(This article is based on material from different sites.)
“Enter by the narrow gate, for broad is the road and wide is the gate that leads to destruction. There are many who choose it. But small is the gate and narrow is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Sermon on the Mount.)
Narrow gate leads to heaven. Wide gate leads to destruction.
Over the centuries leaders of the Church have made many changes and made the gate wide. Many popes have suppressed many practices or made many changes.
Dilutions have made many lose faith. Changes during and after Second Vatican Council resulted in many Catholics quitting the Church. The teaching of the Church changed. Some tried to justify changes by saying there is no change in teaching, it is better understanding. They were fooling themselves. Catholic Church had expanded till 1962. That year was the start of Second Vatican Council. Catholics were in high positions. John F. Kennedy was President of USA. Ngo Dinh Diem was President of South Vietnam. Both were shot dead in November 1963. Afterwards no Catholic became President of USA. Communist North Vietnam conquered South Vietnam in 1975.
I want many things restored in the Church.
Communion fast should be from midnight. Communion should be received kneeling. Churches should have communion rails.
Fulfilment of Sunday obligation should be on Sundays. Fulfilling Sunday obligation on Saturday evenings should go.
There should be restoration of octaves.
Many Octaves were abolished in 1568 or 1570. Seven of them are as below:
1) St. Francis
2) Clare
3) Anthony of Padua
4) Bernadine
5) Peter of Tolouse
6) Conception
7) Visitation
After 1570 and before 1903 there were following octaves:
1. Christmas
2. St. Stephen
3. St. John
4. Holy Innocents
5. Epiphany
6. St. Agnes
7. St. John the Baptist
8. Sts. Peter and Paul
9. St. Lawrence
10. Assumption
11. Nativity of Mary
12. All Saints’ Day
13. Easter,
14. Ascension,
15. Pentecost
16. Corpus Christi
17. Sacred Heart
18. Immaculate Conception
19. St. Joseph
20. Patron saint of nation/diocese/church
Pius XII kept Christmas, Easter and Pentecost octaves and suppressed other octaves in 1955. In 1969 Paul VI suppressed Pentecost octave. I want all the suppressed octaves back. Mass and readings need not be same on different days. When a day has multiple octaves, special prayers of all octaves should be said.
There should be Restoration of vigils.
There were 18 vigils, applicable to the whole Latin rite, for the feasts of:
Easter (Holy Saturday)
Christmas
Epiphany
Ascension
Pentecost
The Immaculate Conception
The Assumption
Eight feasts of the Apostles – St Matthias, SS Peter and Paul, St James, St Bartholomew, St Matthew, SS Simon and Jude, St Andrew, St Thomas
St John the Baptist
St Lawrence
All Saints.
Besides the above, religious orders and dioceses sometimes had their own proper vigils.
Easter vigil should have twelve readings as was before.
Pius XII in 1955 suppressed the vigils of all the apostles, except SS Peter and Paul, also suppressing the vigils of All Saints, and of the Immaculate Conception.
There should be restoration of holy days of obligation.
There were 36 holy days of obligation before 1911.
The Holy Trinity:
1. Nativity
2. Circumcision
3. Epiphany
4. Monday within the Octave of the Resurrection
5. Tuesday within the Octave of the Resurrection
6. Ascension
7. Monday within the Octave of Pentecost
8. Tuesday within the Octave of Pentecost
9. Most Holy Trinity
10. Most Holy Body of Christ
11. Finding of the Holy Cross
The Blessed Virgin:
12. Purification BVM
13. Annunciation BVM14. Assumption BVM
15. Nativity BVM
16. Immaculate Conception BVM (by Clement XI)
The Saints:
17. Dedication of St. Michael
18. Nativity of St. John Baptist
19. Ss. Peter and Paul
20. St. Andrew
21. St. James
22. St. John (the December feast)
23. St. Thomas
24. Ss. Philip and James
25. St. Bartholomew
26. St. Matthew
27. Ss. Simon and Jude
28. St. Matthias
29. St. Stephen (the December feast)
30. The Holy Innocents
31. St. Lawrence
32. St. Sylvester
33. St. Joseph
34. St. Anne
35. All Saints
36. Principal Patrons of Country, City, etc.
All who can attend mass should be asked to do so. There is no need to abstain from work.
There were Ember and Rogation Days.
Rogation days were Monday to Wednesday before Ascension.
Ember days were Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays – between
3rd and 4th Sundays of Advent
1st and 2nd Sundays of Lent
Pentecost and Trinity Sunday
Week following 14 September — Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
These were days of prayer and fasting. Lent was a season of fasting. Rogation days came during Easter season. These days may be restored as they were or with modifications.
There should be restoration of 40 days Lenten fast. Law regarding fast and abstinence during Lent and other days should be the same throughout the world.
Maundy Thursday washing of feet should be of 12 Catholic males.
Midnight masses should begin at midnight. If not possible for legal reason they should be at 6 a.m.
Easter house blessing should be by priests or seminarians.
Reading of marriage banns should be at all masses on three consecutive Sundays/holy days of obligation. In many churches banns are read during one mass only on two consecutive Sundays/holy days of obligation.
Many grounds of excommunications should be restored. Judges who strike down marriage as a union of a man and a woman should be excommunicated.
Diocesan Administrator during the vacancy of a bishop should be known again as Vicar Capitular.
There should be restoration of minor orders of porter, lector, exorcist, and acolyte and major order of sub diaconate.
There should be restoration of mass by one priest who may be assisted by a deacon and sub deacon who may be priests. End to concelebration.
Feast days should be as per date, not to be shifted to Sundays.
There should be restoration of pre-1969 dress for bishops and cardinals.
All cardinals should have right to vote in conclaves. Right of cardinals above 80 to vote in conclaves taken away in 1971 should be restored. Only archbishops should be made cardinals. There should be a limit on the number of cardinals.