5.4. What changed in the Mass, and why is it so serious?
The most drastic and far-reaching change after Vatican II was the replacement of the Traditional Latin Mass with the Novus Ordo Missae (“New Order of Mass”) in 1969, by Paul VI. This reform was revolutionary, not evolutionary. The Mass was not simply revised — it was re-engineered, in form and spirit.
A. Key Changes:
The Offertory was replaced with prayers taken from Jewish meal blessings, eliminating references to sacrifice and sin.
The Roman Canon (unchanged for over 1,000 years) was replaced with multiple “Eucharistic Prayers,” some newly invented.
The orientation of the priest was changed to face the people (“versus populum”), emphasizing the community instead of the sacrifice.
The sacred language (Latin) was replaced with the vernacular, often in casual or banal translation.
The laity were given liturgical roles formerly reserved to ordained clergy (e.g., “Eucharistic ministers,” lectors, altar girls).
The architecture and music were desacralized, resembling Protestant services rather than the worship due to God.
These changes obscured the Mass as a propitiatory sacrifice, and instead presented it as a communal meal or memorial. This shift in theology is not accidental — it reflects a modernist reinterpretation of what the Mass is.
B. The Words of Consecration — “For many” vs. “For all”
One of the most serious changes in the New Mass was the alteration of the form of consecration of the chalice. In the Traditional Mass, the priest says:
“Hic est enim calix sanguinis mei... qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum.
This is the chalice of My Blood... which shall be shed for you and for many unto the remission of sins.”
In many vernacular translations of the Novus Ordo, “pro multis” (for many) was deliberately rendered as “for all”:
“...will be poured out for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven.”
Why this change matters:
It is a false translation. “Pro multis” means “for many,” not “for all.” Even Vatican authorities have admitted this is incorrect.
It contradicts Catholic theology.
Christ died for all men sufficiently, but only effectively for the many who are saved.
“For all” implies universal salvation, which is a condemned heresy.
It obscures the Catholic teaching on free will, grace, and the necessity of conversion.
It changes the substance of the sacrament.
According to the Council of Florence and theologians like St. Thomas Aquinas, the form of a sacrament must signify its effect.
By altering the words of Christ and the Church, the sacramental form is compromised, and thus is considered invalid.
It undermines faith in the Real Presence and the Sacrifice.
If the chalice is not validly consecrated, there is no Precious Blood, and the Mass is not a true representation of Calvary.
The faithful are left adoring mere bread and wine — a grave sacrilege.
In short: the change from “for many” to “for all” was not an innocent error, but a deliberate theological distortion. It undermines both the doctrine of Redemption and the validity of the Eucharist, and is one of the most damning proofs that the New Mass is not from the Catholic Church.