The Normative Mass of 1967: Its History and Principles as Applied to the Liturgy of the Mass ([Complete pre-corrected Draft] Doct. Diss., Sant'Anselmo, 2012)

Abstract

Catholics and Orthodox often desire and discuss modern and contemporary liturgical reform. There are many ways to go about such reform. The largest experiment to date occurred from 1964-1967, yet it is little known and little studied. Most scholarship concentrates on the "Novus Ordo Missae" (1969). My doctoral dissertation attempted to undercover the rationale and methodology for the original reform of the Mass that failed to gain general acceptance at a 1967 Synod of Bishops in Rome. The ambiguous results stemming from episcopal votes on the text and celebration of the "Normative Mass" nonetheless allowed it to survive in a modified version as the skeleton upon which the current dominant order of the Latin liturgy (Novus Ordo Missae) is now enfleshed. This investigation serves as a point of reflection to consider the adoption of consistent and a priori values of reform before engaging any practical reform process. Any particular or universal Church that does so will likely minimize mistakes and maximize its possibility of achieving its ends. Finally, this study shows the absolute necessity of a good analogical application of metaphysics (genus, species, specific difference, essential properties) in order first to come to a knowledge of "what specifies a rite" so as to avoid the risk of expunging defining characteristics....the nature of which is often debated among many liturgists and liturgiologists of the various rites of Christendom. I have attached organizational charts for individuals who are interested in the actual function of the reforming groups and their interaction with other quasi-agencies of the reform process.