It's too great. Too important.

Warning: read manufacturer's instructions before use.

The Pimpernel has touched a nerve. As the comments on this post show, people doing traditional liturgy get very touchy when it’s pointed out that they have gotten basics wrong. Some even go pretty close to saying that to celebrate the liturgy flawlessly doesn’t really matter, so long as it’s celebrated.


Well, there’s a point in that. Liturgical perfection rarely occurs in this life and we all make mistakes. Mistakes are mistakes. They happen. They can’t be prevented.
So long as the traditional liturgy is celebrated, that’s the main thing, even if it isn't perfect.

But there’s a fatal flaw in that type of thinking. The liturgy has its logic which is expressed in a whole tapestry of rites, customs and even rules. That’s the tradition we’ve received. Some of them are little. Some are seemingly unimportant.

But no thread in a tapestry is unimportant. That’s the Pimpernel’s point. The little things gotten wrong out of ignorance or haste to celebrate the traditional liturgy should in fact be gotten right because the ignorance or haste can be prevented, and because they damage and affect the whole. 



Those who love the traditional sacred liturgy and want to promote its celebration are duty and honour bound to know about what they’re doing. They have an obligation to do their homework first. The sacred liturgy can never be an amateur pastime. It's too great. Too important.

There’s really no excuse nowadays. Lots of books and DVDs and websites exist to help train clergy and other ministers.

The Pimpernel recommends two books as basic resouces. There are others, but these are in print, up to date and reliable.

The Celebration of Mass; a Study of the Rubrics of the Roman Missal is essential study for any seminarian or priest prepearing to offer the traditional Mass. 

Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described is the fundamental manual for celebrating or serving the Mass, the Sacraments, Vespers and other rites.

If you're a cleric celebrating traditional rites or a MC responsible for their planning or celebration and you don't have access to these, you should. They will tell you how to handle a biretta safely, what to wear at Vespers, how to incense an altar at Vespers, how to give Benediction or even how to assist, what to wear at a wedding before a nuptial Mass, and a whole lot more. They will help you continue the celebration of the rich tapestry of the Church's traditional rites as the Church intends even though you may not have much experience of this before. They will make sure the liturgy isn't shabby in its detail and prevent you from looking like an amateur. They will help you add to the honour of the sacred liturgy, not detract from it.