Fr. Hugh Thwaites: "Rome cannot feed her children with poison"

Fr. Hugh Thwaites, S.J.

I was struck this morning by this quote shared on Facebook by the wonderful Rhos Thomas. She is an inspirational young Catholic who is part of a growing number of young, faithful, traditionalists, who really impress me with their depth of knowledge and commitment.

Rhos discovered this article by the much loved and respected priest Fr. Hugh Thwaites S.J.

Rhos states:

"Fr Thwaites had an amazing gift for explaining ideas in a way which anyone can understand. Please God, I hope I will get to heaven and meet him!" 

Here is a particularly beautiful, yet simple explanation from the article:

"There is nothing wrong with the new rite. Rome cannot feed her children with poison. But the new rite of Mass does not give us what we need. Michael Davies' analogy is helpful here. If a doctor tells a couple that their child need milk every day, and they give the child only water, the child may not live. There is nothing wrong with water. But if the child needs milk, water may not be enough.

There is no heresy in the new rite. Rome cannot authorise heresy. But the new rite, it would seem, does not give us enough Catholic doctrine to prevent Catholics from unwittingly becoming Protestant in their thinking. As Fulton Sheen put it, "If you don't behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you behave." The new rite of Mass is capable of being carried out in a Protestant manner. Given the chronic tendency of our fallen human nature to go for what is easier, our liturgy, in the hands of the ill-instructed, will always tend to a Protestant interpretation. And Catholic liturgy carried out in a Protestant manner will lead the worshippers to Protestantism."

You can hear the entire audio library of Fr Hugh Thwaites, S.J. here. 

+ Requiescat in pace. +

Fr. Dominic O'Toole, CSsR, Celebrates the usus antiquior.

This did strike a chord with me and I recalled the quote from Annibale Bugnini, the man who seems to be almost single-handedly responsible for the dismantling of Catholic liturgy and ignoring the teaching of Vatican II after the great council. Indeed, this quote is very revealing:

“We must strip from our Catholic prayers and from the Catholic liturgy everything which can be the shadow of a stumbling block for our separated brethren that is for the Protestants ” — Annibale Bugnini, main author of the New Mass, L'Osservatore Romano, March 19, 1965.

The great irony is of course, today, 48 years later, the Protestants are becoming more Catholic, and helping us remember the beauty of our own heritage.

I have observed that those who enjoy and embrace the usus antiquior, also embrace and support priests who celebrate novus ordo ( with the caveat that both are said well of course). I am as comfortable at a Youth Mass at Brentwood Factory Cathedral as I am at the Mass pictured above in Clapham. I grew up celebrating wonderful, joyful liturgy in Lourdes, where we put our hearts and souls into Mass and enjoyed all the grace and spiritual benefits one would expect of that.

This doesn't cut both ways though, and avowed liberals tend to hate traditionalists with a passion. I struggle with this, and the fact that my love of the traditions of the Church seem so threatening and abhorrent to many. I recall whilst at Mass at Maryvale, a Deacon who quickly dropped out of the course commented to me after a beautiful Mass, in keeping with Sacrosanctum Concillium's instruction that the propers should be retained in Latin, that he felt excluded because of the language. I remember feeling shocked by his comment, because I felt inspired to learn the propers better in Latin! (see SC 54: "Nevertheless steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them.")

Interestingly, at the Sacra Liturgia last week Archbishop Alexander Sample, of Portland, Oregan, USA, stated: 

"I wish to say publicly, that all priests & seminarians should learn to celebrate Mass in the extraordinary form, which will bring a greater understanding and love for the sacred liturgy, and will foster an even greater sense of reverence, wonder, and awe when celebrating Holy Mass in the ordinary rite." 

He wants all bishops to set the example of offering the Mass according to the 1962 missal. He wants the priests and seminarians to know it so that they can be influenced by it when they celebrate the novus ordo. He said that Bishops need continuing formation and one way is by celebrating the usus antiquior. 

More here.

You can hear Bishop Sample on the subject in this video:

Ultimately my point is that what is there not to like? If you are Catholic, and you love it, and it means something to you, why not embrace it all the more? Embrace all of it, and celebrate greater humility, increased holiness, and a greater sense of reverence above all, because these are the building blocks of faith:

"Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" ~ Proverbs 1:7