Reason 17

17. Because the New Mass gives us to understand that the people concelebrate with the priest—which is against Catholic theology!


Readers at this point might have come across a pattern: I simply do not have enough information to properly respond to these arguments. In this instance (which is the same for most of these reasons) the burden of proof lies not on me, but on the writers of the pamphlet. That is, they offer a statement and must therefore offer the evidence for it. It would be an absurd waste of my time to search through all the documents pertaining to the revised liturgy to try and find where it “gives us to understand” this mistaken idea about concelebration.

That being said, the pamphlet does not offer us any evidence to support there position and personally I cannot find any such evidence in the Mass. I heard of individual priests who allowed and encouraged the members of their congregations to extend their hands during the consecration or even to recite along with them the words of institution. These acts clearly violate not only Catholic theology but the intent of the New Mass.

The only structure of worship in the New Mass which could support the idea of universal concelebration is the ad populum orientation of the priest. This creates the impression that everyone is focused equally or in the same way on the altar and one could misinterpret that the priest and the people are therefore equally involved in the acts of consecration. That position is not, however, implicit, and further the priest facing the people is no were suggested or encouraged in the official documentation of the Mass. It is an alteration which, I think, can just as well be done away with.

I have never encountered anyone who perceives the Mass as teaching the idea of concelebration of the people unless they have been taught such by a priest or other trusted teacher. The idea simply is not intrinsic in the New Mass.