The Catacombs

Taken from The Recusant - Issue 29 [September 2015]



Is it permitted to take part in the New Mass?
Even if the New Mass is valid, it displeases God in so far as it is Ecumenical and Protestant. Besides that, it represents a danger for the faith in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It must therefore be rejected. Whoever understands the problem of the New Mass must no longer assist at it, because he puts voluntarily his faith in danger, and, at the same time, encourages others to do the same in appearing to give his assent to the reforms.


How can a valid Mass displease God?
Even a sacrilegious Mass celebrated by an apostate priest to mock Christ can be valid. It is however evident that it offends God, and it would not be permitted to take part in it. In the same way, the Mass of a Greek Schismatic (valid and celebrated according a venerable rite) displeases God insofar as it is celebrated in opposition to Rome and to the unique Church of Christ.


Can one attend the New Mass however when it is celebrated in a worthy and pious manner by a Catholic priest with a faith that is absolutely certain?
It is not the celebrant who is called into question, but the rite that he is using. It is unfortunately a fact that the new rite has given very many Catholics a false notion of the Mass, which is closer to that of the protestant last supper than that of the Holy Sacrifice. The new Mass is one of the principal sources of the current crises of the faith. It is therefore imperative that we distance ourselves from it.


Can one assist at the new Mass in certain circumstances?
We must apply to the new Mass the same rules we use for the attendance at a non-Catholic ceremony. One can be present for family or professional reasons, but one behaves passively, and especially does not receive Holy Communion. 


What can one do when it is not possible to assist every Sunday a traditional Mass?
Whoever does not have the possibility to assist at a traditional Mass is excused from the Sunday obligation. The precept of the Sunday obligation only obliges in the case of a true Catholic Mass. One must however, in this case strive to assist at a traditional Mass at least regular intervals. What’s more, even if one is thus dispensed from assistance at Mass (which is a commandment of the Church), one is not thus so for the commandment of God (“Thou shalt sanctify the Day of the Lord”). One must replace, by one manner or another this Mass which one cannot have, with for example the reading of the text in one’s missal, and uniting the intention, during the time of the Mass to a Mass celebrated elsewhere, and in practicing a spiritual communion. 

[Editor’s Postscript - With regard to that last point, care must be taken not to be misled by the way it is phrased. We do not believe that the author means to suggest that any Mass will do, so long as it is “Traditional”. It would surely be better to avoid any public Mass, even a Traditional Mass, where attendance might mean a compromise on matters concerning the Faith. This would include Ecclesia Dei Masses and those of the SSPX.  -Recusant Ed.]

The following is a question and answer from the TIA website [slightly adapted, emphasis mine].

While there are some strong differences between TIA and ourselves on some issues regarding the Faith, it is the stance of The Catacombs to happily republish articles that in and of themselves, repeat the Catholic Faith and Catholic Truth.

The following is such an issue:




June 2, 2022 question.

Dear Mr. Guimarães,

May the peace of the Eucharistic Jesus and the Imaculata be with you.

We thank God for your response to the below email in the version of TIA Mail which was received on 01 June. Your help is much appreciated.

This should not be the case, but I am struggling with the information provided. It is clear and understandable and it confirms what I have been questioning for the last several years regarding the Novus Ordo, even before we started to attend the Traditional Latin Mass.

What I struggle with is the fact that I was raised after Vatican II so my exposure to Mass had always been the Novus Ordo. My wife and I have been raising our children under the Novus Ordo. I struggle also with this information because under the Novus Ordo I have come to love the Eucharistic Jesus and have come to love the Catholic faith more. It is difficult to understand how I have come to grow in the faith and desire the truth while still attending the Novus Ordo. Also, this information will not be very well accepted by some in my immediate family. Please pray for me that God may give my the rights words and the right time to share all the information that He has given me.

My desire is to glorify God, save my soul, and provide the opportunity for my family to save their souls. At this moments, this feels like a very heavy cross that God is calling me to carry.

You are in my prayers. May you have a blessed day.

In Christ's love,

M.G.

Quis ut Deus

______________________


The Editor responds:

Dear Mr. M.G.,

Thank you for including me in your prayers. I appreciate it very much.

If I understand your perplexity well, it would be summarized in this way: How could I receive graces – such as an increase in my Eucharistic devotion – if the Novus Ordo Mass is wrong?

Grace can be given to a person in any situation, no matter how wrong it may be: at a Novus Ordo Mass, a Protestant service or even a Black Mass.

Many Protestants report that they got fed up with their heretical services, converted and looked for a Catholic Traditional Mass. We see that Divine Providence was giving them graces while they were attending those services.

In his novel La Bas (Down There), the famous Belgian writer Joris-Karl Huysmann described his attendance at a Black Mass said by an apostate priest and followed by a Satanic orgy, which included the explicit profanation of consecrated Hosts. Notwithstanding, in that period of his life he was receiving graces to convert and to be the good Catholic he later became.

These graces do not reveal that the Protestant services or the Black Masses were the source of the graces received by those attending them. The graces were given to them despite their attendance at those bad ceremonies.

So also, your Eucharistic devotion could increase when you were attending the Novus Ordo Mass, despite the fact that this Mass was made to decrease the role of the Holy Eucharist in the mind of Catholics.


[See the 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia description of the French author who attended these Black Masses and later converted here. - The Catacombs]