Lafayette priests: the new Keystone Cops

As the faithful await a regular schedule of Masses celebrated from the 1962 missal, it seems that the men in black in the Diocese of Lafayette are busy boinking each other over the head with billy clubs and running around in circles. What clever little boys they are, so amusing, so humorous, so utterly moronic. Here is an email I received from the old "Tridentine Committee" regarding the implemenation of the motu proprio in the Diocese of Lafayette. The first letter is from the pastor of the church where the old rite is currently celebrated once monthly. The question that initiated the email was primarily in search of a regular Mass time on Sunday mornings. Notice the Mass time he suggests. You think Jason is getting out of bed at 2am in Youngsville and driving to Carencro for a 5am Solemn High? Truth be told, it's more likely that Benedict 17 will be a woman, than I flip the switch on my Bunn-o-matic at 2am. The second letter is from me to James. I'm laying it on the line. Simply, because it's starting to get annoying watching the men in black bickering about what is blatently obvious. I like the words of the angel: "Men of Galilee, why stare you into the heavens?" The Keystone Priests are wondering about the word "stable" in the text. I am too. Not what "stable" means, as the Keystone Clerics, but who in the samhell put the word in in the first place. I know Benedict didn't. I can just find the word "coetus" in his text. I've been searching for "stabilis" somewhere in the original, but, no dice. A little Latin study goes a long way, esteemed Fathers. It really looks like the Clown Clergy who proudly touted back in the 70's that "We don't use Latin anymore" are now trying to muddle things up to save face. They've thrown in a bit of spin and a good measure of agenda. All the while, they're huddled in their tight, cozy sacristies gawking at the 1962 missal and saying, "oh shit, what the hell do we do now?" Should have learned those conjugations and declensions back in school, boys....

Dear James:

I have not received anything from His Excellency, yet. I received the minutes from the Council of Priests meeting for August and Summorum Pontificum was discussed. St. Peter's was mentioned as already having the 1962 Mass once a month. There was also a statement that the Bishop would be "amenable" to a request to the pastor of St. Peter. But still I have not received official word.

There has been confusion about the document. Two documents were issued with the same title, but slightly different wording. This wording problem is to be clarified. As far as I can see, it should be no problem to set up weekly Masses after I receive word from the Bishop. A priest is allowed from September 7th onward to celebrate the 1962 Mass privately at his own discretion. A priest is not allowed to initiate the public celebration of the Mass. Public celebrations are to be the result of a "stable" group requesting the Mass, which is our case.

I am sorry about the delay and I did not mean to be curt with my last message. I was planning to leave on a short vacation and pilgrimage to Minnesota and Our Lady of the Snows in Illinois and I was short on time.

Because we are already busy on most Sundays in the afternoon, how about a 5 AM Mass on Sunday mornings? I know it is early, but doesn't disrupt the rest of the schedule.

God bless,
Father Bill

You know, James, I'm sick and tired of these priests with no Latin knowledge whatsoever who are arguing ridiculous points from bad English translations. This is EXACTLY what invited such liturgical abuse into the Mass of Pope Paul VI. The original Latin text does NOT say "stable". In fact, there is no adjective at all that describes the group. The word used by Benedict 16 is simply "coetus", an assembly or simply "a group". I know they are priests, ordained by God yada yada yada, but they are being led in the wrong direction by misleading information instead of going straight to the horse's mouth: the Latin text. This is a major rule of academic research: go to the primary source. Logical, right? Now that we have the motu proprio, I have a feeling the whole thing will be just as screwed up as the Mass of Paul VI, mainly because these priests were too damn lazy to do their Latin homework back when they were students.

Are they just idiots or what? This is the same thing as giving directions through Lafayette using a map from 1920. Has anyone else ever told the men in black that the emperor has no clothes, or am I the only one who sees a pack of bumbling morons in Roman collars?

Frustrating.

JP