In the pre-Vatican II Church, this tremendous solidity was reflected in all the various facets of Catholic worship and life. There was absolutely no doubt, for instance, that the traditional Latin Mass was wholly intent on worshipping the majesty of God and of accomplishing that filial submission of mind and heart of all those who assisted at Mass to the total sovereignty of God over all things human.
The Latin language, the direction the altar faced, the beauty of sacred vessels, statuary, stained-glass windows, all aspects of the architecture, and the sacred music – all these things spoke of worship centered upon the Infinite, Immutable Being of God. And, of course, the prayers of the Old Mass embodied this worship to the utmost.
The very fact that the priest and servers knelt at the foot of the steps and prayed Psalm 42 and the Confiteor before they dared ascend to the altar, profoundly revealed this basic orientation of our faith and worship.
The same may be said for all standard materials used to teach the Faith. Catechisms such as the Baltimore catechism in the U.S. or the Penny catechism in the UK were almost like small compendiums of the Catechism of the Council of Trent, deeply reflecting the principles of our faith found in the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas.
All of this solidity largely disappeared after Vatican Council II. It was widely declared that Triumphalism was something that only belonged to the Pharisaical past, and that the path to the future lay in something called aggiornamento – which roughly translated means “openness to the world.” This, despite the fact that Holy Scripture issues a dire warning precisely against any such “openness” to, or friendship with, the world.
In the Epistle of St. James, we read: “Adulterers, know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever, therefore will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God.” (James 4:4).
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