FIUV PP 22

The Apostolic custom of headcoverings for women is maintained by many Catholics attached to the Extraordinary Form. St Paul laid down that women should cover their heads, and men uncover them, and explained this in terms of his analogy between the relationship between bridegroom and bride, and between Christ and the Church. As Pope St John Paul II taught, female members of the Church represent the Church in a particular way; thus they represent the bride, veiled, both as a symbol of obedience and sacredness. Appendices examine the claim that the custom of the primitive Church was taken from other cultures, and the experience of women recovering the tradition of head coverings today. . . . . .

The 22nd in the FIUV Position Papers series, called “Headcoverings in Church in the Extraordinary Form” is now available in the FIUV Positio section.

FIUV PP 21

Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych, O.S.B.M.
(c. 1580 – 12 November 1623)

Since Pope Leo XIII’s important encyclical Orientalium dignitas in 1894 the policy of the Holy See has been consistent and emphatic, that the liturgical rites of the ancient Oriental Churches are worthy of the utmost veneration, and among those churches in communion with the Holy See they should be protected from undue Latin influence and restored in accordance with their own traditions. This was emphasised by the Second Vatican Council and Pope St John Paul II. This policy is, however, undermined by those exaggerated critiques of the liturgical traditions of the Latin Church which dismiss elements which the Latin and Oriental liturgical traditions have in common, such as worship ad orientem and the use of silent prayer, a contemplative manner of liturgical participation, and respect for liturgical tradition. The establishment of the Extraordinary Form as part of the normal liturgical life of the Latin Church is a necessary step towards a practical attitude of reverence towards the traditions of the Oriental Churches. . . . .

The 21st in the FIUV Position Papers series, called “The Extraordinary Form and the Eastern Churches” is now available in the FIUV Positio section.

FIUV questions threatened SSPX excommunications which may be illegal

MEDIA RELEASE – IMMEDIATE – 4 November 2014

International Una Voce Federation: threatened SSPX excommunications may be illegal

LONDON 4 November 2014 – The International Una Voce Federation which seeks to promote the traditions, particularly the liturgical traditions, of the Roman Catholic Church, within the official structures of the Church, today questioned the legality of a “notification” dated 14 October 2014 of the Roman See of Albano, Italy, claiming to ex-communicate those who receive the sacraments from, or attend religious services of, the Society of St Pius X (SSPX).

The Federation questions the legality of a notification in similar terms of Bishop Óscar Sarlinga of Zárate-Campana in Argentina, issued on 3 November 2014.

Blessed John Henry, Cardinal Newman, a great defender of traditional liturgy, proves Dr Stephen McInerney of Campion College, Sydney

The Inaugural Blessed John Henry Newman Lecture was delivered by Dr Stephen McInerney (Senior Lecturer in Literature, Campion College).

Our thanks to the Rorate Caeli blog for this news and thanks to Dr McInerney for permission to publish.

Blessed John Henry, Cardinal Newman
 

***

“Marvellous Disclosures”: 

John Henry Newman’s Anglican Reflections on the Liturgy(1)

Delivered at the Parish of Blessed John Henry Newman, Melbourne

12th October 2014



Over fifty years ago, as he reflected on the legacy of John Henry Newman, Fr Frank O’Malley asked: “What was the spirit of this man who is with us a constant reference and a standard and a sign?” By way of an answer, he pointed to something that few Newman scholars before or since have sought to highlight:

the spirit of Newman moved within the spirit of the liturgy, the liturgy thought of in its most significant sense as the very rhythm of Christian existence, stirred and centred by the life of Christ. Newman absorbed the liturgical character of existence. He lived by the liturgy. (2)

FIUV PP 20

The calendar of the Extraordinary Form contains a number of features not found in the Ordinary Form, notably the season of Septuagesima, the number and treatment of vigils, and the number of octaves. These very ancient features of the calendar allowed the Faithful to enter more deeply into the mysteries presented by the Church’s year by facilitating their preparation for and subsequent meditation upon those mysteries. They also contributed to a liturgical cycle characterised by sharper contrasts of penitential and joyful days and seasons. . . .

The 20th in the FIUV Position Papers series, called “The Season of Septuagesima, and Vigils and Octaves, in the Extraordinary Form” is now available in the FIUV Positio section.

Michael Davies: “A Writer to Cherish” by Leo Darroch

Michael Davies: “A Writer to Cherish”

by Leo Darroch

. . . . . I think it is true to say that Michael Davies, while being a man hugely admired and respected within the world of traditional Catholicism, and known – and feared? – in the corridors of power in Rome, was perhaps relatively unknown to the great majority of Catholic faithful who still attend Sunday Mass in their own parishes. The immensity of the man will only be fully appreciated in the years and decades to come when his writings will be recognised as the foundation and springboard of the resurrection and resurgence of the traditional liturgy and faith of the Church. The greatest tribute we could pay him for his service to us and the Church is to make his work more widely known. For those members who do not have any of his books I would recommend his trilogy Liturgical Revolution. Those who have one or more of his books could perhaps try and persuade their local clergy to read something of his work. . . . . .  (Read the full text)

Michael Davies International Conference

The Latin Mass Society of England and Wales

invites you to the

 Michael Davies International Conference

Saturday, 4 October 2014 

at 

the Parish Hall

St Mary Moorfield

City of London

 Michael Davies, famed traditional Catholic author and lecturer

and former President of the International Una Voce Federation

Michael Treharne Davies (1936-2004) was arguably the greatest defender, in the English language, of the Traditional Mass at a time when it was being openly attacked and ridiculed by many in the Church, including by those in senior positions who were in a position to know better.

Video on Liturgical Orientation

Some time ago the Federation produced a the Position Paper on the celebration of Mass ad orientem - facing East, with the priest having 'his back to the people'.

It falls to those attached to the Traditional Mass to demonstrate and to defend this manner of celebrating Mass. In this short video, produced by the Latin Mass Society, puts some of the arguments of the Position Paper into a short and pithy format.

The video is presented by the Chairman of the Latin Mass Society, Dr Joseph Shaw, who is also the coordinator of the Position Papers for the Federation.

The Reception of Communion under the Species of Bread Alone in the Extraordinary Form

FIUV Position Paper 17 is now available

Abstract:
Under the liturgical laws pertaining to the Extraordinary Form, the Faithful may not receive the Precious Blood, but only the Host, by contrast with the widespread practice, at least in Europe and North America, in the Ordinary Form. Historically, the Faithful received the Precious Blood in the West through a tube or fistula, until this died out in about the 12th century, with certain exceptions. Sacrosanctum Concilium proposed a revival of a practice exceptional reception of the Precious Blood, although permission soon became more general. The practice of the Extraordinary Form has certain advantages. It underlines the sacrificial nature of the Mass, for which the Priest’s reception from the Chalice is ritually necessary, but the Faithful’s is not. It safeguards the respect for the Sacred Vessels characteristics of the Extraordinary Form, which is incompatible with the usual practice of the Ordinary Form. It avoids a number of practical difficulties and liturgical abuses which have sometimes arisen in the Ordinary Form. And it guards against certain dangers to public health.

The Kiss of Peace

FIUV Position Paper 19 is now available

Abstract:
The Kiss of Peace or Pax, in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, before the Agnus Dei, in its fullest form in Missa Solemnis, involves the celebrant kissing the Altar, and passing the Peace of Christ from Christ, represented by the Altar and the Consecrated Host upon the Altar, to the other Sacred Ministers, and others in the Sanctuary, with a light embrace. The historic meaning of the ceremony included the notion of the people sealing and approving of the mysteries just accomplished, and the preparation necessary for the reception of Holy Communion. In earlier ages the Pax was extended to the Faithful, in the form of an embrace or of the kissing of a Paxbrede, the latter serving to emphasise the origin of the Peace in the Blessed Sacrament, and making possible its exchange between the sexes. This later died out in most of Europe, for practical reasons. The Faithful continue, however, to unite themselves with the very clear symbolism of the ceremonious exchange of the embrace among the Sacred Ministers in the Sanctuary.

FIUV Position Paper updates (1 and 13)

FIUV Position Paper 13 (Holy Days of Obligation) updated on 10 Jan 2014

FIUV Position Paper 1 (The Service of the Altar by Men and Boys) updated on 3 June 2014

The latest versions are available in FIUV Positio section.

The Missa Lecta

FIUV Position Paper 18 is now available

Abstract:
The Missa recitata or Dialogue Mass, in which the Faithful are encouraged to make the servers’ responses and sometimes to say aloud other texts, was introduced in the early 20th century, and continues to be practised in some parts of the world. There is evidence of the Faithful joining in the responses in Southern Europe in the 16th century, but not elsewhere or later. The rationale of the 20th century practice is to encourage a deeper participation in the Mass; the purpose of this paper is to explore the rationale of hearing Low Mass without dialoguing, against the presumption that dialoguing is necessarily better. The value of silent participation of the Faithful is in fact defended by Pope Pius XII and Blessed Pope John Paul II, and should be seen as a form of contemplative prayer, which the Catechism of the Catholic Church links to the liturgy and calls the ‘most intense time of prayer.’