Genuflecting to the Jews — Most Rev. Donald J. Sanborn — www.traditionalmass.org Benedict XVI replaces the Good Friday prayer for the Jews in the ’62 Missal IN JULY 2007, Ratzinger authorized the widespread use the priest and congregation do not make the genuflec- of the modified form of the traditional Mass contained tion after the priests says oremus, or let us pray. The in the 1962 Missal of John XXIII. One of the most vocal reason is that the Church considered it inappropriate negative reactions to his initiative came from the Jews, to use, at this point in which reference is made to the who objected to the prayer for their conversion that infidelity of the Jews, the same gesture — the genu- the Missal prescribed for the Good Friday liturgical flection — as the Jewish soldiers did to mock Jesus. service. On Ash Wednesday 2008, in response to a The same principle is applied on Holy Saturday when fairly aggressive campaign from various Jewish pres- there is no flectamus genua (let us kneel) after the sure groups, Ratzinger finally replaced the prayer twelfth lesson, in which is commemorated the refusal with another text entirely. of the three young men to genuflect, as an act of idola- This was the fourth change made in connection try, to the statue of Nabuchodonosor. with the prayer of the Jews. The traditional version is extremely ancient (one of the oldest texts in the Mis- Changes in the Prayer sal), and was used at the Mass of the Presanctified on (1) 1955: Genuflection Introduced. In 1955, there was a Good Friday: major revision of the rites of Holy Week, engineered Let us pray also for the faithless Jews: that Al- and designed by none other than the author of the mighty God remove the veil from their hearts, so New Mass, Annibale Bugnini. that they too might acknowledge Jesus Christ Our Among other things, a genuflection was inserted Lord. in the prayer for the conversion of the Jews. This was probably the first time, in the entire history of the Let us pray. Church, that a rite of the Church was influenced by a Almighty and eternal God, who does not exclude “sensitivity” to non-Catholics. from Thy mercy even Jewish faithlessness: hear our prayers, which we offer for the blindness of that (2) 1959: “Faithless” Removed. In 1959, the word faith- people; that acknowledging the light of Thy truth, less was removed from the prayer by John XXIII. which is Christ, they may be delivered from their darkness. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, who In Latin the word is perfidis, which transliterates, lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy but does not translate, into perfidious. I emphasize the Ghost, God, world without end. Amen. fact that it merely transliterates, which means that it looks very similar to the English word perfidious, but The reference to the veil on their hearts is directly that the Latin does not carry the meaning of the Eng- from St. Paul (II Cor. III: 13-16): lish word perfidious. Pope Pius XII had been urged by And not as Moses put a veil upon his face, that the Eugenio Maria Zolli, formerly Israel Zolli and chief children of Israel might not steadfastly look on the Rabbi of Rome before converting to Catholicism in face of that which is made void. But their senses 1945, to remove the word “perfidis” from the Good were made dull. For, until this present day, the self- Friday prayer for the Jews: same veil, in the reading of the old testament, re- maineth not taken away (because in Christ it is For some time the ex-Chief Rabbi and the reigning made void). But even until this day, when Moses is Pope spoke privately. Zolli later told Dezza [the read, the veil is upon their heart. But when they priest, later Cardinal, who baptized Zolli] that he shall be converted to the Lord, the veil shall be had entreated the pontiff to remove references in the taken away. solemn Good Friday liturgy to “perfidious Jews,” Pius refused to do so and explained to Zolli that the It should also be noted that in the traditional rite adjective “perfidious” which is ordinarily defined — 1 — as “deliberately faithless” or “treacherous” or “de- and reputed Freemason Bugnini. ceitful” actually meant “incredulous” in the context Shortly after this dramatic and long-awaited per- of the Catholic prayers.1 mission of the 1962 Missal, the Anti-Defamation This is the John XXIII prayer, which is contained League, (ADL) the Jewish watchdog group which in the 1962 Missal: blows the whistle on everything which it perceives to be anti-Jewish, referred to the permission of the 1962 Let us pray also for the Jews: that almighty God Missal as a “body-blow” to Catholic-Jewish relations. may remove the veil from their hearts; so that they Moved by such an accusation, Ratzinger recently too may acknowledge Jesus Christ our Lord. altered the prayer of the 1962 Missal to read this way: Let us pray. Let us kneel. Arise. Let us also pray for the Jews: That our God and Almighty and eternal God, who dost also not ex- Lord may illuminate their hearts, that they ac- clude from Thy mercy the Jews: hear our prayers, knowledge that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all men. which we offer for the blindness of that people; that Let us pray. Let us kneel. Rise. acknowledging the light of Thy truth, which is Christ, they may be delivered from their darkness. Almighty and eternal God, who want that all men Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and be saved and come to the recognition of the truth, reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, propitiously grant that even as the fulness of the God, world without end. Amen. peoples enters Thy Church, all Israel be saved. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen. (3) 1970: “Conversion” Goes. In 1970, Paul VI abol- ished the traditional prayer entirely, and substituted Before we say anything, it must be averred that this prayer, which appears in the 1970 Novus Ordo this prayer takes the first prize as being the most bi- Missal: zarre prayer ever to be formulated by anyone. By the admission of the Modernist inhabitants of Let us pray for the Jewish people, the first to hear the Vatican, the prayer is a reference to Romans XI: the word of God, that they may continue to grow in 25-26: “For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, of the love of his name and in faithfulness to his cove- nant. this mystery, (lest you should be wise in your own con- ceits), that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until (Prayer in silence.) Then the priest says: the fulness of the Gentiles should come in. And so all Is- Almighty and eternal God, long ago you gave your rael should be saved, as it is written: There shall come out promise to Abraham and his posterity. Listen to of Sion, he that shall deliver, and shall turn away ungodli- your Church as we pray that the people you first ness from Jacob.” made your own may arrive at the fullness of re- demption. We ask this through Christ our Lord. St. Paul on the Jews Amen. Does St. Paul save Ratzinger’s prayer? No. For It should be noted that in the 1970 Missal all ref- Ratzinger’s prayer makes no mention of the necessity erence to the conversion of the Jews is removed. The of the Jews to abandon their unbelief (perfidia), their prayer clearly states that they can achieve the “full- darkness, their blindness, and the veil over their ness of redemption” by merely continuing “to grow in eyes. For St. Paul mentions all of these things. the love of his name and in faithfulness to his cove- • In Galatians V: 4 he says that the Jews have nant.” So despite the fact that they deny Christ, they fallen from grace: “You are made void of Christ, you who are described as loving the name of God and as being are justified in the law: you are fallen from grace.” faithful to His covenant. Such statements blatantly • In Romans IX: 32-33, he says that they have contradict the holy gospels and the epistles of Saint stumbled through their rejection of Christ: “For they Paul. Indeed, it is raw blasphemy. stumbled at the stumblingstone. As it is written: Behold I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and a rock of scandal; and (4) 2008: A Bizarre Creation. On July 7, 2007, Ratzinger whosoever believeth in him shall not be confounded.” • In Romans XI: 7-8, St. Paul says that the Jews issued a document, a Motu Proprio, entitled Sum- are blinded, and have the spirit of insensibility: “What morum Pontificum, in which he liberally permitted the then? That which Israel sought, he hath not obtained: but use of the 1962 Missal, which is substantially, al- the election hath obtained it; and the rest have been though far from perfectly, the traditional Mass. The blinded. As it is written: God hath given them the spirit of Holy Week rites contained in it, however, are not tra- insensibility; eyes that they should not see; and ears that ditional at all, but are the product of the Modernist they should not hear, until this present day.” • In Romans XI: 27-30, St. Paul says that the ful- 1. Robert G. Weisbord and Wallace P. Sillanpoa, The Chief Rabbi, the Pope, and the Holocaust: An Era in Vatican-Jewish Relations, page 171.