(LifeSiteNews) — On this episode of The John Henry Westen Show, Father David Nix joins me to discuss how the Roman Canon, or Eucharistic Prayer I, can be traced back to Our Lord, unlike the other three prayers priests can choose to say in the Novus Ordo, as well as the differences between the old rite sacraments and exorcisms compared to their Novus Ordo counterparts.
I began the episode by asking Fr. Nix to explain something he had said at a recent conference that I was stunned to hear: the first Eucharistic prayer in the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), which is now only one option among four in the Novus Ordo Mass, was given to the apostles by Christ Himself. Nix first disclaimed that he was not judging anyone who attends the New Mass, but he added that it was important to understand the history of the development of the liturgy and debunk some modern myths.
“There’s a myth that’s taught in a lot of the seminaries these days that the new seven sacraments are actually older than the medieval sacraments, and that kind of makes sense, because what they’ll say is, ‘The early Church was very simple, and therefore we’ve returned to the early Church in the simplicity of the Novus Ordo, in extreme unction with fewer words, in confession with a shorter absolution,'” he said. “The problem is we have a lot of evidence from the early Church all the way through the infallible Council of Trent that it’s just not true.”
I asked Fr. Nix about the part of the Council of Trent referencing the first Eucharistic prayer. After briefly defining the Novus Ordo Mass, the priest dove into the Eucharistic prayers of that Mass compared to the one in the TLM. Nix explained that the New Mass has four Eucharistic prayers when the words of consecration are prayed.
“That’s where the Eucharist is confected, the bread becomes the Body, and the wine becomes the Blood. And the priest gets to choose between four [Eucharistic prayers], and number two, and number three, and number four are very short. Number two is especially short; that’s unfortunately what most priests choose,” he said, adding that Eucharistic Prayer I, also known as the Roman Canon, is the only option in the TLM.
Fr. Nix then read the specific quote from the Council of Trent Session 22, Chapter 4:
And whereas it beseemeth, that holy things be administered in a holy manner, and of all holy things, this sacrifice is the most holy; to the end that it might be worthily and reverently offered and received, the Catholic Church instituted many years ago, the sacred Canon, so pure from every error, that nothing is contained therein which does not in the highest degree savor of a certain holiness and piety and raise up unto God, the minds of those that offer. For it is composed, out of the very words of the Lord, the traditions of the apostles, and the pious institutions also of holy pontiffs. [Emphasis added.]
“When it says right there it’s ‘the very words of the Lord,’ what it’s saying is Eucharistic Prayer I, or the Roman Canon, which is the only basically skeleton to the Traditional Latin Mass, that is the words of Our Lord given to the apostles,” the priest said.
“Notice the four things [from Trent]: the words of Our Lord, traditions of the apostles, and the third is pious institutions of holy pontiffs. So, that last one, ‘pious institutions,’ that’s just the gloss, that’s just a little bit of the addition. But the body of the Roman Canon, the center of that, is the very words of Our Lord and the traditions of the apostles.”
Diving deeper, the priest explained that in the early days of the Church, the Mass wasn’t a 20-minute experience as we typically see at a Novus Ordo, except perhaps in the catacombs if the Romans were coming and the priest would have to pray the Mass faster.
“But the main difference between, say, Eucharistic Prayer I and Eucharistic Prayer II is simply the sheer amount of words. In the Eucharistic Prayer II, you go from the Sanctus to the consecration in about less than 30 seconds; that’s not an exaggeration. It’s something about the dew falling, and then you go from the ‘Holy, Holy, Holy,’ to the consecration, often after a boring 20-minute sermon,” Nix said.
“Where in the Roman Canon, there are many prayers calling on the saints, naming the name of the pontiff, and then it’s beautiful because you’re also praying … for all of those who are apostolic in the faith, all of those who are Catholic in the faith, and all of those who are orthodox in the faith,” he continued. “And you’re linking the faith of all the prayers you’re going to say to the living and the saints. … Who you’re linking the faith to right there is the pope and all of the apostolic, catholic, and orthodox people alive right then. I don’t think you have that in Eucharistic Prayer II, III, or IV.”
Watch or listen to my full interview to hear more from Father David Nix.
The John-Henry Westen Show is available by video on the show’s YouTube channel and right here on my LifeSite blog.
It is also available in audio format on platforms such as Spotify, Soundcloud, and Acast. We are awaiting approval for iTunes and Google Play as well. To subscribe to the audio version on various channels, visit the Acast webpage here.
We’ve created a special email list for the show so that we can notify you every week when we post a new episode. Please sign up now by clicking here. You can also subscribe to the YouTube channel, and you’ll be notified by YouTube when there is new content.
You can send me feedback, or ideas for show topics by emailing [email protected].
