Since Our Lord is not directly present on earth (outside the Blessed Sacrament of course), the Pope is his Vicar, i.e. the Pope takes the place of Christ on earth. So, being in the Church of Christ is being in the Church of the Pope. How does something like inserting the name of St. Joseph explicitly into the Canon (he's already there implicitly) change "the way we believe"? It's actually precisely through such small, gradual changes that the Holy Spirit guides the Sacred Liturgy. Neither the Canon nor the Mass were some monolithic thing that was dropped from Heaven. While the faith doesn't change, its expression can, and historical circuмstances change, so different things are emphasized at one time that may not be at another (depending on, for instance, what heresies might be out there). We see this already where the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is different in the West than in the East, and yet it's the same Holy Sacrifice, with different aspects of the Catholic faith emphasized more in one Rite than in another. Small changes absolutely do not change the "way we believe".
Dear Ladislaus,
It would be helpful if someone provided what the word, "codify" means as I previously requested.
While the organic changes to all the rites of Sacraments were introduced until their codification by Trent, no changes are permitted afterwards. The Council of Trent has deemed certain things settled.
As for small, gradual changes: "In substance, the motu proprio granted little of the much that the Constitution had promised. But we must keep in mind the principle of gradualness that had to be followed in the practical implementation of the conciliar docuмent..." (Anibale Bugnini. The Reform of the Liturgy 1948-1975. The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minn. 1983. p.58)
The motu proprio to which he was referring was the 1964 docuмent, "Sanctam Liturgiam".
"The principle of gradualness was also the basis of the Concillium's concern to introduce first those changes which were indispensable for a more intense liturgical participation and which at the same time would not prejudice the future reform. It limited itself to those changes that it could be fairly sure would also be adopted in the subsequent reform." (ibid. p.100)
The author of these two quotes was an active participant in the insertion of the name of St. Joseph into the Canon. What principle did he use under Pope Pius XII? Please keep in mind that the Dialogue Mass had already been introduced.
The expression of the Faith changes? Historical circuмstances change? Yes, and how do they affect the Faith? How is Our Lord going to find Faith when He comes back, if it is expressed according to the Zeitgeist?
As "Quo Primum" of Pope Saint Pius V assures us, there were no new Missals issued in the Eastern Rite as well as in the Latin Church since two hundred years preceding the Bull. I am not sure that there is a different emphasis in the Eastern Rite, and if you have any quotes, I would appreciate you providing them.
The Eastern Tradition was more resilient to the modernist spirit. Unfortunately, Cardinal Marini worked feverishly on gradual changes; "... a little addition or subtraction in the anaphora prayer here and there does not really alter the Faith".
Poll
