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Colin: The Church's liturgy
is at the center of Her
life.
Stay tuned to learn about
the reforms of Vatican II.
[music]
Colin: Welcome to the "EWTN
Theology Roundtable."
I'm your host, Colin
Donovan, Vice-President
for Theology here at the
network.
I'm joined today with a very
familiar crew.
We've got Fr. Joseph Mary
Wolfe of our Franciscan
Missionaries and we've got
our theology staffers,
Tom Nash and David Gregson.
We're here to talk about
the...
We've been talking about the
"Second Vatican Council" on
a previous "Roundtable."
Today we're going to talk
about the "Document on the
Sacred Liturgy," which was
the first document issued
by that Council.
The liturgy, of course, is
indeed at the center of the
Church's life because it is
the liturgy in which we
celebrate the great
Mysteries of Christ and by
which the Church is built up,
obviously through Baptism,
but also, of course, through
the Mass and the other
Sacraments and especially
the Mass, for that is the
Source and the Summit of the
Church's life.
So we want to talk about
that today in light of the
Second Vatican Council,
which reformed the liturgy.
Not a reform that is
necessarily popular with
all in the Church but it
continues a process of
liturgical reform that is
occurred at many different
points in history in which
the Church, looking at the,
at the times and at the
people of the day, does
indeed make the liturgy
something that is pastorally
useful to them as well as
certainly to give glory to
God.
So, we want to talk about
that today and particularly,
Fr. Joseph, as we said,
the "Dogmatic Constitution
on the Sacred Liturgy,
Sacrosanctum Concilium."
This is a constitution, the
name itself suggests it.
It's the highest level of
teaching, or actually
governance document even.
It can also be
constitutions.
And it's dogmatic because
it gives as many of the
doctoral principles that
should underlie a reform
of the liturgy.
Fr. Joseph: Yes.
It was the first document
issued and that's why you
have the word "Sacrosanctum
Concilium, The Sacred
Council."
We really need to talk about
the liturgical movement
which began well before the
Second Vatican Council.
It was in the 1830s that
Dom Prosper Gueranger was
a French priest, a young
French secular priest, who
would visit this Marist
monastery that was
abandoned, had not survived
the French Revolution, and he
really desired to restore
monastic life there.
So he and 5 companions
began the Benedictine life
there and receiving the
approval of the Pope at
the time, Pope Gregory.
They had 3 principles really,
for the monastic life.
One is that the liturgy
should be centered around
the Mass; 2nd, the monastic
life would revolve around
the major feasts; and 3rd,
to replace the contemporary
music with chant.
He was also responsible for
writing a liturgical year,
a multivolume work.
Really, he saw that Christian
piety should revolve around
the Sacred Scriptures and
the Sacred Liturgy.
You also had at this time
also a growth in the
understanding of ancient
documents of the Fathers
of the Church.
Migne's, his volumes on the
Patristics of the Latin and
the Greek Fathers; you had
the uncovering of ancient
documents, like the
"Didache," which are like,
was an early Christian
manual about practice and
morals.
Colin: And also had a brief
description of what the
Eucharist was like in the
first and early 2nd century.
So you had all of this
interest in the liturgy that
was being developed, not
only by discoveries but also
by an increase in piety.
I think we need to know that
really, in the world, we
have materialism, socialism,
scientism, even Communism
forming in different schools
of philosophy, in different
practical schools that would
try to put this into play,
as the, the Soviet Union
actually did later on.
God, in a way, counter that,
by bringing us back to the
liturgy as the central
element of the Church's life
and the Eucharist in
particular.
David, there were many
scholars who, in studying
this, it was both a, a
devotional and practical
movement but also,
academically a lot of work,
as Father was noting on,
on the documents and the
histories, in what the
theology of the liturgy
actually was--in a way,
developing a theology of
the liturgy.
We've had the liturgy for
1900 years at this point but
in a way, taken for granted
because it was simply a
reality of the Church's
life.
Now scholars were studying
it to see what are the core
principles?
David: Right.
Among leading lights in this
scholarly approach to the
liturgy were Cyprian
Vagaggini, Romano Guardini,
Louis Bouyer, a convert from
Lutheranism; Guardini was in
particular opposed to the
individualism that he
thought was rampant in the
worship of 19th century man.
It involved a, a personal,
private devotion, even
during a corporate liturgy
to the extent that the
layperson didn't take part
in the corporate liturgy but
rather, was engaged in his
own private devotions to the
point that he even regarded
the surrounding ceremonial
as a distraction, rather
than something that he
actually took part in.
In his letter on "The
essence of the liturgical
act," Romano Guardini
remarked that, "For many,
the liturgy had become an
inward matter surrounded by
public ceremonial, which was
felt to be more distracting
than helpful."
In fact, the liturgy is
the public worship of the
Church, the Body of Christ
of which the individual
is a member.
The individual really
participates in the worship
not as an individual but
as a member.
It's not one's own personal
worship; it's the communal
liturgy that the Church
addresses to God.
As worship goes up, grace
comes down.
As the Church worships as a
communion of persons, so God
blesses as a Communion of
Persons, the Holy Trinity.
This was Fr. Cyprian
Vaggagini's point in a
quote from "Theological
Dimensions of the Liturgy"...
Louis Bouyer wrote a detailed
history of historic
liturgies, beginning with
Jewish meal prayers, the
"Berakoth," from which he
believed the Eucharistic
prayers had derived.
He was largely responsible
for the emphasis since
Vatican II placed on the
Paschal Mystery as central
to the faith.
He argued that the Paschal
Mystery of the Passion,
Death and Resurrection of
Christ is best understood
not from theological
concepts applied to the
liturgy but by taking part
in the liturgy itself.
As a convert from
Protestantism, he was
conscious of the objection
that Protestants had to the
Mass--that it was trying to
redo what had been done
once, namely Christ's
Sacrifice.
But he maintained that the
cross was not to be begun...
Colin: In addition to
scholars like this, Tom, we
had as well various things
which the Magisterium did in
the course of the decades
that disposed and prepared
for the reforms of the
Second Vatican Council.
Tom: Yes, Colin, and we
could speak about basic
principles in this regard.
As Vatican II reminded us,
the Pope has full, supreme
and universal authority,
which he can always
exercise, unhindered but as
that definition conveys, he
doesn't have absolute power.
So we can distinguish
between unchangeable
teachings--can't change
the teachings of Christ--
but there's changeable
discipline surrounding
the sacraments.
Colin: And this is what each
various Popes change when
they change something in
the liturgy.
Tom: Precisely.
So, changeable discipline
can take place.
We saw this, for example
with St. Pius X, where he
restored, actually lowered
the age of reception of
Communion to the age of
reason, which he said
is age 7 or so.
Unfortunately, it had gotten
to the age of 12 or 14 and
people started looking at,
maybe influenced by the
Jansenists, like it was a
reward instead of a remedy
for human frailty.
So he restored it to an
earlier age.
He also modified the "Divine
Office," the prayers that
Father and other priests
have to pray every day,
"The Liturgy of the Hours,"
Morning Prayers, Evening
Prayers, etc.
Colin: So in this sense,
his, his reforms of the
"Divine Office" set the
stage for other reforms
based on similar kinds
of, of principles.
Tom: Exactly. And Pius XI
would be another example.
We speak of dialogic Masses.
That is, response, the
priest saying one thing and
the faithful responding.
We're used to that now and
what is now called the
"Ordinary Form," in
Post-Vatican II Mass.
But when he did it in his
private chapel, that was
somewhat innovative, and yet
shows that he has the full
supreme and universal
authority to do so, so as
to foster more greatly the
active participation of the
faithful.
Colin: And it's interesting
that even in the
Extraordinary Form today,
I believe in most
celebrations of that, it is
done in a dialogic fashion.
Even as late as 1962
I remember serving Masses
at which the servers only
responded to the priest and
the congregation did not.
So that itself was an
innovation along the lines
of what Romano Guardini had
suggested and that is that
in the dialogic Mass,
everyone is filling and
participating their role,
rather than having say
merely a representative,
the servers doing that.
So that was, that was a
significant thing.
Pius XII, of course, is
the one who disposed and
prepared most immediately
for the Second Vatican
Council.
In fact, it's often said
that he is the "father of
the Council" because so many
of the things the Council
did were things that he
had begun; so many of the
footnotes to the texts of
the Council, if they're not
Scripture or St. Augustine,
they're Pius XII.
So his contribution really
can't be minimized, can be
maximized even.
David: His primary
contribution in terms of an
encyclical was in "Mediator
Dei," which was issued in
1947.
It presented the liturgical
theology of the Church and
particularly as expressed in
the Latin Tradition.
Liturgy as Pius defined
it is...
So I think this is an
important reminder that
human worship is essentially
the worship of Christ.
We can worship affectively,
worthily, only as we worship
in and through Christ.
It's in the liturgy that we
do this most prominently.
The Church, according to
"Mediator Dei" is to prolong
Christ's priestly mission.
In that encyclical...
This would be primarily in
the "Divine Office."
But there was need for
reform....
This would be the
worshiper, the layman as
Guardini had been concerned
about...
So on the one hand, there
was this distraction, let's
say, this passive, detached
connection with the liturgy
on the part of the lay
worshiper and on the other,
there were some who were
overeager in their attempts
to reform the liturgy and
were going beyond the
paths of sound doctrine.
"Mediator Dei" condemned
excesses of liturgical
reforms but he also warned
against intransigent
traditionalism and
liturgical archeologism,
or the belief that the
ancient practices are
the most venerable.
And he wrote that, "Liturgy
is organic and to return to
the most ancient practices
would ignore centuries of
liturgical developments."
Among the reforms that Pius
introduced, he reduced the
Eucharistic fast to 3 hours
for solid foods, one hour
for liquids, where before it
had been from midnight.
It proved the use of
vernacular and the ritual
for Sacraments and other
rites outside the Mass.
He revised the Easter ritual
and rites for Palm Sunday,
Holy Thursday and Good
Friday.
Colin: So he did a great
deal and really gave pretty
much a discourse on the
underpinnings of what the
Council would do.
I think especially with
regard to the view that it
would take--avoiding on the
one kind an irenicism that
would be sterile and not
productive.
On the other direction, a
progressivism; that would
be simply fashion or an
academic exercise.
I mean, these were the
principles that, that he
was proposing and I think
he was very clear-sighted
too in analyzing the state
of the times.
I've talked to priests who
were around in the '50s and
they would describe
liturgical abuses going on
in seminaries with
seminarians writing the
Eucharistic Prayers which
then the community would
celebrate and these kinds
of things.
You had these 2 extremes
going on--the 5 minute Mass
on one hand and then, the,
the innovativeness on
the other.
So the Pope was calling for
a very steady and serene
reform.
Now, the question will be,
if that's what we got and
that's certainly a debatable
point.
But before we get to
something so interesting
and controversial, we'll
stop and we'll go into the
theology of the liturgy
from the documents when
we come back.
[music]
[music]
Colin: We've been talking
about the background to the
document on the liturgy from
the Second Vatican Council,
"Sacrosanctum Concilium."
Now we want to talk about
the, the theology, which in
the course of the liturgical
movement as we noted in the
last segment, scholars
looked at the various
liturgies throughout history
and the development
of the liturgy.
Of course, the Church
already had a
sacramentology, a dogmatic
theology that told us what
was the essential elements
of the liturgy, what needed
to be there in terms of its
validity and so on.
But even more than that,
all the elements of the
ceremonies and rites in the
way that they reflect the,
the interaction of God
and man in the liturgy was
fleshed out essentially
in the last 150 years by
scholars and ultimately by
the Magisterium--by Pius
XII largely, in "Mediator
Dei" and then, of course,
by the actual literature
documents which have,
"Sacrosanctum Concilium"
clearly and the liturgical
document 6, the Second
Vatican Council.
I think if you wanted to
pare it down to basics, you
would have to start where
the faith starts and that
is with the dogma of the
Trinity and the dogma of
the Incarnation, the dogma
regarding Christ.
So the liturgy is at its
deepest foundations and
root is Trinitarian and
Christological.
This was something that
Magagnini, who one of my
professors where I was a
student of in the '50s at
San Anselmo, always used to
pound into us in our classes
on the Sacred Liturgy--the
centrality of the Trinity
and Christ, this dialectic,
this o r the "Trinitarian
Christological Dialectic"
as I think he called it,
of going on.
Whereas the Mystical Christ,
with Christ Himself as the
Head of the Body, we face
the Father and in the Holy
Spirit, offer Him worship
and praise and petition and
He gives us the fruits and
the graces of the redemption
through Christ in the Holy
Spirit and so this dialogue.
David: Cyclical, cyclical
movement.
Colin: Yes, and that this is
central to the liturgy.
This is its purpose.
This is what binds us to
God through the historical
redemptive acts of Christ,
Who is Our Head in the
Mystical Body.
So this was always...
This is what the faith
is about.
We came from the Trinity and
we're destined to return to
the Trinity, God willing.
So certainly, this is what
the Father wishes to effect
in history.
So the Trinity, liturgy
reflects that Trinitarian
Christological dialectic
as it's been called.
Of course, now this in human
history makes Christ the
Central Focus.
Even though in the liturgy
we pray everything, "We ask
You Father through Christ,
Our Lord."
Everything we give is
through Christ, Our Lord.
So this Incarnation is at
the center of the visible,
sacramental nature of the
Church's life and work.
Tom: Yes, and Christ Became
Man, as St. Athanasius said,
"So that man might become
God," or "like God", more
to the point.
In becoming man, it is
fitting then that He would
confer grace to us through
Sacraments.
In an Incarnational way,
what is a Sacrament but a
sensible sign instituted
by Christ to confer grace.
So it makes perfect sense,
since we're not pure spirits
like the angels, that He's
going to ministers to us
through that way--through
hearing, touch, taste,
smell, sight, through our
senses--and He does so
through the 7 Sacraments.
The Church Itself is a
Sacrament of Salvation,
as Vatican II teaches,
reminds us.
Through the power of the
Holy Spirit, Christ ascended
after His Resurrection so as
to send the Holy Spirit.
So it is through the power
of the Holy Spirit in and
through Christ that receive
the Sacraments and most
especially, the Eucharist.
As you said at the outset,
it's the Source and Summit
of the whole Christian life.
So the Sacraments are those
means by which the work of
Christ is carried into every
time and place.
Colin: Yeah.
We certainly understand,
you know, from the Gospel
accounts, for instance, the
dialogue between Christ and
Philip.
He says to Philip, "If you
see Me, you see the Father."
We don't understand
sometimes how necessary
is that Sacred Humanity
of Christ.
That's why we receive the
Sacred Humanity of Christ in
the Eucharist because this
is the ordained way by which
the Father has willed.
We return to Him through the
very nature that He created
that in us fell but in
Christ is perfect and which
can be for us that means of
salvation.
Tom: Yeah, "I will always be
with you."
How was it?
Through the Sacraments,
through the Sacrament of
Salvation of the Church,
through the Sacraments
between the Eucharist.
He's always with us in the
Tabernacle and also in the
Mass and receiving Him.
Colin: So that He can lead
us back to the Father.
Now, it's the leading us
back requires that we do
something that we
participate in.
So the Council made as
another one of its great
principles this "conscious
and active participation."
Tell us, tell us about that,
David.
David: Yes, in "Sacrosanctum
Concilium" 14 it says...
This concerned the passive
detachment from the liturgy
addressed by Guardini and
others in the liturgical
movement.
Active participation of
the laity should be both
interior and exterior.
The Mass should be prayed,
not just witnessed, though
in a manner that doesn't
ignore the different roles
of clergy and laity.
A layperson is not to
accompany the priest in
saying the Prayer of
Consecration.
We may think of the liturgy
in terms of a division of
labor.
Only when each worker does
his own job and not someone
else's job does the job get
done properly.
Colin: Indeed, this is what
St. Paul is telling us in
1 Corinthians 12, in the
Mystical Body that each has
their office and we're in
the Church for a reason and
we fulfill that office given
to us, not somebody else's
office.
David: Right.
Only when each worshiper
acts his own or her own part
in the liturgical, is the
liturgical work done
properly.
It's obvious that the laity
were to participate in the
liturgy according to their
order.
As to exterior
participation, they respond
where it's called for; sit
where it's called for, kneel
where it's called for, stand
where it's called for, or
sing.
If appointed, they may read.
If necessary, they may
assist in the distribution
of Holy Communion.
They are not to intrude
themselves into parts that
are limited to the clergy.
At the same time, the laity
have a privileged part in
the liturgy.
Through their baptism they
belong to the royal
priesthood of all Christian
people.
They may offer the Holy
Sacrifice through the
ministerial priest as their
head and they may offer
themselves an acceptable
sacrifice in union with the
sacrifice of Christ Himself.
And as God is glorified by
the Mass, above all things
the laity may share in this
act of glorification.
What this boils down to is
that the laity had not been
doing their part in the
liturgy for centuries and
this was the lack that
"Sacrosanctum Concilium"
addressed.
Colin: And it puts the
Mystical Body at the center.
If the priest is seen as the
other Christ, the one acting
in Persona Christi Capitis,
in the Person of Christ, the
Head of the Body" and the
people as a body, literally,
quite literally, visibly are
seen as the Body of Christ--
getting up, sitting down,
kneeling, responding to the,
the Head of the Church
represented in the
priest--then we have a
sacramental signs of the
Mystical Body in the world,
a sign that points to,
obviously, the Universal
Church as a fuller sign
under the headship of the
Holy Father but clearly, a
local sign, a particular
sign.
And in this, the priest
role, Father, is central.
The great dignity of the
priesthood certainly is
there.
But it's a necessary element
of this Incarnational system
that Our Lord has left us to
continue to extend His work
in time and place.
Fr. Joseph: Yes.
How do we make Christ
Present in the world today?
Well, "Sacrosanctum
Concilium" #7 says that
He is especially present
in the liturgical action.
So this is a way that we
make Christ Present--as you
mentioned, Head and Body
together.
The Church is visible.
Her means of sanctification
are effective, most
especially in the liturgy.
So, the priest--and this is
one of the reasons for the
male priesthood--is
representative, he acts in
the Person of Christ,
together with His Body.
So, that "Sacrosanctum
Concilium" #7 also says...
That it's an exercise of the
office, the priestly office
of Jesus Christ.
Then, we're also having a
little foretaste of the
Heavenly liturgy as well.
I offer both the Ordinary
Form and the Extraordinary
Form of the Masses.
I love both of those
forms because I know and
experience within myself and
also in the Body, which is
the Church, that Christ is
sanctifying, that He's
bringing about a real
change.
In fact, Pope Benedict, in
his "Sacramentum Caritatis,"
he said this.
He said...
Colin: And that I think will
be one of the legacies of
Pope Benedict is that this
emphasis on this.
The theological pinnings
are clear.
Whether it's the Ordinary
Form or the Extraordinary
Form, dramatically,
substantially, the action
is the action of Christ.
The glory to the Father is
the glory that Christ gives
to the Father, not our
contribution so much.
But also in the priest and
the people, with the piety
and the devotion and the
care which they bring to the
liturgy.
Whether it's a simple
liturgy conducted in a poor
place or a glorious liturgy,
that devotion gives, you
would say, St. Thomas would
say, "accidentally gives
glory to the Father in union
with the glory which Christ
offers in every single
liturgy."
So we do our part.
It's important that all the
accidents surrounding the
liturgy and not just the
essentials.
If the essentials are valid,
everything is there for the
sanctification of the entire
world, whether it's Ordinary
Form or Extraordinary Form.
The accidentals are
important too, for
evangelizing, for the
pastoral work of the Church
or for giving glory to God.
I think there may be a
certain advantage to the
Extraordinary Form in the
sense of that
God-centeredness clearly,
that mystery and awe that
is present there.
But there may be an
advantage pastorally in
terms of being able to draw
people into the Church that
they can partake in the
great liturgies which the
Church has--whether
Ordinary Form or
Extraordinary Form.
So we never separate and
have those 2 views fighting
against each other.
Pope Benedict felt that both
were necessary to the Church
and I think that needs to be
our perspective as well.
I think now we can look at
the, the document itself and
see what it actually says in
its principle parts.
So there are a number of
principle parts to the
document.
The very first sections deal
with the general principles
for the restoration and the
promotion of the Sacred
Liturgy.
So the foundation of the
"Mediator Dei," the work of
the liturgical movement, the
scholars, all of that sort
of coming in, obviously
different streams coming in
with the council through the
different liturgical experts
and different theologians.
Not everything gets, get
approved, not everything
is accepted.
But what is accepted, the
Church votes on and advances
as guidance for the future.
So the starting point is
Christ, Christ's work and
the Church continuing on
that work, as we've been
noting so far in the program
and participating in
Christ's works--the priest
participating in his way,
the people in theirs and
advancing that redemptive
work of Our Lord and the
Church carrying on that,
that priestly work.
Now, a number of the
principles which the Council
noted was, "Conscious and
Active Participation."
The very first thing they
mentioned, that it must
guide everything.
If you want the liturgy to
be seen as a sacramental
sign of Christ in the world,
you need both the Head and
the members consciously and
actively participating.
'Consciously' means that
interior willed devotion
and union with the liturgy.
'Active' could be reduced to
a mere activity--what I do
and other things which,
which simply are externals.
But the 2 together--that
conscious fulfillment of my
office as a baptized person
or as an ordained priest
or as a deacon or as a
bishop in the liturgy--each
with our own offices.
Everything that the Church
does should be investigated
theologically, historically
and pastorally to achieve
the greatest balance and
advantage in the liturgy
in all of these areas.
Theologically sound,
historically correct,
pastorally, fruitful and
advantageous for the Church.
Sacred Scripture is to have
the greatest importance.
And indeed, it would with
the inclusion of a lot more
Scripture in the Mass.
The hierarchical and
communion nature of the
liturgy--the Father, the
celebrant is not a buddy.
He is the, representing
Christ and he needs to be
conscious of his role,
his hierarchical.
He's subject to the bishop.
The bishop is subject to
the Pope.
There is order in the Church
that reflects the judgments
which the Church is made
regarding the liturgy.
That's important for it
to be a sign of Christ.
Christ is not disobedient to
His Superior--in this case,
the Father.
The priest, the bishop,
should not be disobedient
as well.
So there is hierarchical,
there is communion and
unity in the Church.
The didactic and pastoral
nature of the liturgy--
obviously, the liturgy
teaches it has to be
theologically sound in
the words that are used,
reemphasizing the homily
because the priest gets to
expound on the meaning of
the scriptures of the day
and the Latin language is
to be preserved.
Now, this is something we
haven't mentioned but the
Council for the most part
reformed the Roman Rite.
It didn't reform the other
rites, which are subject to
the synods and canonical
mechanisms of those
particular churches, the
Eastern churches within
the Catholic Church.
So Latin, as a unifying
principle of the Latin Rite
was to be preserved and we
will actually talk a little
bit more about that.
That the liturgy needs to
be acculturated into the
different peoples in which
it goes, in which the, the
Church is taking care to do
over the centuries and that
the liturgy needs to be
promoted.
This liturgical spirituality
of the feast and so on of
the Church's life, the
liturgies should be the
central focus of, not just
the Church's life but every
individual life.
So those are the great
principles of the liturgy
which that first section
that "Sacrosanctum
Concilium" brings out.
Well, when we come back from
this break we're going to
talk about the "Sacred
Mystery of the Eucharist,"
and what that has to tell
us about the reforms of
the Council.
Back in a moment.
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Colin: Well, we were talking
about the "Reforms of the
Second Vatican Council" and
the principles that the
document, "Sacrosanctum
Concilium" itself makes.
It's divided into major
sections.
We talked about the, the
general principles that
should guide the reform that
the Council, building on
Pius XII's "Mediator Dei"
and all that had gone before
in terms of the, the liturgy
in reforming the liturgy.
Obviously, Tom, in the next
section, the Council dealt
with, in a sort of a general
way, the Most Sacred Mystery
of the Eucharist, since
clearly, among all the
liturgies, that is the
Source and the Summit of
the Church's life as it's
so often repeated.
Tom: Yes, Colin.
"Sacrosanctum Concilium"
said specifically in #47...
And people said, Dave
said earlier, well, some of
our Protestant brothers and
sisters would say, "Well,
the Sacrifice is done and
over.
Didn't He say, 'It is
finished?'
Doesn't the Letter to the
Hebrews say, 'He offered
Himself once for all?'"
Well, in one sense, yes
but in another sense, no.
The easiest way to
understand how the sacrifice
continues I would argue
would be the Day of
Atonement sacrifice.
Briefly, in the Old
Testament, as discussed in
Leviticus 16, you took a
bull and a goat were
sacrificed in the outer
courtyard, on the bronze
altar.
The blood then was taken by
the High Priest into the
Holy of Holies, sprinkled
before the Blood, before the
mercy see of God, in, with
the Ark of the Covenant.
So we see 2 phases--
slaughter and taking
of blood in.
Similarly, Christ, as the
Divine High Priest, dies,
uniquely rises, as only He
could--that's the earthly
phase, the first phase.
But then, He ascends into
the Heavenly Sanctuary,
where it culminates in
everlasting glory.
So we're not talking about
a new sacrifice but rather
that it's the sacrifice that
keeps giving because He took
not the, the blood of goats
and calves but His own Blood
and that's why He holds His
priesthood permanently as it
says in Hebrews 7.
So what this all means is,
that sacrifice culminates
an everlasting glory.
So when we are at Mass,
we have our window onto
eternity.
It's kind of like the sun.
The sun rises in the
morning.
Well, it's really going on
all the time.
We become present to the
sun.
Similarly that Sacrifice is
always going on in Heaven.
We become present to that
wondrous Sacrifice, the
Heavenly liturgy when,
when at Mass.
So "Thy Kingdom come, Thy
Will be done, on earth,
as it is in Heaven."
Nowhere are those words more
profoundly fulfilled of the
'Lord's Prayer' than in the
Mass itself.
So that's all the more
reason when we have that
window onto eternity, that
most sublime Sacrifice, the
greatest experience, the
Source and Summit--that's
why we need that conscious
and act of participation all
the more in the Mass.
Colin: Right, because it is a
Mystery.
So we must insert ourselves
into that and we must, as it
were, become imbued with
that.
The only way to do that is
to participate in it and
grace will make that
possible.
I think that is something
that we need to always be
conscious of at Mass.
David, the Council in the
next section talked about
the other Sacraments.
Clearly, the Eucharist is
the center.
But there are Sacraments
and there are sacramentals
and the Church didn't want
us to forget about them as
if the Eucharist were it.
David: All the Sacraments
sanctify men, build up the
Body of Christ and give
worship to God.
The Sacraments, in part,
grace Ex Opera Operato but
for the grace to be received
beneficially, the faithful
have to be well disposed.
The signs, when properly
understood, help to dispose
them.
The signs which are an
essential part of each
Sacrament help the faithful
to understand what's going
on, what the grace is and
how it's to affect them.
As Christ instituted the
Sacraments, the Church has
instituted sacramentals.
Sacramental are, according
Sacrosanctum Concilium 60...
Their primary benefit
then is to dispose us to
receive the Sacraments
worthily and fruitfully and
they also sanctify various
occasions in our lives.
"Christ is the source of
grace for man, overflowing
from his own grace-filled
humanity.
It's from Him that comes the
grace of the Sacraments,
which He instituted and
which He is the Principal
Minister and it's from Him
that the graces received at
the Church's intercession
through the sacramentals
She instituted."
So He's the source of
grace.
Colin: And, all of these
things contribute to sort
of, you would say, not just
to an ambience.
Although, that's sort of the
external are but there's
interiorly the possibility
of us being moved by the
graces we receive closer to
God and therefore, made more
suitable for the celebration
of the Eucharist.
I think this is something
that is often forgotten.
Again, through this view of
the liturgical life, that
everything either leads to
the Eucharist or leads from
the Eucharist.
So in living a truly
liturgical life, a
liturgical piety, whether
it's the use of the
sacramental; the rosary,
medals, sacred images or so
on, that this is disposing
us for a deeper
participation in the Passion
of Christ, which itself is
then celebrated in the Holy
Eucharist.
So I think that role is
very important.
Another way, Father, in
which the Church
participates, in which or
we could say, we participate
in Christ's praise of the
Father, is through the
"Divine office."
So, the Councils spend a
good deal of time explaining
in advancing and promoting
especially a lay
participation in the
"Divine Office."
First of all, for the
benefit of our viewers, what
is the "Divine Office?"
What is meant by that?
Fr. Joseph: Well, we can
call it "The Liturgy of
the Hours," sanctifying
the entire day.
It's really continuing
Christ's work of praising
the Father, of interceding
for the salvation of the
world that this continues
ceaselessly.
Through the "Liturgy of the
Hours," it's the prayer of
the Church through the
various chronological times
of the day sanctifying the
entire day, for the praise
of the Father, for the
salvation of the world.
So that's the work that
the "Divine Office" that
clerics, religious and many
laypeople take parts in
this prayer in the Church.
Really, in the reform of
the "Breviary"--and this
is something that even
before Pope St. Pius X
there were other reforms
by other Popes--but Pius X,
as we mentioned, reformed
the "Breviary," gave a
prominence to Sundays.
Pius XII simplified the
rubrics.
He set up a commission to
investigate the "Breviary."
Then, Blessed Pope John
XXIII entrusted this to
the Second Vatican Council.
Here were the principles
that they came to in
reforming the "Breviary."
One, they wanted to take
into account the
circumstances of priests
today and their apostolic
works and also, to make it
more accessible to religious
and to laity.
So there are various
options of how much of the
"Divine Office" that you
would pray, for example--
the 2 hinge hours being
Morning Prayer and Evening
Prayer, Lauds and Vespers.
Colin: We should note that
very often the busy priest,
through no lack of good
will, would find himself at
the end of the day running
out of canonical time, if
you will and having to say
the "Offices" that he
missed, cause he was
visiting the sick and so on
and squeezing them all in at
the end of the day.
The Church wanted to sort of
discourage doing that but to
it at the proper hours and
at the proper times.
Fr. Joseph: And I think one
of the key points here too
is they wanted to make it
a source of devotion and
nourishment.
So they reduced the
quantity that had to
be prayed.
Instead of all 150 Psalms
in one week, it spread over
the course of 4 weeks.
But also, there are
meditation aids.
There's a title for each
of the Psalms and then a
Christian interpretation
and sometimes a Psalm prayer
that gives a Christian
understanding of the
significance of that psalm.
So that it could really be
a source of nourishment and
devotion for the priest,
clergy and laity.
Then, finally, that they
wanted to make it more its
original purpose to make it
a public celebration.
So they encourage, for
example, Vespers on Sundays
where all the faithful can
take part in the "Liturgy
of the Hours."
Colin: And that's certainly,
I think been one of the
fruits of the Council.
I remember when I first met
Deacon Bill at his parish,
St. Henry's in Nashville,
John Cunningham, God rest
his soul also, they had a
little breviary group there
at St. Henry's with quite a
number of the faithful come
every morning.
This is something I think
goes on across the country.
Even back in the '70s at
Northwestern, at the Newman
Center, the students, many
of them, you might see 10 or
15 at different celebrations
of the Office.
So this was done for the
benefit of the students.
So there was something of a
revolution I think in this.
If you didn't live near a
Benedictine or a Carmelite
monastery and go and be
there when the sisters or
the nuns here in Irondale
obviously, now the Church
wanted us to be more common.
We've already talked a
little bit about the
liturgical year and its
importance, Tom.
This formed the next major
section of "Sacrosanctum
Concilium" as the Council
really sort of pounded
on this idea of the
significance of making the
liturgical year, the laity
and everyone make that the
center of the, the daily
life of the Church.
Tom: Sure. We've talked
about the Paschal Mystery,
the representation of
Christ's Sacrifice, the
Eucharistic Sacrifice,
the Source and Summit.
That is why the Paschal
Mystery is the heart of
the Eucharistic Year.
Easter is the high point, in
which we celebrate that most
sublimely but also, every
Sunday, "the 8th Day" as
it's called, is a little
Easter.
It's a reminder of why the
Eucharist is so important.
You wouldn't have any other
Sacraments without It.
You couldn't have a
priesthood, you couldn't
have forgiveness of sins,
Baptism would be nothing
if without that Great
Sacrifice.
So as Father said earlier
about the feasts and how
important to have those
feasts throughout the
year, any important feast
regarding Mary, it all goes
back to the saving work of
Christ, that She is the
Mother of God and She has
been Sanctified.
She was preserved from sin
and also Her greatness comes
from that saving work.
She goes before us as the
Mother of God assumed into
Heaven Body and Soul.
That's a reminder of what
we're working towards.
So when the Eucharistic
Year, or they should say,
the Liturgical Year
culminates, we focus
on the souls.
That's where we're focusing
on in November so that we
will achieve that and be
with the Lord forever and
that we will be divinized
in the most sublime way.
Colin: Sacred music in
Latin, the next great
section of the Council
document?
Fr. Joseph: A lot of people
don't understand that music
actually has a purpose.
So rock music is freedom
without responsibility.
Military songs kind of
get the group organized
and going toward a goal.
We have a lot of ***
central music to kind of
store up romantic feelings.
But what's the highest
purpose of music is to give
glory to God, to lift men's
minds and hearts up to God.
So the Second Vatican
Council says that this is
the greatest art treasure
that the Church has.
You think about the riches
of our past and our
heritage, the great
musicians of our past,
like Palestrina and the
chant that comes out of
the monastic life, that
this is a great treasure
to be preserved.
It says, "Gregorian Chant is
proper to the Roman liturgy
and is to be given pride of
place."
Now, one of the reasons that
Mother Angelica instituted
the use of the "Jubilate Deo
Mass" was to do that--to
make the Gregorian Chant
very much a part of our
liturgies here.
And since we have an
International Mass, this is
something that the Church
wanted the faithful all to
know, the ordinary parts of
the Mass and the chant.
So it was in 1974 that
Pope Paul VI sent out the
"Jubilate Deo" booklet to
all the bishops of the
world.
That was renewed in 1986 by
the Congregation that the
faithful would know some of
these basic chants.
Colin: So, we, we do that on
our Mass because it allows
everyone to sort of know
where they are and also, to
participate, even if they
don't necessarily speak
English, as would our
celebrant and so on.
Finally, David, sacred art
and sacred furnishings, not
a trivial detail, part of
that accidental element of
the liturgy but really quite
essential as well because of
our human nature.
David: Right.
The Church has always
supported the fine arts,
regarding them as among the
noblest activities of human
genius, but especially
sacred art, which attempts to
reflect the infinite beauty
of God and turn our minds
devoutly to God.
There's no particular style
of art that the Church
calls Her Own.
She's accepted styles from
every period and various
peoples.
The only provision is that
it adorns the sacred
buildings and holy rites
with due reverence and
honor.
Judgment as to artistic
worth may be subjective and
what may actually inspire
the faithful with true
devotion may be found
lacking to those whose faith
is weak, even though they
may be regarded as artistic
authorities.
As to statues, the practice
of placing sacred images in
churches that they may be
venerated by the faithful is
to maintain but their number
should be moderate and their
relative positions should
reflect right order.
So certainly they shouldn't
distract from the altar or
the Tabernacle.
But perhaps there was never
a response in the removal of
so many statues following
Vatican II.
Colin: I think that over
time, over the centuries,
they're probably just
multiplied different
devotions, say, for
instance, to Mary under
different titles.
You could have, you know,
you could have quite a few
statues to Our Lady under
various titles in a church
under the notion that would
honor her under each of
those.
So I think there were
legitimate reasons of
piety why these practices
developed in the Church,
always looking to reform
Itself, 'semper
reformandum,' is always
looking to give an even
greater witness to the
world, not with a frugality
of devotion and piety but
with the mean of devotion
and piety, neither too much
excessively one way or
deficient the other.
So this is a hard balance
to hit.
The Church doesn't always
hit it and neither do we.
But we need to try because
this is what the Council
is calling us to do.
God bless.
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