The Mass of "Our Time", Indeed

Cdl. Roche, currently running the Congregation for Worship in Rome, has oft stated that the Mass of Paul VI (Novus Ordo) is 'the Mass of our time,'--or words to that effect.

Here, Kwasniewski rams that right down his throat.

...Roche tells us every chance he gets that the “current Mass” boasts a “richer selection of prayers and Scripture readings.” True, the missal of Paul VI draws its euchology or prayer texts from a wider variety of sources in ancient manuscripts. What people like Roche do not want to tell you is that Bugnini’s Consilium heavily redacted most of the texts it borrowed, altering their message, removing material deemed “difficult” or “irrelevant” for “modern man.” What you end up with in the missal is not a plethora of ancient sources but a carefully filtered and rewritten 1960s “take” on them....

 ...In keeping with this policy, only 13% of the prayers of the old missal, once the backbone of Roman Catholic worship, found their way into the new missal unchanged. The scholars with their scissors and paste were busy rejecting or rewriting most of what they came upon. The editing process was ruthless, removing most of the references to “detachment from the temporal and desire for the eternal; the Kingship of Christ over the world and society; the battle against heresy and schism, the conversion of non-believers, the necessity of the return to the Catholic Church and genuine truth; merits, miracles, and apparitions of the saints; God’s wrath for sin and the possibility of eternal damnation” (Michael Fiedrowicz, Traditional Mass, 239, with ample notes there). Gone are most references to the struggle against our sinful fallen nature, offenses against the Divine Majesty, wounds of the soul, worthy repentance, remorse, and reparation; the need for grace to do any good acts; the mystery of predestination; the relics of saints; the subordination of the secular sphere to the sacred; the snares of the enemy; victory over hostile forces, including the pagans; beautiful orations specifically addressed to Jesus Christ as God....

Those of us who regularly read "Fr.Z's" column 'What does the prayer really say?' knew that excruciatingly well.  Aside from the very significant theological differences noted above, the English 'translation' (such as it is) displayed a poverty of linguistic art normally associated with high-school sophomore essays which was deliberate:  the elite "translators" think very little of you pew-sitters.  (That's parallel to the 'elite' of the Great Reset--which should give any Catholic great pause.)

But the Cardinal has one thing right:  'our time' is one of immense, suffocating narcissism.  Few have avoided it, and that's just as true of clergy, Bishops, and Cardinals as it is of the laity.