The Great Sacrilege written by Father James F. Wathen (1932-2006), O.S.J.
“From the day of the installation of the “New Mass,” to this present one, the whole Church lies like a wounded animal, and the whole world watches in stunned disbelief. The disruption is complete. The churches are the scenes of countless, indescribable profanations, and the behavior of many Catholics, particularly many priests and religious, borders on total madness. At the sight of the appalling and ever-increasing disorder and immorality, many pious souls are unable to suppress the question which until this present era seemed mystically unreal: Could this be the time and could the so-called Novus Ordo Missae be that thing, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet in his Eighth Chapter?” (The Great Sacrilege, Chapter Three.)
In 1971, amidst the chaos and confusion wrought by the Second Vatican Council and the advent of the Novus Ordo Missae, faithful Catholics craved clarity and direction. TAN Books published this strong critique of the New Mass shortly after the famous Intervention of Cardinals Ottaviani & Bacci was issued.
Father’s love of the true, the good, the beautiful, and the holy was evident on every page, and his indignation at the destruction of 1900 years of Catholic liturgical tradition is clear as he minced no words in his criticism of his fellow clergy or in his analysis of what was at the heart of the New Mass. Father’s insights into the crisis in the Church and the attack upon the ancient liturgy and the dogmas of the Church are just as relevant today as they were in 1971.
When TAN Books was sold several years ago, this book disappeared from its catalog and it was recently re-issued by the Father James Wathen Foundation in a new and easy to read format.
