Peter A. Kwasniewski
The Once and Futrure Roman Rite: Returning to the Traditional Latin Liturgy after Seventy Years of Exile
2022 TAN Books, Gastonia, NC
It’s no exaggeration to say that Peter Kwasniewski is the most energetic advocate of the traditional Roman Rite in America today. We have covered his many lectures and conferences on the site since 2015; he is a familiar presence on the internet. The books he has written or edited just since 2018 have been remarkable both in quantity and quality. In addition to all this, Dr. Kwasniewski is active as a church musician. Thus, his knowledge of the liturgy, both in the West and the East, is based in large part upon his own practical experience.
The Once and Future Roman Rite is the most complete summary of Kwasniewski’s thought and advocacy on behalf of the traditional mass, for which he makes a passionate case. Dr. Kwasniewski’s tone can be intense, engaged, colloquial, even argumentative. He does not pretend to be a disinterested observer. But in this regard is St. Augustine’s City of God any different ?
The author first sets forth tradition as the governing norm in Catholicism. Tradition is not static but is, as the Newman explained, always involved in a process of organic development. Dr. Kwasniewski argues, however that the Novus Ordo can in no way be viewed as an organic development of the Roman rite. Its content has been largely changed and the basic features of the rite have been altered as well. Dr. Kwasniewski further argues that the traditional Latin mass and the divine liturgy of the East are much more closely related to each other then either of them is to the Novus Ordo. Kwasniewski profoundly disagrees with Pope Benedict’s “two forms of the Roman rite” solution of Summorum Pontificum – if that is to be understood not just as a political solution but as a statement of liturgical theory.
Kwasniewski finds support for his conclusions in a series of key addresses by Pope Paul VI between 1965 and 1969. Our author quotes them in full instead of taking selective passages to support foreordained conclusions. It is very clear from these documents that Paul VI viewed the new mass as superseding the old, that it represented a revolutionary change, and that even the earliest so-called abuses (such as universal use of the vernacular or the discarding of Gregorian chant)were intended and modeled by Paul VI himself. This completely undermines the theories of conservative Catholics and other “reform of the reform” advocates who wish to dissever the Novus Ordo as it was created and imposed in 1969 from the conciliar documents themselves or from the post-conciliar magisterium of the popes.
Dr. Kwasniewski proceeds to a definition of a liturgical rite. He finds that the Novus Ordo is in no way the same as the Roman rite because: the Roman canon is not used, mass is not offered in Latin, the liturgical texts are not recited or chanted, most of the prayers of the Latin mass have been eliminated or extensively reworked and reordered, a multi-year lectionary has been introduced, the calendar of the saints has been a severely reduced, the traditional offertory has been eliminated, mass is not said ad Orientem, the liturgy is celebrated in a sequential manner, and the communions of the priest and of the faithful are mingled. Note that this description fits the Novus Ordo as it is usually celebrated, not unusual adaptations in favor of Catholic tradition such as we find in the Oratory churches in the UK.
Indeed, for Kwasniewski the presence (or absence) of the Roman canon is decisive. A memorable chapter of this book is the author’s detailed analysis of the text of the canon and the theological meanings of each sentence. Kwasniewski argues that this ancient text inculcates a whole series of theological truths that are downplayed or even absent in the Novus Ordo, e.g., that the Church’s unity and her other perfections are gifts for which we must pray to God; that the sacrifice of the mass is offered for Catholics who hold the true faith and they are its beneficiaries; that faith and devotion are prerequisites for participating in the mass; that we are protected by the intercession of the saints; and that there is divine predestination (only not in the Calvinist sense!). And the optional version of the Roman canon found in the Novus Ordo – which is rarely used – has been altered in significant respects. Dr. Kwasniewski devotes a whole chapter to the fate of the mysterium fidei (the mystery of faith) in the Novus Ordo.
Dr. Kwasniewski believes the liturgical aberrations of today did not start with Vatican II and Paul VI but with the revision of the Holy Week ceremonies under Pius XII. For it was then, after 1948, that the great themes of the liturgical revolution first received concrete application. It was with the changes to the Triduum that the modus operandi of centralized liturgical renewal was first consolidated.
In this book, depending on the subject, Dr. Kwasniewski takes up the role of a theologian, a liturgist, a historian, or a spiritual advisor. Parallel to his main arguments, he touches on a multitude of other issues and facts. In so doing, Dr. Kwasniewski is not afraid to clear up errors and misinterpretations that have gained currency among traditionalists – even if they support their cause. This book is a gold mine of facts and arguments for the traditionalist seeking to better understand his own position and to respond to his adversaries.
The overall conclusion that Dr. Kwasniewski draws should be obvious: to adhere fully to the traditional Latin mass. In a sense, the pontificate of Francis has been liberating. The Catholic traditionalist no longer needs to feel any residual obligation to be a politician – the pope has clearly rejected that possibility. Thus, the only option remaining is to “do the right thing,” without any fear or hesitation. But wasn’t this conclusion already foreshadowed in the Heresy of Formlessness by Martin Mosebach (who has written a superb foreword to The Once and Future Roman Rite). When I reviewed Heresy almost twenty years ago what struck me was the universal application of the author’s arguments. The traditional mass was no longer merely an aesthetic pleasure, or a concession sought for by a small minority – it was a vital rule of faith than should be extended to the whole Church. So it is with Peter Kwasniewski. The traditional liturgy needs to be restored in full to the Church so that the Faith may flourish once again.