weakened and ultimately fall in defeat. Yet since "The Church of Dialogue" has no enemies today, none grow weak and fall. It furthermore mentions armies standing against God's people, and God's people not fearing. Since much of what current Church leadership teaches today is little better than pacifism, this would sound a little odd saying it.

Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Thee, that Thy Church may joyfully serve Thee in quiet devotion. Through Our Lord…. (Collect, TM)

Father, through the obedience of Jesus, your servant and your Son, you raised a fallen world. Free us from sin and bring us the joy that lasts for ever. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Opening Prayer, NOM)

    True to form, the Traditional Collect picks up where the Introit left right off, beseeching God to rightly order the world, so that the Church can worship rightly. The proper ordering of the temporal sphere relates directly to that which is eternal. The Novus Ordo asks that we be freed from sin, and that God bring us the joy which lasts forever. As always, they don't go far enough. How are we freed from our sins? Seems a simple question Tierney, by God's mercy and grace, of which there is no disagreement. Yet the grace God gives us, when put into our everyday lives, strengthens our ability to resist sin, as we become more focused in this world on things higher than us, heaven and everlasting life. Furthermore, one notices the Novus Ordo no longer asks anything in humility. It seems that in attempting to reach out to modern man, they picked up modern man's arrogance. The Traditional Rite always beseeches and begs God to grant prayers and petition, the Novus Ordo never begs or beseeches, as this is just a little to demeaning for "modern man." We wonder where the humility went in our Church, well, when it was dropped from the prayers, people became less humble.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us. For the expectation of the creature waiteth for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him that made it subject, in hope: Because the creature also itself shall be delivered from the servitude of corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that every creature groaneth and travaileth in pain, even till now. And not only it, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption of the sons of God, the redemption of our body. (Epistle, TM, Romans 8:18-23)

Thus says the LORD: Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her, all you who love her; exult, exult with her, all you who were mourning over her! Oh, that you may suck fully of the milk of her comfort, that you may nurse with delight at her abundant breasts! For thus says the LORD: Lo, I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent. As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms, and fondled in her lap; as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort. When you see this, your heart shall rejoice and your bodies flourish like the grass; the LORD's power shall be known to his servants. (NOM IS 66:10-14c)

    When one studies the changes in the Novus Ordo enough, the patterns become all to predictable. One notices that the changes in the Introit and Collect had to do with omitting any reference to God's enemies, and God defeating His enemies. Hence, when you see that in the First reading something is omitted, it becomes all too easy to guess what was omitted. Let us see what actually was omitted, by citing all of IS 66:14, the omitted part in bold.

When you see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bodies flourish like the grass; The LORD'S power shall be known to his servants, but to his enemies, his wrath.

    It really is that predictable. True to form, this verse in question omits the fact that the enemies of God feel the wrath of God. Since those who 40 years ago were enemies of the Church are now praised as groups whom we could learn much from, any verse which paints these groups as not of God needs to be done away with. (One notes it truly is sad to where Catholic spirituality today has hit such a low, that rather than look to the Traditional Mystics of the Church, we look to Islamic spirituality and discipline.) Notice that God blesses those who serve him, and the people recognize this. The enemies only recognize God's judgment and wrath.

    Also true to form is the Traditional Epistle, which talks about the sufferings of this world, and how while they may seem hard, they compare nothing to the glory that awaits us if we endure. Paul then teaches us of the glory of suffering, that in suffering we find hope. That's a comforting thought, that even our small amount of suffering, is magnified in glory a hundred fold in Heaven. In that suffering, we learn hope, a virtue we all need, hence, once again, showing us how to rightly order the temporal life, and harness that towards that which is eternal. One does not learn the hope that comes with suffering in the Novus Ordo, something I feel that is all the more evident when we read the Responsorial Psalm. I shall hereby bold all that is omitted, then explain the significance of it, Psalm 66, or as we Catholics who read the Douay Rheims know it as, Psalm 65.

Unto the end, a canticle of a psalm of the resurrection. Shout with joy to God, all the earth, Sing ye a psalm to his name; give glory to his praise. Say unto God, How terrible are thy works, O Lord! in the multitude of thy strength thy enemies shall lie to thee. Let all the earth adore thee, and sing to thee: let it sing a psalm to thy name. Come and see the works of God; who is terrible in his counsels over the sons of men. Who turneth the sea into dry land, in the river they shall pass on foot: there shall we rejoice in him. Who by his power ruleth for ever: his eyes behold the nations; let not them that provoke him he exalted in themselves. O bless our God, ye Gentiles: and make the voice of his praise to be heard. Who hath set my soul to live: and hath not suffered my feet to be moved: For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us by fire, as silver is tried. Thou hast brought us into a net; thou hast laid afflictions on our back: Thou hast set men over our heads. We have passed through tire and water, and thou hast brought us out into a refreshment. I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I will offer up to thee holocausts full of marrow, with burnt offerings of rams: I will offer to thee bullocks with goats. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what great things he hath done for my soul. I cried to him with my mouth: and I extolled him with my tongue. If I have looked at iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Therefore hath God heard me, and hath attended to the voice of my supplication. Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

    The Novus Ordo stops right as the story relates of all the sufferings that are endured, and in the end, God delivers from those sufferings, proving Himself, and delivering us into refreshment. When one reads the entire Psalm, one can take great joy in the meaning. Even us Traditional Catholics can. As we are persecuted, as the Novus Ordo lashes out against us, hoping we just "die off", if we stand strong, and continue to hope in God, He shall come to our aid and free us. Yet since this portrays a God that actively is involved with his created world, something the Novus Ordo goes out of its way to avoid mentioning, once again, they had to go out of their way to avoid teaching this truth. I would like everyone to pay special attention to the end of this particular Psalm. God hears the supplication only after one cries to God (beseeching him). The Novus Ordo simply just has God answering all supplications, but we must remember, he does not answer all, but only those that are right and good. One can see this when they read the English Novus Ordo where rather than having "Glory to God in the Highest, and peace to men of Good will", the Novus Ordo Gloria (if it is actually sung as the Gloria, other than the utterly bland "Sing Glory to God, in place of it" we hear "Glory to God in the Highest, and Peace to his People on Earth." Nowhere do we see that the person must be in good will to share in God's peace. Here we see that even in the official Novus Ordo, this problem remains. The Novus Ordo for it's second reading chooses Galatians 6:14-18, and there is nothing really I wish to comment on, so we shall just mention it for reference purposes for those interested. Now let us move onto a rather confusing set of options for the Gospel.

And it came to pass, that when the multitudes pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Genesareth, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And going into one of the ships that was Simon's, he desired him to draw back a little from the land. And sitting he taught the multitudes out of the ship. Now when he had ceased to speak, he said to Simon: Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said to him: Master, we have labored all the night, and have taken nothing: but at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they enclosed a very great multitude of fishes, and their net broke. And they beckoned to their partners that were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they were almost sinking. Which when Simon Peter saw, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying: Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was wholly astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken. And so were also James and John the sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's partners. And Jesus saith to Simon: Fear not: from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And having brought their ships to land, leaving all things, they followed him. (Gospel, TM, Luke 5, 1-11)

At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.' If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.' Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, 'The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.' Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town. The seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name." Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power to 'tread upon serpents' and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven." (Gospel, NOM, Luke 1-12, 17, 20) OR read only verses 1-9)

    First let us talk about what the Traditional Rite offers us for the Words of Our Lord. It recounts the Story of the miracle with fishing. Peter was out fishing all day, and could catch nothing. Christ told him to cast his net, and, next thing you know, the net was so full of fish it became impossible for him to handle on his own. After hearing this, Christ tells Peter to follow him and be a fisher of man. Since this implies something supernatural, this of course had to be cut out. Yet, showing harmony with everything else, it shows how Christ blesses us temporally as well as eternally. The temporal is often used to relate to the eternal.

    The omitted verses in the first part of the Novus Ordo are simply a re-statement of the fate of those who reject Christ, that even in these places of history it was better than those who would reject Christ today. While we should not be omitting words from Scripture, then telling the faithful what they are hearing is the full Word of God, what is omitted in the first part is not much to worry about. I shall quote again the passage, showing what happens when option number 2 is employed.

At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.' If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.' Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, 'The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.' Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town." Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, 'The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.' Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town. "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.'" Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." The seventy (-two) returned rejoicing, and said, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name." Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power 'to tread upon serpents' and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in Heaven."

    Notice what is gone from the "shortened" version (which I am willing to bet will be read in the majority of Churches this Sunday). There is no mention of the fact of demons being subject to those 72 men sent out by Christ. This is far more in line with the politically correct secular idea that demon possession is simply mental illness, and can be cured by medical and scientific means. One wonders what has happened to the belief of real evil in the world. Well, as before, the Church, since it is the "Church of dialogue" today, no longer has enemies. Since she no longer has enemies, but "dialogue partners", those enemies are not actively trying to destroy her. Hence, one need not worry about demons at all, much less subjecting them, since there are no demons.

We beseech Thee, O Lord, be pleased to accept these our offerings; and in Thy mercy draw our rebellious wills unto Thee. Through Christ our Lord. (TM, Secret)

Lord, let this offering to the glory of your name purify us and bring us closer to eternal life. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen. (NOM, Prayer Over the Gifts)

    A simple examination notices that the Novus Ordo does away with the fact our will is rebellious, and that God's grace changes it. They just group it under "purify us and bring us closer to eternal life." Once again, the "Revised Missal" rather than clarifying a certain point makes it more ambiguous. We furthermore see the focus on the expiatory nature of the Novus Ordo. It talks about how the offering purifies us, but doesn't really imply God's wrath being appeased. The Traditional Secret talks about how in mercy our rebellious wills are drawn towards God. This cannot happen unless the barrier that causes God's wrath is done away with, that being sin, which the sacrifice is about to take away.

May the mysteries which we have received, O Lord, purify our hearts, and by their power may we be defended. Through our Lord. (TM, Postcommunion)

Lord,may we never fail to praise you for the fullness of life and salvation you give us in this eucharist. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. (NOM, Prayer After Communion)

    The Novus Ordo, focused on man as it is, tells us about how we should feel as a result of the Eucharist, but doesn't explain what the Eucharist is doing. One finds a lot of thought on man's role beginning with Pope Leo XIII, but the Holy Pontiff always took great pains to show how God works within man. The Novus Ordo never explains to use exactly what the Eucharist has done, or what it even is supposed to do. The prayer is based on our subjective feeling. The Traditional rite explicitly talks about how the mysteries we just received (being Communion) purify our hearts, and its power defending us in our lives. There's no mistake about what the Blessed Sacrament is doing in the Traditional Mass. One knows what man is doing in the Novus Ordo, but man can do this at any time. So for "Ordinary" time in the Novus Ordo, we see that they refuse to mention miracles, temporal punishments, an active God defending his people, demons and other enemies of God, and the action of what a sacrament does. If this is Ordinary time, I fear for what happens in extraordinary circumstances.

To contact Kevin or ask him any questions, click on his name above. For past articles in this series, see www.DailyCatholic.org/2004lex.htm Archives