Posted on 04/07/2020 4:39:56 PM PDT by ebb tide
April 7, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – The Congregation of Divine Worship, invoking the authority delegated to it by Pope Francis, has issued a text for a special votive mass for pandemics that departs from ancient liturgical tradition by omitting any reference to divine wrath and chastisement for sins.
The new “Mass in Time of Pandemic,” was issued in response to popular request during the current COVID-19 crisis. Unlike the Traditional Latin Mass, which includes a “Votive Mass for the Deliverance from Death in Time of Pestilence,” the missal for the “New Mass” of 1970 had no such option until now.
The text of the “Mass in Time of Pandemic” seeks the mercy of God, asking for various forms of aid for those who are suffering from illness, those who have already died, their families, medical staff, and government officials. The traditional “Mass for the Deliverance from Death in Times of Pestilence,” also asks for God’s mercy and aid, but in addition, asks for pardon for sins and speaks of the “scourge of Thy wrath.”
The new text can be found on the Vatican website here (scroll down for English translation). The traditional text translated from Latin to English can be found here.
The differences between the two are striking. The entrance hymn or “introit” of the Traditional Latin Mass (last issued in 1962), implores God to “be mindful . . . of Thy covenant and say to the destroying Angel: Now hold thy hand, and let not the land be made desolate, and destroy not every living soul.”
However, the new version gives a brief entrance antiphon that merely states, “Truly the Lord has borne our infirmities, and he has carried our sorrows.”
The special collect or opening prayer of the traditional version states, “O God, who willest not the death of the sinner but that he should repent: welcome with pardon Thy people’s return to Thee: and so long as they are faithful in Thy service, do Thou in Thy clemency withdraw the scourge of Thy wrath. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son…”
The new version’s collect instead asks for help, but without reference to sin or punishment: “Almighty and eternal God, our refuge in every danger, to whom we turn in our distress; in faith we pray, look with compassion on the afflicted, grant eternal rest to the dead, comfort to mourners, healing to the sick, peace to the dying, strength to healthcare workers, wisdom to our leaders, and the courage to reach out to all in love, so that together we may give glory to your holy name. Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.”
The Mass includes an optional set of Old and New Testament readings which describe suffering, ask for aid and mercy, and invoke the power of God over the natural world. These include, for Reading 1: Lam. 3:17-26 with Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 79, 2ac and 3b 5-7, or Rom. 8:31b-39 with Responsorial Psalm: 122:1-2a, 2bcd, (response: 3a or 2cd), for Reading 2: 2 Cor. 1:3b-4a, and for the Gospel: Mark 4:35-41.
Only one verse of the first reading, from Lamentations 3, briefly mentions “transgression”: “Remember my poverty, and transgression, the wormwood, and the gall. I will be mindful and remember, and my soul shall languish within me.”
Although the new votive Mass was issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship according to the authority delegated to it by Pope Francis, but it is not clear if Pope Francis personally reviewed or approved it.
The decree promulgating it is signed by the congregation’s prefect, Cardinal Robert Sarah, who writes, “The plague that prowls in the darkness you will not fear (cf. Ps 90, 5-6). These words of the psalmist are an invitation to have great faith in the steadfast love of God who never abandons his people in time of trial. In these days, during which the whole world has been gravely stricken by the Covid-19 virus, many requests have come to this Dicastery to be able to celebrate a specific Mass to implore God to bring an end to this pandemic. Therefore this Congregation, in virtue of the faculties granted to it by the Supreme Pontiff FRANCIS, gives permission to celebrate the Mass in Time of Pandemic...”
Cardinal Sarah also simultaneously promulgated an addition to the solemn intercessions for Good Friday that also ask for divine aid and mercy, which reads: “Let us pray also for all those who suffer the consequences of the current pandemic, that God the Father may grant health to the sick, strength to those who care for them, comfort to families and salvation to all the victims who have died.”
“Almighty ever-living God, only support of our human weakness, look with compassion upon the sorrowful condition of your children who suffer because of this pandemic; relieve the pain of the sick, give strength to those who care for them, welcome into your peace those who have died and, throughout this time of tribulation, grant that we may all find comfort in your merciful love. Through Christ our Lord.”
All of the documents can be found at the New Liturgical Movement website, which broke the story in English.
The tradition of attributing outbreaks of disease to the righteous wrath of God against the sinfulness of man is deeply embedded in the Christian tradition.
The traditional Rituale Romanum, for example, contains a “Prayer in time of Epidemics,” which has numerous such references, and even prays that God will bring people to understand that scourges are the result of God’s “indignation.” Priests that celebrate the traditional rite still use that prayer.
“We beseech thee, O Lord, grant us a hearing as we devoutly raise our petitions to thee, and graciously turn away the epidemic of plague which afflicts us; so that mortal hearts may recognize that these scourges proceed from thine indignation and cease only when thou art moved to mercy,” the prayer concludes.
References to the wrath of God with regard to plagues and other natural disasters originate in the Sacred Scriptures, where such events are often seen as punishments of God for the sins of mankind. In general, suffering and death are themselves seen as the consequence of the fall of Adam, the father of mankind, in the Garden of Eden.
The Old Testament is replete with such references. In the Book of Exodus, Egyptians are struck with various plagues and natural disasters for their refusal to release the Hebrews from bondage. In the Book of Samuel, God sends an angel to strike down 70,000 men of Israel with a plague.
In the New Testament, the Book of Revelation describes numerous plagues and disasters, also delivered by angels, sent to mankind as a punishment for their sins.
However, the same Scriptures sometimes portray illness as having another purpose. In the Book of Job, a holy and righteous man is struck by an illness that causes painful sores all over his body as well as numerous other calamities, all of which are to test his faith. In the Gospel of John, chapter 9, Jesus says that a man he heals was born blind not as a punishment for sin, but rather so that God could be glorified through his miraculous healing.
Cardinal Sarah is well-known for his defense of traditional Catholic doctrine as well as for favoring traditional liturgical forms, such as the ad orientem posture of the celebrant of the Mass. However, after several disagreements with Pope Francis earlier in his pontificate, the pontiff changed the composition of the Congregation for Divine Worship, adding liberal cardinals and removing conservative ones. As a result, Sarah appears to have been obstructed in his attempts to restore liturgical traditions in the Church.
Ping
It is a new mass, not a translation of the older one.
Here is a link for the new mass
The link in the article did not work for me.
ENGLISH
IN TIME OF PANDEMIC
This Mass can be celebrated, according to the rubrics given for Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions, on any day except Solemnities, the Sundays of Advent, Lent, and Easter, days within the Octave of Easter, the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day), Ash Wednesday and the days of Holy Week.
Entrance Antiphon Is 53:4
Truly the Lord has borne our infirmities,
and he has carried our sorrows.
Collect
Almighty and eternal God,
our refuge in every danger,
to whom we turn in our distress;
in faith we pray
look with compassion on the afflicted,
grant eternal rest to the dead, comfort to mourners,
healing to the sick, peace to the dying,
strength to healthcare workers, wisdom to our leaders
and the courage to reach out to all in love,
so that together we may give glory to your holy name.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, O Lord, the gifts we offer
in this time of peril.
May they become for us, by your power,
a source of healing and peace.
Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon Mt 11:28
Come to me, all who labour and are burdened,
and I will refresh you, says the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
O God, from whose hand we have received
the medicine of eternal life,
grant that through this sacrament
we may glory in the fullness of heavenly healing.
Through Christ our Lord.
Prayer over the People
O God, protector of all who hope in you,
bless your people, keep them safe,
defend them, prepare them,
that, free from sin and safe from the enemy,
they may persevere always in your love.
Through Christ our Lord.
No reference to God’s wrath for our sins or doing penance for those sins.
Francismercy at its best.
Fire & Brimstone sermons just aren’t “in” anymore.
That’s too bad!
The worst part about this is that Bergoglio is still there calling the shots. How long, O, Lord?
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