THE MUTUAL ENRICHMENT OF THE TWO LITURGICAL FORMS

[Denise]

THE MUTUAL ENRICHMENT OF THE TWO LITURGICAL FORMS ACCORDING TO THE SECRETARY OF THE ECCLESIA DEI COMMISSION

In early October 2011, Msgr Guido Pozzo, secretary of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, expressed himself on the camera of Gloria TV. He spoke in clear terms about his experience of the liturgical reform and his vision of the extraordinary form. In addition to inviting all of our readers to watch this video, we are happy to present other considerations from this Roman prelate on the same theme. These allow for a better understanding of the outlook with which the authority in charge of the extraordindary form works.


I--THE SPIRIT OF THE MOTU PROPRIO
(October 2009 interview in Messa in Latino)

"The Motu Proprio is addressed to all the Catholic faithful who desire the extraordinary form of the Roman liturgy, and not only to those who may have already been attached to the traditional form of the Roman rite before its promulgation. Although it does aim to satisfy the latter and to heal old wounds, its object is also to allow the extraordinary form to spread both among those who, being too young to have taken part in it, do not yet know it and also among those who are joyfully rediscovering the Mass of their childhood. The ever-increasing diffusion of this liturgical treasure, the Church's patrimony, can bring forth many spiritual and vocational benefits, including through the mutual enrichment of the two forms of the Roman rite."


II – MONSIGNOR POZZO ON NOUVELLES DE FRANCE (June 2011)

NdF: Monsignor, what are the goals of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum?
Msgr Pozzo: The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum means to offer to all Catholic faithful the Roman liturgy in the usus antiquior, considering it to be a precious treasure that ought to be preserved. With this aim in view, it means to guarantee and to ensure the use of the extraordinary form to all those who request it and thus to encourage unity and reconciliation within the Church.

NdF: Where is this success of the St. Pius V Mass among young Catholics coming from?
Msgr Pozzo: I think that the interior recollection and the sense of the Mass as sacrifice are particularly promoted by the extraordinary form. This goes a long way to explain the increase in the number of the faithful who are calling for it.

NdF: The letter that the Pope wrote to accompany the Motu Proprio indicates that there had been an increase in the number of the faithful requesting the use of the extraordinary form. What do you think is the reason for this?
Msgr Pozzo: The letter accompanying the Motu Proprio presents the reasons and explanations that clarify its aims and meaning. It is essential to underscore that the two forms of the one Roman rite enrich each other mutually and must therefore be considered as complementary. The reestablishment of the usus antiquior of the Roman Missal along with its own normative framework is due to the increase in the number of requests coming from laymen who wished to be able to participate in the celebration of Holy Mass in its extraordinary form. The issue is basically the respect and promotion of a specific interest among certain laymen for the Tradition and the richness of the liturgical patrimony as manifested in the ancient Roman rite. Insterestingly, this sensibility is also present among the younger generations, i.e. among persons who have not been formed for this sort of liturgy in the past.

NdF: It is said that traditional movements elicit more vocations than elsewhere. Is this true? If so, why?
Msgr Pozzo: In Institutes depending on the Pontifical Commissoin Ecclesia Dei and in those following the liturgical and disciplinary forms of the Tradition, there is an increase in priestly vocations and in vocations to the religious life. Yet I believe that an upturn in priestly vocations has also been registered in seminaries, especially those that offer a formation and education in priestly ministry and a serious and rigorous spiritual life. This is the case where these have not been diminished because of secularization, which unfortunately has seeped into mentalities and ways of life among certian members of the clergy and even among certain seminaries. This, in my opinion, is the principal cause of the crisis in vocations to the priesthood. This is a crisis in terms of quality, of course, rather than quantity. Presenting the figure of the priest in his deepest identity, as minister of the Sacred, i.e. as alter Christus, as spiritual guide of the people of God, as the one who celebrates the holy sacrifice of the Mass and remits sins in the sacrament of confession by acting in persona Christi capitis: such is the essential condition for us to establish a fruitful promotion of vocations that allows for the upturn of priestly vocations.


III –PAIX LITURGIQUE'S THOUGHTS

1) All the declarations made by Msgr Pozzo, who is by the Holy Father's delegation the highest competent authority in the extraordinary liturgy after Cardinal Levada, point in the same direction: the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum is a gift to the universal Church. It is hard to claim, whether in the sacristy or in the chancery, that no one knows what Rome thinks, less yet what Rome wants.
Jean-Marie Guénois, the religion editor for Le Figaro and one of France's most knowledgeable writers on Roman circles, says it better than we could when he declares, regarding Msgr Pozzo's interview on Gloria TV, that it "is tantamount to a source document in order to grasp the way in which Rome--its deciders, that is, not rumors--perceives the question as a whole, including the liturgy . . ." (October 4, 2011, on his blog).

2) This prophetic Roman vision of the Motu Proprio, which Monsigor Pozzo tirelessly repeats (a treasure for the entire universal Church which ought to be promoted), ought to be compared with the narrow and wrong-headed view held by all the bishops, especially in Europe, who continue to wish to limit the spread of the extraordinary form, even if this means pushing the faithful towards the SPPX.

3) You will have noted Msgr Pozzo's sentence suggesting to bishops of moribund dioceses that they might use the pedagogical and spiritual means used by the Ecclesia Dei institutes, which are flourishing. In his insistence on seminary formation and the dynamism of Ecclesia Dei institutes in terms of vocations, the secretary of the Ecclesia Dei commission is well within the line of the Universae Ecclesiae instruction which, in article 21, declares: "Ordinaries are asked to offer their clergy the possibility of acquiring adequate preparation for celebrations in the forma extraordinaria. This applies also to seminaries, where future priests should be given proper formation, including study of Latin and, where pastoral needs suggest it, the opportunity to learn the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite."
Once again, this is a clear indication of what Rome expects from local ordinaries: they are to seize the opportunity of the Motu Proprio and allow priests and future priests to rediscover the meaning of the liturgy. In simple terms, this means, at the diocesan level, a greater "openness" to what is, today, the profile of a significant portion of priestly vocations: vocations that are, to one degree or another, traditional. They have to be welcomed, though. Indeed, one cannot repeat it enough: the ongoing drop in vocations is not inevitable. Actually there is some possibility that this lesson is beginning to be heard in certain sectors of the French Church.

4) Contrary to what his detractors say--and Msgr Pozzo's words are a good illustration of the fact--Benedict XVI imposes nothing: he proposes. This is the secret of his reform and one of the keys to his success--a gradual success. For what is conventionally called the "Spirit of the Council" established itself in the Church "with noise and disquiet," whereas the "spirit of the Motu Proprio," on the contrary, is spreading it "sweetly, lightly and gently," to speak like Saint Ignatius in his "Rules for the Discernment of Spirits" (Spiritual Exercises, n. 335).


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