A mini-history of orthodox worship

The first sacrifice was by the LORD God in the garden of Eden to clothe Adam and Eve. They received the ritual of sacrifice directly from Him. Abel continues the Tradition, as did Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The Pasch is divinely revealed to Moses in Egypt and the blood of the Lamb spares the firstborn in Israel from the angel of death - yet only if they carefully and devoutly follow the instructions God gives through Moses.

Then God reveals to Moses the entire divine liturgy on Mt. Sinai leaving nothing to man's imagination. Every last detail - the dimensions of the tabernacle, its building material, its colors and thread, the way it is to be deployed, carried, sanctified; the altars, tables, furnishings, washings, rituals, ceremonies, priestly garments, step-by-step instructions were all revealed to Moses and received from God directly through the mediation of angels. Yet even so, the penchant for novelty and innovation was so strong in Israel that deviations from the Law of worship inevitably led them to syncretism and finally apostasy. The Old Testament Prophets were sent to call the people of Israel back to the conditions of the covenant God made with them. Through His Prophets He promised a New Covenant different from the old (Jeremias 31,31-35).

A sacrifice taking place in the tabernacle in the wilderness; 

the encampments of the Jewish tribes spread out to the horizon. 

(Colored lithograph)

Christ instituted the Mass of the New and Eternal Covenant at Passover and offered Himself on the Cross during the Passover. The veil in the temple was torn in two when He defeated sin and death by His priestly sacrifice. Thus, St. Paul teaches in his letter to the Hebrews, a "new and living way was made for us through His death" (Hebrews 10,20).

St. Paul goes on to teach explicitly that the temple ritual is a prefigurement and copy of the heavenly sanctuary. This is pure Catholic theology; it identifies the Mass on earth as but a reflection of the perfect worship the Son offers the Father in heaven (Pius XII, Mediator Dei). The sacrifice offered at the heavenly altar by our great High Priest can never be reformed, altered, or changed.

The Latin (Roman Rite) Mass was already standardized during the time of St. Gregory the Great (+604) to the point that the innovation of a single word in the Canon - one word! - inflamed Rome in riots. And it is St. Gregory's Missal that Pope Paul VI admits is essentially unchanged until his own fabricated, man-made liturgy appears in 1969.

We can never say that the Novus Ordo is a received rite. If you try, you will disagree even with Paul VI who admits it is not. It is approved, but not received, at least not through organic development.

The history of the worship of God is one of that which is revealed by God, received by chosen men, distilled through centuries of ecclesiastical Tradition, and devoutly preserved by His faithful servants. The Apostolic Constitution Quo Primum promulgated by Pope St. Pius V is a part of this Sacred Tradition. Strictly speaking, the Novus Ordo Missae is not.