What do you think?
Rate this book
The Mass of All Time
During the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, revelation, the mysteries of Faith, the mysteries of the Incarnation and the Redemption, are made real. From the Mass, the liturgical and unbloody re-presentation of Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, the efficacy of all good works proceeds. -Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The Mass of All Time is a collection of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre's sermons, classes and notes on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass...a compendium of what he taught on the Mass - its rites, spirit, prayers, theology, spirituality, and grace. Many of these texts have never been published before. Fr. Patrick Troadec, rector of the Society of St. Pius X's seminary in Flavigny, France, collected and organized the Archbishop's manifold writings and speeches on the Mass and presents them here, in two parts. Part one is a running commentary, gleaned from all the works of the Archbishop, on the prayers, parts and actions of the liturgy. Part two covers the New Order of Mass promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969 and includes commentary on liturgical history, the liturgical revolution and the history of the SSPX's defense of the old and rejection of the new. Again, the words are those of Archbishop Lefebvre, woven together by Fr. Troadec. The Archbishop is known for his courageous defense of the Tridentine Mass but never before have his insights been collected in such an accessible and complete format. Especially now, with a renewed interest in the Extraordinary Form due to the Holy Father's motu proprio, this book is ideally timed because it is primarily a positive book coming from him who is too often known as the Rebel or Renegade Archbishop. Here we see the love and depth of understanding that Marcel Lefebvre had for the Mass of All Time. Polemics are not excluded, but they take a back seat in this volume. With the release of the motu proprio, it seems there has never been a more ideal time for traditionalists AND those new to the Old Mass to see this side of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre...indeed, the more important side as it was his love of truth and the Mass as handed on to him that fueled his battle to defend it. Indexed.
344 pages, Paperback
First published January 22, 2008
3 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
About the author
Marcel Lefebvre
48 books62 followersMarcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre (29 November 1905 – 25 March 1991) was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Following a career as an Apostolic Delegate for West Africa and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers, he took the lead in opposing certain changes within the Church associated with the Second Vatican Council.
In 1970, Lefebvre founded the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). In 1988, after he consecrated four bishops to continue his work with the SSPX against the expressed prohibition of Pope John Paul II, the Holy See immediately declared that he and the other bishops who had participated in the ceremony had incurred automatic excommunication under Catholic canon law. In 2009, 18 years after Lefebvre's death, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication of the four surviving bishops.
There is more than one author with this name
In 1970, Lefebvre founded the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). In 1988, after he consecrated four bishops to continue his work with the SSPX against the expressed prohibition of Pope John Paul II, the Holy See immediately declared that he and the other bishops who had participated in the ceremony had incurred automatic excommunication under Catholic canon law. In 2009, 18 years after Lefebvre's death, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication of the four surviving bishops.
There is more than one author with this name
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 25, 2021
Putting this book together was in itself quite an accomplishment. It meant going through many conferences, notes, scribblings, etc. to create a book around a theme that Archbishop Lefebvre spoke about often.
The first half of the book is completely dedicated to the Traditional Latin Mass and this part is excellent.
The second half of the book is an analysis of the Novus Ordo by Paul VI and here the wheels come off the wagon. We see clear identification of "the Mass of Luther" with the doublethink narrative that the Mass of Luther could ever be promulgated by the Catholic Church. It is with books like this that the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) brainwash their faithful into crazy notions about the Church's indefectibility. Still and all, if you want to read about the Traditional Mass, read up until p. 173. If you want some background on the liturgical reform without anything too objectionable (apart from the Archbishop's clear misreads on what could be constituted as "excellent" reform), read 177-234. But if you don't want to be confused by the SSPX's crazy recognize-and-resist ecclesiology and all the errors that flow from such thinking, skip the rest.
"Your studies have no purpose outside the Mass. All of theology revolves around Our Lord Jesus Christ, His Mass and His Cross." (xii)
(quoting from the Summa) "Humility is a moral virtue that inclines us, by reverence towards God to abase ourselves and to remain in the place that we perceive to be our due." (p. 15)
"We pursue humility so as finally to attain charity, to be in the state of charity." (p. 16)
"[T]he liturgy is like our mother, who teaches us to love Our Lord Jesus Christ, to adore Him as we ought, and to receive all the graces we need." (p. 17)
"Why did these people, who were much poorer than we, spend so much money and time to build the splendid cathedrals that we, and even nonbelievers, still admire today? Because of the altar, because of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to commemorate Our Lord Jesus Christ's triumph on the Cross." (p. 21)
"It is an error to think that paying attention at Mass means reading all the prayers in the Missal." (p. 25)
"Sin, and the results of sin, have succeeded in creating a world of mirages, illusions, and errors. This has developed to such an extent that men end up by becoming accustomed to this sensitized, sensualized, humanized world, not longer being able to see that all this is vain and ephemeral in relation to the true spiritual, supernatural, and eternal life." (p. 30)
"All that he sees, all that he knows, all the wonders that surround him, should make man sing unceasingly the praises of God." (p. 39)
"So et us strive not to live like atheists who profit from everything the good God has given us - our health, our eyes, our ears, our bodies - and who, despite that, do not think of him." (p. 39)
"Our Lord did not die from the thrust of the lance He received to His heart. He died of love. Our Lord's soul escaped from His body because He willed it. He died of love for His Father first of all, and then of love for us, in order to re-establish the bond between mankind and the Father." (p. 42)
"How the Virgin Mary suffered a martyrdom at the thought that the Blood of her Divine Son would not be received by the whole human race! That was her martyrdom...if you are not martyrized by the sight of these souls that refuse Our Lord, then you are not really sons of the Church." (p. 63)
"Have this desire to suffer with Our Lord and with the Blessed Virgin for your soul and for the salvation of all souls." (p. 70)
(regarding the Preface) "The Church invites the priest, and the assembly with him, to lift himself above all earthly and temporal preoccupations, to find himself somewhat in a moment of eternity." (p. 79)
"The Mass is essentially hierarchical, and that is why the priest turns toward God, towards the crucifix..." (p. 87)
"His whole life long, Our Lord Jesus Christ was haunted by the desire to ascend the Cross." (p. 92)
"The real reason for the priest's celibacy is that, by the words of the consecration, he has the power to make Our Lord come down upon the altar. It is proper that one who has this power over a God who is Spirit, who is the Master and Creator of the world, should be a virgin, and that he remain celibate. That is the fundamental reason for priestly celibacy." (p. 111)
"For every creature, the measure by which God will judge us - what we are, what we have of value, the "esteem" God may have for us - will henceforth be our union with Our Lord Jesus Christ." (p. 123)
(quoting Cardinal Pie) "If today it is no longer the time for Our Lord Jesus Christ to reign over societies, then it is no longer the time for societies to last." (p. 132)
"People dispose of themselves...as if they were made for themselves...billions of men, live like that, without reference to God." (p. 136)
(quoting St. Thomas and St. Augustine) "Wisdom consists in seeing things according to the eternal reasons." (p. 136)
"The fruit of the sacrifice of the Cross and of the sacrifice of the Mass is peace: peace in the souls and societies that welcome Our Lord and submit themselves to His law of love." (p. 138)
"Christians nourished themselves with the Eucharist because it is a specific remedy for reducing our concupiscence...Insofar as one receives Our Lord Jesus Christ with the necessary dispositions, the fire of concupiscence abates and souls rest in peace; they are not always tormented by these problems." (p. 148)
"While the nourishment of the body is transformed into our substance, during Communion the opposite happens. The nourishment we receive transforms us into itself; we truly become members of Our Lord." (p. 150)
"Empty your heart completely so that the good God can fill it!" (p. 153)
"[T]he virtue of the sacraments is greater in well-disposed souls." (p. 153)
"As the doors of the Hebrews were marked with the blood of the lamb...the Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ must be in us, mark us..." (p. 159)
"[T]o the extent that priests no longer celebrate the holy sacrifice of the Mass, our Christian civilization is reduced to nothing." (p. 161)
The first half of the book is completely dedicated to the Traditional Latin Mass and this part is excellent.
The second half of the book is an analysis of the Novus Ordo by Paul VI and here the wheels come off the wagon. We see clear identification of "the Mass of Luther" with the doublethink narrative that the Mass of Luther could ever be promulgated by the Catholic Church. It is with books like this that the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) brainwash their faithful into crazy notions about the Church's indefectibility. Still and all, if you want to read about the Traditional Mass, read up until p. 173. If you want some background on the liturgical reform without anything too objectionable (apart from the Archbishop's clear misreads on what could be constituted as "excellent" reform), read 177-234. But if you don't want to be confused by the SSPX's crazy recognize-and-resist ecclesiology and all the errors that flow from such thinking, skip the rest.
"Your studies have no purpose outside the Mass. All of theology revolves around Our Lord Jesus Christ, His Mass and His Cross." (xii)
(quoting from the Summa) "Humility is a moral virtue that inclines us, by reverence towards God to abase ourselves and to remain in the place that we perceive to be our due." (p. 15)
"We pursue humility so as finally to attain charity, to be in the state of charity." (p. 16)
"[T]he liturgy is like our mother, who teaches us to love Our Lord Jesus Christ, to adore Him as we ought, and to receive all the graces we need." (p. 17)
"Why did these people, who were much poorer than we, spend so much money and time to build the splendid cathedrals that we, and even nonbelievers, still admire today? Because of the altar, because of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to commemorate Our Lord Jesus Christ's triumph on the Cross." (p. 21)
"It is an error to think that paying attention at Mass means reading all the prayers in the Missal." (p. 25)
"Sin, and the results of sin, have succeeded in creating a world of mirages, illusions, and errors. This has developed to such an extent that men end up by becoming accustomed to this sensitized, sensualized, humanized world, not longer being able to see that all this is vain and ephemeral in relation to the true spiritual, supernatural, and eternal life." (p. 30)
"All that he sees, all that he knows, all the wonders that surround him, should make man sing unceasingly the praises of God." (p. 39)
"So et us strive not to live like atheists who profit from everything the good God has given us - our health, our eyes, our ears, our bodies - and who, despite that, do not think of him." (p. 39)
"Our Lord did not die from the thrust of the lance He received to His heart. He died of love. Our Lord's soul escaped from His body because He willed it. He died of love for His Father first of all, and then of love for us, in order to re-establish the bond between mankind and the Father." (p. 42)
"How the Virgin Mary suffered a martyrdom at the thought that the Blood of her Divine Son would not be received by the whole human race! That was her martyrdom...if you are not martyrized by the sight of these souls that refuse Our Lord, then you are not really sons of the Church." (p. 63)
"Have this desire to suffer with Our Lord and with the Blessed Virgin for your soul and for the salvation of all souls." (p. 70)
(regarding the Preface) "The Church invites the priest, and the assembly with him, to lift himself above all earthly and temporal preoccupations, to find himself somewhat in a moment of eternity." (p. 79)
"The Mass is essentially hierarchical, and that is why the priest turns toward God, towards the crucifix..." (p. 87)
"His whole life long, Our Lord Jesus Christ was haunted by the desire to ascend the Cross." (p. 92)
"The real reason for the priest's celibacy is that, by the words of the consecration, he has the power to make Our Lord come down upon the altar. It is proper that one who has this power over a God who is Spirit, who is the Master and Creator of the world, should be a virgin, and that he remain celibate. That is the fundamental reason for priestly celibacy." (p. 111)
"For every creature, the measure by which God will judge us - what we are, what we have of value, the "esteem" God may have for us - will henceforth be our union with Our Lord Jesus Christ." (p. 123)
(quoting Cardinal Pie) "If today it is no longer the time for Our Lord Jesus Christ to reign over societies, then it is no longer the time for societies to last." (p. 132)
"People dispose of themselves...as if they were made for themselves...billions of men, live like that, without reference to God." (p. 136)
(quoting St. Thomas and St. Augustine) "Wisdom consists in seeing things according to the eternal reasons." (p. 136)
"The fruit of the sacrifice of the Cross and of the sacrifice of the Mass is peace: peace in the souls and societies that welcome Our Lord and submit themselves to His law of love." (p. 138)
"Christians nourished themselves with the Eucharist because it is a specific remedy for reducing our concupiscence...Insofar as one receives Our Lord Jesus Christ with the necessary dispositions, the fire of concupiscence abates and souls rest in peace; they are not always tormented by these problems." (p. 148)
"While the nourishment of the body is transformed into our substance, during Communion the opposite happens. The nourishment we receive transforms us into itself; we truly become members of Our Lord." (p. 150)
"Empty your heart completely so that the good God can fill it!" (p. 153)
"[T]he virtue of the sacraments is greater in well-disposed souls." (p. 153)
"As the doors of the Hebrews were marked with the blood of the lamb...the Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ must be in us, mark us..." (p. 159)
"[T]o the extent that priests no longer celebrate the holy sacrifice of the Mass, our Christian civilization is reduced to nothing." (p. 161)
Displaying 1 of 1 review