The Canons Regular of St. John Cantius in Chicago, Illinois, which is hosting the CMAA celebrant training seminar, have provided the Catholic world with the first ever, online tutorial on saying the Latin Mass according to the 1962 Missale Romanum. The new website, www.Sanctamissa.org, debuted yesterday, features, among other things, the complete Ordo Missae, and sample liturgies with videos and photos. And there is more to come.
Fr. C Frank Phillips, C.R, Superior of the Canons regular writes in his letter to the priests and the faithful:
In thanksgiving for Our Holy Father’s recent Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum, we are pleased to have the opportunity to train priests to celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite according to the 1962 Missale Romanum. We hope that this tutorial, which provides a study of the the rubrics in a multimedia format, will assist priests in praying the Mass of the Ages with deeper reverence and love, so that the faithful attracted to this venerable rite might more profoundly enter into the Eucharistic Sacrifice.
Those devoted to the study of the rubrics of the 1962 Missale Romanum will notice that, according to local custom, there are some variances in the expression of the rubrics. In this tutorial you will see the Tridentine Latin Mass offered according to the customs of the Archdiocese of Chicago as practiced in 1962. As other dioceses or religious communities may have other customs, I hope that these differences will not cloud the purpose of guiding priests in praying the Traditional Latin Mass.
As a seminarian, I had the privilege to work with Monsignor Martin B. Hellriegel, P.A., who was a noted liturgical giant of his time. He taught me that while rubrics are vital to offering the Mass with reverence and devotion, one must not act robotically and mechanically in their execution. The rubrics are the shell protecting the kernel.
By the diligent study of the rubrics, priests will be able to grasp the structure of the Mass and perform well the many intricacies of the sacred liturgy. Moreover, the external ceremonies of the Mass should always lead the priest to discover its rich treasures.
Finally, this presentation of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite will form the laity, both intellectually and spiritually, to understand its sacred ceremonies, and to be transformed by its inestimable beauty.
In Christ,
Rev. C. Frank Phillips, C.R., Superior
The Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius
Chicago
The sung Mass remains the normative form in the Roman Rite. Indeed, the Second Vatican Council said that singing the Mass texts ennobles the liturgy. But this is not the norm in most parishes. Many celebrants are ready to take the step, but they need training in the finer details and the confidence to begin.