Comments for Doctrina Liturgica

Comment on Alcuin Reid: Cekada’s Book on New Mass “Flags the Big Question We’ve Not Been Prepared to Face” by Vasari

Vasari — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 21:54:25 +0000

Thank you, Father Cekada, for your clarification as well as your usual precision. While Dr. Reid is a fine scholar, it is obvious from the thought processes behind his review (and the endless attempts to reconcile irreconciliables in his writings) that he either lacks the Thomistic training and discpline underlying Work of Human Hands, or has allowed whatever training he may have received simply to rust from disuse. Many and excellent are the scholars — and we certainly recognize this quality in Dr. Reid; however, few are the scholars who are also thinkers as well. Work of Human Hands will endure for centuries to come precisely because it is the product of both.

Comment on Alcuin Reid: Cekada’s Book on New Mass “Flags the Big Question We’ve Not Been Prepared to Face” by Bob Coffey

Bob Coffey — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 03:44:22 +0000

I am not a confirmed sedevacantist. On the other hand, I have yet to hear or see a cogent argument contra that position, certainly not one that will hold up on close scrutiny. And if Fr Cekada’s evaluations are correct as to the doctrinal deficiencies of the theology underpinning the Bogus Ordo, they could very well put the last nail in the coffin of that hollow institution. How could the Pope and Church put forth a doctrinally false instrument of worship of almighty God?? Can’t see it happening in a Church that Christ’s promise of indefectibility has guaranteed us will never allow its deviation from the Paraclete’s guidance into “all Truth.”

I’m just about a quarter of the way through, but find the book compelling so far, and a good read besides. Hope it gets far more attention from these traditionalist types, or at least sympathizers. God bless us all.

Comment on Alcuin Reid: Cekada’s Book on New Mass “Flags the Big Question We’ve Not Been Prepared to Face” by John W Yeomans

John W Yeomans — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 23:59:35 +0000

I had been going to Mass since 1959, though I wasn’t Catholic at the time. But in 1979 I was baptized into the Catholic Church. From ’59 to present day I have seen the Church leadership and priests going down the gutter of modernism, not what Christ, and early Church Fathers taught! The Church hasn’t had, in my opinion, a “true” Pope since Pius XII. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen has always been a hero to me. I do not think his caliber of priest will see day light in the true service of Our Lord Jesus Christ in America for a long time to come.

Comment on Missal Translation Director Praises Cekada’s Book on the Mass of Paul VI by Farley Clinton

Farley Clinton — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:18:13 +0000

I am delighted to read about this fair and rational response to your book.

It should, and I hope it will, open a completely new chapter, so that the old Mass can be talked about frankly and seriously and learnedly – and in a completely Catholic way.

I am convinced that John Paul II had a document in his desk – from 1998, I would think, and possibly earlier – which his fingers were itching to sign. It would have done pretty much what Benedict XVI did a few years ago (with Summorum Pontificorum or whatever it is called). He had (JP had) a long and earnest talk with a former secretary of Ap Lefebvre: in which JP said he was baffled to learn of the dislike for the Tridentine Mass in the West – it was unknown in Poland, and nobody where he came from had ever interpreted the conciliar statements as a pretext for getting away from the Latin language or Pius V’s Mass: and this happened very soon after his election.

The priest he spoke to was a Holy Ghost father who had been Marcel L’s secy. when L. was general of the C Ss P – during the council, and was my parish priest later on, and he told me about that meeting with J P. JP had been baffled when told there was any kind of problem. But he was a civilized man who had been forced like all Polish priests to memorize the odes of Horace in his preparation for the priesthood, and i suppose that to the Poles “Vatican II” meant simply the Latin texts that the council approved, not some poor translation of them, or some “Spirit of Vatican II.”
And at the end of the meeting the Pope said: A solution must be found!

Major problems in U S A are (1) that priests refuse to learn any Latin at all, and resent the idea that they ought to learn it – so that they can never learn any serious theology – or much canon law, or any Church history and (2) Americans are not taught any other language but a debased form of English with a pathetically small vocabulary.

Comment on Missal Translation Director Praises Cekada’s Book on the Mass of Paul VI by Dan Hunter

Dan Hunter — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:36:12 +0000

I just went to the Corpus Christi Mass at St. Mary Mother of God, in Washington DC.
Msgr. Wadsworth offered the Missa Cantata and sings beautifully! He gave a stirring sermon about the Body of Christ. He mentioned that Cardinal Francis Nguyen [his last name escapes me now], was a huge lover of this feast day and that he offered Mass while in the Viet Cong POW camp for 13 years; he smuggled the Body of Christ out to prisoners in a match box, and he also converted several of his commie gaurds.
Anyhow, this influenced Msgr. Wadsworth greatly in his vocation. He was ordained in 1992.

Comment on Missal Translation Director Praises Cekada’s Book on the Mass of Paul VI by Linda Faith

Linda Faith — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:54:57 +0000

This book reads like a road map! I love it. Now it makes sense and answers many questions and uneasiness I had at the time. I think I speak for many former Catholics who as children in the 60s knew something was not quite right with the New Mass, the Liturgy’. When the sisters doffed their habits in favor of weekly hair appointments and manicures, we children cringed. Not only did the Mystery of Faith disappear, but the mystery of what was under Sister’s veil! Best leave some things mysterious.

Vatican II took away a lot of mysteries. The Mass was the worst. Planning the liturgy became a weekly skirmish; we children had our own ICEL to wrestle with: Sister Eileen, formerly Sr. Catherine John, who nearly always disapproved our selection of music and readings. We used to plot together what we were going to do this week and it always came out the same. Same readings, and verses. Same tunes, just get this over with. Then we’d choose an old Mass tunes and watch her go crimson. She’d change them in favor of newer ditties, such as ‘Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine, etc’. I distinctly remember singing the tune made popular by the group, Three Dog Night: “Jeremiah”. Jeremiah was a bullfrog…. I’m sure you know the rest. We sang that on several occasions, clustered around the altar. We hated the phonieness of the Kiss of Peace handshake. We were always told we were an apathetic bunch and we didn’t appreciate the liturgy. Can you blame us?

There was no togetherness, just a lot of unhappy ‘let’s get this over with’ kids.

Thanks Fr. Cekada. I hope it’s not too late to bring back my former classmates of St. Antoninus to the True Mass.

Comment on Missal Translation Director Praises Cekada’s Book on the Mass of Paul VI by Dan Hunter

Dan Hunter — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:29:35 +0000

Fr, Good critique!

Comment on New Oxford Review, the Pre-Vatican II Reforms and the New Mass by Roberto

Roberto — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:40:02 +0000

One of the most difficult tasks for a traditional Catholic is try to convince another traditional Catholic how ill-conceived were the pre-1962 reforms (simplified rubrics, new Holy Week, the instruction on sacred music (1958), the new code of rubrics, etc). This is difficult is because some of those reforms were done under Pius XII

Inevitably, someone asks why did Pius XII allow such changes, or am I disobeying for not accepting these rubrics?

Fr. Cekada gives us a brief explanation about these issue in Work of Human Hands (“And pastor Angelicus?” p. 64 and in the Appendix). Also there are very good studies on:

http://www.traditionalmass.org/articles/
http://www.sodalitiumpianum.com/index.php?pid=12
http://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/f015ht_Pamela-Missal.htm
http://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/f014ht_MissalCrisis_Perez.htm
http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2010/07/reform-of-holy-week-in-years-1951-1956.html

But the question remains: How could a man who wrote Mediator Dei could tolerate the ideas of men like Congar, de Lubac, Balthasar, Bea, Bugnini, etc? Did Pius XII really want those reforms?

Comment on New Oxford Review, the Pre-Vatican II Reforms and the New Mass by Roberto

Roberto — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:53:01 +0000

I think that without Vatican II the Paul VI Mass would not have been possible.

For such a drastic change in worship there would need also to have been a change in religion. Vatican II was the “legal” basis for the New Mass and the new religion.

In fact the New Mass had already been prepared well before 1969, but a new law was needed to support and protect the new worship.

And further, the Second Vatican Council was done only for one goal, to consolidate the destruction of the Catholic Mass. After that, the rest that followed were merely the consequences.

Comment on New Oxford Review, the Pre-Vatican II Reforms and the New Mass by Dilip Hughonse

Dilip Hughonse — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 03:49:13 +0000

Dear Fr. Cekada,

Thank you very much for all the facts. I discussed with a few priests the New Mass and the lack of divinity in the Eucharist. They say that there are limitations for them. They asked me to continue with my belief in the traditional Mass. They asked me to submit to Jesus all those disturbances and chages in the Eucharist as penance and pray to Jesus to intervene.

In India due to liberalization they follow the Hindu culture, keeping the temple lamp and adoring. It is really disgusting that we follow and accept the pagan-style worhip. I hope and pray that Jesus will intervene without any delay.

Dilip Hughonse

Doha, Qatar.