Letter 32
To my dear brother in the Lord,
Your question about the liturgical practices at one of your outlying churches — specifically, whether certain deviations from the standard form of the Mass are permissible given local tradition — is one I want to address carefully, because the answer touches on something important.
The short answer is: no, the deviations you describe are not permissible, and you should correct them.
The longer answer requires me to explain why, because I know that "it has always been done this way here" is an argument that feels compelling to the people involved.
Liturgical uniformity is not simply about tidiness or the imposition of episcopal authority. It exists because the liturgy is the primary way that the Church teaches doctrine and forms Christian life in the vast majority of people who will never read a theological treatise. When the liturgy says what the Church means, it is educating the faithful week after week in the faith they need to live and die well. When the liturgy has drifted — even in small ways, even in ways that seem harmless — it can carry misconceptions that persist for generations.
The specific deviation you mention — the addition of certain acclamations at the fraction of the bread that are not in the approved form — is not theologically dangerous in itself. But the habit of allowing local tradition to override the approved form is dangerous, and once permitted in small things it spreads to larger ones.
Correct it gently, explain your reasons, and hold firm.
Your brother in Christ,
Braulio
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.