We were all born in Jerusalem

Fr Urbančok saying Mass in Norcia at the altar of St Benedict

We were all born in Jerusalem. This is the title of a book launched in Italy a few years ago by several leading religious scholars to assess Jerusalem’s pivotal position in human history. Benedict XVI, while visiting the Valley of Jehoshaphat, called this holy city “a microcosm of our globalised world”.

Moreover also the stranger, who is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for thy name's sake, (for they shall hear everywhere of thy great name and thy mighty hand, And thy stretched out arm,) so when he shall come, and shall pray in this place, Then hear thou in heaven, in the firmament of thy dwelling place, and do all those things, for which that stranger shall call upon thee: that all the people of the earth may learn to fear thy name, as do thy people Israel, and may prove that thy name is called upon on this house, which I  have built. (1 Kings 8:41-43)

Today we are in Norcia, the birthplace of Saint Benedict, to begin our pilgrimage SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM 2021 and to give thanks to Almighty God for the gift of Pope Benedict XVI—by whom He enabled the Church to become reconciled with herself and to return to her Tradition—as well as for the creation of the new Latin Mass Society of Slovakia, whose aim is to spread awareness of the gift of God that is the traditional Mass. Our pilgrimage begins in this symbolic place, where each one of us can say he was in a way born. It was here, more than 1,500 years ago, that the faith of this spiritual Father of Europe was formed in a liturgy very close in form to the one we celebrate now. Therefore, studying the history of Europe and the growth of the Benedictine Order built on the legacy of its founder, we can boldly say that each of us has roots here in Norcia. We were in some sense all born in Norcia and, to paraphrase Benedict XVI, this place is also becoming a microcosm of our globalised world.

When we walk through the historical centre, past the places where our patron saint was born, we see ruins — buildings toppled by a severe earthquake five years ago. As we survey this scene, we might rightly ponder the present state of the Church, resembling less a beautiful cathedral than the ruins of this local one, where yet, thanks to the scaffold-supported facade, we can still somehow recognise the purpose it serves.

Many today may ask themselves, what is the point of believing in God and devoting our time to Him? Why spend huge sums on building monasteries and churches? Where is the sense in the massive expenditure on restoring the Basilica of St Benedict, significant building though it is, to its original state? For what reason should young men today decide to enter the monastery where we are now and spend their whole lives here? If we want to act wisely, we must look beyond what we observe at the moment, because the true teacher of life is history.

In his book Richelieu (p. 8), Hillaire Belloc says about the Catholic faith in pre-Reformation Europe that “[t]he central doctrine of that religion was the Incarnation; its custodians, interpreters and agents were the Hierarchy in communion with the Apostolic See, supreme at Rome; its high ritual was the Mass, whose mysteries, perpetually performed, inspired the general body of Christian men with the actual presence of God their Saviour. This common creed and practice bred a common mood throughout society; and Europe, though long possessed of strong local attachments, various languages and customs, remained essentially one.”

The words of this great English writer may remind us of precisely the fact realised by the genius of St Benedict. In his Rule, he instructs monks to put worship at their very centre. In  the history of our Slovak nation, we see that several centuries after our saint, his disciples came to our lands and founded several monasteries to pass on this heritage to our ancestors. The heart of this heritage has always been the holy liturgy. The great Pope Pius XII, in his encyclical on Saint Benedict, Fulgens Radiatur, points out that the saint’s followers included apostles to several Slav nations. Discussing St Benedict’s message for our times, he writes that “[t]here is another lesson and admonition given us by the holy Patriarch of which our age stands so much in need - namely, that God is not only to be honored and adored but must be loved as a Father with great charity. Charity has indeed grown cold and lies dormant so that very many seek things of the earth rather than things of heaven”. A church that focuses more on earthly goods, that wants to address physical poverty more than spiritual poverty, can no longer reach people, precisely because in our anthropological makeup as created by God, the spiritual has primacy over the physical, even though one is inextricably linked to the other.

Today, as we begin our pilgrimage on the occasion of the founding of the Latin Mass Society of Slovakia, we are pursuing this very goal: to highlight the essence, the liturgy celebrated as our ancestors celebrated it. Let the words of Pius XII be an encouragement to us:

“Whoever considers his celebrated life and studies in the light of the truth of history, the gloomy and stormy times in which he lived, will without doubt realise the truth of the divine promise which Christ made to the Apostles and to the society He founded ‘I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world.’ (Mt 28:20) At no time in history does this promise lose its force; it is verified in the course of all ages flowing, as they do, under the guidance of divine Providence. But when enemies assail the Christian name more fiercely, when the fateful barque of Peter is tossed about more violently and when everything seems to be tottering with no hope of human support, it is then that Christ is present, bondsman, comforter, source of supernatural power, and raises up fresh champions to protect Catholicism …”. 

May St Benedict, whom we as the Latin Mass Society gladly choose as one of our patrons, intercede strongly for us. May he grant our association many fighters, so that we may serve the purposes of Divine Providence in the renewal of the spiritual face of Europe and of the whole Church. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom God has chosen as the way of His Incarnation, intercede for us as the first tabernacle of God among men.

AMEN.

—Fr Ľubomír URBANČOK

How Agatha Christie helped to save the Latin Mass

Dr Joseph Shaw

On November 26, 1971, the front page of the Universe informed its readers as follows:

As from this Sunday, the first in Advent, it is forbidden to offer Mass in the Tridentine rite anywhere in the world. In very special circumstances old or retired priests may apply to their own bishop for permission to use the rite, but for private use only.

Only a few days later, however, on December 2, the Times carried a rather different story, under the headline “Pope sanctions traditional Latin Mass in Britain”. The Tridentine Mass was, in fact, celebrated in Westminster Cathedral on June 17 the following year, the first of a series of two annual Masses at the High Altar using the older Missal. Monthly traditional Masses in the Cathedral’s crypt were also initiated. Both series of Masses continue to this day, although the crypt Masses have now moved to the Lady Chapel.

In the nick of time, it would seem, the public celebration of the Vetus Ordo, now also called the Extraordinary Form, was preserved, at least in England and Wales. How had this come about?

Opposition to the liturgical reforms and regret at the passing of a liturgical tradition going back to the 4th century, if not further, was widespread, as the radical nature of what was being done in the name of the Second Vatican Council became apparent in the 1960s. The Latin Mass Society was founded in 1965, as the first reforming documents from Rome made clear that the Latin language was in the crosshairs, and liturgical experiments and abuses were disturbing the faithful in parishes.

Cardinal John Heenan ordered all parish churches in Westminster diocese to celebrate one Mass on Sundays in Latin, in light of Vatican II’s mandate: “the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 36.1). However, the celebration of the reformed Mass in Latin quickly came to be seen as an anomaly, and the rule was withdrawn early in 1971. The debate resolved for most into a choice between the New Mass in the vernacular, and the “Tridentine” (or Latin) Mass.

In an era of deference towards bishops and the pope, and with Pope Paul VI placing his personal authority on the line with his 1969 general audience addresses on the reform, it was hard to know how to make the case that a terrible mistake was about to be made: the complete suppression of a liturgical form on which so much theology, spirituality and culture depended.

Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, a former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, had tried the theological approach, with his famous “Intervention” of 1969. Professor Alexandra Zaina, a leading member of the Latin Mass Society, tried the approach of spirituality, in a letter to the Catholic Herald, quoting Pius XII in Mediator Dei, pointing out that Catholics’ spiritual needs are not all the same, so room should be left for those who prefer the older Mass. But the ultimately successful approach was through the third aspect of the liturgy: culture.

This was developed by the remarkable Alfred Marnau, a Slovakian poet who had come to Britain in 1939. Marnau used his contacts in the arts world to get signatures for a petition which lamented the loss of the old Mass in the context of the “history of the human spirit”:

We are not at this moment considering the religious or spiritual experience of millions of individuals. The rite in question, in its magnificent Latin text, has also inspired a host of priceless achievements in the arts – not only mystical works, but works by poets, philosophers, musicians, architects, painters and sculptors in all countries and epochs. Thus, it belongs to universal culture as well as to churchmen and formal Christians.

This appeal was such that it could be joined by non-Catholics, and in the circumstances of the time perhaps non-Catholics might have had a greater impact. Accordingly, and knowing time was short, in the space of just three weeks Marnau managed to gather the signatures of more than 50 public figures, including an MP from each of the major political parties, two Anglican bishops, and numerous writers, artists and musicians. These included Graham Greene, Colin Davis, Iris Murdoch, FR Leavis, Malcolm Muggeridge, Yehudi Menuhin and Nancy Mitford. William Rees-Mogg, editor of the Times, ensured that it received national attention.

But it was another signatory who, at least in popular legend, caught Paul VI’s eye, when the petition was presented to him by Cardinal Heenan, on behalf of the Latin Mass Society. Marnau relates: “The story goes that Pope Paul VI was reading quietly through the list of signatories and then suddenly said, ‘Ah, Agatha Christie!’ and signed his approval.”

Christie herself wasn’t a Catholic; but her greatest fictional creation, the Belgian Catholic Hercule Poirot, would surely have approved.

—Dr Joseph Shaw is chairman of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales