Saturday in the Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time, July 31, 2021

Now that a few weeks have passed since the promulgation of Pope Francis’s motu proprio restricting the traditional Latin Mass and there has been sufficient time for reflection, I thought I might share some of my thoughts on it.  My initial reaction after reading it was that it was poorly thought-out and written.  My second reaction was a sharp feeling that certain facts were being twisted, such as the notion, expressed early in the document, that Pope Benedict had given permission for priests to offer the traditional Mass.  In fact, Pope Benedict had stated that no such permission was necessary.  This was actually the purpose of Pope Benedict’s motu proprio, for John Paul II had years earlier issued an indult stating that the Mass could be said with the permission of the bishop.  It made me a little sick, though, that Francis stated that he was restricting the Mass out of his concern for the unity of the Church.  While the use of the Mass has steadily grown since Benedict’s motu proprio, relatively few priests and members of the Faithful regularly offer or attend it.  Francis’s edict is more likely to spur division than to heal the division he feels is there.  And then there is the break with tradition introduced by Francis in his decree: that one pope can cancel the decree of his predecessor and, what is insulting, do it while his predecessor is still living.  Ultimately it is up to the bishops how and if this is enforced.  The local bishops here seem to be taking their time before announcing anything.  This could be either because they are genuinely concerned for the good of their people, or because they simply want it to appear that way.  In the end, we who love the traditional rite of the Mass know that the Church gives us the Mass under the form of the Novus Ordo and that this is a legitimate way to offer the Sacrifice of the Lord, so it is not as though the Mass itself is being restricted.

My own feeling is about this decree is one of sadness because this hurts the Church and many faithful lovers of God.  We pray for the Holy Church, the Bride of Christ, assailed within and without until the Lord comes.  

Matthew 14:1-12

Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”  Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet. But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

Herod Antipas ruled the region of Galilee for about forty-two years, until the year 39 A.D.  His great accomplishment was the building of the city of Tiberius on the western coast of the Sea of Galilee.  In his sixties, he was accused of plotting against the Roman emperor, and he and his wife Herodias were exiled to Gaul, where they both died.  He was no better or worse than most petty rulers of that or any other time.  His main goal was to stay in power and his policies were devised with that in mind.  His marriage to Herodias was made for this purpose.  He had been married to the daughter of an Arabian king but divorced her in order to marry his niece, also the widow of his half brother Philip, thereby, in theory, quashing any threat from that side of the family.  

It was this incestuous marriage that John the Baptist protested.  Particularly as ruler, Herod, ostensibly a Jew, was obliged to give good example to his subjects by living according to the Mosaic Law, but he flouted this in his second marriage and on other occasions.  John was not alone in protesting the marriage, but his voice rang the loudest, and he was arrested in order to silence it.  However, such was John’s charisma that Herod could not bring himself to kill him.  In fact, according to St. Mark, “Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. When he heard him, he was much perplexed; and yet he heard him gladly” (Mark 6, 20).

Herodias, wishing to remove any threat to the power she had through her husband, and to protect herself, preyed upon Herod’s weaknesses in order to arrange for John’s killing.  We are told that Herod regretted the murder.

The moment we cease to know ourselves to be the servants of others, we begin to see others as our servants, and we use them in ways that build up our petty kingdoms.  We may even daydream that we have become at some point safe from all threats, through our manipulations, half-truths, lies, false promises, and deal-making.  It is all vanity.  Our models as Christians must be the Lord Jesus and his Blessed Mother, preeminent in selfless service, not presidents, kings, leaders of corporations, or “celebrities” of various sorts.  Most especially if we are set in places of authority, we are to use the authority for the benefit of all, and not to indulge ourselves and settle private scores.