Of all of the changes wrought in the Catholic Church by the Second Vatican Council, none was felt more deeply by many Catholics than the suspension of the Roman Rite Missa of Pope St. Pius V, popularly called the Tridentine Mass.

The ceremony of the Tridentine Mass used throughout the Church, was codified in the sixteenth century at the Council of Trent. Described as the "most beautiful thing this side of heaven," this rite was the means by which innumerable souls in the church achieved sanctity. Actually, although codifiedby Pope St. Pius V, the Tridentine Mass can be traced far further into historical past than just the 16^th century for parts of it can be traced to apostolic times. The early Apostles, and others priests down through the centuries have, in response to the command of Jesus Christ to consecrated bread and wineand change it into His body and blood, met with Christians and repeated the words of Christ unchanged - words that form the nucleus of the present Mass.

Although the Tridentine Mass has a ridged structure this was not imposed by mandate of any ecclesiastical authority but slowly evolved over the centuries. Certain prayers and actions of the Mass were introduced to reflect the faith of the people or to refute those who were attempting to interject certain heretical beliefs in the Church. When Pope St. Pius V codified the Mass (Tridentine) he did not introduce a new rite but put his blessing on the predominate Latin Ceremony that already existed, and stressed that further changes were not to be tolerated. By this time Latin ceased to be used in everyday life and so the meaning of the words became constant and unchanging, thereby preserving the accuracy of the Liturgy. As Pope Pius XII stated: "The use of the Latin language prevailing in a great part of the Church affords at once an imposing sign of unity and an effective safeguard against the corruption of true doctrine."

For Catholics, the Tridentine Masses served as a sanctuary in life's swirling currents, as consoling to the kings as to the paupers. The small cold chapels of cloistered monks echoed in quiet prayers or Gregorian chants the Latin Mass as proudly as did the magnificent cathedrals. Even though most Catholics no longer understood Latin, the language of the Mass, they followed along by means of a missal, which was a book that contained in the vernacular language of the people the prayers of the Mass.

Suddenly at Vatican II, for the first time in Church history, the Tridentine Mass was denied the people and the Novus Ordo imposed upon them. Thousands left the Church in bitterness and grief. Many stayed and adapted, or tried to adapt, to the New Mass. Many laity and priests, for various reasons, found that they could not accept the Novus Ordo and "private chapels" sprung up throughout the world. Although these Catholics accepted the validity of the Novus Ordo they recognized, what was to them, glaring deficiencies in the new rite that was now imposed upon them. They therefore requested that the Tridentine Mass be officially permitted to continue. To make their protest visible some of the traditionalist in the Church organized pilgrimages. The most notable one, and one predominately composed of younger Catholics, was the Chartres Pilgrimage. This took, and still, takes place during the Vigil of Pentecost. For the past 16 years thousands of traditional Catholics have gathered at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in France to begin a three-day, 70 mile pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Chartres. This pilgrimage follows the same route that Christians made centuries ago between the two Cathedrals in reparation for their personal sins. By the time the "modern" pilgrims reach Chartres the ranks of the faithful swell from 15,000 to 30,000. Whether the skies spew drenching rain or bathed in brilliant sunshine the trek takes place. The suffering these people offer for the restoration of the Mass of their forefathers is vivid proof of the vitality of the Mass that was the focus of the spiritual life of the Catholic Church for centuries, but denied the faithful by Vatican II. Year after year these hardy pilgrims have made the long walk only to find themselves locked out of the cathedral and refused by Church authorities to pray the Mass of their ancestors. Kneeling in the rain they offered the Traditional Mass, not in the Cathedral designed for it's service, but in the muddy empty fields surrounding the church. In recent years the persistence of the pilgrims has paid off and they have been allowed to have the Tridentine Mass within the hallowed walls of Chartres Cathedral. For at least one day of the year Gregorian chants once again echo in this magnificent church.

In response to the Chartres pilgrimage and request of numerous laymen and priests throughout the world Pope John Paul II granted, in October 1984, an indult in which he requested that the bishops of the world permit the Tridentine Mass in their dioceses for Catholics who desired it.

In a more recent Apostolic Letter, Ecclesia Dei (July 2, 1988) the Pope expanded his earlier directives. In Ecclesia Dei he wrote:

"To all those Catholic faithful who feel attached to some previous liturgical disciplinary forms of the Latin tradition, I wish to manifest my will to facilitate their ecclesial communion by means of the necessary measures to guarantee respect for their rightful aspirations. In this matter I ask support of the bishops and all of those engaged in the pastoral ministry in the Church.

. . . respect must everywhere be shown for the feelings of those who are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition by a wide and generous application of the directives already issued some time ago by the Apostolic See, for the use of the Roman Missal."

As a result of this Apostolic Letter, Bishop G. Barnes, of the San Bernardino Diocese, has provided a church where the Tridentine Mass is offered every Sunday. The bishop chose San Secondo D'Asti Church in Guasti for the location. Fr, Marx, the pastor at San Secondo D'Asti Church, has been most generous in offering the church and other facilities to those who love and are attached to the Tridentine Mass. Due to previously scheduled Novus Ordo Masses in the Church the only hour available for the Tridentine Mass is 10:30 a.m.

Some Catholics today may be reluctant to attend the Tridentine Mass because they believe they must be able to understand Latin to benefit from the Mass. This is not so! The Latin Mass had been offered century after century for millions, if not billions of Catholics, who did not understand Latin. What those unfamiliar with the Latin Mass do not realize is that Missals have been printed to provide the Latin prayers along side the vernacular translations. Therefore the beautiful and ancient prayers of the Tridentine Mass are easily silently prayed by the congregation in union with the priest.

At San Secondo D'Asti Church a booklet Missal is handed to each person who attends the Tridentine Mass so that, after a few Sundays of practice, he or she can easily follow the rubrics of the "Tridentine Rite."

What is surprising is that the congregation at San Secondo D'Asti Church includes many young single and young married Catholics. This is surprising since none of these young people were raised in the Tridentine rite and became acquainted with it either accidentally or by studying the history of the Mass. They appreciate the customs handed down to them by their forefathers; such as kneeling for communion, receiving it only from a priest or deacon, the moments of silence for private prayer, the decorum and reverence of the entire ceremony, and the emphasis on the adoration of God. However, these outward reverent signs are but a reflection of the deeper spiritual benefits of the Mass.

Surely, these young people, as well as the young men who are now entering Traditional Latin Seminaries in overwhelming numbers, will be the members of the Church who will help preserve this most ancient of Christian religious rites.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Una Voce, it is an International lay organization that was formed to promote the Tridentine Mass. It's headquarters is in Rome. You are invited to attend our meetings. The meetings are held on the last Sunday of each month immediately following the 10:30 Tridentine Mass.

If you would like more information about Una Voce you can contact Ed Kristy at 909-463-4606. We welcome you to our next meeting.

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