RORATE CÆLI: Roman Rite

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“Innumerable miracles”, reduced to none: Saint Nicholas in the Traditional and Modern Roman Missals

Today is the feast day of Saint Nicholas, and his collect in the traditional Roman Missal alludes to his Greek title of "wonderworker", and the "innumerable miracles" he worked during his life:

Deus, qui beátum Nicoláum Pontíficem,
innúmeris decorásti miráculis:
tríbue, quǽsumus;
ut eius méritis et précibus
a gehénnæ incéndiis liberémur. (CO 1463)

O God, who made the holy Bishop Nicholas
renowned for innumerable miracles,
grant, we beseech you,
that by his merits and prayers
we may be saved from the fires of hell.

“Poetry is perhaps a little too much for our rather practical spirit”: Saint Alphonsus and the odore suavitatis

Today in the traditional calendar of the Roman Rite is the feast of Saint Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori, the founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), and Doctor of the Church. [1] In the Secret prayer for Saint Alphonsus (addressed to the Son), one will notice a lovely poetic echo of the offertory prayers from just a few moments before in the Mass (addressed to the Father): [2]

Order of Mass: Offérimus tibi, Dómine, cálicem salutáris, tuam deprecántes cleméntiam: ut in conspéctu divínæ maiestátis tuæ, pro nostra et totíus mundi salúte, cum odóre suavitátis ascéndat. Amen.

odore suavitatis'>Read more »

Apostolic Letter Desiderio desideravi: An Admission of Failure

Contemporary results of liturgical formation in the Novus Ordo, February 2022 (Holy Family, Inverness, Archdiocese of Chicago, USA)

I do not see how it is possible to say that one recognizes the validity of the Council — though it amazes me that a Catholic might presume not to do so — and at the same time not accept the liturgical reform born out of Sacrosanctum Concilium... (Desiderio desideravi, 31)

So writes Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter Desiderio desideravi, released today, on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, which acts as yet another indicator - if any more were needed! - that the generous, forward-looking vision of Benedict XVI has been replaced with a miserly and insular ignorance masquerading as "listening, dialogue and participation." Remarkably, on the same day he reaffirms Traditionis custodes, the Pope had this to say in his morning homily:

Desiderio desideravi: An Admission of Failure'>Read more »

Ember Days in the Post-Vatican II Liturgical Reforms: An Accidental Elimination?

This week in the traditional Roman Rite, we have one of its most ancient celebrations, the Ember Days. The Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of the first week of Lent are one of the four times during the liturgical year (hence the Latin title Quattuor Temporum) specially set apart by the Church for fasting and abstinence, as well as prayer for farming and harvests. The Ember Days also have a traditional association with the conferral of Holy Orders. Their antiquity is attested by Pope St Leo the Great in, among other places, one of his Pentecost sermons:

To the present solemnity, dearly beloved, we must also add that devotion, so that we might celebrate with holy observance the fast which conforms to the apostolic tradition. This ought to be numbered among the great gifts of the Holy Spirit, that, against the desires of the flesh and the snares of the devil, the protection of the fasts has been set up for us. By these we may overcome all temptations with the help of God. Let us fast on Wednesday and Friday. On Saturday, however, let us celebrate the vigil with the blessed apostle Peter as advocate for our prayers, that we might deserve to obtain the mercy of God in all things through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and with the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen. (Sermon 76)

The Prayers for Saint Luke in the Traditional and Reformed Roman Missals

As today is the feast of St Luke the Evangelist in both the traditional and reformed Roman calendars, it seemed worthwhile to compare the prayers assigned to St Luke in the traditional Missal with those of the post-Vatican II Missal. One might have thought, given the very long-standing veneration given to the Evangelists, that their prayers would not have been changed in the course of the liturgical reform, but unfortunately this is very far from the case.

Firstly, it should be noted that the collect, secret and postcommunion assigned for St Luke in the traditional Roman Rite have a long history of being used together: the Corpus orationum (CO) [1] tells us that thirty-five extant liturgical manuscripts, ranging from the 8th to 16th centuries, keep these orations together as a set. Of course, the reformed Roman Rite not only splits up this Mass formulary, but discards one prayer entirely and only keeps the other two in an edited fashion (one minor, one major).

Miniature of Saint Luke from the Grandes Heures of Anne of Brittany
(1503–1508) by Jean Bourdichon

"All the Elements of the Roman Rite"?
Dispelling the Myths of the Post-Vatican II Liturgical Reforms

Over the last decade in particular, the figure of 17% has been quoted as the proportion of prayers that survived intact from the traditional Roman Missal into the novus ordo of Paul VI. [1] However, in the wake of Traditionis custodes, with renewed attention being given to the comparison of ‘forms’ of the Roman Rite as well as the canonical and theological controversy over what counts as its lex orandi, [2] it seemed opportune to build on some of my previous efforts and revisit this percentage through a careful and exhaustive analysis of all the orations. By doing this, not only can we arrive at a definitive number, but we can also now have all the relevant data freely and easily accessible in the public domain, so that everyone can see which prayers were preserved, edited or discarded. [3]

The result of this work not only vindicates the labours of those such as the late Rev Fr Anthony Cekada, but it also shows the figure to be too generous. For the actual number, unbelievably, is only 13%.

The Orations of the Traditional Roman Rite in the Reformed Roman Rite:

Lists and Texts of the Identical and Edited Prayers (PDF download)

Yes, a mere 13% (165) of the 1,273 prayers of the usus antiquior [4] found their way unchanged into the reformed Missal of Paul VI. Another 24.1% (307) were edited in some way before their inclusion. A further 16.2% (206) were centonised with other prayers - effectively combining parts of multiple prayers together into a new oration. Fully 52.6% (669) of the prayers in the traditional Roman Rite have been excised from the modern liturgy, memory-holed by the Consilium ad exsequendam. [5] How has this happened? And how did so few notice at the time?

Figure 1: Orations of the 1951/1962 Missal in the 1970/2008 Missal
(duplicates excluded)

Dispelling the Myths of the Post-Vatican II Liturgical Reforms'>Read more »

The Prayers for the Feast of St Lawrence in the Post-Vatican II Liturgical Reforms

The martyrdom of St Lawrence, from the late 13th-century frescoes
on the walls of San Lorenzo ‘in Palatio’ at the Lateran

Today's feast of St Lawrence gives us yet another example of the differences, both great and small, between the prayers of the traditional and reformed Roman Rites. [1] The collect in the 1962 Missale Romanum (CO 960) reads as follows:

CO 960: Da nobis, quǽsumus, omnípotens Deus: vitiórum nostrórum flammas exstínguere; qui beáto Lauréntio tribuísti tormentórum suórum incéndia superáre.

(Grant us, we pray, almighty God, to extinguish the flames of our sins, just as you granted Saint Lawrence to overcome the fires of his tortures.)

This collect, well attested in forty-nine extant manuscripts from the eight century onwards, is universally used for St Lawrence, and almost always on his feast day itself (a handful of manuscripts use this oration on the vigil or octave). The only textual variation in this prayer is the addition of martyri after Laurentio, in five manuscripts.

On the other hand, the collect in the post-Vatican II Missale Romanum is a new composition, centonised from three pre-existing sources (two collects and one preface):

One obvious difference between the two Eastertides of the usus antiquior and usus recentior is the size of each of them. The 1962 Missal has proper Masses for each Sunday after Easter, as well as each day in the Octave of Easter and for the Ascension. In the 2008 Missal, however, all the Sundays and weekdays within Eastertide have proper Masses assigned to them, with collects unique to each day. [1]

Given this, one might have thought that the corpus of Eastertide orations in the older Missal would have been carried over directly into the newer Missal, and supplemented with other Eastertide prayers from the vast repository of the Church’s liturgical tradition. However, as seems to be the case with so much of the post-Vatican II reforms, this is at best only half-true. Some prayers have been edited in ways completely unknown in their manuscript history; others with a long tradition of use in particular times of the liturgical year have been moved to where they have never been used before; still others have been freely combined with one or more other prayers to create novel and original texts.

On the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Novus Ordo: Dr. Kwasniewski’s Lecture “Beyond ‘Smells and Bells’: Why We Need the Objective Content of the Usus Antiquior”

In his Apostolic Constitution Missale Romanum (April 3, 1969), Pope Paul VI specified that the Novus Ordo Missae would go into effect on the First Sunday of Advent that year — November 30, exactly fifty years ago. In my recent Minneapolis lecture, written with an eye to this important anniversary, I argue that the Novus Ordo Missae constitutes a rupture with fundamental elements of all liturgies of apostolic derivation, and that, as a consequence, it violates the Church’s solemn obligation to receive, cherish, guard, and pass on the fruits of liturgical development. Since this development is, in fact, a major way in which the Holy Spirit leads the Church “into the fullness of truth” over the ages, as Christ promised, so great a “sin against the Holy Spirit” cannot fail to have enormous negative consequences, as indeed the past five decades have verified. Nor is it possible to bridge the abyss between old and new by applying cosmetics or the drapery of elegant clothing, because the problem is on the order of a genetic mutation, or damage to internal organs. The profound and permanent solution is to maintain continuity with the living liturgical tradition found in the usus antiquior.

The full text of the lecture, with notes, is given below; the recording of the talk may be found either on YouTube or at SoundCloud.

Beyond “Smells and Bells”: Why We Need the Objective Content of the Usus Antiquior

Peter A. Kwasniewski

Minneapolis, Minnesota

November 13, 2019

Novus Ordo: Dr. Kwasniewski’s Lecture “Beyond ‘Smells and Bells’: Why We Need the Objective Content of the Usus Antiquior”'>Read more »

Now available from Loreto Publications: Don Pietro Leone’s “The Destruction of the Roman Rite”

By Don Pietro Leone

I write this brief note to avert readers of the publication of the definitive English version of the book thus entitled by Loreto Publications, now available on ‘Amazon’. Readers may remember having read it in installments on Rorate Caeli some years ago.

Kwasniewski and Lamont on the Roman Rite — Double Lecture at St. Mary's, Norwalk, on Tuesday, June 27

As we near the tenth anniversary of the promulgation of Summorum Pontificum, the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny is pleased to announce a special event at St. Mary's Church in Norwalk, Connecticut, on Tuesday, June 27, starting a 5:30 pm, namely, traditional Vespers, a lecture by me and a lecture by Dr. John Lamont, a Q&A period, and a reception with refreshments.

In addition, Angelico Press will be on hand for the launch of my new book: Noble Beauty, Transcendent Holiness: Why the Modern Age Needs the Mass of Ages. Copies will be available for purchase at a 20% discount. I'm looking forward to meeting the attendees and will be happy to sign or inscribe a book for anyone interested.

Exactly! First Things compares Novus Ordo to the Protestant Revolt

For those paying attention, First Things has had a lot to say lately, so much of it timely and important. In the following piece, that we find fitting to bring to our readers' attention, not only do they rightly compare the Novus Ordo to the Protestant Revolt, but credit the saving of the Roman Rite to Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

RETURN TO FORM

A CALL FOR THE RESTORATION OF THE ROMAN RITE

The times in which a new form is born are extremely rare in the history of mankind. Great forms are characterized by their ability to outlive the age in which they emerge and to pursue their path through all history’s hiatuses and upheavals. The Greek column with its Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian capitals is such a form, as is the Greek tragedy with its invention of dialogue that still lives on in the silliest soap opera. The Greeks regarded tradition itself as a precious object; it was tradition that created legitimacy. Among the Greeks, tradition stood under collective protection. The violation of tradition was called tyrannis—tyranny is the act of violence that damages a traditional form that has been handed down.One form that has effortlessly overleaped the constraints of the ages is the Holy Mass of the Roman Church, the parts of which grew organically over centuries and were finally united at the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century. It was then that the missal of the Roman pope, which since late antiquity had never succumbed to heretical attack, was prescribed for universal use by Catholic Christendom throughout the West. If one considers the course of human history, it is nothing short of remarkable that the Roman Rite has survived the most violent catastrophes unaltered.

First Things compares Novus Ordo to the Protestant Revolt'>Read more »

The Omission of “Difficult” Psalms and the Spreading-Thin of the Psalter

The Jefferson Bible, from which the arch-rationalist clipped what he disliked

(This article is being republished by popular demand, in revised form.)

PART OF THE WORK of reassessing the liturgical reform and correcting or rejecting its mistakes consists in making known, as widely as possible, the damage and destruction that was visited upon the unbroken liturgical tradition of the Catholic Church. It has been my experience that far too many Catholics today have simply no idea how much violence was done to the liturgy in the 1960s and 1970s — and that, when they do find out about it, they are rightly and properly scandalized, stirred up with a righteous indignation, and conscious of a new desire to know how they can reconnect with the great tradition that was and is ours as Catholics.

Cardinal Sarah: "[New] Rite of Baptism doesn't even mention word 'Faith' - there's a big problem right there." | "Don't deceive people with 'mercy' without repentance."

CARDINAL SARAH: DON’T DECEIVE PEOPLE WITH THE WORD “MERCY” GOD FORGIVES SINS ONLY IF WE REPENT OF THEM

Matteo Matzuzzi

Il Timone

May 30, 2015

“If the Eucharist is considered [simply] a meal we share in and that nobody can be excluded from it, then the sense of Mystery is lost”. So says Cardinal Robert Sarah, the new Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, in an intervention given at the John Paul II Pontifical Institute for the Studies on Marriage and the Family, at his presentation of: “The Family – a work in progress”, a compilation of essays published by Cantagalli, in view of the upcoming Synod in October. A compilation intent on stimulating a discussion which touches on the “hot issues” of homosexuality, sexuality, divorce, in-vitro-fertilization, euthanasia and celibacy. Three volumes make up the collection, two of which are written by professors of the John Paul II Pontifical Institute: “The Eucharist and divorce: does the doctrine change?” by José Granados (who has also been nominated consultant to the Synod of Bishops) and “Different Families: imperfect expressions of the same ideal?” by Stephan Kampowski. The third, “What does Jesus think of the divorced and remarried?” is the work of Luis Sanchez Navarro, Ordinary of the New Testament at San Damaso University in Madrid. Il Foglio had anticipated ample extracts of Professors Granados and Sanchez’s books on April 15th of this year.

Notre-Dame d'Amiens in the 19th century

It is not a common event for a blog to publish a full translation of a great text of a major literary figure over one hundred years after its original publication, being able to claim it as a new event. Yet, this is just such a case.

On August 16, 1904, Marcel Proust had a major article published in the French paper of record, Le Figaro, called "La mort des cathédrales" (The Death of Cathedrals). The debate was raging in French political circles as Atheists and Freemasons, against the largely majoritarian sentiment of the population, pushed through Parliament the unilateral abrogation of the Napoleonic Concordat and the complete secularization of the French Republic (what would become the 1905 "Law of Separation" - for the appropriate Catholic view on the issues involved and its aftermath, read Saint Pius X's encyclicals on the issue, Vehementer Nos, Gravissimo officii, Une fois encore - and Pius XI's 1924 encyclical Maximam gravissimamque settling the matter). An important part of the debate was what exactly would happen to the upkeep and life of the highest point of French art and civilization, the Cathedrals.

Proust, an Agnostic in practice, but who never denied or stopped admiring his own Catholic roots and upbringing, could not stand in silence. Cathedrals as mere monuments, without the Traditional Catholic rites for which they were built, did not make any sense. What he could not know, the poor man, whose passion for the traditions and rites of the Church is palpable in the article, is that the Church herself would destroy and wipe out from most Cathedrals the venerable rites for which they were created. But, slowly and surely, they will return. As in Chartres in last year's ordinations for a traditional Fraternity. As in the occasional traditional Mass (such as the simple Mass celebrated each Sunday in that first Gothic jewel, Noyon). They will return.

Our deepest thanks to Prof. John Pepino for the remarkable translation of a landmark article, made especially for Rorate.

***

THE DEATH OF CATHEDRALS

Marcel Proust

Le Figaro

August 16, 1904

A Consequence Of the Briand Bill

On the Separation of Church and State

Suppose for a moment that Catholicism had been dead for centuries, that the traditions of its worship had been lost. Only the unspeaking and forlorn cathedrals remain; they have become unintelligible yet remain admirable.

Then suppose that one day scholars manage, on the basis of documentary evidence, to reconstitute the ceremonies that used to be celebrated in them, for which men had built them, which were their proper meaning and life, and without which they were now no more than a dead letter; and suppose that for one hour artists, beguiled by the dream of briefly giving back life to those great and now silent vessels, wished to restore the mysterious drama that once took place there amid chants and scents—in a word, that they were undertaking to do what the Félibres have done for ancient tragedies in the theatre of Orange.[1]

Notre-Dame de Chartres

Is there any government with the slightest concern for France’s artistic past that would not liberally subsidize so magnificent an undertaking? Do you not think that it would do what it did in the case of Roman ruins for these cathedrals, which are probably the highest, and unquestionably the most original expression of French genius? After all, one may well prefer the literature of other peoples to ours, prefer their music to ours, their painting and sculpture to ours, but it is in France that Gothic architecture created its first and most perfect masterpieces. All other countries have done is to imitate our religious architecture without ever matching it.

And so, to return to my hypothesis, here come scholars who have been able to rediscover the cathedrals’ lost meaning. Sculptures and stained-glass windows recover their significance, a mysterious odor once again wafts in the temple, a sacred drama is performed, and the cathedral starts to sing once more. When the government underwrites this resurrection, it is more in the right than when it underwrites the performances in the theaters of Orange, of the Opéra-Comique, and of the Opéra, for Catholic ceremonies have an historical, social, artistic, and musical interest whose beauty alone surpasses all that any artist has ever dreamed, and which Wagner alone was ever able to come close to, in Parsifal—and that by imitation.

THE DEATH OF CATHEDRALS - and the Rites for which they were built
- by Marcel Proust (full English translation)'>Read more »

The Newman Lecture in Melbourne:
- Found, not Manufactured: Newman, the Roman Rite, and Cranmer's Prayer Book

The Inaugural Blessed John Henry Newman Lecture was delivered by Dr Stephen McInerney (Senior Lecturer in Literature, Campion College).

***

“Marvellous Disclosures”:

John Henry Newman’s Anglican Reflections on the Liturgy(1)

Delivered at the Parish of Blessed John Henry Newman, Melbourne

12th October, 2014

[High Mass for All Souls at the Birmingham Oratory - Entrance]

Over fifty years ago, as he reflected on the legacy of John Henry Newman, Fr Frank O’Malley asked: “What was the spirit of this man who is with us a constant reference and a standard and a sign?” By way of an answer, he pointed to something that few Newman scholars before or since have sought to highlight:

the spirit of Newman moved within the spirit of the liturgy, the liturgy thought of in its most significant sense as the very rhythm of Christian existence, stirred and centred by the life of Christ. Newman absorbed the liturgical character of existence. He lived by the liturgy. (2)

- Found, not Manufactured: Newman, the Roman Rite, and Cranmer's Prayer Book'>Read more »

"Dear Father": Answers for Troubled Times
II - In these times, can I be critical or skeptical of hierarchy pronouncements?

"Dear Father,

"Dear Father": Answers for Troubled Times
II - In these times, can I be critical or skeptical of hierarchy pronouncements?'>Read more »

Keeping Secrets at Mass

There are times (usually in the summer) when it happens that no one else is available to serve the traditional Latin Mass and I have the opportunity to don cassock and surplice. It is hard to describe my feelings on these occasions. Normally my perch is either up in the choir loft directing the schola or down in the pews following along in a missal. I do not often have the opportunity to see the Mass “close up” like this, and it always moves me—not to mention the fact that kneeling for so long on marble, keeping my back straight, is a good penance.

One thing that struck me this summer as I served a number of Masses is the immense beauty of the priest saying the “Secret” prayer silently—and since this is an example of a practice that liturgists in the middle of the 20th century assumed ought to be changed (and so it was changed in the Novus Ordo), it seems worthwhile to ponder it more carefully, lest we make the same mistake with some future edition of the traditional Missale Romanum.

At first, it bothered me that, whenever I was serving, I could not know what the priest was praying in the Secret, unless I remembered to look it up before or after Mass. But as time went on, the thick silence of that particular prayer, right before the great offering of the sacrifice (and at a moment when the Novus Ordo has habituated me to expect to hear something), made me realize with a new vividness how the Mass is a prayer directed to God first and foremost, to such an extent that my hearing and following of this prayer is secondary. The priest was not addressing it to me, but to God—and as I experienced this orientation of the prayer, it humbled me, focused me, purified me of some subtle remnant of self-interest that would take offense at not understanding everything. “It is good to hide the secret of a king” (Tobias 12:7).

Now, I know some of you are thinking: “Wait a minute, St. Thomas Aquinas says that we worship God not for His sake, since He gains nothing from our prayers, but for our sake, that we may be perfected by ordering ourselves to Him. And so it is crucial that we understand what we are saying; otherwise, why not have the entire Mass be a completely silent act of adoration culminating in communion? Surely, things are said aloud in order to be grasped by us, since God has no need of our words.” Not surprisingly, I agree with this point; I would never say that we should have no idea of what is going on or what is being prayed in the liturgy. This is why much of the Mass, whether Solemn, High, or Low, is sung or spoken aloud, and this is why, in an age of near-universal literacy, daily missals are an excellent aid. My own spiritual life has been immensely nourished by years of following along in my missal, which, together with the singing, the postures and gestures, and simply watching and listening, has been an incomparable apprenticeship to the sacred liturgy, the Church’s school of prayer par excellence.

Paul V Borghese, the great pontiff whose name and surname lord over the façade of the Vatican Basilica and Saint Peter's Square, promulgated at the Liberian Basilica, exactly 400 years ago, on June 17, 1614, the last of the great books that form the basic liturgical texts of our Roman Rite.

In chronological order of publication, they are the following:

1568 - July 9 : Breviarum Romanum [Saint Pius V, Apostolic Constitution "Quod a Nobis]

1570 - July 14 : Missale Romanum [Saint Pius V, Apostolic Constitution "Quo primum tempore"]

1596 - February 10 : Pontificale Romanum [Clement VIII, Apostolic Constitution "Ex quo in Ecclesia Dei"]

1600 - July 14 : Cæremoniale Episcoporum [Clement VIII, Apostolic Constitution "Cum novissime"]

1614 - June 17 : Rituale Romanum [Paul V, Apostolic Constitution "Apostolicae Sedi"]

In all cases, let us remember that these were revised (in the case of most) or new books, as demanded by the Fathers of the Council of Trent, but their content was not new - they should rather be considered compilations of what the best liturgical experts of the time considered the purest and most venerable texts of the Rite. Their contents were in most cases indistinguishable from the best works preceding the great Council: there was never any question of mere invention, or pseudo-archaeological repristination, much less ideological considerations, other than the need to preserve, by authentic repristination, the utmost orthodoxy of the formulas following a century of religious upheaval in Europe.

The Ritual itself is the ultimate compilation: its purpose was to put together in a single volume all the Sacramental orders and other relevant blessings and services celebrated by a priest that are not included in the official texts present in the Missal or the Breviary - though it does include several also published there, being as it is the essential convenient reference book for priests. It is for that reason that it looks less precise than the other liturgical volumes, but that is an essential aspect of its variegated nature. And, indeed, it is for that reason that all priests used to have at least a miniature version of it almost always at hand - and traditional priests still do: one never knows when the Rituale will be needed.

For a final liturgical law note, remember that the entire traditional Roman Ritual, in its last editio typica (1952), as all liturgical books of the Roman Rite in place in 1962, is fully in force for use by all priests of the Latin Church (cf. Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum and its application Instruction Universae Ecclesiae, n. 35: "The use of the Pontificale Romanum, the Rituale Romanum, as well as the Cæremoniale Episcoporum in effect in 1962, is permitted, in keeping with n. 28 of this Instruction, and always respecting n. 31 of the same Instruction.") This must always remain the case: as Benedict XVI taught, truly ad perpetuam rei memoriam..., "What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful" - "it behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place."

______________________________________

APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION

"Apostolicæ Sedi"

OF POPE PAUL VI

on the Edition of the Roman Ritual

POPE PAUL V

ad perpetuam rei memoriam

Called by divine munificence, and not through any personal merit, to occupy the Apostolic See, we deem it our duty to watch with full earnestness over all that concerns the decorum of God's house. And such constant vigilance on our part prompts us to take suitable measures so that, as the Apostle admonishes, everything in divine worship may function decently and orderly. Particularly is this true in regard to the administration of the sacraments of the Church of God; here especially our office obliges us to provide that a religious observance be given those rites and ceremonies established by apostolic tradition and the decrees of the fathers.

Pope Pius V, our saintly predecessor, fully conscious of his obligation which is now ours, labored with pastoral indefatigability to publish first the Roman Breviary, then the Roman Missal--both having been worked out with much labor and zealous care--so that there might be, God willing, a uniform manner of chanting and praying the Church's liturgy. He did this not only to restore careful observance of the sacred rites in celebrating the Holy Sacrifice and chanting the Divine Office, but also for the purpose of promoting the bond of Catholic unity in faith and in government, under the visible authority of the Roman Pontiff, the successor of St. Peter.

With similar wisdom our predecessor of blessed memory, Clement VIII, followed in the footsteps of Pius V. He not only gave to the bishops and lesser prelates of the Church the carefully revised Pontifical; but he also made a systematic compilation of many other ceremonies wont to be used in cathedrals and lesser churches, embodied in the Ceremonial which he promulgated. With all this accomplished there remained to be published, by authority of the Holy See, a volume of the Ritual which would contain the genuine and sacred rites of the Catholic Church, those which must be observed by shepherds of souls in the administration of the sacraments and in other ecclesiastical functions.

Amidst the numerous existing rituals it would rank as the official and authorized one, by whose standard the officiants could fulfill their priestly office unhesitatingly, and with uniformity and precision. This matter had been urged a long time ago. But since the work of the General Councils (whose acts by God's help have been published both in the Greek and Latin tongues) is at present hindered, we considered it our obligation to prosecute the business in right good earnest.

In order that the task proceed correctly and orderly as it should, we assigned it to certain of our venerable brethren among the cardinals, outstanding for their piety, learning, and sagacity. Aided by the counsel of scholars and through comparison with ancient as well as other available rituals--in particular that erudite work of Julius Antonius of blessed memory, Cardinal with title of St. Severina, a man of singular piety, zeal, and learning--the commission of cardinals has succeeded in compiling a ritual of desired brevity, after mature deliberation and with the help of God.

Now as we see lying before us this well-arranged assortment of received and approved rites of the Catholic Church, we deem it fitting that it be published for the universal utility of God's Church, under the title of "Roman Ritual." Therefore, we exhort in the Lord the venerable brothers patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, and their vicars, beloved sons of ours, as well as abbots, all pastors wherever they labor, and all others concerned, sons of the Roman Church, that in future they use during the sacred functions this Ritual, made official by the authority of the same Church, mother and mistress of all; and that in a matter so important as this they observe inviolately whatever the Catholic Church with her ancient and approved traditions has laid down.

Given at Rome, at St. Mary Major, under the fisherman's seal, on June 17, 1614, in the tenth year of Our Pontificate.

PAULUS PP. V

[Thanks to Schola Sainte-Cécile for the anniversary reminder; Sancta Missa for the translation above, slightly edited.]