Traditional Catholicism and Where to Find It

Traditional Catholicism is more than the Traditional Latin Mass, though admittedly the Traditional Latin Mass (1962 Roman Missal), or TLM, plays a very big role. I would even go so far as to say THE central role. However, TLM communities are not alone under the Traditional Catholic umbrella.

Why should Catholics seek out a Traditional Catholic community? It all comes back to the old Latin saying Lex Orandi Lex Credendi, which is to say that faith comes from prayer, and not vice versa, as many mistakenly believe, most especially Protestants. The way we pray shapes how we believe and how we act. As the Catechism puts it:

The Church’s faith precedes the faith of the believer who is invited to adhere to it. When the Church celebrates the sacraments, she confesses the faith received from the apostles – whence the ancient saying: lex orandi, lex credendi, or legem credendi lex statuat supplicandi (the law of praying is to establish the law of believing) according to Prosper of Aquitaine. The law of prayer is the law of faith: the Church believes as she prays. Liturgy is a constitutive element of the holy and living Tradition.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1124

So how we pray, particularly the way we do the liturgy, has a profound affect on our religious beliefs, practices and way of life. Prayer (liturgy) is the key. It’s not an addendum to our religion, but rather the foundation of it. When liturgy is sloppy, haphazard, irreverent, innovative or in some cases abusive, what do you suppose happens to our faith? Repeated exposure to this kind of worship will only make our own personal faith the same way. Thus, it’s imperative to get ourselves and our families into the most Traditional Catholic liturgies possible, where reverence and solemnity is the norm, and the form of the liturgy is anchored to the past, our Christian history, tradition and culture. In other words, we should want to worship, as closely as possible, to the way our Christian ancestors did.

Traditional Latin Mass (TLM)

The first option available to us is the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). It’s not the only option, but it’s probably the one that is most available, especially in North America.

Finding a Traditional Latin Mass is fairly easy enough. When seeking out a TLM one should try to find a community that is in a regular canonical relationship with Rome, such as the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP) or Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (IKCSP). However, if one is not available, then according to Rome and a growing number of bishops, attendance at a mass offered by the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) may be permissible even though the Society does not yet have a regular canonical relationship with Rome. I want to stress here, according to multiple bishops, and even the pope, the SSPX is not in schism. It is just in an irregular canonical status. This means attendance at their liturgies does not put a Catholic in schism, but a Catholic should always prefer a TLM in regular canonical status over one which is not. That said, the following maps will help one find a TLM as close as possible…

• Traditional Latin Mass in regular canonical status with Rome
• SSPX (not in regular canonical status with Rome at this time)

Reverent Novus Ordo Mass

Joining the TLM is the Reverent Novus Ordo Mass, which is the second option available to us. Though some would rightly point out that the Novus Ordo is inferior to the TLM, that does not mean that it can’t be offered in a reverent and traditional way. A growing number of priests are starting to do this, but it’s still extremely rare. In fact, it’s so rare that many Traditional Catholics call it the “unicorn mass” because it’s so uncommon that it almost seems mythical, as if one could go one’s whole life and never see one. I’ll include a video of one below, so everyone can see what it looks like. Unfortunately, however, there is no website documenting where they can be found. A valiant attempt has been made at ReverentCatholicMass.Com, but with the way dioceses move priests around, not to mention the changing of bishops, it can be very difficult to track where they are. The website administrator is highly dependent on the feedback of those who use the map, so please help him out if you can.

A note to Catholic priests and bishops: if you want a real Eucharistic Revival to happen, this is how it works. It’s not about spending money on programs, better advertisement, or gimmicks. No. It’s about authentic solemnity and reverence within the context of historic Catholic Tradition. This is what we know works, because it’s always worked. It worked before. It’s working where it’s being done now. And it can work again in your parish and diocese. Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi. Come on gentlemen! You know it’s true. Start doing this, like in the video above, you’ll have that Eucharistic Revival you seek, and you’ll have it in spades!

Divine Liturgy (Eastern Catholic)

The third option available to us is Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Catholic churches. For the most part, the Eastern churches within the Roman Catholic Church have managed to escape most of the irreverent trends permeating the Western Church. These are Eastern churches still in full communion with Rome, and should not be confused with the Eastern Orthodox who are in official schism with Rome. Eastern Catholic churches are not well documented on any Catholic directory at this time. Once again, the best resource in North America is ReverentCatholicMass.Com. They use the older term for “Mass” which is Divine Liturgy. This particular Divine Liturgy in the video comes from the most popular Byzantine Rite. There are other rites, however, that look quite different…

Divine Worship (Ordinariate of English Patrimony)

The fourth and final option available to us is Divine Worship of the Ordinariates. The Ordinariates of English Patrimony were created by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011-2012. They were based on the Anglican Use Pastoral Provision created by Pope St John Paul II in 1980. A “personal ordinariate” is a special diocesan like structure that’s designed for certain types of Catholics and only applies to them. They might have their own bishop, their own parishes and even their own liturgical and pastoral standards. Their ordinary bishop (or ordinary monsignor) is a member of the national bishops conference, and answers either directly to the pope or else a particular Vatican dicastery the pope has designated.

Originally, these ordinariates were designed to accommodate Anglicans and Methodists seeking to join the Catholic Church but retain their English liturgical heritage. However, since then, a great number of regular Catholics have found them a safe refuge of Traditional Catholic liturgy. While the Ordinariates primarily focus on converting non-Catholics, and do not recruit regular Catholics, regular Catholics are nevertheless free to join, and Ordinariate churches will never turn them away. Any regular Catholic can join an Ordinariate parish just as easily as joining a regular Diocesan parish. It’s as simple as filling out a registration form. Joining an Ordinariate parish or mission does not change one’s rite or bishop. That’s because Divine Worship is still part of the Roman Rite, and one’s bishop does not change unless one wants to actually join the Ordinariate itself. If that is the case, the matter should be discussed privately with an Ordinariate priest. Joining the Ordinariate itself has some advantages and one can leave the Ordinariate (returning back to the Diocese) whenever one wishes.

Divine Worship is based on the old Sarum liturgy used in England prior to the Reformation. Elements of this liturgy were preserved in Anglicanism and Methodism for the last five centuries. During the 1800s and 1900s, many Anglicans used the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) as a model to help them reformulate these Sarum elements in the most Catholic way possible, in the hopes of one day reuniting with the Catholic Church. Sadly, this global ecumenical reunion never happened, but for those Anglicans willing to complete the process on their own, the ordinariates were created by Rome.

Because of their historical development within the Anglosphere, English-speaking Catholics are usually able to adapt to this form of Traditional Catholicism rather quickly. It requires a very minimal amount of adjustment and does not require learning any new languages or customs.

Below is a video of a Divine Worship Mass, followed by links of where to find them…

Divine Worship can be found in the following locations around the Anglosphere, and there is a provision for laypeople to actively work toward starting an Ordinariate community through the Anglicanorum Coetibus Society…

• Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter (North America)
• Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham (The United Kingdom)
• Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross (Oceania)
• Anglicanorum Coetibus Society (instructions for starting new communities)

Shane Schaetzel is an author of Catholic books and an Evangelical convert to the Catholic Church through Anglicanism. His articles have been featured on LifeSiteNews, The Remnant Newspaper, Forward in Christ, and Catholic Online. You can read Shane’s books at ShaneSchaetzel.Com