OLY MOTHER CHURCH is no stranger to crises; she has seen many throughout her 2,000 history. But this doesn’t matter so long as we stay faithful to JESUS CHRIST and reach Heaven when we die (even if we have to spend some time in Purgatory first). Personally, I believe many of the liturgical “reforms”—especially during in the 1960s and 1970s—were symptomatic of the crisis from which we still suffer. Nobody will try to defend these reforms; the only answer we’re given is silence and apathy. 1
We have already documented a spine-chilling discovery by Father Valentine Young (d. 2020):
Quick Summary: To summarize, Father Valentine discovered that the Bible passage regarding unworthy reception of Holy Communion was deleted from the Ordinary Form Lectionary—whereas before the Second Vatican Council it was always read on Holy Thursday. Father Valentine wrote a letter to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (or whatever nomenclature was used) back in the 1980s, but they weren’t able to explain why it was deleted.
Another Discovery: It turns out that the Communion Antiphon in the “Extraordinary Form” for the feast of Corpus Christi also warned Catholics never to receive the Holy Eucharist unworthily. If you don’t believe me, you can see for yourself. Before Vatican II, the feast of Corpus Christi was celebrated on Thursday, and still is in the Extraordinary Form. It can also be celebrated on Sunday, as an “external solemnity.” 2
They Deleted It Again! If you look at post-conciliar Lectionary, you will see that, once again, “reformers” eliminated any scriptural passage that might warn Catholics against receiving the Holy Eucharist unworthily. They deleted the traditional Communion Antiphon and substituted others which do not warn against receiving the Holy Eucharist unworthily:
* PDF Download • COMPARISON CHART (Proof)
—This shows that somebody really hated I Corinthians 11:27-29.
A Technicality: Technically, a Catholic could still hear a warning about receiving Holy Communion unworthily if the full Sequence is read. But there are two problems: (1) Most OF parishes use the “short form” of that Sequence, which deletes 85%, so they would not hear the warning after all; (2) The translation for that Sequence in the OF Lectionary is one of the most deplorable, horrific, bowdlerized translations ever perpetrated. You can see how the Ordinary Form Sequence appears in Latin by clicking here—but notice the “short form” practically deletes the entire thing!
On My Hands And Knees: I cannot think of a text which is more beautiful than the LAUDA SION Sequence by Saint Thomas Aquinas. I beg you on my hands and knees to read verses 12-20:
* PDF • “LAUDA SION SALVATOREM” (Vocalist)
—With a literal English translation.
A rehearsal video and nine (9) different organ accompaniments for the LAUDA SION are provided at this link free of charge.
NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:
1 I’m not aware of any serious scholar willing to defend the liturgical changes made after the Second Vatican Council, which were done quite haphazardly. A very close friend of Pope Paul VI, Father Louis Bouyer, begged Pope Paul VI at an absolute minimum to see to it that somebody record the votes being taken by the CONSILIUM—but that did not happen. Another person who gives testimony was Ferdinand Cardinal Antonelli, who wrote: “The Consilium is merely an assembly of people, many of them incompetent, and others well advanced on the road to novelty. The discussions are extremely hurried. Discussions are based on impressions and the voting is chaotic. […] Many of those who have influenced the reform […] have no love, and no veneration of that which has been handed down to us. They begin by despising everything that is actually there.” It would be difficult to find a more knowledgeable person than Cardinal Antonelli, since he was Secretary of the CONSILIUM.
2 By the way, someone has provided interesting information regarding the concept of “external solemnities.” If that’s true, I never knew that!
