Old vs. New Mass
| Compare… Traditional Latin Mass |
With… Modern Mass at your parish |
| Atmosphere of Reverent Worship: | Social, Classroom, Entertainment Atmosphere |
|---|---|
| Peaceful, otherworldly atmosphere. Emphasis on individual “lifting his heart & mind to God.” Members of congregation direct attention to God, not each other. | Constant standing, sitting, amplified noise; atmosphere like a public meeting. Emphasis on “instruction.” Socializing in church before & after service, and handshaking during. |
| Profound Reverence for Real Presence: | Indifference, Irreverence towards Real Presence: |
| Sixteen genuflections. The hands of the priest alone touch the consecrated host. Communion given only on tongue. | Only three genuflections required. Lay men & women distribute communion. Communion given in hand — a practice protestants introduced to deny Christ’s Real Presence. |
| Fidelity to Catholic Doctrine: | Systematic Omission of Catholic Doctrines: |
| Over the course of a year, presents all facets of Catholic doctrine. | New prayers systematically omit references to hell, judgement, punishment for sin, merits of the Saints, the one true Church, the souls of the departed & miracles. |
| Antiquity: | Novelty: |
| Bulk of Sunday prayers &their arrangement goes back at least to 300s and 400s AD. Canon essentially the same since St. Ambrose (d. 397). | Old Sunday prayers omitted or stripped of doctrines, and rearranged in 1960s. Only 17% of old prayers remain. Chunks of ancient Canon are now “optional.” The words of consecration, Christ’s own words “For you and for many” are changed. Three substitute “Canons” invented & introduced in 1960s, and still more invented later. |
| Stability: | Constant Change: |
| Everything regulated by precise laws to protect purity of worship and doctrine. | Options, options and more options. Individual priests & parish liturgy committees get to pick, drop or invent texts to push what they think people should believe. |
| Priest is Sacrificer: | Priest is “President”, Actor: |
| Priest faces tabernacle, cross and altar (symbolically toward God). Priest performs all the actions &recites all the prayers of the Mass. | Priest faces people instead of symbolically “toward God.” Priest sits off to side. His functions given away to lay men and women. |