The Tridentine Rite...

When I was at Sixth Form College, I had an argument with my RE teacher, a Modernist woman who knew sod all about Liturgy, about the ''Tridentine'' Rite. At the time, my knowledge of the Council of Trent was still embryonic (it still is), but I maintained the argument that ''tridentine'' in fact refers to the Council of Trent. She had claimed that Pope John Paul II's funeral contained many ''Tridentine'' elements - the ''almost exclusive'' (that's what she said) use of Latin, incense etc. I tried to get her to understand that the funeral was in the New Rite, with some typically New Rite peculiarities (which, I am sure, the Orthodox clergy who were present found irksome, as did I); I mentioned lay readers and bidding prayers as an example (I am aware of the presence of ''bidding prayers'' in other liturgies, even some ancient ones, but since I don't see primitiveness as any guarantee of value, I thought it pertinent to say that this anachronistic and semi-liturgical uselessness peculiar to the New Rite). Alas, though, it's hard to win an argument with someone if one's opponent doesn't even know what they're talking about - and simply cannot in humility accept remonstrance. It is a fact, though, that a lot of Catholics are simply unaware of pre-1970 changes to the Missal and Breviary. In the case of some, they have genuinely been misled; others are simply ignorant; others would fain have us think that the '62 Rite is in fact the ''venerable'' Roman Rite (I am naming no names, but I'm sure readers know to whom I especially refer).

To remedy this, Rubricarius of the St Lawrence Press blog has started a new blog called The Tridentine Rite, which is well worth a visit. It is essentially the same as the St Lawrence Press blog, except that it follows the rubrics of the 1568 Breviary and the 1570 Missal, and therefore uses the Julian Kalendar. It is a shame that the commemorations of the Octaves of the Comites Christi during the greater Octave of the Nativity were not made this year, since under the Tridentine rubrics, the Octaves were all of Double rite, and therefore merited commemorations. It is noteworthy that under the 1911-13 changes to the Liturgy under the saintly lunatic Pius X, the Octaves of the Comites Christi were all reduced to Simple rite - a step-forward for later liturgical deform? I guess if you reduce a Feast or an Octave in significance, get rid of a great many etc, you just pave the way for later relativistic ''liturgy.'' The 1962 ''liturgical books'' retained only three Octaves, namely Easter, Pentecost (Octaves of the ''first class'') and Christmas (the Octave of the ''second class''). O with what great violence and contempt the Liturgy was stripped to the bones and done away with! Afterall, what is the New Rite but a pathetic and shadowy medley of half-remembered traditions and mutilated beliefs?