Letters
Michael Puljic comments on views of the Catholic Church
Dear Christis,
I would like to clarify and (cheekily!) correct a few points made in Gino D’Oca’s last two articles, Mystici Corporis Christi and The Liturgical Movement and Mediator Dei, regarding the teaching of the Catholic Church.
Starting with the first of the two articles, I would like to put forward a clarification regarding how the Catholic Church views Protestants.
The Church is indeed the “mystical body of Christ”, with Christ Himself as the head, and baptism incorporates people into that mystical body (see also the Council of Florence (1438–1445), quoted in Christifideles Laici (Pope John Paul II), para. 12). Hence the Second Vatican Council (1962–65) states that Protestants are also part of Christ’s mystical body. However, Protestants are also seen (as Gino points out) as “separated brethren”. Brethren, because we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and should treat each other as such. Separated, because Protestants are not in full unity/communion with the Catholic Church (and therefore cannot receive communion at Mass and vice versa). Hence, thinking in terms of a body, Protestants are like teeth that have been knocked out in an accident: they are still part of the body, yet they are not “connected” to it. Teeth are in fact alive, and can be kept in a good state by being immersed in milk to increase the chance of them being reincorporated into the body. Similarly, whilst Protestants can exist on their own like teeth in milk, the hope is that one day we will all be re-united. Much prayer and work is needed.
Now to address part of the second article (The Liturgical Movement…). Gino speaks of the Mass as a sacrifice and of “recreating Calvary on our altars”.
In the letter to the Hebrews it states (Hebrews 10:12) that Christ has offered “one single sacrifice for sins” on the cross, verse 18 finishing the long section with “When all sins have been forgiven, there can be no more sin offerings”. The sacrifice on Calvary transcends time and space. Therefore the Mass is not a separate sacrifice, as some mistakenly believe it to be. (I also ought to point out that Jesus does not die at every Mass.) It is one and the same sacrifice, hence Christ’s words at the Last Supper (the first Mass): “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28; see also Mark 14:24 and Luke 22:20). At Mass the sacrifice on Calvary is made present, and as part of Christ’s redemptive act on the cross, which is a great mystery of faith, Christ, acting through the priest, offers Himself to the Father on our behalf. At Mass we are brought spiritually to the foot of the cross. It is a mystery beyond our full comprehension.
This finally leads me to Gino’s claim in his second article that following the Second Vatican Council the Mass was “Protestantised”. We need to be careful because there are parts of the Mass that can be changed and those that cannot. Saying Mass in the language of the people (vernacular) rather than Latin is something that can be changed, and indeed no doubt St. Peter celebrated Mass in the vernacular. However, removing the sacrificial element from the Mass is something that cannot be done, and was not done following the Second Vatican Council. The “Canon”/Eucharistic Prayer of the “old”/ traditional Mass can be found, word-forword, in the current form of Mass as “Eucharistic Prayer I” with the addition of the four different responses by the people regarding “the mystery of faith”. Eucharistic Prayer II is the only one not to mention the word “sacrifice”, yet it still refers to offering the Son to the Father as a sacrifice where it says:
“In memory of His death and resurrection, we offer you, Father, this life-giving bread, this saving cup.”
The new rite of Mass is just as valid as the old.
Michael Puljic