Ordo MMXX, Gateway to the Roman Rite

Thanks to the Unionized Society of Postal Sloths, the USPS, the Ordo recitandi Officii Divini Sacrique peragendi published by the St. Lawrence Press has finally arrived at my doorstep. Perhaps the Orthodox Christmas cards cleared the mail and they decided to get to the international bag?

The SLP Ordo is a must for any Traditional Catholic with a remotely liturgical interest, be (s)he clerical or lay. Even those who, like myself, observe the Roman Office predating S Pius X's alterations will find this booklet helpful for things like tracing the occurring Scripture, following when commemorations falls, finding the Saturday Vespers antiphon, and which third verse to say on Iste confessor.

Initially compiled by John Tyson, attributed on the second page of the Ordo, the SLP book is preferable to any other Ordo recitandi precisely because it is the only traditional one. It follows the Roman rite as it existed before Pius XII began the un-ending tinkeritis on the Mass and the associated deforms to the Divine Office. Originally, the Ordo was published in association with the FSSPX before Archbishop Lefebvre's liturgical about face. Since then it has been compiled under the aegis of the St. Lawrence Press in England.

As such, it is also the only truly traditional Ordo in how it is published. As it began only a few years after the conclusions of Vatican II and the abolition of Latin and the old liturgy, it retains the structure, style, and useful items that the older, traditional Ordines had in better times. I have seen the FSSP, FSSPX, and LMS publications, all of which follow the 1962 Missal and are available in English. The SLP Ordo instead follows the older style of abbreviations and page layout and in the Latin language, making it a universally useful product. For those who would excuse the vernacular in the '62 products, if a priest cannot follow a simple fragment sentences in Latin he has no business reading Mattins or the Roman Canon in that tongue either.

This Ordo contains much more than just the color of the day or what to do at Vespers. It denotes on which day votive and Requiem Masses may be said or sung as well as the commemorations and, if occurring, proper Last Gospel, both useful steps in an incrementalist approach to wean off the '62 rite.

The front of the Ordo is uniquely valuable. It contains the Noveritis both for liturgical use and for reference of the user. Following that are the regulations around votive Masses, the manner of observing a patronal feast when it is impeded, the rules around external solmenities of the Sacred Heart, how to conduct a Forty Hours devotion, when a Nuptial Mass is permitted, votive Masses—sung or said—of devotions or Requiem, the general rules around commemorations, and what qualifies as a proper Last Gospel. Other Ordines may tell you when these things happen or are permitted in '62ville, but they will not educate one who actually wishes to know what the traditional liturgical praxis of the Roman rite is.

This Ordo has its virtues, virtues which may at first look challenging. The traditional abbreviation system, for example, may look daunting in contrast to this bit of spoon feeding, but page 16 explains the whole thing and provides an easy reference if a reader gets stuck on a day. It is not hard, but just like learning the old Mass and Office, it requires a little patience and curiosity before providing immense return. So go over the to St. Lawrence Press, get your copy, support tradition, and practice it.