The ‘Signs of the Times’ Have Passed Them By
In The New York Daily News (July 12) there was a short column by the Rev. Brian Jordan, an immigration counselor assigned to the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Manhattan. He comments on Pope Benedict XVI’s motu proprio, titled Summorum Pontificum (issued July 7), liberating the Tridentine Latin Mass.
Fr. Jordan says, “There continues to be no national pastoral need to celebrate the Mass in Latin other than to satisfy a small — albeit very influential — number of disgruntled Catholics…. And, more importantly, who really needs the Mass in Latin?… A certain few…. We must continue to be called to progression, not regression.”
Contrary to Fr. Jordan, we stated in our October 2007 Editorial that “we believe this is big news for the entire Church…. Catholic Tradition is the key to the future strength of the Church.”
Fr. Jordan says, “I myself have abided by the spirit of Vatican II to respond to ‘the signs of the times.'” He repeats the phrase “signs of the times” two more times.
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Contrary to Francis’s vision, cutting off the old liturgy does not promote unity in the Church. Vatican II did not envision excising the old branch from the tree.
The Church is the mother of Christendom. She encompasses all modes of life, from economy to culture, from politics to family relations.
The rubrics, gestures, and symbols that are employed serve a fundamental and very useful purpose: they reveal and give witness to the faith we profess.