Novus Ordo definition?

[ivanm]

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Mornac, I got the following text from about.com.   Please give me your views on what it is saying and your opinion of Pope Paul VI.
 
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Definition: Novus Ordo Missae literally means the "new order of the Mass" or the "new ordinary of the Mass." Although it is not an official name, it is often used to refer to the Mass promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969 to distinguish it from the Traditional Latin Mass. The Novus Ordo Missae is the ordinary form of the Roman Rite; the Traditional Latin Mass is the extraordinary form. Both are equally valid, and any qualified priest can celebrate either.

Pronunciation: NO-vus OR-doe mees-SAY

[Mornac]

The definition is accurate. The new order of Mass was concocted by a committee in the wake of the disastrous Second Vatican Council (1963-65). It has been a major cause of the collapse of Catholic Faith in many countries where it once flourished. Pope Paul VI was a weak Pope who was easily manipulated by a cabal of dissidents who rose to high places in the Church during the 20th century. I think that by the end of his life, he regretted some of the decisions he made which clearly created the chaos all around him.   

[ivanm]

The definition is accurate. The new order of Mass was concocted by a committee in the wake of the disastrous Second Vatican Council (1963-65). It has been a major cause of the collapse of Catholic Faith in many countries where it once flourished. Pope Paul VI was a weak Pope who was easily manipulated by a cabal of dissidents who rose to high places in the Church during the 20th century. I think that by the end of his life, he regretted some of the decisions he made which clearly created the chaos all around him.   

Does Novus Ordo refer only to the mass, or can it also be associated with or refer to some new way for Catholics to believe in general?

[Mornac]

--There are a whole slew of things that go with the new mass: A different liturgical calendar, the possibility of offering Mass in a vernacular language (which has become the norm), and  laymen reading parts of the Mass just to name a few. The worse part of it all is that the language of their Missal is so imprecise that they twist it to allow for all sorts of insanity to take place during their Masses. Much of what they do is most certainly illicit but Novus ordo bishops are a limp-wristed bunch who are either complicit in the shenanigans or are afraid to exert their authority to correct them.  These same jokers have neglected to properly catechize their flocks to the point that the average Novus ordo Catholic probably couldn’t correctly answer five out of one hundred questions on a simple pre-Novus ordo examination designed for second grade pupils preparing for First Communion.

[ivanm]

Being a former Protestant, I don't understand for sure what "mass" means to a Catholic. Protestants go to "worship service" or to "church" on Sunday morning.  Does the word "mass" refer to an entire worship service, if that is the correct analogy, or is it referring to a rite or part of a more lenghty service?

Protestant worship services usually have an order to them, a prescribed succession of events.  For example, there is usually a call to worship, and forgive me if I don't get some of this correct as it has been a long time since I have gone to church, an opening prayer, announcements, reading of a few lines of scripture, and a sermon by the pastor. Communion is not offered every Sunday but it can be arranged on an individual basis. The altar call is in the order of worship but few if any go forward to do whatever they do at an altar call. Baptists use it frequently and the intent was to go forward, publicly announce your sin, and to receive the blessing of Christ.

A few lines of scripture, the "reading", is usually read by a layman, and often is a lead in to the subject or topic of the sermon that follows.  

Different pastors have different styles of presenting the sermon, and it usually takes the scriptural passages just read and applies them to everyday situations the lay people or congregation face.  One topic might be adultery, another cheating or stealing, and on a more positive note may illustrate the charitable work that Christ advocated for Christians to do, the service part of the religion that I have previously spoken of.  

The Lord's Prayer is normally recited in unison by the pastor and the congregation, and it is sometimes dovetailed into the "pastor's" prayer. It is a standard part of the order of service. Methodist services are usually light hearted and supportive in nature with the intent of uplifting people and giving them strength to face the trials that may lie ahead or to deal with trauma they may have sufferfed in the past week.

Methodists typically have bible study groups, sometimes by gender, sometimes by age, and often mixed in gender and age amongst the adjults.  Youth study groups are supervised by adults but youth typically meet by themselves apart from the adjult groups. However, they do come to the Wednesday.  It was an informal gathering where we ate together and then listened to a brief service by the pastor. This informal setting lets people get to know each other better than  in a formal worship service.

Formal bible study is known as Sunday schoo,l and the informal ones, which often meet in small groups in private homes, are called bible study. I liked the home study groups because the host usually served some good munchies and a beverage.  Oh me, my pagan lust is showing again.  Hee. Hee. It was well intended and was a draw for people to come to the study groups.   I think that meeting in private homes by small groups was symbolic of how the early Christians had to worship in order to avoid persecution by the authorities. So we meant well, did we not?
 
Language wise, everything is in English, and there is litle ritual or ceremony.  Music is accompanied by a piano or an organ. At times some special musical performance may be included in the service such as a solo or even a small combo.  I have trouble getting used to the harsh sounds of a combo in a service.

The last preacher I went to on a regular basis was a real cut up but he could really hold people's attentoin. The little yarns he spun was something to look forward to.  Methodist services are not verbatim from the Bible, which is something you might not approve of, but they are sincere and in good taste.  I don't mean to plug Methodism, but it is the only church I knew or attended on a regular basis so I speak of my experiences with it.

[Mornac]

Unlike Protestant worship services, the Mass is actually a Sacrifice. Bible Protestants are no doubt familiar with the concept since sacrifices are an integral part of the Jewish faith in the Old Testament starting with Cain and Abel and continuing through other notable sacrifices such as that of Noe and Melchisidech, and eventually those made by priests in the Temple at Jerusalem. When the Old Testament came to a close, Christ, at the Last Supper, identified His own Body and Blood as the eternal Sacrifice of the New Testament. His words became an integral part of the Mass. Here is an English translation:

Who, the day before He suffered, took bread into His holy and venerable hands and with His eyes lifted up to heaven, unto Thee, God, His almighty Father, giving thanks to Thee, He blessed, broke, and gave It to His disciples, saying: “Take all of you and eat of this. For this is My Body.” In like manner, after He had supped, taking also this excellent chalice into His holy and venerable hands, also giving thanks to Thee, He blessed and gave It to His disciples, saying: “Take and drink you all of this. For this is the Chalice of My Blood, [of] the new and eternal testament: the mystery of faith: Which shall be shed for you and for many unto the remission of sins. As often as ye shall do these things, ye shall do them in memory of Me.”

The Mass is in fact divided into two parts. The first part is the Mass of the catechumens which consists of several ordinary parts (that is, those unchanging  parts which occur more or less at every Mass) as well as some proper parts (which are readings, psalms, etc. which change from one Mass to the next according to the calendar). At the end of this, the priest may suspend the Mass for a few minutes to give a sermon if there are people present. In most places, the priest will give a sermon on Sundays, but the sermon is not part of the Mass and is not necessary to validate it. 

The second part is the Mass of the Faithful which consists of a profession of Faith (Credo) and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass upon the Altar. This is where the transubstantiation takes place and the priest consumes the Body and Blood of Christ. Afterwards, those in attendance who are properly disposed may also present themselves to receive Communion.

You can find a more complete explanation here.

[ivanm]

Do people have some sort of handout or handbook to guide them through the service?

[Mornac]

Yes, we have a Mass Missal which takes you through the entire Mass and has all of the proper readings for each day of the year. There are many varieties. Some are Sunday Missals, some are Daily Missals, I even have a Missal just for Lent. Typically a Missal will have the Ordinary parts of the Mass written on the left hand page with the corresponding vernacular written of the right hand page. Everything written in red is an explanation of what is happening. Here's an example.

The proper parts of the Mass (those things that change according to the day) are catalogued in either the pages preceding or proceeding the Mass and you look them up as needed. (This isn’t as difficult as it sounds. You just look up the propers for the calendar date or the Sunday of the year and bookmark the page. During Mass you can easily flip to the page when the reading is being said by the priest.) Here are the propers for tomorrow's Mass.

[ivanm]

Thank you.  How much time does a typical Sunday mass require? Are there other activities during or as part of the meeting of the people?
I was thinking of announcements, news items that pertain to the church, and the like.
 
The Catholic churches and their congregations are an important part of community scenes in this river valley, and people of all sects participate when a Catholic congregation has a fund raiser. 

Each fall the local church has a fund raiser to support their school, and they serve a ham loaf supper at the local fairgrounds pavilion.  Over 600 patrons turn out each year.  The little town west of us has an excellent chicken and noodle dinner, and many locals go there to eat. If it were not for the Catholics this place would be even dumpier than it is.

[Mornac]

Thank you.  How much time does a typical Sunday mass require?

--It depends. There is one variety known as a “Low Mass” which is very basic. The priest recites the Mass straight through with all of the corresponding actions. He stops only to give a sermon. We went to a Low Mass this morning and it lasted forty-five minutes. I’ve been to Low Mass on weekdays when there is usually no sermon and one or two less parts of the ordinary. Those can take a little as twenty minutes.

There is also a form called “High Mass” which has a few other things going on like procession and incense. In a sung High Mass a scola chants all of the propers and the ordinary. A solemn High Mass has three priests and involves even more ceremony. At our parish we have several choirs and often one of these will sing at High Mass. They sing the Ordinary and the scola chants the propers. There is also a Pontifical High Mass which is offered by a bishop. Again, even more ceremony. In short, depending on all of these variables, a High Mass can be anywhere from one hour to upwards of two hours.
 

Are there other activities during or as part of the meeting of the people? I was thinking of announcements, news items that pertain to the church, and the like.

 
--Absolutely. A parish is a social conduit. We have a rather large parish with four Sunday Masses starting at 7:30 and running until about 1:30. During that time there is plenty of opportunity to meet with fellow parishioners. We have a large hall in our basement where there are often craft sales, art exhibits, bake sales, speakers, etc. There is also a Café there which is open throughout the day. There is an education program that holds classes on Sunday mornings. Catechism for the kids preparing for Sacraments, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew for anyone interested, Church history, theology, and various ecclesiastical topics that change from one year to the next. Above and beyond that, there are loads of organizations that have specialized concerns: Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, Knights of Columbus, Pro-Life Committees. There’s far too much to describe here. Here, why don’t you take a look around?

The Catholic churches and their congregations are an important part of community scenes in this river valley, and people of all sects participate when a Catholic congregation has a fund raiser. 

Each fall the local church has a fund raiser to support their school, and they serve a ham loaf supper at the local fairgrounds pavilion.  Over 600 patrons turn out each year.  The little town west of us has an excellent chicken and noodle dinner, and many locals go there to eat. If it were not for the Catholics this place would be even dumpier than it is.

--When the Church came to these shores it had a mission to build a Catholic way of life for those who now suddenly found themselves living in a Protestant world. It worked well for a couple of centuries. Now it sees its new mission as building a way of life for those (and I mean anyone) struggling to live in a secular world. The task is daunting and the opposition is brutal. To make things worse, the Novus ordo isn’t interested. My great fear is that they will be left behind.