Episode 3094: The New Mass: The Fracturing of Scripture Readings and the Plumb-Line - Morning Episode

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Book Recommendation of the Day
"The Epistles of Pope Gregory VII (1073–1085)"
• Author: St. Gregory VII
• Editor/Translator: Ephraim Emerton
• Description: This is a collection of Gregory VII’s surviving letters, covering topics such as Church reform, papal primacy, excommunication of Emperor Henry IV, and his vision of a purified Church.
• Historical Importance: These letters are essential primary sources for understanding the Gregorian Reform and the Investiture Controversy.
Before we get started with todays episode I want to discuss a key concept long upheld in the tradition of the Church is that of the “Plumb-Line” a reference drawn from the prophet Amos (cf. Amos 7:7–9), symbolizing God's unchanging standard by which all things are measured. In Catholic liturgy and doctrine, the Plumb-Line serves as the rule of faith and continuity, keeping the Church aligned with divine truth rather than human innovation. When the Church’s liturgical life deviates from this vertical standard introducing novelties, horizontal practices, or ambiguous forms it no longer reflects the straight, unerring line of Tradition but rather a crooked path shaped by the winds of modern opinion. The Traditional Latin Mass, organically developed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, conforms to this sacred Plumb-Line reverent, hierarchical, sacrificial, and timeless. In contrast, the Novus Ordo reforms, particularly in the realm of Scripture readings and roles in the sanctuary, appear not as a development but as a rupture one that bends the line rather than building upon it.
Before we get started as you know I want to discuss something that many have not known and that is, the Liturgical Rupture in the Scripture Readings of the Novus Ordo Mass.
One of the most significant and often overlooked ruptures introduced by the Novus Ordo Missae is the restructuring of the Scripture readings during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. While the reformers of Vatican II claimed to promote a “return to the sources” and a more “scripture-rich” liturgy, what they effected was a dismantling of the organic unity and sacred continuity that had developed for centuries in the Roman Rite.
1. The Addition of a Third Reading: A Manufactured Innovation
In the Traditional Latin Mass, the readings are carefully chosen and harmonized with the liturgical season and the Church's theological emphasis. Typically, the readings include an Epistle and a Gospel concise and rich in doctrinal depth. The Novus Ordo introduced a third reading from the Old Testament on Sundays and holy days, arranged into a three-year cycle. On the surface, this appears beneficial, exposing the faithful to more of Sacred Scripture. But this innovation stems from a modernist presumption: that more Scripture necessarily equates to better catechesis, ignoring how the Church’s liturgy has always emphasized quality and doctrinal coherence over quantity.
The ancient lectionary, rooted in the tradition of the Roman Church, is the fruit of centuries of organic development, guided by the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of the Church Fathers. The introduction of a three-year cycle was a break from that tradition, designed by committee rather than received through tradition. As Pope Benedict XVI himself noted, “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too.” This principle was violated when the ancient lectionary was displaced by an artificial cycle.
2. The Removal of the Last Gospel: Silencing the Incarnation
Equally troubling is the removal of the Last Gospel, traditionally the Prologue of St. John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word…” (John 1:1–14). In the Traditional Mass, this Gospel is read at the end of every Mass (except some during Holy Week), reinforcing the doctrine of the Incarnation, the Word made flesh which is the very heart of our Faith and the mystery present in every Holy Eucharist.
Its suppression in the Novus Ordo is not merely a liturgical trimming; it represents a theological downgrading. The Last Gospel was never arbitrary. It served as a final reminder of the divine mystery the faithful had just encountered. Its removal undercuts the theological density of the Mass and reflects a broader tendency in the new liturgy to diminish sacrificial and incarnational language in favor of a more communal, anthropocentric tone.
3. The Vernacularization of Scripture: A Loss of Sacred Unity and Mystery
The shift from Latin the sacred, universal language of the Church to the vernacular is one of the most radical departures in the Novus Ordo. Latin is not simply a “foreign” language. It is a sacral language, set apart from daily use, enabling the faithful to transcend the mundane and enter into the eternal mysteries.
Reading Scripture in the vernacular undermines the sense of sacredness and universality that Latin embodies. It also contributes to the fragmentation of the liturgy across cultures and parishes, rather than uniting all Catholics in a common act of worship. This vernacularization is more than pastoral it stems from a modern theological shift that seeks to bring the divine down to man’s level, rather than elevating man to the divine. The great saints — such as St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. John Henry Newman all attest to the dignity of a set-apart, sacred language in worship.
4. Lay Readers on the Sanctuary: Confusion of Roles and Clerical Identity
The allowance and often insistence on laymen and laywomen reading Scripture from the sanctuary is another rupture with tradition. In the Traditional Latin Mass, only the priest (or deacon/subdeacon in solemn Masses) proclaims the readings. This is not a matter of exclusivity but of ontological function: the priest acts in persona Christi and is the guardian and teacher of the Word. He alone has the authority to proclaim the Gospel in the sacred liturgy.
Permitting laity to enter the sanctuary and read from the ambo blurs the clear sacramental roles established by Christ and handed down through apostolic succession. Particularly problematic is the use of women in this role, which not only breaks liturgical custom but contradicts centuries of Church discipline rooted in Scripture itself: “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak” (1 Corinthians 14:34).
This practice also inadvertently promotes a horizontal and democratic view of the liturgy, in contrast to the hierarchical, sacrificial nature of the Mass. Rather than drawing a distinction between the sacred and the profane, the modern liturgy invites the profane into the sanctuary literally.
Conclusion: A Liturgical Identity Crisis
Each of these innovations the third reading, the removal of the Last Gospel, the use of vernacular, and the role of lay readers contributes to the rupture between the Mass of the Ages and the Novus Ordo. They reflect not an organic development, as tradition requires, but a manufactured reimagining of worship based on modern sensibilities. While done under the guise of pastoral care or “greater participation,” the result has been a dilution of the sacred, the authoritative, and the eternal in the liturgy.
From a traditional Catholic perspective, these changes represent a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass truly is: not a communal meal or Scripture service, but the unbloody re-presentation of the Sacrifice of Calvary. Every aspect of the liturgy must reflect that truth — in language, structure, and roles — or else risk leading the faithful into confusion, irreverence, and ultimately spiritual loss.
Reflections on the Word
Epistle: James 1:22–27
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
“Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation, and to keep one's self unspotted from this world.”
Reflection: Faith Without Works Is Dead
St. James, the first bishop of Jerusalem and a relative of Our Lord, speaks with a fatherly directness that pierces to the heart. His epistle is a powerful reminder of a truth often forgotten in our age of intellectualism and passive Christianity: hearing the Word of God is not enough. It must transform us.
Too often, Catholics fall into the comfortable habit of “consuming” the Faith attending Mass, reading spiritual books, even praying the Rosary without allowing these sacred actions to reform the interior life. St. James calls this self-deception. It is not sufficient to be informed in the Faith; we must be conformed to it.
St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that grace perfects nature. Our spiritual life must therefore manifest in virtuous action: works of mercy, mortification, and above all, living a life of purity in a corrupt world. “Keep oneself unspotted from this world,” says the Apostle a call to chastity, detachment from riches, and wariness of the vanities promoted by modern society.
Key Takeaways:
• Authentic religion is active and sacrificial.
• Visiting the widow and orphan is not merely charity it is living Christ’s mercy.
• We must resist worldliness in dress, media, conversations, and ambitions.
• Do not admire saints imitate them.

Gospel: John 16:23–30
“Amen, amen I say to you: if you ask the Father anything in my name, He will give it you... Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
Reflection: Confidence in Christ’s Intercession
This Gospel passage is taken from Christ’s farewell discourse to His apostles on the night before His Passion. It is a deeply intimate moment one in which He prepares their hearts for His departure, and yet promises the fullness of joy to those who believe and ask in His name.
There is a remarkable assurance in Christ’s words: “Ask and you shall receive.” But we must ask: why do so many Catholics pray without fruit?
St. Augustine teaches that God does not deny our petitions arbitrarily. Sometimes He delays to test our perseverance; other times He denies what would harm our soul; often, we simply do not ask in faith, humility, or submission to His will.
To ask “in His name” is not a magic formula it means to ask in conformity with the heart and mind of Christ. To seek what is pleasing to the Father. A soul who is in the state of grace, prays with humility, and seeks above all else the glory of God that soul prays efficaciously.
Furthermore, Christ speaks of the Father’s love for us: “For the Father Himself loveth you.” This is a divine love that is personal, intimate, and freely given to those who believe in Christ and love Him.
💡 Key Takeaways:
• Prayer is not about changing God’s will—it is about aligning our heart to His.
• Joy in prayer comes not from getting what we want, but from communion with God.
• Christ is our Mediator; to ask in His name is to ask through His wounds, His merits.
• We must cultivate the virtues of faith, humility, and perseverance in prayer.
Combined Themes of the Day:
• Active Christianity: It is not enough to be “spiritual” or “Catholic in name only.” We must live the Faith with visible charity and inward purity.
• Union with God through Prayer: True joy comes when we are united to Christ. That union begins with faithful, humble, trusting prayer, and is expressed through virtuous action.
• Reject Worldliness: The Christian must be a sign of contradiction in the world modest, charitable, meek, and set apart.
As Pope St. Pius X warned, the greatest tragedy of modern man is practical atheism believing in God but living as if He does not exist. St. James and St. John today call us to be practical saints, by making faith the animating force behind everything we think, say, and do.
Conclusionary Prayer
Prayer for the Fifth Sunday After Easter
O Most Merciful Jesus,
who did promise that the Father would grant all things asked in Thy Name,
give us the grace to pray with true faith,
to live Thy Word by our works,
and to keep ourselves unspotted from the world.
Grant, O Lord, that we may not merely hear Thy Word,
but become living temples of Thy truth,
glorifying Thee in our bodies and souls.
Inflame in us a desire for holiness,
and prepare our hearts for Thy glorious Ascension.
Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
St. James the Apostle,
and all Thy saints,
make us fervent, pure, and faithful
unto life everlasting.
Amen