The Case for Liturgical Restoration: A Review
Reviewing a collection of studies written over years and concerning everything relating to the liturgy, from silence in the liturgy to the liturgy in contrast to the New Age Movement, is a daunting task. Fortunately the editorial work done by Joseph Shaw and the quality of the studies makes the impossible, possible. They clearly present the Tridentine Rite (Usus Antiquior) as the privileged instrument of Tradition to pass on the integral Catholic Faith.
The book accomplishes this goal in two clearly delineated parts:
Part 1 of the volume takes up a number of aspects of the sacred action, showing how even what may be considered smaller details, in fact, contribute to the communication of heaven with earth… Part 2 of the volume addresses the disposition of man to the divine grace that both inspires sacred worship and is given and increased through the worship of God (xxvi).
A deeper direction the book takes is through the presentation of the Usus Antiquior to lead the reader to a greater knowledge and love of Our Lord. That goal is accomplished through three intertwined themes throughout the work: reverence, continuity, and unity.
A reverential encounter with Christ demands silence, as the study Silence and Inaudibility makes clear. Specifically, the silent Canon models the intimate personal gift of the priest’s silent prayer for the faithful. The “filled silence” provides a sacred atmosphere, denotes import, and as is illustrated later in the book, becomes a tool for Western re-evangelization (31).
Continuity in the Faith is an equally prevalent theme with reverence in the work, as it reflects the mind of the Church. The Service of the Altar by Men and Boys points out, for instance, how the use of female altar servers departs from a tradition dating from the Council of Laodicea in the 4th century for a concession given in 1994. More importantly, it ties that tradition to the exclusively male priesthood and the link of servers to future vocations to that priesthood (55).
Perhaps a more striking point about rupture in continuity is presented in the four studies on the use of Latin in the liturgy. Latin as a Liturgical Language presents Christian Latin as the liturgy’s official language, officially presented as such by Vatican II in Sacrosanctum Concilium and ordered by Pope Benedict XVI to be taught to priests to celebrate Mass (143). That Latin is correctly proffered as a source both of devotion and civilization. The catechetical benefit of using it comes from the dignity and universality of texts which in turn contributes to sacrality and results in effective communication.
Finally, the collection makes a heartfelt appeal to the value of the Usus Antiquior in the promotion of ecclesial unity. A study on the Leonine prayers (195) used in the Tridentine Rite, for example, points out the unification of Catholics against common enemies of the Church.
Perhaps more interesting is the relative utility of the Usus Antiquior over the Novus Ordo in relation to current challenges in a strong, united Catholic Church. In the study The New Age, for example, we see the value of the Tridentine Liturgy to oppose the New Age Movement’s increasing appeal to the Christian West.
The New Age movement presents each person’s life as a learning experience changed by the individual. It promotes an alternative to religion promoting spiritual and emotional healing by psychological or spiritual techniques that appropriate Christian elements.
The Usus Antiquior emphasizes the need for grace which exposes the New Age tendencies of moral superiority and libertinism. It also connects the supernatural and intellectual life which the New Age Movement would tell us is only preserved in the East [p. 217].
For us loyal SSPX adherents, however, the differences in the Una Voce perspective can’t be ignored. Post-Conciliar popes and Vatican II texts are presented as supporting traditional perspectives (217). Post-Conciliar popes have by their actions done the contrary, and Vatican II texts have left loopholes for tradition to become altered. These elements are never addressed in the book.
Moreover, one could question if the whole perspective of contrasting two Latin rites is even legitimate. It is not the same situation as other rites in the Western world growing from custom or local traditions. The close link between doctrine and the liturgy enforces our opposition to modernizing changes to the Latin liturgy. It is not simply that we find the Tridentine Rite superior; we find the Novus Ordo wrong.
In conclusion, The Case for Liturgical Restoration shows the marked superiority of the Traditional Latin liturgy over the Novus Ordo. It makes the strong case that the former is better suited to today and should be restored. Unfortunately, the studies skirt the fundamental doctrinal problems in the papacy and in Vatican II and in doing so sells itself short.
TITLE IMAGE: Illustration from a French medieval manuscript (1056-1065).
Joseph Shaw is Chairman of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales. Shaw is the son of the late Thomas Shaw, 3rd Baron Craigmyle and Anthea Craigmyle (née Rich). He was educated at Ampleforth College and the University of Oxford. He is currently a tutorial fellow in philosophy at St Benet’s Hall, Oxford. His main areas of interest are practical ethics, the philosophy of religion and medieval philosophy. In 2015, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
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