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The Heresy of Formlessness: The Roman Liturgy and Its Enemy
Sure to be the subject of much discussion, this book takes a look at the post Vatican II approach to liturgy through the eyes of a man who says the Church has lost much and gained nothing through the promulgation of the "Novus Ordo" Mass. An accomplished novelist and writer, German author Martin Mosebach gives a plea for a return to the preconciliar Latin Rite, giving a persuasive and compelling argument against what he sees as a jarring break in tradition. Yet there is another way to approach the Liturgy. In his foreword, Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., points out the difference between Mosebach's approach and "those who, like myself, the Adoremus Society, and―I think I can assert this with confidence―Pope Benedict XVI, advocate a rereading and restructuring of the liturgical renewal intended by the Second Vatican Council, but in light of the Church's two-thousand-year tradition."
210 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
18 people are currently reading
276 people want to read
About the author
Martin Mosebach
65 books69 followersMartin Mosebach has published novels, stories, and collections of poems, written scripts for several films, opera libretti, theatre and radio plays.
The German Academy for Language and Literature praised him for "combining stylistic splendour with original storytelling that demonstrates a humorous awareness of history."
Among his works translated into English is The Heresy of Formlessness, a collection of essays on the liturgy and its recent reform told from the perspective of a literary writer. It has been published in the United States by Ignatius Press.
The book argues for a return to the Tridentine Rite of the Mass, the form of the Roman Rite before the Second Vatican Council, the use of which, in accordance with the Roman Missal of 1962, is authorized, under certain conditions, by the 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum.
Other works include The Turkish Woman, "The Tremor," "The Long Night" and "Prince of Mist," in which the author examines the motives behind man's eternal search for a meaning.
The German Academy for Language and Literature praised him for "combining stylistic splendour with original storytelling that demonstrates a humorous awareness of history."
Among his works translated into English is The Heresy of Formlessness, a collection of essays on the liturgy and its recent reform told from the perspective of a literary writer. It has been published in the United States by Ignatius Press.
The book argues for a return to the Tridentine Rite of the Mass, the form of the Roman Rite before the Second Vatican Council, the use of which, in accordance with the Roman Missal of 1962, is authorized, under certain conditions, by the 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum.
Other works include The Turkish Woman, "The Tremor," "The Long Night" and "Prince of Mist," in which the author examines the motives behind man's eternal search for a meaning.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
November 17, 2016
When I discovered the beauty and reverence of the Latin Mass some years ago, a parishioner recommended to me THE HERESY OF FORMLESSNESS, by Martin Mosebach. It is a wonderful exposition on what the Church has lost in adopting the Novus Ordo over what is now called the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Mosebach is not a theologian, but a German writer and an artist, and writes frequently on art and literature, so he approaches the subject with those unique sensibilities. His opening:
In am not a convert or a proselyte. I have had no sudden and spectacular illumination. My roots in religion were feeble for a long time. I cannot say with any certainty when they began to grow; perhaps it was when I reached twenty-five. At any rate, slowly but surely, they did begin to grow. I am inclined to think that these roots are deep by now and are continually growing, though, as before, in a way that is hardly ascertainable. What set this process in motion -- a process that has not yet reached its end -- was my acquaintance with the old Catholic liturgy. [13]
It is probably no longer arguable that Mosebach is correct when he cites that the changes in the liturgy from Vatican II have led to: a degradation in reverence by many parishioners, which includes everything from talking, visiting, dressing improperly, general misbehavior, before and during Mass, coming late, leaving early; the loss of beautiiful sacred music, the Gregorian chants, to vapid contemporary hymns and guitar choirs; fewer men entering the priesthood; an overall "dumbing-down" of Catholic teachings; contemporary church architecture more befitting a concert hall than a house designed and built to the glory of God; increase in the "busy-work" of lay liturgy committees mucking about where they should leave well enough alone.
Much of what Mosebach believes can be summed up, I think, in this one short excerpt:
I admit quite openly that I am one of those naive folk who look at the surface, the external appearance of things, in order to judge their inner nature, their truth, or their spuriousness. The doctrine of supposedly 'inner values' hidden under a dirty and decrepit shell is something I find highly suspicious. [15]
More recently, to quote Fr. Barron, "Beauty is a pathway to God." I think this is much of what Mosebach is trying to say. Beauty in the liturgy, the music, the artwork, the icons, the worship space, and that in the last 50 years we've lost a lot of that. I do not recall who said it, but to paraphrase, "the external informs the internal," meaning how we dress, act, show reverence, all of it informs our inner life; theses external things are not insignificant. In a sense, we are what we reverence, we are how we outwardly present ourselves. What Mosebach is saying is that the old Rite informed us well -- through its signs and symbols, its language, its posture, it imparted that onto the parishioners. Mosebach goes on to say,
I have described my conviction that it is impossible to retain reverence and worship without their traditional forms. Of course there will always be people who are so filled with grace that they can pray even when the means of prayer have been ripped from their hands. Many people, too, concerned about these issues, will ask, "Isn't it still possible to celebrate the new liturgy of Pope Paul VI worthily and reverently?" Naturally it is possible, but the very fact that it is possible is the weightiest argument against the new liturgy.... While the liturgy is going on, time is suspended: liturgical time is different from time that elapses outside the church's walls. It is Golgatha time, the time of the hapax, the unique and sole Sacrifice; it is a time that contains all times and none. [31-32]
Mosebach writes beautifully, and with that artist's sensibility, seems to unlock all what lies beneath the TLM. Very readable, and very enlightening. I couldn't agree more.
In am not a convert or a proselyte. I have had no sudden and spectacular illumination. My roots in religion were feeble for a long time. I cannot say with any certainty when they began to grow; perhaps it was when I reached twenty-five. At any rate, slowly but surely, they did begin to grow. I am inclined to think that these roots are deep by now and are continually growing, though, as before, in a way that is hardly ascertainable. What set this process in motion -- a process that has not yet reached its end -- was my acquaintance with the old Catholic liturgy. [13]
It is probably no longer arguable that Mosebach is correct when he cites that the changes in the liturgy from Vatican II have led to: a degradation in reverence by many parishioners, which includes everything from talking, visiting, dressing improperly, general misbehavior, before and during Mass, coming late, leaving early; the loss of beautiiful sacred music, the Gregorian chants, to vapid contemporary hymns and guitar choirs; fewer men entering the priesthood; an overall "dumbing-down" of Catholic teachings; contemporary church architecture more befitting a concert hall than a house designed and built to the glory of God; increase in the "busy-work" of lay liturgy committees mucking about where they should leave well enough alone.
Much of what Mosebach believes can be summed up, I think, in this one short excerpt:
I admit quite openly that I am one of those naive folk who look at the surface, the external appearance of things, in order to judge their inner nature, their truth, or their spuriousness. The doctrine of supposedly 'inner values' hidden under a dirty and decrepit shell is something I find highly suspicious. [15]
More recently, to quote Fr. Barron, "Beauty is a pathway to God." I think this is much of what Mosebach is trying to say. Beauty in the liturgy, the music, the artwork, the icons, the worship space, and that in the last 50 years we've lost a lot of that. I do not recall who said it, but to paraphrase, "the external informs the internal," meaning how we dress, act, show reverence, all of it informs our inner life; theses external things are not insignificant. In a sense, we are what we reverence, we are how we outwardly present ourselves. What Mosebach is saying is that the old Rite informed us well -- through its signs and symbols, its language, its posture, it imparted that onto the parishioners. Mosebach goes on to say,
I have described my conviction that it is impossible to retain reverence and worship without their traditional forms. Of course there will always be people who are so filled with grace that they can pray even when the means of prayer have been ripped from their hands. Many people, too, concerned about these issues, will ask, "Isn't it still possible to celebrate the new liturgy of Pope Paul VI worthily and reverently?" Naturally it is possible, but the very fact that it is possible is the weightiest argument against the new liturgy.... While the liturgy is going on, time is suspended: liturgical time is different from time that elapses outside the church's walls. It is Golgatha time, the time of the hapax, the unique and sole Sacrifice; it is a time that contains all times and none. [31-32]
Mosebach writes beautifully, and with that artist's sensibility, seems to unlock all what lies beneath the TLM. Very readable, and very enlightening. I couldn't agree more.
September 6, 2020
A delightful collection of reflections on the Traditional Latin Mass through the eyes of an artist. Mosebach isn’t overly concerned with “aesthetics” but rather explains how the form and content of art, and a fortiori of liturgy, cannot be separated. He provides common sense responses to so-called liturgical reformers who want to break with organically developed liturgical traditions in favor of a return to the practices of the early Church:
“If people who have been kneeling for a thousand years suddenly get to their feet, they do not think, “We’re doing this like the early Christians, who stood for the Consecration”; they are not aware of returning to some particularly authentic form of worship. They simply get up brush the dust from their trouser-legs and say to themselves: “So it wasn’t such a serious business after all.””
“If people who have been kneeling for a thousand years suddenly get to their feet, they do not think, “We’re doing this like the early Christians, who stood for the Consecration”; they are not aware of returning to some particularly authentic form of worship. They simply get up brush the dust from their trouser-legs and say to themselves: “So it wasn’t such a serious business after all.””
August 2, 2013
Really, really remarkable book. I don't know that I can do it justice with a review. Mosebach is a genius who offers a view on the liturgical upheaval of the last 40 years that it indispensable. I came away with an incredible appreciation of the Extraordinary Form and its riches.
February 25, 2018
This is not so much a work of theology but a love letter to the Tridentine Rite. The author develops his appreciation of the mass from a little incident that he happenned to observe of some ladies washing purificators. He traces the emotional development of the Church's liturgy as a history of growing more conscious of the Real Presence. There is a tremendous amount of luturgical history in this book but this book does not advocate the Old Rite because it is old, but because of it appropriateness as an outlet for the piety of the Faithful. He is not opposed to organic development but he does not think that going back to standing means anything to our generation. Thus he dashes innovation from history. The early chapter on plain chant was very interesting from what I could gather, some distinctions he made about intonations of the Amen lost on my untrained ears. However the chapter on Liturgy and Art was very much my speed. Indeed form is no mere secondary aspect to ritual. My only caveat with the book were the last two capters. Although i enjoyed the excerpt of that novel and the meditation on Mathew's geneology, I think that should have been edited out. Otherwise a constructive book.
January 15, 2019
Alongside Hitchcock's "Catholicism and Modernity," and Jackson's "Nothing Superfluous," Mosebach's book rounds out the trifecta of Most Important Nonfiction Books About Postconciliar Catholicism. Mosebach's writing style - which can jump from logical reasoning to personal anecdote to historical events - was a little difficult to get used to, but so immensely vindicating.
January 7, 2018
Great to see a book on the subject that is not written by a liturgist or a theologian. The author here is merely a lay-man in the pews, charting the apparent destruction of the Roman liturgy from the time of the 1960s. Even in the English, there is great style of language.
October 4, 2010
More of a rant than an argument against the Mass of Paul VI, though a literary and beautiful one. Brilliant in parts, the book is uneven and lacks coherence. Well worth reading, however.
March 17, 2018
Would have liked to have read the entire book without the removal of some choice bits that were in the original German.
June 5, 2018
The title would lead you to think that this is a polemic. It is not.
Mosebach sets out, not to attack the Novus Ordo Mass, but to defend and commend the Tridentine Rite, or what he prefers to call "The Mass of St Gregory the Great." But this is no narrow academic study of the liturgy or its history. Mosebach is a novelist, and he shows us the Mass in its splendor. He shows us the intimate connection between Catholic belief and Catholic practice embodied in the liturgy. He shows us what was lost to the faithful when those charged by Christ to hand on the faith "once delivered for all the saints" instead "ripped the prayer books from their hands."
The heresy in question, which the English translation of the title renders "formlessness" (remember that Mosebach writes in German) is not just the heresy that besets the Church today, but the world. It is the heresy that we can take something given, something fixed and transcendent, and cut-and-paste it into something of our own design, in the fashion of our own ideas.
But this is not just a book about the liturgy. It is a book about the Catholic faith. Of course Catholicism is a faith of dogmas, of facts that must be assented to. But it is far from only that. Those dogmas are lived, and bear fruit in the worship of Christ the Incarnate Word. Mosebach shows us that worship, tracing the threads of Christian belief through the woven cloth of the liturgy in in the Latin Rite. In tracing these threads, he also shows us where they have been cut, broken, or frayed as that cloth was trimmed, cut, and re-stitched in the liturgical "reform."
Because this is a book about the Catholic faith, and one which shows it in its highest and purest expression in the Mass, it is an excellent introduction to the faith. To someone inquiring into Catholicism, or just someone who can't quite see what we believe and why, I would recommend this book ahead of any apologetic or dogmatic text. Of course such things are necessary. But Mosebach presents a vision of the faith, and such a thing is needed before arguments about this or that dogma can have any effect.
Also of note is Mosebach's familiarity with the Eastern Rite churches, both of the Orthodox communions (Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy) and the Eastern Catholic churches. He refers time and again to the eastern liturgies for parallels, to illuminate a practice in the Latin rite, and as examples of the ancient teaching of the Church about her liturgy. It is clear that the Novus Ordo, heralded in some quarters as moving nearer to the Eastern rite, in fact cuts off the worship of the Roman church from any liturgical connection to the churches of the East.
Mosebach sets out, not to attack the Novus Ordo Mass, but to defend and commend the Tridentine Rite, or what he prefers to call "The Mass of St Gregory the Great." But this is no narrow academic study of the liturgy or its history. Mosebach is a novelist, and he shows us the Mass in its splendor. He shows us the intimate connection between Catholic belief and Catholic practice embodied in the liturgy. He shows us what was lost to the faithful when those charged by Christ to hand on the faith "once delivered for all the saints" instead "ripped the prayer books from their hands."
The heresy in question, which the English translation of the title renders "formlessness" (remember that Mosebach writes in German) is not just the heresy that besets the Church today, but the world. It is the heresy that we can take something given, something fixed and transcendent, and cut-and-paste it into something of our own design, in the fashion of our own ideas.
But this is not just a book about the liturgy. It is a book about the Catholic faith. Of course Catholicism is a faith of dogmas, of facts that must be assented to. But it is far from only that. Those dogmas are lived, and bear fruit in the worship of Christ the Incarnate Word. Mosebach shows us that worship, tracing the threads of Christian belief through the woven cloth of the liturgy in in the Latin Rite. In tracing these threads, he also shows us where they have been cut, broken, or frayed as that cloth was trimmed, cut, and re-stitched in the liturgical "reform."
Because this is a book about the Catholic faith, and one which shows it in its highest and purest expression in the Mass, it is an excellent introduction to the faith. To someone inquiring into Catholicism, or just someone who can't quite see what we believe and why, I would recommend this book ahead of any apologetic or dogmatic text. Of course such things are necessary. But Mosebach presents a vision of the faith, and such a thing is needed before arguments about this or that dogma can have any effect.
Also of note is Mosebach's familiarity with the Eastern Rite churches, both of the Orthodox communions (Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy) and the Eastern Catholic churches. He refers time and again to the eastern liturgies for parallels, to illuminate a practice in the Latin rite, and as examples of the ancient teaching of the Church about her liturgy. It is clear that the Novus Ordo, heralded in some quarters as moving nearer to the Eastern rite, in fact cuts off the worship of the Roman church from any liturgical connection to the churches of the East.
October 3, 2020
Mosebach's background as a storyteller greatly enhances his essays on the Traditional Latin Mass and preconciliar devotions and practices. This collection of essays is better appreciated by someone who is already familiar with the TLM but Mosebach's style is intriguing enough to entice a newcomer to experience the ancient Rite. Where some essayists are strong in academic language, Mosebach's familiar verbiage makes his lofty subjects--going from liturgy to history to criticism and back--accessible to the everyman or regular Catholic.
November 3, 2019
Seinen (vermeintlich) strengen Ansprüchen an Kohärenz wird Mosebach selbst nicht gerecht. Er widerspricht sich häufig selbst und wünscht sich im Grunde einen Ritus, den er sich aus alten Elementen des Messbuchs vor der Liturgiereform (am besten noch eines, das noch weiter zurückreicht als 1962) und orthodoxen Modulen baukastenartig zusammensetzt, um sein persönliches Bedürfnis befriedigt zu sehen. Bereits am Anfang schreibt er, dass er ganz spezifisch nicht auf den Bezug zur Religion eingehen wolle - daran krankt auch später das ganze Buch, von den zahlreichen Widersprüchen und simplen Logikfehlern ganz abgesehen. Darüber hinaus fehlt es ihm schlicht an Kenntnis über die neue Liturgie und deren Wirkung, dass er dabei stets den Anspruch vertritt, eine Wahrheit zu verkünden, die für alle zu gelten habe, versäuert die ohnehin zähe Lektüre nur weiter.
April 14, 2024
Good and sound but undeniably fanatical and a bit ungenerous in places. And naive. Wouldn't we love for everyone to receive the Mass the way that Mosebach does. Unfortunately it doesn't happen and actually what works for some won't work for everyone. But, hey, I'm an Anglican, so what do I know?
January 8, 2020
Enjoyable on so many levels. I hope there are more translations of Mosebach. 6 Stars.
April 19, 2022
I cannot lie, I really did not enjoy this book and it just made me mad everytime I read it :/
January 13, 2023
An artist's (not theologian's) view of the usus antiquor and some of the losses from its falling into disuse. Many positive points for consideration.
November 6, 2023
This book made me cry over all that we have lost.
November 4, 2025
Unglaublich schön geschrieben mit vielen interessanten Beobachtungen.
June 18, 2016
A luminous book - truly luminous: I was illuminated as I read it. The essays in this collection were written over a period of time, and they touch on different topics. All are about the Mass, the true Mass, the Mass of the ages. The ideas are unconventional; the writing is extraordinary. I came away with a much greater understanding of the old Mass, and why it feeds my faith so much more than the Novus Ordo.
Like Hans urs von Balthasar and a few others, Mosebach insists the experience of beauty is real - objective - not something to be derided as so much aesthetics. To see our Lord celebrated carelessly, with bad music, insipid homilies, tasteless vestments, distinct lack of reverence to the tabernacle and the host... such should be disturbing. To see a true Mass celebrated with dignity and reverence: this is awe-inspiring.
The book closes with an excellent description of the Mass: "A feast of wild and terrifying beauty, the beauty of the seven-horned, seven-eyed Lamb in whose blood mankind's clothes are washed white."
Like Hans urs von Balthasar and a few others, Mosebach insists the experience of beauty is real - objective - not something to be derided as so much aesthetics. To see our Lord celebrated carelessly, with bad music, insipid homilies, tasteless vestments, distinct lack of reverence to the tabernacle and the host... such should be disturbing. To see a true Mass celebrated with dignity and reverence: this is awe-inspiring.
The book closes with an excellent description of the Mass: "A feast of wild and terrifying beauty, the beauty of the seven-horned, seven-eyed Lamb in whose blood mankind's clothes are washed white."
March 22, 2012
Leider verwechselt der Autor schon die "römische Liturgie" mit der außerordentlichen Form der römischen Liturgie. Seine Beobachtungen und Einsichten, die zu einem großen Teil Zustimmung verdienen leiden aber darunter, daß der feuilletonistische Stil den Autor oft eine unproduktive Frontstellung zwischen der ordentlichen und außerordentlichen Form der einen römischen Liturgie sieht. Die eigentliche Frontlinie ist aber doch wohl eher die zwischen einer ehrfürchtigen Feier einer Liturgie, die nicht der Verfügung des einzelnen Liturgen überlassen ist, sondern die Liturgie der Kirche ist, und der selbstverliebten bis selbstherrlichen "Gestaltung" der Liturgie.
Angesichts des Entstehungszeitraums des Werkes ist diese Kritik allerdings zu relativieren; und trotz allem ist es nicht unwichtig, auch diese Meinung zur Kenntnis zu nehmen.
Angesichts des Entstehungszeitraums des Werkes ist diese Kritik allerdings zu relativieren; und trotz allem ist es nicht unwichtig, auch diese Meinung zur Kenntnis zu nehmen.
February 4, 2014
Thoughtful and passionate reflections on the changes to the Catholic liturgy after Vatican II, from a writer (not a theologian). Focus on how the experience of the liturgy has changed for priests and for congregations, and the meaning carried in that experience. Written from the heart, though clearly with a great depth of knowledge. Though there is an overall flow to the book, it is a collection of essays and articles written at different times, so now and then there is some repetition or differences in style from one chapter to the next. Worth reading.
August 4, 2013
Not a systematic defense of the "Mass of St. Gregory the Great" (the Latin Mass a la the "Divine Liturgy of St. John Crystosom), nor a detailed attack on the Novus Ordo, but more a few heart-felt appeals to what we have lost. Excellent flow and easy to read if you walk into it expecting more a conversation then a dissertation.
December 12, 2014
This book offers a brief criticism about liturgical changes after the Second Vatican Council. Though the author is neither a theologian nor a liturgist, his analysis is sharp and compelling. It's both an easy read book and a good introduction for Catholics who want to know a bit about liturgical crisis after the liturgical reform.
December 16, 2013
An important book that deserves to be widely read - certainly by all Catholics of good will and sense of beauty. Unveiling the beauty of the Mass, how traditions incarnate Tradition in a profoundly human way.
March 11, 2008
This book really gives a unique perspective of the liturgical problems currently being faced by the Catholic Church. It is intelligent but not difficult to read. Very insightful.
October 7, 2015
This is the best (as well as the most clear & pleasant) little book one could ask for to understand why the liturgical form of the Mass is so critical to the life of Holy Mother Church.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews