"THE OLD MASS ONLY!" EXEGESIS OF A CATCHWORD
by
Eberhard Heller
transl. by Gladys Resch
This formula "the old Mass only" pulled up the banner by all
Traditionalists of 'econeistic' stamping, seems to have a lot to say:
it embraces the multipartie and diversity of the Vatican reforms and
concentrates the opposition against them on the decisive point. It
justifies the rebellion against the ecclesiastical hierarchy and
excuses to remain in the old reverend Roman-Catholic 'Church'. And it
sounds objective, appropriate and moderate: one wants only the old
Mass. Finally all petitions adressed to the 'holy Father' John Paul II
have the only aim: the re-admission of the old Mass. (Compare the
"Mitteilungsblatt der Priesterbruderschaft Pius X." of September 198o.)
Nothing else is wanted.
One should not undervalue the dynamic
and the persuasive power of this saying, as it contains the whole
programme of the Traditionalists. Yes, their whole programme! As we
shall see soon. "The old Mass only" - and all the problems are solved
by themselves!
And still I maintain: nothing is more
hypocrite, more falsifying, more shortening the problems (and by this:
making the situation more harmless), more narcotising the true
opposition, than this formula. In short: for this reason it has become
the easy excuse of all weepers and the demagogic battlecry of all
traditionalistic 'honest folk' and incendiaries.
One will
object to me: but hasn't the EINSICHT right from start kept up the
battle for the old Mass? Was it not in Munich, in the Baaderstraße,
(when all the others were lamenting) that the first center of Mass was
established in the German-speaking area, and especially, to guarantee
the contination of the holy Sacrifice, so that the most central
Sacrement should be maintained to the Church and the faithful, for
their atonement and for their holiness? Yes, of course! But at the same
time we have always remarked and shown, that by introducing an invalid
Mass, consequences follow ipso facto for the promulgator, the
protectors and for the institution, which they represent, and in which
this sacrilegious inferior work was introduced: Connected with the
apostasy is ipso facto the loss of the power of the keys and the
profanation of the Church Institution. After all the Church - founded
by Christ as Institution and way of salvation, and this means in the
most fundamental and decisive point: the gift of the sacramental
possibility to unite oneself directly with God, to enter with Him in
contact of the New Covenant - is holy according to her essence - and
must stay as such, if she wants to remain the Institution of Christ.
And it is only to the true Church, that is the Institution' founded by
Him, which "holds everything that He has commanded", that Christ has,
among other things, entrusted to her the holy Sacrifice of the Mass and
given her the power to be responsible for it and to administer it to
the faithful. It should be quite clear that an organisation, which has
the aim to destroy Gods work of salvation in its most central part,
which acts without His authority, should not have the right to be
recognised as the true Church. Therefore: the true holy Mass only in
the true Church! We have never seen the destruction of the holy Mass as
an isolated case.
The person, to whom this range of thought
seems too short or not enlightening, should remind her-(him-)self of
the fact that also the priests of Palmar de Troya say 'only' the old
Mass. (N.B. Even the collaborator of the University Professor Dr. M.
Erren and at present assisting theologian to Mrs. Dr. Gerstner, Mr.
Anton Hölzer, is - in a manuscript lying in front of me - of the
opinion, that the ordinations of Palmar cannot, according the present
informations, be disputed.) However, many faithful will object to go to
any of these Masses celebrated by the Palmar-priests, - and rightly .
so - and not on emotional grounds or for preference for the
Lefebvre-party. If, however, one would only be conderned about the old
Mass, there would be no reason to avoid the Masses celebrated by this
sect. What reason would one have under the condition: "only the old
Mass" to give preference to the one or other celebration? None!! in
what I way would a Mass celebration of Lefebvre people differ from one
of the Palmar followers? I Yes, one would say, the Palmar people have
the status of a sect, and the laying claim I to the right to administer
the sacraments, is illegal. Agreed! That the one revere the I charlatan
Clemente, who nominated himself Pope, or the Lefebvre people the
apostate Bishop Wojtyla as Holy Father, and who want to be in community
of faith with the one or the other, put both, in principle, on the same
level: the level of a sect.
There is, of course, a legitimate
reason why the assisting to the celebrated Masses of the Palmar-priests
should be avoided, simply because this sect uses sacrilegiously and
without authority the rights of the true Church. And Mgr. Lefebvre? He
retains something - the old Mass -, which does not belong to him
anymore, because of the expressly wanted membership to the apostate
organisation! Therefore his malice, wanting to keep up 'only' the old
Mass, is not less grave!
Perhaps the one or the other will
already wake up by this aspect. "The old Mass only"? ... nothing can be
solved as simply as that.
One would imagine Ecorie would
restrain in criticising Palmar, due to the same weaknesses in
principle. In the meantime it is quite astonishing that those mainly,
who sit in the glass case, meaning the Econe people, throw stones,
meaning they warn people not to assist at the Masses, celebrated by
Palmar-priests. (The PalmarÌan too have not been idle, and their chef
Clemente has without hesitation 'excommunicated' Mgr. Lefebvre and his
followers ... So one realises: the satyric game runs on high spead.)
Jealousy? This supposition explains too little. What is the reason then
that the followers of Marcel Lefebvre go against the Palmarian,
respectively the Clementists, they, who recognise in the heretic
Wojtyla the head of the Roman-Catholic Church (that he is in any case a
materialistic heretic is even affirmed by the Econe propagandist Father
Milch) and pretend to aim only at the old Mass (under the jurisdiction
of the Reform-'bishops'!)? Which right is theirs to look down on the
rightly as a sect qualified group of Palmar de Troya? In the first
place certainly, to be able to be separated from the Palmarians under
the prestige of legitimacy and to suggest to her followers in this way
the impression to be members of the true Church. N.B. if Econe would be
in reality concerned solely about the old Mass, this conception would
become the best, even though unwilling protector and advocate of the
Palmarian. What's good for the goose, is good for the gander.
At the latest the first club-foot of this apparent undisputed saying
becomes visible by the attacks against 'pope' Gregor and his followers:
wih Econe too it is not just the matter of the old Mass, but it is
forced to admit that the often mentioned 'old' Mass - of course
alongside with the soócalled 'new' Mass - does not just exist in a
vacuum but only within the bounds of the respective Institution. In my
heart I am revolted to write: "within the bounds of the true Church",
because this expression is always being misused by Econe. So this
Vespective Institution' is for Econe the apostate Church organisation.
Therefore: the true ('old') holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the apostate
organisation - and of course only in it. One can imagine how 'pleasing'
such a sacrifice must be to God, seen from this angle. Because "only
the old Mass" must fill up the gaps: in the heretic association only.
Econe
assures repeatedly that it has not made any compromises in this matter,
and means, that they continue still to say the Mass only according to
the tridentine Rite, wherefore there can be no mention of a suspected
heresy. I just leave it for the time being. Already at this point, in
which Econe recognises an organisation as legitimate Church of Christ,
which has substituted the meal in place of the sacrifice, and the
worship of man in place of the worship of God, which by its head John
Paul II distorts the meaning of the work salvation of Christ, Econe
ddiies the doctrine of the Church, teaching herself to be a holy
Institution.
The true programme which hides behind the
apparent justified request "the old Mass only", contains in real truth
more sacrilegious matters.
Meanwhile everyone knows the
announcement made by Mgr. Lefebvre, giving the instruction that
seminarians, who do not accept Wojtyla as Pope and who reject the
socalled 'N.O.M.' as invalid, must leave the Fraternity. Here arises a
new and more monstrous point concerning this programme, in which, after
the weepers the 'honest folk' are called on the plain: "the old Mass
only" neans at this step: "also the old ..." please - one is polite,
therefore - please alongside with the 'new one' of the apostate
association. By this not only the condition of the essence of the true
Church, according to her absolute Holiness, is- rejected (lrst heresy),
but the central means of salvation, the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, is
dishonoured by this expressed or included recognition of the so-called
'N.O.M.'. Apart from this the recognition means the acceptance of a
heresy - this would be Nr.2.
At this point one should pose
for a minute and reflect on the monstrosity of such an attitude. Why do
we offer resistance? Were we at the end nothing else but fools,
although of good will, but at the end only schismatic rebels? Why
did.the seminarians, who believed to renew the life of Faith and to
revive the practice of the sacraments under the obedience of Lefebvre,
go at all to Econe? ... to take part eventually in such cunning
sacrileges? ... under the cover of religious "honest folk1? Are they
unable to add two and two, to find out the contradiction in which they
stand? And a good number of the faithful should ask themselves
earnestly if the consequences of their inconsequence, that means the
results of their spiritual laziness and snugness, their selfishness for
salvation, are really contributing to the welfare of their soul.
But if one thinks that the exegesis of the catchword "the old Mass
only" has reached its sacrilegious culminating point in the exposition
of the previous statement of the facts, and that it is exhausted, it is
a mistake. Behind the 'honest folk' hide the incendiaries. One can very
well remember how 'with free will1 the incorporation, respectively the
annexion of the Mass centers in Stuttgart and Reutlingen took place and
were swallowed by the insatiable Fraternity, which is named St. Pius X.
The attacks of Econe on the self-reliant Mass centers in Munich, St.
Michael, St. Theresia in Ulm and also the centers in Basel and Luzern
are not yet forgotten. Of course the reason for it was 'only' the old
Mass. It was only the matter to guarantee the care of souls and to
unburden the laity, of tasks, which are not their business anyway. The
persons concerned at the time can tell a tale about this, how the
gentlemen Wodsack, Schmidberger, Roch an all the other charges
proceeded: solely by means of blackmailing, for which they had been
authorised and appointed by their boss and his instigators. The short
sighted selfishness for salvation of the Traditionalists gave and give
an easy hand to Econe. This is the 'offer' of Econe: the providing of
'old' Masses against delivery of the Mass Centers, giving up of the
indépendance and acceptance of the econistic heresies, and woe to you
if you do not agree with this bargain! At once the appointed
theologians are asked: Of course, the parish of St. Michael, Munich",
has no bishop, therefore she is a sect.
Here the 'old' Mass
is used as the decisive way for pastoral blackmail, to reunite the
'obstinate' faithful to the apostate association. - And that is what
the harrassed "Renewal in Christ" looks in reality! - Who ever still
thinks that this happens unwillingly, may remember the certainly
'unwilling' annexation of the Mass Centers.)
The
understanding of Econe "the old Mass only" lastly means quite simply:
the old Mass is the means to couple the sincere faithful outsiders to
the apostate association. Isn't it so, you, the good Traditionalist,
that you want 'only' the old Mass? - I save myself the trouble to call
this procedure to be moral-theological and I deny myself the pleasure
to underline the last sentences.
But I mention here all
those, who propagate the claim "the old Mass only" in the German
speaking area - may they be weepers, 'honest folk' or incendiaries:
there is next to Econe with ihs outstations Zaitzkofen, Munich
(Schmellerstr. ), Reutlingen, Stuttgart (St. Athanasius), Saarbrücken -
meanwhile Kassel has also succumbed - Father Milch, who showed that he
has no interest to discuss the situation honestly, (he sneers| at the
quoted doctrines of the Church, which are not of his opinion, he calls
them logical subleness - compare circular letter of 27th August, 198o)
and his organisation;) the cult-community of Pius V in Freiburg, which
calls the apostate organisation her 'Roman Catholic Church', according
to its chairman Mr. Erren; Mrs. Dr. Gerstner with her KYRIE ELEISON,
her contributor Baron von Schrenck-Notzing (isn't it, Mrs. Gerstner:
non olet, non olet!). And there are finally Mr. P. Boxler
with"Mysterium fidei", Dr. Küble, the chef of VOX FIDEI - and of course
still Professor Georg May, who denies constantly to acknowledge the
gravest falsifications of the 'N.O.M.' (if Hitler were to be judged
only according to the construction of the Autobahns, one would have to
consider him as a meritorious statesman) and the UVK.
After
all that has been mentioned here, one should think it over if one could
ask these persons and groups to administer the sacraments, in the
normal case.
The post-conciliar Church has capitulated in
'obedience'. The Traditionalism is being terminated by way of
sacramental blackmail: because it wants
"the old Mass only" |
