THE "THIRD WAY" - TO OBLIVION
Just as in the political world with Tony Blair and his "Third Way", insofar as the liturgy of the Catholic Church is concerned there is also a "Third Way". Advocates of this view whether lay or clerical are not organised in any real way, and constitute an extremely small group. Their guiding principal is that the Novus Ordo Missae when celebrated "as it should be", and in Latin, is dignified and reverent, and more than satisfactory, give or take a little reform here, a little tweaking there.
The problems with this view are numerous, and the opinion itself fundamentally unsustainable.
The overarching problem that confronts adherents of this view is the question of what the Novus Ordo Missae really is. In the Novus Ordo Missae the priest faces the congregation, Holy Communion is received in the hand and under both kinds and is distributed by lay extraordinary ministers, altar girls are permitted, as are lay readers and vernacular languages. Ironically some, most, if not all of these practices are eschewed by those that view the 1970 Missal as adequate when celebrated "as it should be". This attitude of picking and choosing is exactly the same criticism that is so often levelled against the Novus Ordo Missae in general, where each parish seemingly conducts a different version of the Mass, usually the product of the liturgy committee or the idiosyncrasies of the parish priest. What is the difference therefore between the priest that opts for Latin, altar boys, Holy Communion under one kind, no lay readers or extraordinary ministers, and the priest that does not. The answer of course is none, as it is the Novus Ordo Missae and personal preferences, whether we approve of them or not are irrelevant. We have to accept the entire package, not picking and choosing the bits we like and rejecting the rest.
It is not my intention to criticise those that desire dignified liturgy. I appreciate that the Novus Ordo Missae in Latin is for many the best they can hope for on a Sunday at present. I would point out however the folly of presenting a version of the Novus Ordo Missae, or even a reformed hybrid version, as the answer to the malaise devastating the Church. For those unhappy with the Novus Ordo Missae, the traditional Mass is the only real and satisfactory alternative. Suggesting more reform, more "better" translations, more novelties, more experimentation will only accelerate decline and serve to further confuse an already exhausted and bewildered laity. One Annibale Bugnini has proven disastrous enough!!
Mark Johnson. Editor.
[Taken from the Latin Mass Society's November 2001 Newsletter.]