Dear Father Angelo,

First of all, I thank you for the valuable and very useful service you offer through your website. Thanks be to God, I discovered your website a few years ago, and many times, when in doubt about faith-related issues, I always found in your answers a steady and strong support. They allowed me to understand and value things I was previously unaware of, and to restore my peace and be strengthened in my faith in Jesus Christ.

The reason I decided to contact you is about the celebration of the Mass in the Old Rite, the so-called “vetus ordo” Mass. My question is: given the current state of affairs and thanks to the motu proprio “traditionis custodes” of July 16, 2021, promulgated by Pope Francis, is it possible to partake of Holy Mass in this form on Sundays as well (to fulfil the Sunday Mass obligation), or would this be a form of “disobedience” to the provisions of Pope Francis’ motu proprio? I discovered that in Rome, the Mass in the ancient rite is celebrated by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, which is in full communion with the Church, having been established with the approval of John Paul II. I don’t know if you have already answered this question before, but I saw on the website that there is an answer from 2014, before the motu proprio, and then an answer from 2019, which spoke of the Mass in the Old Rite; however, it was celebrated by a priest of the Fraternity of St. Pius X.

I’m asking this question because a few days ago I felt the desire to partake of this ancient form of the Holy Mass. I would also like to add that I have no adverse judgment whatsoever regarding the Mass in the New Rite, which is the only Mass I have ever attended and whose liturgical beauty I acknowledge, and whose boundless salvific value I firmly believe in by virtue of the actual sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who in every Mass gives himself totally and freely to us as a gift of his neverending merciful love. Furthermore, I have no desire to leave the communion with the Church, something that I’m scared even just to think about, because outside the Church of Jesus Christ and without Jesus there is no hope for salvation and of finding a deeper meaning to one’s existence and complete fulfillment in life. With Jesus, the whole of life acquires a different flavor, indeed, only with Jesus can one actually live a true life. Without Him, one is lost, self-deceived, and everything seems futile and pointless.

Thanks be to God (all eternity will not be enough for me to thank Him), after having lived my youth in a lukewarm and uninterested way with respect to all that is related to faith and the Church, in recent years I have drawn closer to the Church more consciously through Mary, to whom, in a difficult time I had during my university years, I entrusted myself completely with an act of “consecration” according to Montfort. Since then, I began to recite the Holy Rosary daily and attend Mass on both Sundays and weekdays, as my university commitments before and my current work commitments allowed.

I currently work as an engineer in a company, but for a few years now, with the help of a wonderful priest, I have been questioning myself about God’s will and the possibility of following Christ in a way of life closer to Him. Therefore, I ask you for a short prayer for this intention as well. Thank you in advance for your time, for the answer you will choose to give me, and for your valuable service. I will also remember you in my prayers.

A.

Priest’s answer

Dear A.,

1. With the senses of full communion with the Church and obedience to the Supreme Pontiff that you expressed in this email, you may freely partake of the Holy Mass celebrated in the ancient rite, also known as Vetus Ordo.

2. All the more so because there is no disdain for the Holy Mass celebrated with the new rite.

This is especially important because you are going to worship in a humble spirit, which is especially pleasing to God and is an essential condition for receiving many graces.

3. Unfortunately, in some circles there is no such attitude, because only the Mass celebrated in the ancient rite is considered valid; as if the Lord, who said he would be with us until the end of the age (cf. Mt 28:20), would allow the Church to go astray on a matter so fundamental for Christian life. In such a way, even without realizing it, one gives a negative judgement on the approval given to the Novus Ordo by holy popes, such as St. Paul VI, Blessed John Paul I, and St. John Paul II.

How could one be pleasing to God while showing such an attitude?

4. However, it would be seriously concerning if one were to partake of the Holy Mass celebrated by priests from the Society of St. Pius X, because they are in a condition of permanent disobedience to the Pope.

We cannot forget what the Holy Spirit said through the prophet Samuel: “Does the Lord so delight in holocausts and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the Lord? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams” (1 Sam 15:22).

5. Although I have never celebrated Holy Mass in the ancient rite and I do not feel any nostalgia for it, I nevertheless acknowledge that, when it is well celebrated, it conveys a special sense of holiness and elevation of what is being celebrated.

I personally remember the Masses for the Dead, as they were called, which I attended as a child. Perhaps it was the parish priest’s way of celebrating or singing, but I had the feeling that it aroused in everyone a sense of silence, of sacred awe, of emotion and elevation that is difficult to describe.

6. I wish to emphasize how your return to a fervent Christian life came about through Mary.

Blessed Alain de la Roche, the great 15th-century Dominican apostle of the Rosary, was right when he emphasized that just as the renewal and redemption of the world began with Our Lady who gave Jesus to the world, so ever and ever, when it comes to authentic renewal, everything begins with the presence of Mary.

It is the path God chose to come into the world, and it is the path God chose (“Son, behold your Mother”) to go to Him. Our Lady is essentially instrumental to Jesus.

7. I gladly join you with my prayer for the investigation you are making together with a good priest to discover whether it is God’s will that you follow Jesus Christ more closely.

I joyfully offer this intention to the charity of our visitors as well.

A single Hail Mary recited with devotion by anyone reading this email has enormous power.

I bless you and wish you all the best.

Father Angelo

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