Would it have been different if the church laid out the liturgy in its full ideal, without disclosing options except as a footnote - and in that required particular justification for not celebrating according to the way it was actually written?

What if it was presented will all of the first options, and nothing else? "This is what we will do now. Learn it. Sing these things in this order. Observe these postures. This is the liturgy of the Second Vatican Council."

Then, as an aside, it was mentioned, "In some cases, such as [insert legitimate reason], these or those may be substituted for this or that. When faced with legitimate circumstances, the celebrant shall contact The Office of Optionitis for ecclesial approval and guidance on appropriate measures to be taken when the liturgy is altered in any way."


Its been said by others here and I've said it myself a few times ... its so relieving how the Byzantines simply do their liturgy the way that they do it. Sad that the OF can't be saturated by the same matter-of-factness. "This is our liturgy. Its how its written, so its how we do it."

The First Option Rite is as beautiful as any, but it rarely appears because of the ease with which substitutions are made - and they are made without any justifiable reason. A pastor with severe emphysema who cannot sing is justifiable. He'd get ecclesial approval to speak his parts, and the choir would go on singing their propers and the parish would go on singing its latin ordinary. A mission church where the congregation knows no latin can justifiably sing the ordinary in an approved (sacred) vernacular setting. "Pastoral reasons" because a deep-pocketed parishioner is upset that the Mass of the Little Mermaid is no longer in use is not justifiable and would be rejected. And the mass would continue to be celebrated with first options and people would continue to attend faithfully and do the liturgy the way the liturgy is done without trying to adjust it to suit their tastes (the way the Byzantines live).


First options only. Approval needed for any deviations.