It’s a long read, but well worth it!
Towards an Authentic Implementation of Sacrosanctum Concilium
MONEY BYTES:
I want to make an appeal to all priests. You may have read my article in L'Osservatore Romano one year ago (12 June 2015) or my interview with the journal Famille Chretienne in May of this year. On both occasions I said that I believe that it is very important that we return as soon as possible to a common orientation, of priests and the faithful turned together in the same direction—Eastwards or at least towards the apse—to the Lord who comes, in those parts of the liturgical rites when we are addressing God. This practice is permitted by current liturgical legislation. It is perfectly legitimate in the modern rite. Indeed, I think it is a very important step in ensuring that in our celebrations the Lord is truly at the centre...
Before I conclude, please permit me to mention some other small ways which can also contribute to a more faithful implementation of Sacrosanctum Concilium. One is that we must sing the liturgy, we must sing the liturgical texts, respecting the liturgical traditions of the Church and rejoicing in the treasury of sacred music that is ours, most especially that music proper to the Roman rite, Gregorian chant. We must sing sacred liturgical music not merely religious music, or worse, profane songs.
We must get the right balance between the vernacular languages and the use of Latin in the liturgy. The Council never intended to insinuate that the Roman rite be exclusively celebrated in the vernacular. But it did intend to allow its increased use, particularly for the readings.
Today it should be possible, especially with modern means of printing, to facilitate comprehension by all when Latin is used, perhaps for the liturgy of the Eucharist, and of course this is particularly appropriate at international gatherings where the local vernacular is not understood by many. And naturally, when the vernacular is used, it must be a faithful translation of the original Latin, as Pope Francis recently affirmed to me.
We must ensure that adoration is at the heart of our liturgical celebrations. The heart of our liturgy is the adoration of God. Too often we do not move from celebration to adoration, but if we do not do that I worry that we may not have always participated in the liturgy fully, internally. Two bodily dispositions are helpful, indeed indispensible here. The first is silence. If I am never silent, if the liturgy gives me no space for silent prayer and contemplation, how can I adore Christ, how can I connect with him in my heart and soul? Silence is very important, and not only before and after the liturgy. It is the foundation of any deep spiritual life.
So too kneeling at the consecration (unless I am sick) is essential. In the West this is an act of bodily adoration that humbles us before our Lord and God. It is itself an act of prayer. Where kneeling and genuflection have disappeared from the liturgy, they need to be restored, in particular for our reception of our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion. Dear Fathers, where possible and with the pastoral prudence of which I spoke earlier, form your people in this beautiful act of worship and love. Let us kneel in adoration and love before the Eucharistic Lord once again! "Man is not fully man unless he falls on his knees before God to adore Him, to contemplate his dazzling sanctity and let himself be remodelled in his image and likeness" (R. Sarah, On the Road to Ninive, Paulines Publications Africa 2012, p.199).
In speaking of the reception of Holy Communion kneeling I would like to recall the 2002 letter of the Congregation of Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments which clarifies that "any refusal of Holy Communion to a member of the faithful on the basis of his or her kneeling posture [is] a grave violation of one of the most basic rights of the Christian faithful" (Letter, 1 July 2002, Notitiae, n. 436, Nov-Dec 2002, p. 583).
Correctly vesting all the liturgical ministers in the sanctuary, including lectors, is also very important if such ministries are to be considered authentic and if they are to be exercised with the decorum due to the Sacred Liturgy—also if the ministers themselves are to show the correct reverence for God and for the mysteries they minister.
3 comments:
I appreciate that Cardinal Sarah had noted the following historical fact:
"For many years before the Council, in missionary countries and also in the more developed ones, there had been much discussion about the possibility of increasing the use of the vernacular languages in the liturgy, principally for the readings from Sacred Scripture, also for some of the other parts of the first part of the Mass (which we now call the "Liturgy of the Word") and for liturgical singing."
"The Holy See had already given many permissions for the use of the vernacular in the administration of the sacraments."
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There are folks who have long promoted the following false narrative:
It was at Vatican II that big, bad, elite modernists within the Latin Church had forced vernacularization upon the Faithful. Prior to the Council, the Faithful did not want Mass/Sacraments offered in languages that they understood.
The Faithful wanted Latin, and only Latin.
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Pope Venerable Pius XII had, in unmistakable fashion, opened the door to the use of vernaculars. Pope Venerable Pius XII supported in powerful fashion the Latin Church's Liturgical Reform Movement.
Said movement, which had led to Pope Saint Paul VI's Missal/liturgical books, enjoyed a lengthy, healthy, orthodox history.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Enjoyable read. Clear thoughts clearly stated on a complex subject.
In connection with this fine article, this is also a must read, Father McDonald:
https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2023/12/sacrosanctum-concilium-at-60-still-dead.html
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