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The Indult Tridentine Rite of Mass
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Many ask, "Why would anyone want to see the old Mass, when we can completely understand the new?" The answer is simple. The old Mass, in my opinion (and apparently in the opinions of many Catholics), is more reverent and awe-inspiring than the New Mass. It is not for love of Latin that Catholics believe this; if you read the prayers of the old Mass, they are more heartfelt and leave absolutely no doubt about the sacrificial nature of the Mass. I do not believe for a minute that the New Mass is heretical, or invalid. It is also not illicit for the Pope to author a new rite of Mass; some have legitimately questioned whether or not it was licit for Paul VI to completely suppress the old rite because of the papal bull Quo Primum. Pope John Paul II himself has been involved in a commission to determine if, in fact, Quo Primum was abrogated, and if so, if that should have been allowed. I am not aware of their findings as yet, though I believe that they will find that Quo Primum did not apply to legitimate changes in the Roman Missal. That document was created with the purpose of eradicating abberations in the Mass and establish uniformity throughout the Roman Rite. At any rate, that question has become academic since all bishops are now explicitly permitted to allow the old rite of Mass in their respective dioceses. There are bishops that will not let any priest in their diocese, whether he be a diocesan priest or FSSP or another order, celebrate the 1962 rite. One can only hope that the reason for this is that no one has asked for it. I know that this is not always the case; I know of an archbishop that once was quite adamant about not ever allowing the Tridentine rite in his diocese. Fortunately, he has since relented and allows one every Sunday in a nursing home there for the elderly people who grew up hearing the beautiful prayers of the old Mass. (Unfortunately, this same archbishop is about to allow the "renovation" of his cathedral despite protests from his own parishioners and several local historical societies. I am glad that I do not live in that diocese, except that I might then be able to help try to prevent this so-called "renovation".) If you compare the text of the old Mass with that of the Novus Ordo, you will see that both rites are similar, except that many prayers have been either shortened or completely extricated from the new rite.
I pray that many Catholics will again appreciate the great spiritual treasure found in the Tridentine Rite, handed down from ancient times. While I would never say that the New Mass is wrong or invalid, I would not be sorry to see it replaced once again by the Tridentine Rite. After all, it is "the most beautiful thing this side of Heaven".
A word of advice: if you wish to see the beautiful Tridentine rite of Mass, please go to an Indult Mass. We must show our support for the lawful celebration of this great liturgical tradition, and not give any credence to the schismatics and heretics who have left our Holy Mother, the Church. A directory of Indult Masses is available from the Ecclesia Dei Coalition. Also, keep in mind that if you do deliberately attend a non-Indult Mass for the purpose of worship (not just for observation), you are in open defiance of Rome and may possibly be excommunicated latae sententiae (by the act itself). In this directory, Tridentine Masses are denoted by "1962", Novus Ordo Masses in Latin are denoted by "1970". There are also "hybrid" Masses where the 1970 Mass is done in both Latin and the vernacular.
The English and Latin texts of the Mass may be found here.
Update - July 7, 2007: The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has issued a motu proprio letter called Summorum Pontificum (in Latin)(in English) that essentially removes restrictions on the celebration of the Mass according to 1962 rubrics! More to come...
