5.12. Isn’t the New Mass still valid and Catholic since it was approved by the Church?
Since the liturgy expresses the Faith (lex orandi, lex credendi), a change in the form of the Mass inevitably leads to a change in belief. The Traditional Latin Mass reflects and safeguards the Catholic Faith, while the New Mass (Novus Ordo Missae) was fabricated by modernists to obscure, distort, or deny essential truths—especially the sacrificial nature of the Mass and the Real Presence. Below is a detailed comparison showing why the New Mass cannot be Catholic and why faithful Catholics must reject it.
Below is a comparison table highlighting the changes, and the disastrous result.
| Category | True Mass (TLM) | Novus Ordo "Mass" | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | Developed organically; codified in 1570 by Pope St. Pius V in Quo Primum, which forbade any future alterations | Created in 1969 by Paul VI & Bugnini | Quo Primum infallibly bound all priests to the Roman Rite. The Novus Ordo’s invention defies this and breaks liturgical continuity. |
| Name | Holy Sacrifice of the Mass | Eucharistic Celebration / Lord’s Supper | Alters focus from sacrifice to communal meal. Mirrors Protestant terminology and theology. |
| Language | Latin (sacred, universal) | Vernacular (local languages) | Latin preserves doctrinal clarity. Vernacular promotes ambiguity, loss of unity, and innovation. |
| Altar Position | Ad orientem (toward God) | Versus populum (toward people) | Shifts focus away from God. Symbolizes man-centered theology, contrary to true worship. |
| Orientation | God-centered worship | Man-centered assembly | Modernist inversion of liturgical purpose: to glorify God, not entertain man. |
| Silence | Silent Canon; sacred stillness | All prayers spoken aloud; minimal silence | Loss of mystery and sacred awe. Liturgy becomes noisy and horizontal in focus. |
| Priest’s Role | Alter Christus offering the sacrifice | Presider over the assembly | Reduces priest to facilitator. Diminishes the sacrificial nature of his office. |
| Offertory Prayers | Emphasize sacrifice, sin, and unworthiness | Jewish-style meal blessings | Removes language of propitiation. Aligns dangerously with Protestant heresies. |
| Canon / Eucharistic Prayer | Roman Canon only (unchanged for centuries) | Multiple optional Eucharistic Prayers | Invented texts lack traditional theology and obscure the sacrificial nature of the Mass. |
| Words of Consecration | “For many” (*pro multis*) | “For all” (*pro omnibus*) | Alters form of the sacrament. Implies universal salvation, condemned by the Church. |
| Transubstantiation | Clearly affirmed and emphasized | Ambiguous and casual phrasing | Weakens belief in the Real Presence. Contributes to widespread Eucharistic disbelief. |
| Communion | Kneeling, on tongue, by priest only | Standing, in hand, by laypeople | Disrespectful. Undermines reverence and facilitates sacrilege and profanation. |
| Music | Gregorian chant, sacred polyphony | Contemporary music, guitars, applause | Violates sacred music norms. Profanes the liturgy with secular emotionalism. |
| Liturgical Calendar | Traditional feasts, Ember Days, Septuagesima | Modernized calendar; many feasts removed | Breaks continuity with tradition. Erases penitential and historical seasons. |
| Altar | Stone altar with relics, separate from congregation | Table-style setup, often bare and central | Destroys altar-sacrifice symbolism. Resembles Protestant communion tables. |
| Gestures of Reverence | Genuflections, multiple signs of the cross | Minimal gestures; casual posture | External reverence fosters internal faith. Its loss leads to desacralization. |
| Lay Participation | Interior union with the priest | External roles: readers, EMHCs, etc. | Misinterprets “participation.” Reduces faithful to activists, not adorers. |
| Sacrificial Theology | True propitiatory Sacrifice of Calvary | Memorial meal or symbolic remembrance | Denies core Catholic dogma; matches Protestant heresies condemned by Trent. |
| Doctrine Expressed | Clear Catholic theology throughout | Ecumenical ambiguity and doctrinal vagueness | Allows heretical interpretations. Masks the faith under inclusive language. |
| Fruits | Vocations, conversions, reverence, belief | Collapse in belief, vocations, and reverence | “By their fruits…” (Matt. 7:16). The Novus Ordo yields spiritual decay. |
| Validity | Valid and Catholic | Doubtful or invalid | Altered form and intention cast serious doubt on the sacrament’s validity. |
Summary:
“The Novus Ordo Missae… represents a striking departure from the Catholic theology of the Mass… It has every possibility of satisfying the most modernist of Protestants.”
The True Mass (Traditional Latin Mass) is the holy, apostolic, and propitiatory sacrifice instituted by Christ and handed down through the Church.
The Novus Ordo “Mass” is a man-made invention, incorporating Protestant and modernist elements, tampering with sacramental form, and leading souls away from the truth.