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SCOTLAND

THE TRADITIONAL MASS
The Traditional Latin Mass has been celebrated in a relatively unchanged form
throughout nearly all of the Church's history and it is this Mass which Father
Frederick Faber once described as "the most beautiful thing this side of
heaven". Although the Mass has, at various times, incurred minor modifications
to its liturgy, notably in 1570 and 1962, Pope Paul VI promulgated a new missal
in 1969, which came into effect in 1970. This new rite of Mass was radically
different from the traditional Latin Mass which preceded it. Between 1970 and
1984 the Vatican restricted the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass. In
October 1984, following the issue of the indult
Quattuor Abhinc Annos
from Pope John Paul II, permission to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass
became at the discretion of the local bishop. In July 1988 Pope John Paul II
issued the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei Adflicta which, among
other things, required that respect be shown for the feelings of all those who
are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition. The status of the Traditional
Latin Mass changed again on 14 September 2007 as a result of Pope Benedict XVI's
motu proprio Summorum Pontificum.

From the Catechism of Saint Robert
Bellarmine:-
The Mass is a compendium of the whole life of
Christ!
- The introit of the
Mass signifies the desire which the Holy Fathers had for the coming of
Christ.
- The Kyrie eleison
signifies the words of these Patriarchs and Prophets who sought from God the
desired coming of the Messiah at such a time.
- The Gloria in
excelsis means the Lord’s Birth.
- The subsequent
Oratio or Collect signifies His presentation and offering in the Temple. The
Epistle, customarily said at the left side of the altar (right to us)
signifies the preaching of St. John the Baptist, inviting men to Christ.
- The Graduel, or
response to the Epistle, signifies the Life arising from the preaching of
St. John. The Gospel, customarily read at the right side of the altar (our
left), signifies the preaching of Our Lord whereby we move from the left to
the right, ie. from temporal things to eternal ones, and from sin to grace,
where the Lights are carried and the incense is enkindled and the Holy
Gospel illumines the whole world, and it was filled with the sweet odour of
Divine glory.
- The Creed
signifies the conversion of the Holy Apostles and of the other disciples of
Christ.
- The Secret, which
immediately follows the Creed, signifies the secret plots of the Jews
against Christ.
- The Preface, sung
in a high voice, customarily ends with the Hosanna in excelsis, and it
signifies the solemn entry of Christ into Jerusalem which He made on Palm
Sunday. The Canon which comes after the Preface, represents the Passion of
our Lord.
- The Elevation of
the host teaches that Christ was Lifted up on the Cross.
- The Paternoster,
the prayer of Christ hanging on the cross.
- The fraction of
the Host shows the wound that was made upon Him by the lance.
- The Angus Dei
signifies the weeping of Mary when Christ was taken down from the cross.
- The Communion of
the priest signifies the burial of Christ.
- The chant which
follows with great joy shows the Lord’s Resurrection.
- The Ite Missa est,
signifies the Ascension.
- The Final Blessing
of the priest relates the coming of the Holy Spirit.
- The Last Gospel
that is read at the end of Mass, signifies the preaching of the Holy
Apostles when, filled with the Holy Spirit, they began to preach the Gospel
through the whole world, and began the conversion of the nations.
