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July 20, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – In the wake of Pope Francis’s motu proprio Traditionis Custodes severely restricting the Traditional Latin Mass, which came out last Friday, I would like to share with you a basic take on what has been happening, including the differences between the Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo.

Before beginning, I want to point out that even though I myself attend a reverent Novus Ordo parish, when I have traveled I have had access to the Traditional Latin Mass and have been moved by it and longed for it. In this episode of The John-Henry Westen Show, I point out the changes that the New Mass has brought THAT make the Ancient Mass so attractive to so many young people today.

Prior to the Second Vatican Council and the introduction of the Novus Ordo in 1969, the Catholic Church had  formalized the Mass more than 1,500 years ago at the Council of Trent. This liturgy, also known now as the TLM, the Old Rite, or the Mass of the Ages, was codified by Pope St. Pius V.

But during and shortly after Vatican II, the Catholic liturgy was drastically altered with major changes.

Some of these changes include:

  • the priest no longer faced the tabernacle (ad orientem), but the people

  • the Mass readings, apart from the Gospel, were permitted to be read by laypeople

  • girls were permitted to serve at the altar, rather than only boys

  • the Latin language, and many prayers and chants – which some date back to the apostolic times – were removed

  • a de-emphasis on Hell and Judgement

  • the Mass changed from being regarded as a Sacrifice to being regarded as a meal; a “horizontal” outlook rather than a “vertical” one

  • the faithful in the Old Mass would receive Holy Communion kneeling and on the tongue, rather than standing and in the hand

These are just a few of the changes and differences between the two Masses, not to mention even the many theological significances of the actions of the priest during the TLM. Some of these were totally removed in the Novus Ordo.

Also, the very fact that the Old Mass was celebrated by countless saints throughout the ages for more than a thousand years, and then was drastically changed in the 1960s during a time of revolution against tradition and orthodoxy is a great tragedy for the Church.

All of this has led to the greatest abandonment of the faith in history.

It is up to us a Catholic laity to uphold the faith which was handed down to us from our predecessors and which Jesus Christ Himself gave to us. Please sign and share our petition to Pope Francis that he may reconsider and rescind this unjust and scanadalous order.

And let us all pray, fast, and do penance for the salvation of souls, including our shepherds, during these difficult days in the Church and the world.

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 SpotifySoundcloud, 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].

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John-Henry is the co-founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of LifeSiteNews.com. He and his wife Dianne have eight children and they live in the Ottawa Valley in Ontario, Canada.

He has spoken at conferences and retreats, and appeared on radio and television throughout the world. John-Henry founded the Rome Life Forum, an annual strategy meeting for life, faith and family leaders worldwide. He is a board member of the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family. He is a consultant to Canada’s largest pro-life organization Campaign Life Coalition, and serves on the executive of the Ontario branch of the organization. He has run three times for political office in the province of Ontario representing the Family Coalition Party.

John-Henry earned an MA from the University of Toronto in School and Child Clinical Psychology and an Honours BA from York University in Psychology.