Dr Taylor Marshall: I’d like to maybe close up and talk about liturgy. It seems to me that, especially in the United States, but globally, in the past 12 to 24 months, it was reported by the Fraternity of St Peter, Institute of Christ the King, Society of St Pius X, traditional parishes, traditional orders, a massive increase, some places two to three times growth just in the past year or two. It seems that we are seeing a renaissance or revival of traditional liturgy. I mean, it’s been happening since Lefebvre and others in the 1970s, but I think this crisis, when you see the worship of Pachamama, you see the Abu Dhabi document confusion coming from Rome, people think, okay, we need to get reconnected to our traditional roots. As you said at the beginning of our interview, Athanasius, the Bible hadn’t been canonized yet. He didn’t always have the support of the Pope, but he knew he was rooted in the tradition that came before him from the apostles. So that same idea is now, and it’s having a liturgical manifestation. So can you speak to your own devotion to the traditional Latin Mass, the traditional seven sacraments, and the traditional breviary, and then, if you have time, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the pre-1955 Holy Week.
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes, first, as you mentioned, this is a sign of hope in the midst of darkness, this increase of the traditional Mass. I consider them small lights in the night that light the night. Every new place of traditional Mass is a new light in the night. The night becomes brighter. First, to my mind comes the phrase of St Paul, The more the sin increases, the more grace increases. You mentioned the increasing confusion with Abu Dhabi, with Pachamama, cult, and so on. The more the Lord increases in the Church, the graces of the true tradition, the traditional Masses, are also increasing. In my experience in the last year in other parts of the world, the traditional Mass is increasing among young people, and this is proof that the Holy Ghost is working in the Church. For me, this is at the beginning of a clear springtime of the Church. I call all these places and good people who love the tradition, especially the spiritual snowdrops coming in the midst of winter, announcing the springtime.
Of course, I started to celebrate the Latin Mass, the traditional Mass, suddenly after the motu proprio of Pope Benedict in 2007. My first feeling after celebrating my first Mass was that I was only an instrument. I had never felt so much that I am a servant, even a slave in a good sense, that in this Mass, I had no freedom of my own. I only fulfilled the prescriptions of another, ultimately of Christ, because the liturgy is from the Church. It is not mine, and this was so spiritually healthy. I wish every priest, bishop, and the Pope could experience this, to celebrate the Mass in this spirit. Then the objective richness of the prayers of the order is incomparable with the new Mass. This richness, the gestures, the reflections, the bowing, and the signs of the cross lift our minds to God. More sursum corda, this really takes us on high.
Even in extreme situations, like priests in the gulags and concentration camps who had only 10 minutes to celebrate Mass, they wanted to celebrate to have Jesus in the Eucharist. In those times, they only did the essential parts of the consecration and could not perform all the gestures. Because of necessity, there was no other choice. The Mass was valid and pleasing to God. But this is not an argument that now we should celebrate a reduced Mass in 10 minutes with minimal gestures. In some way, I compare the new Mass to such a reduced form. The gestures of veneration and the content of the prayers are so rich in the traditional Mass. It lifts us into the supernatural and stresses the essence of the Mass, which is the cross, the sacrifice of the cross. This is the most important aspect.
The same applies to other sacraments. They stress the supernatural, the sacredness, our dependence on God, and the greatness of grace. The new rite has a tendency to be anthropocentric, making the sacraments more intellectual, abstract, and pedagogical, and less focused on the mystery. The old rites stress deep faith before the mystery of God and humility. They are also more connected with the Old Testament. God prepared in the Old Testament, and in the celebrations of the sacraments according to the old rite, there are more elements from the Old Testament, prayers, or allusions.
Regarding the pre-1955 Holy Week rites, it is evident when comparing the pre-1955 and 1955 rites. In my opinion, the reform of 1955 represents a loss of sacredness and organic tradition. The 1955 rites have a tendency to intellectualize the liturgy, which is a slight Protestant influence. The new 1955 rites were fabricated, not growing organically over centuries. The pre-1955 rites stress sublimity, last longer, and allow God more time in the liturgy. Orthodox Christians in the Byzantine rite also have longer Holy Week services and maintain fasting. In my opinion, we should restore similar practices, like fasting. The breviary is very rich, but there was also a sad reform of the breviary under Pope Pius X, which disrupted its richness, pedagogical flow, and harmony, which had been preserved since Gregory the Great and the cursus Romanus.
It is incredible to me that a pope could make such a drastic reform. I see it as an abuse of papal power. I venerate Pope Pius X greatly, but even saints can make errors. The Church will return to the breviary of all times and the Mass of all times. The Church has a good memory and preserves tradition. This is nothing against the holiness of the popes but reflects human prudential errors. Only God is without error. We must be confident that God guides the Church in difficult times. We should accept this in faith, reparation for the sins committed in the world and Church, and implore with humble hearts for renewal, a new generation of holy priests, and strong popes. This will come because the Church is in the hands of God and Our Lady. She conquers the devil and heresies. Let us entrust her with the crisis, praying that Pope Francis may convert and be a true, zealous Vicar of Christ on earth. Let us be good missionaries and continue our Catholic faith with conviction and joy because we know whom we have believed.