Guest Columnist
Remnant Newspaper
Mass Facing the People:
"A Turning Away From God"
... Msgr. Klaus Gamber
In contemplating the spiritual blight of these last times, due consideration must be given to the liturgical reform of Vatican II since this was the hub that set into motion a new order of liturgical chaos that has all but extinguished the Faith and bedimmed the planet.
Christ gave us His Church that it might be a light to the nations signified by the Latin word, Lumen Gentium. The light of tradition emanating from the old Latin Mass is that Lumen Gentium wherewith to attract the world to Christ, but by removing this after the Council the church lapsed into a spiritual eclipse that has since scattered the flock and left the world in the dark, fulfilling the prophesy of Our Lady at La Salette: "The Church will be in eclipse, the world will be in dismay." (1846)
That is to say, the political and sociological debacle of our time is really a crisis of Faith, which means the solution to the crisis rests on the shoulders of the Catholic hierarchy. If the Church were in good shape as in former times, it would again be a powerful beacon to dispel the darkness and illuminate the nations, but as it stands the agents of darkness are having a field day and are overshadowing the Faith because the light of True Faith is merely flickering today because poor liturgical practice.
The very crux of the problem has been the practice of having the priest say Mass facing the people (versus populum), since it has brought about a shift of focus where the emphasis today is on the community instead of on God. According to Monsignor Klaus Gamber whom Cardinal Ratzinger proclaimed as a prophet for our time, the turning around of the altars after Vatican II was the most destructive of the post-conciliar reforms, citing that "there is no basis for it in liturgical history, nor theology, nor sociologically." He points out that "changes in the traditional liturgy also mean a change of faith itself" and goes on to say:
"The emphasis must forever be on God, not man. This has always meant that everyone turn towards him in prayer, rather than that the priests face the people. From this insight, we must draw the necessary conclusion and admit that the celebration facing the people is, in fact, an error. In the final analysis, celebration facing the people is a turning towards man, and away from God." (The Reform of the Roman Liturgy, 1993)
The practice of facing the altar at Mass has its roots in the Old Testament and has been the universal norm for the entire span of the New Testament. This point is affirmed by Monsignor Gamber where he says: "We can say and convincingly demonstrate that neither in the Eastern nor the Western Church was there ever a celebration facing the people." Even from the time of Abel to the time of Pope Paul VI the sacrificial offering was always done facing God.
Vatican II marked the first time in history that the priest offered the sacrifice facing the people with his back to the tabernacle, fulfilling the prophecy that the continual sacrifice would be profaned. (Daniel 8:12) The dark forces entered the Church through the Council and engendered the reform of liturgy that has been the very eye of this Apocalyptic hurricane that is uprooting the Faith and spreading doctrinal debris throughout the Church. Pope Paul VI lamented the outcome of the Council on June 29, 1972, when he said:
"From some fissure the smoke of Satan entered into the temple of God"
We might see Vatican II as the hatch through which the infernal enemy first slipped into the Church. The adversary knew that if he could get his foot in the door he could use the Church's liturgical apparatus to steer the Bark onto a new course if the liturgy were simply altered.
This is what happened at the Council. The September 1964 conciliar instruction, Inter Oecumenici, article 91, called for "celebration facing the people" which diverted the Church from its path. The focus of the Council was now for "active participation by the faithful" around which everything was to revolve, as expressed in article 14 of the Concilium on the liturgy: "The full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else." This new socialist ideal was most effectively spearheaded by the new liturgical celebration which set the stage for the new church of man.
The result has been spiritual disaster, which Monsignor Gamber laments in his book (for which then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote the Preface). "The liturgical reform welcomed with so much idealism and hope by many priests and lay people alike has turned out to be a liturgical destruction of startling proportions, a debacle worsening with each passing year. Instead of the hoped-for renewal of the Church and of Catholic life, we are now witnessing a dismantling of the traditional values and piety on which our Faith rests." (The Reform of the Roman Liturgy)
Cardinal Ratzinger himself had this to say: "What happened after the Council was something else entirely: in place of liturgy as the fruit of development came fabricated liturgy. We abandoned the organic, living process of growth and development over the centuries, and replaced it--as in a manufacturing process--with a fabrication, a banal on-the-spot product." (From his Preface to the Reform of the Roman Liturgy)
Cardinal Ottaviani, who was special adviser to Pope Paul VI, refuted the New Mass in a letter to His Holiness on September 25, 1969, saying, "The Novus Ordo represents, both as a whole and in its details, a striking departure from the Catholic theology of the Mass." (From his cover letter to the famous Ottaviani Intervention)
THE TURNING AROUND OF THE ALTARS after Vatican II coincided closely with the introduction of Communion in the hand which the pope actually denounced in May of 1969, stating that "the method on the tongue must be retained." (Memoriali Domini) This practice in particular has been a major deterrent in the spiritual advance of the Church since it short-circuits the light and degenerates the Church's battery, which in turn has been charging the devil's battery and giving him power against the sanctuary. (Daniel 8:12)
If Catholics today no longer believe that the Eucharist is the Creator Himself in person, it is because of this diabolical practice that has cheapened their religion and nurtured this apostate mentality. Communion in the hand caters to human pride and warps our conception of Jesus Christ, since it serves no other purpose than to nourish a disbelief and contempt for Christ in the Eucharist. It promotes personal uncleanness and fosters the general mentality of transgressing into forbidden realms (touching that which we ought not), which also calls to mind the transgression of Eve when she rose up in her pride and partook of the forbidden fruit.
According to the testimony of ex-satanists, Communion in the hand is the greatest thing that ever happened to them, since it gives them easy access to enter the Church and steal the Host, so that they bring it back to their covens and desecrate it in their rituals. They crush the Host under their shoes as a mockery to the living God, and the bishops unfortunately are assisting this with their casual practice.
Though Communion in the hand is not specifically mentioned in the Vatican II documents, it nonetheless fulfills the conciliar vision of a "common priesthood" where the laity is empowered to assume duties and dignities of the priest. The progressivist objective was to destroy the monarchical concept of the Church where Christ is no longer seen as theKing of kings reigning within His palace, and Communion in the hand has been a major tool in their hands wherewith to advance this apostate mentality.
That is to say, Communion in the hand is not tied to Catholic tradition, but was first introduced to the Church by the heretical Arians of the Fourth Century as a means of expressing their belief that Christ was not divine. Unfortunately it has served to express the same in our time and has been at the very heart of the present heresy and desecration that is rampant throughout the universal Church.
BUT THE MASS VERSUS POPULUM is what opened the door to this abuse since it diverts the public attention away from Christ, so that together they have worked to destroy the awareness of the physical and supernatural presence of Christ in His sanctuary. This denial of the divine presence in the Church has been at the very center of the present darkness and apostasy that predominates in the Church, so that the world in turn has drifted into deeper darkness with little assistance from the Church, save the pope and a handful of good bishops.
This matter of poor liturgical discipline is no small issue that needs to be brought to the attention of the bishops where they understand that the Eucharist is the very heart of the Church around which the entire Mystical Body must revolve. The mission of the Catholic hierarchy is to be "fishers of men" and bring up a marvelous catch for Christ that they may bask on Peter's deck in the divine presence, and the bishops have push-button power to do this if they will just take the Master at his word and let their nets down the traditional way. (Luke 5: 4-11)
If the bishops would simply agree to universally turn the altars back around (ad orientem) and stop the practice of Communion in the hand, most of the problems on earth would disappear and the sheep would return to the fold in droves! That day of sunshine so blindly aspired for at Vatican II would finally materialize, since the Sun of Justice would again emanate from the Holy City for the enlightenment of the world.
The pope himself has attempted to set the stage for the entire Church by his Moto Proprio of July 7, 2007, calling for a universal revival of the traditional Latin Mass, as well as by his personal example in requiring communicants at his Masses to now receive on the tongue only while kneeling. The Holy Father's objective is to encourage the clergy to do the same which means that the bishops should follow his lead.
The bishops need to be reminded of the powers they possess for advancing the Church's liberty in the face of a dark socialist tyranny that is fast closing in. David didn't defeat Goliath through his own strength and neither will the hierarchy go up against Antichrist through their own strength, but must call upon God with firm purpose and humility. As the holy patriarch said, this is God's battle, which means if the bishops follow God's instructions and restore traditional practice where the priest faces the altar again, He will win their battle and show them just how wonderful and marvelous the fruits of obedience can be!
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