Sacred Music, 116.2, Summer 1989; The Journal of the Church Music Association of America

8/14/2019 Sacred Music, 116.2, Summer 1989; The Journal of the Church Music Association of America

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SACRED MUSIC Volume 116, Number 2(Summer) 1989


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Lateran Basilica SACRED MUSICVolume 116, Number 2, Summer 1989

FROM THE EDITORSThe Tridentine M ass 3REVERENCE FOR THE EUCHARIST

Most Reverend John R. Keating 5BAROQUE LITURGY ON TRIAL

Fr. Giles Dimock, O.P. 19NOTES ON A QUEST

Monsignor Francis P. Schmitt 25MUSIC, AN ESSENTIAL PART OF LITURGY

Pope John Paul II 29REVIEWS 30

NEWS 35CONTRIBUTORS 36


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SACRED MUSIC Continuation of Caecilia, published by the Society of St. Caecilia since 1874,an d The Catholic Choirmaster, published by the Society of St. Gregory ofAmerica since 1915. Published quarterly by the Church Music Association ofAmerica. Office of publications: 548 Lafond Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota55103.Editorial Board: Rev. Msgr. Richard J. Schuler, Editor

Rev. Ralph S. March, S.O. Cist.Rev. John BuchananHarold HughesdonWilliam P. MahrtVirginia A. SchubertCal StepanRev. Richard M. HoganMary Ellen StrappJudy LabonNews: Rev. Msgr. Richard J. Schuler548 Lafond Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55103

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Monsignor Richard J. SchulerGerhard TrackVirginia A. SchubertEarl D. HoganRev. Ralph S. March, S.O. Cist.Mrs. Donald G. VellekWilliam P. MahrtRev. Robert A. SkerisMembership in the CMAA includes a subscription to SACRED MUSIC.Voting membership, $12.50 annually; subscription membership, $10.00annually; student membership, $5.00 annually. Single copies, $3.00. Sendmembership applications and change of address to SACRED MUSIC, 548Lafond Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota 55103. Make all checks payable toChurch Music Association of America.Second class postage paid at St. Paul, Minnesota.Library of Congress catalog card number: 62-6712/MNSacred Music is indexed in the Catholic Periodical and Literature Index,Music Index, and Music Article Guide, Arts and Humanities Index.Front cover: Roman musicians: Girolamo Frescobaldi, Antimo Liberati,Matteo Simonelli, and Francesco Foggia. Center: Giovanni Maria Nanino.Copyright Church Music Association of America, 1989ISSN: 0036-2255474960


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Rome, Piazza del Populo

FROM THE EDITORSThe Tridentine Mass

Only hours after Archbishop Lefebvre chose to separate himself from Catholicunity by consecrating four bishops in defiance of the Holy See, the Holy Fatherissued his motu proprio, Ecclesia Dei. It was a gesture of great fatherly care andpastoral solicitude. He was concerned for those who might slip into schism and becu t off from the source of life, the very Body of Jesus Christ, the Roman CatholicChurch .In Ecclesia Dei the Holy Father offers within the Church , to those who remainloyal, everything that the followers of Archbishop Lefebvre claim now to possesswithout the Church. The very purpose of the Church is to bring mankind to eternalsalvation. This is accomplished through the sacraments and prayer, the practice ofthe virtues and the keeping of the comman dm ents, the living of the life of grace andthe profession of the supernatural faith of our revealed religion as given to usthrough the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. The differences within thenations, peoples and tongues that make up the universal Church constitute a factorunder constant consideration by the Holy See, as only a short visit to Rome and theVatican will show. As Pope John Paul so often repeats, it is the individual person,created in God's own image, that the Church and its shepherds must be concernedfor. Each person is of the utmost importance in God's plan, and the salvation of noone can be overlooked or ignored. Individual needs must be considered as well asthose of nations and races.If anything, the Vatican Council emphasized the existence of national, racial andindividual differences. Native music is to be fostered and used, in so far as it isappropriate; ancient liturgical rites must be respected and maintained, as for exam-ple, the recent decrees perm itting an Anglican Use for former Episcopalians cominginto the Catholic Church; new forms of religious dedication have been set upthrough the establishment of innovative communities, such as Opus Dei, Schonstatt,Communione e Liberazione and others; personal prelatures for the care of immi- FROM THE EDITORS


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grants and refugees, and for special groups needing their own shepherds, a re increas-ing. All this indicates a concern for the person on the part of the Holy Father, thechief shepherd who is responsible for all the sheep.Interestingly, the new Code of Canon Law reflects the personal theology of PopeJohn Paul II and the Vatican Council. A shift away from the territorial concept ofecclesiastical organization toward a more personal approach can be seen even in thedefinition of parish, which is now described as "a portion of the people of God."That portion may well be a group that has special needs in striving for its salvation,and the Church as a loving mo ther and the pope as a good shepherd wish to supplywhat is needed. Language needs, ethnic and artistic traditions, and a reverence fortraditional forms can constitute the special requirements that the Church may see fitto recognize as grounds for special privileges for various groups.Ecclesia Dei clearly states that it is not directed only to those who have movedaway from Catholic unity along with Archbishop Lefebvre. It speaks also of thosewho have remained in the Church and w ho have a need for the spiritual nourishmentthat can be found in reverence, tradition, certain ceremonies and music, all of whichmost certainly have a place within the Church, but which for various reasons havebeen abandoned and neglected in a false understanding and implementation of thepost-conciliar reforms.Cardinal Ratzinger, in an address to the bishops of Chile (See Sacred Music, Vol.115, No. 3 , Fall 1988, p. 17-20), asked what m ay have happened to cause ArchbishopLefebvre and his followers to leave the Church. Then he added that we must doeverything we can to correct such abuses. With Ecclesia Dei the Holy Father isattempting to do that.There is certainly something to be said in favor of a unified liturgy throughout theuniversal Church, allowing for legitimate racial, ethnic or national variations as wellas the ancient historic rites, especially in the East. The Vatican Council notes thevalue of maintaining these traditions, and the missal of Pope Paul VI is filled withmany option s. As has been proposed here before, it would seem to be a solution tothe problem of maintaining the Tridentine Mass as well as the reforms ordered by theVatican Council to incorporate certain parts of both the old and the new into arevised missal which would keep the best of both forms. There is little question thatmany of the reforms of Pope Paul's missal are most welcome, but other ceremonies ofthe missal of Pope Pius V that have been eliminated might well be restored also. Anew book, combining the best of both, could maintain a unity of rite but also adiversity of option within the rite. All Roman Catholics of the Latin rite would usethe same missal.It is clear, however, that the discussions of the Tridentine M ass and its use are onlythe surface of the problems brought to a head by the schism of Archbishop Lefebvreand mentioned by Cardinal Ratzinger in his address to the Chilean bishops. Cate-chetics, the religious life, training of the clergy, the reception of the o ther sacramentsand preparation for them, indeed all facets of Catholic life are part of the largerproblem for Catholics who wish to maintain their traditional faith as it has beenlived for centuries and affirmed by the councils, including Vatican II. To do so withinthe Church is their right, and the Holy Father has spelled this out in Ecclesia Dei. It isto be hoped that it will be quickly and widely implemented in this country. R.J.S.

FROM THE EDITORS


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Vatican. Royal Stairs

REVERENCE FOR THE EUCHARIST(This pastoral letter is dated D ecember 4, 1988. Bishop Keating has graciously p ermittedits publication in Sacred Music.)

Twenty-five years ago today, on December 4, 1963, the more than 2,400 bishops ofVatican Council II, in union with Pope Paul VI, issued their first major documentthe council's first fruitsthe historic constitution on the sacred liturgy. While manyof the issues discussed in the council (1962-1965) had only an indirect bearing on theeveryday life of the faithful, the liturgy touches virtually everyone immediately andpersonally. Nothing is more clearly at the core of Catholic life and practice than ourpublic worshipwhich, in fact, is precisely what "liturgy" means. The constitutionon the sacred liturgy made a powerful impact in our parishes, there for all to see andjudge.Hundreds of documents on the liturgy have since been published by the Holy Seein the wake of the constitution. Thousands of liturgists eagerly plunged into theeffort to implement and further the reforms. Millions of Catholics, though some-times bewildered by it all, bravely accommodated themselves and their lifelonghabits to new ways of worshipping God together.

There have been those who, for the sake of conserving ancient traditions, were unwill-ing to accept these reforms. There have been others w ho, concerned with urgent pastoralneeds, felt they could not wait for the definite reform to be promulgated. As a resultsome individuals, acting on private initiative, arrived at hasty and sometimes unwisesolutions, and made changes, additions or simplifications which at times went againstthe basic principles of the liturgy. This only troubled the faithful and impeded or mademore difficult the progress of genuine renewal.1The dust has settled sufficiently now that I think it might be useful to look backacross these twenty-five years to see if the considerable hopes of Vatican Council IIhave been achieved, to ask if by and large, the renewed liturgy has helped us worshipbetter, pray better, become better persons of faith.In these few pages I would like to share with you some personal reflections on the PASTORAL


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great mystery wh ich , a l t h o u g h I d o n o t u n d e r s t a n d i t , I h o l d a s ab so lu t e f ac t , ani r r e f u t ab l e t r u th . I t i s so m e th in g a t t h e h ea r t of m y d a i ly co n sc io u sn es s wh ich , b yGo d ' s g if t , I be l ieve wi th eve ry f iber o f m y sou l . I m ea n , o f course , the H olyE u ch a r i s t , b o th a s t h e u n b lo o d y sac r i f i c e o f J e su s i n t h e M ass , an d a s t h e l i v in gC h r i s t , G o d a n d m a n , w h o m w e r e ce i ve i n H o l y C o m m u n i o n .

Ho w can an ed u ca t ed p e r so n in t h e twen t i e th cen tu r y , y o u a sk , a c tu a l ly b e l i ev e inth e E u ch a r i s t , r e a l ly b e l i ev e th a t b r ead an d w in e in f ac t b eco m e th e b o d y an d b lo o do f Je su s Ch r i s t ? M e? I b e l i ev e i t b eca u se , t h a n k s t o t h e g r ace of Go d , s o m eo n e w h o mI th o r o u g h l y r e sp ec t an d lo v e h a s t au g h t m e i t 's a f a c t , an awe so m e f ac t. T h a tsomeone i s t h e Ch u r ch , t h e t e ach in g an d b e l i ev in g Ch u r c h o f t h e ap o s t l e s a n dm ar ty r s , t h e Peo p le o f G o d o f twen ty cen tu r i e s . . .m y f a th e r an d m o t h e r . . . t h eth o u s an d s o f p eo p le i n t h e D io cese of Ar l in g to n f o r w h o m I c e l eb r a te t h e sac r edm y s te r i e s an d w i th wh o m I r ece iv e th e b o d y an d b l o o d o f Ch r i s t J e su s .

W h e n y o u d ea l w i t h a co n s t i t u t i o n y o u a r e d ea l in g w i th f u n d a m e n ta l s . I t i s a t r a i to f h u m a n n a t u r e , I g u e s s , t o g e t a w a y fr o m p o n d e r i n g f u n d a m e n t a l s t h e y ' r e t o op o n d e r o u s in o r d e r t o g e t t o wh a t i s m o r e f a sc in a t in g , t h e ex t e r n a l s . I t i s f a r e a s i e rto ap p ly o n esel f t o w h a t t o u ch es t h e sen se s , m u c h h a r d e r t o we ig h th e ab s t r ac t an dth e su b l im e . T h e u l t im a te p u r p o se o f t h e co n s t i t u t i o n o n th e sac r ed l i t u r g y was n o tso much to e f fec t changes in the l i tu rgy , as to e f fec t a change in the hear ts and sou lso f Ca th o l i c wo r sh ip p e r s . I t s eem s to m e th a t a b a s i c p r in c ip l e o f t h e co n s t i t u t i o n wast h i s : Litu rgy i s "good" to the degree tha t i t p ie rces the senses , goes beyond theex terna ls , to reach the hear t and resur rec t the sense o f reverence fo r God in thein d iv id u a l p e r so n . Peo p le n eed to see t h r o u g h th e ex t e r n a l s o f l i t u r g i ca l f o r m s , s eeth rough even the cen t ra l ex terna l o f the p r ies t ce lebran t himself, to a r r ive a t the innerr ea l i t y o f w h a t i s h ap p en in g , o f W h o i s p r e sen t am o n g u s .

The t rue cen ter o f the sacred l i tu rgy , and indeed o f the whole o f Chr is t ian l i fe , i st h e E u ch a r i s t . 2 T h e E u ch a r i s t i c a c t io n i s t h e " so u r ce an d su m m i t , " 3 " the sou l" 4 of allChr is t ian l i fe , " the very hear tbea t o f the congregat ion o f the fa i th fu l ." 5

For the most blessed Eucharist contains the Church's entire spiritual wealth, that is,Christ Himself, our Passover and living bread. Through His very flesh, made vital andvitalizing by the Holy Spirit, He offers life to men. They are thereby invited and led tooffer themselves, their labors, and all created things together with Him.6

T h e wo r d " E u ch a r i s t " d o es n o t ap p ea r i n t h e New T es t am en t . I t was f i r s t u sed inth e D id ach e ( l a t e f i r s t c en tu r y ) an d th en b y I g n a t iu s o f An t io ch an d Ju s t in . I n t h eN ew T estam ent the Euch ar is t i s ca l led " the Lord ' s supper ,"7 th e agape,8 a n d t h e"break ing o f b read ." 9 T h e r i t e an d th e r ea l i t y h av e ex i s t ed f r o m th e b eg in n in g , an dth e co n s t an t g o a l o f t h e Ch u r ch h a s b een co n t in u a l ly t o t r y t o u n d e r s t an d an d to l i v ethe Euchar is t more fu l ly .

L ik e th e Ch u r ch herself, t h e E u ch a r i s t i c l i t u r g y is b o th h u m an a n d d iv in e , v i s ib l eb u t en d o wed wi th i n v i s ib l e r ea l i t i e s . As th e co n s t i t u t i o n p u t s i t , i n t h e l i t u r g y " th eh u m an i s d i r ec t ed to wa r d an d su b o r d in a t ed to t h e d iv in e , t h e v i s ib l e to t h e i n v i sib l e ,a c t io n to co n tem p la t io n , an d th i s p r e sen t wo r ld t o t h a t c i t y y e t t o co m e , t h e o b jec t o four quest ."10

And so I thought i t bes t i f we consider each o f the two e lements o f Euchar is t icwo r sh ip sep a r a t e ly , t h e ex t e r n a l r i t u a l an d th e i n t e r n a l r e a l i t y , an d th en sp eak ab o u tth e r ev e r en ce d u e to each .I . T H E E X T E R N A L R I T U A L

T h e E u ch a r i s t i c l i t u r g y is b a se d o n s ig n s , o f b o th h u m an a n d d iv in e o r ig in , t h a ta im a t o u r san c t i f i c a t io n . I t i s t h e Ch u r ch ' s o wn r i t u a l t h a t u n iq u e ly p r o m o te s o u r

PASTORAL sp i r i t ua l l if e th ro ug h s igns an d sy m bo ls perc ep t ib le to the sen ses wo rds an d mu sic ,


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gesture and vesture, art and architecture, sounds and silence. Yes, even silence is animportant external of the liturgy. "At the proper time a reverent silence should beobserved," adm onis hed the constitu tion, for by a reverent silence the faithful "areassociated more intimately in the mystery that is being celebrated."11 Silence is "partof the celebration" itself.12Another important external is language. Much has been said about the use ofLatin to enhance public worship. No doubt about it; Vatican Council II not only didno t outlaw the use of Latin in the Mass, but called for its preservation. The councilplaced on episcopal conferences the responsibility of regulating the use of the vernac-ular in the liturgy. Restrictions on the use of the vernacular were progressively liftedin the face of repre sen tation s by hierarchies from all over the wor ld, until by 1971 theuse of the vernacular in public Masses was left entirely to the judgment of episcopalconferences, and to the judgment of individual priests for private Masses.My preparation for the priesthood was entirely pre-Vatican Council II and wasveritably steeped in Latin. Five years of Latin grammar classes were followed by tenyears of classroom and liturgical usage of Latin. I confess that I was pretty proud ofmy Latin skillsan Italian pronunciation and a vocabulary that could not bestumped (that is, if you kept the conversation to things theological and canonical).

At first it was a disappointing thought for me to have to begin saying Mass inEnglish. But what I discovered surprised me. Now people were listening to themeaning of the words I was saying and they could now tell quite easily if there wassincerity and devo tion in my words, my inflections, m y pace of deliverythings th atwere largely hidden from their ears when we had said Mass in Latin. This in turnforced me to a greater reverence at the altar, and I often thanked the Holy Spirit forVatican Council II. It puzzled me later that what I found to be of such value forreverencevernacular in the liturgysome perceived as a slippery road to irrever-ence.Reverence, however, is not an inherent trait of one language over another. Ratherit is the trait of a person who is aware of God's presence and action, no matter whatlanguage he uses to express that awareness.No bodily posture so clearly expresses the soul's interior reverence before God asthe act of kneeling. Reciprocally, the posture of kneeling reinforces and deepens thesoul's attitude of reverence.Jesus knelt to pray in the Garden of Olives on the eve of His death (Luke 22:41).Stephen knelt down to pray for his persecutors as they prepared to kill him (Acts7:60). At Joppa Peter knelt down next to the corpse of Tabitha to pray before callingher back to life (Acts 9:40). Paul, after giving his final farewell to the elders of thechurch of Ephesus, ". . .knelt down with them all and prayed. . .Then they escortedhim to the ship" (Acts 20:36, 38).In his letter to the Phillippians (2:8-11), Paul speaks of the Lord Jesus in magnifi-cent poetic strokes:He was known to be of human estate and it was thus that he humbled himself, obedi-ently accepting even death, death on a cross!Because of this, God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name above everyother name,So that at Jesus' name every knee must bend in the heavens, on the earth, and under theearth, and every tongue proclaim to the glory of God the Father: Jesus Christ is Lord!

The general norm of the universal Church is that the congregation kneel at theconsecration of the Mass.13 Further, the long and venerable custom of United StatesCatholics of kneeling for the entire Eucharistic Prayer was reaffirmed by our episco-pal conferenc e in 1969 for the post-Vatican Co unc il era. A nd , of cou rse, the prac tice PASTORAL


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o f g en u f l ec t in g b e f o r e t h e Ble s sed Sac r am en t i s a n o r m f o r C a th o l i c s a r o u n d th ew o r l d :

Genuflection on one knee is prescribed before the Blessed Sacrament whether it bereserved in the tabernacle or exposed for public adoration. 14Bef o r e t h e Va t i can Co u n c i l ev en en d ed , t h e r e we r e n ew wo r d s an d p h r a se s i n se r t -

i n g th em se lv e s i n to o u r l i t u r g i ca l v o cab u la r y , wh i l e so m e v en e r ab le o ld p h r a se s ,w i t h o u t a n y w a r n i n g , b e c a m e a r c h a i c . T h e n e w j a r g o n , i t m u s t b e p o i n t e d o u t , w a sn o t c r ea t ed b y th e co n s t i t u t i o n o n th e sac r ed l i t u r g y .

Sudden ly the t rad i t iona l " sacr i f ice o f the Mass" was to be re fer red to s imply as the" l i tu rgy ," the "Euchar is t , " o r the "Euchar is t ic l i tu rgy ." Yet the const i tu t ion p refers thet rad i t iona l phrase " sacr i f ice o f the Mass" 1 5 an d in d ica t e s t h a t " l i t u r g y " an d " E u ch a -r i s t " h av e w id e r m ean in g s t h an th e M ass , wh i l e " E u ch a r i s t i c l i t u r g y " h a s a n a r r o werm ean in g th an th e M ass , b e in g b u t o n e o f t h e two p a r t s ( w i th t h e l i t u r g y o f t h e wo r d )th a t co m p r i se t h e M ass . 1 6

I h ad b ee n g iv in g " se r m o n s" a t M ass f o r m an y y ea r s u n t i l I f o u n d o u t t h a th en ce f o r th I w o u l d b e g iv in g " h o m i l i e s " a ft e r Va t i can I I . T h e co n s t i t u t i o n , h o wev e r ,po in t s ou t tha t a " se rm on" i s pa r t o f the l i tu rg ica l ac t ion1 7 but i s ca l led a homily (as aspec ies o f a genus) when the myster ies o f fa i th and the norms of Chr is t ian l iv ing areex p o u n d ed f r o m th e sac r ed sc r ip tu r e s acco r d in g to t h e co u r se o f t h e l i t u r g i ca l y ea r . 1 8

At t im es , wh i l e wa i t i n g f o r t h e p r o cess io n to s t a r t d o wn th e cen te r a i s l e f o r M ass , Ih av e h ea r d m y n am e an n o u n ce d to t h e co n g r eg a t io n a s " O u r p r e s id e r t o d ay i s . . . " T obe per fec t ly f ra nk , "O ur p r ies t today . . ." i s so m uc h mo re mean ingfu l , e ven whe n i tre fer s to a b ishop!

W h a t I h a d k n o w n o n l y a s t h e s a c r a m e n t of p e n a n c e w a s n o w k n o w n a s t h esac r a m en t of " reco n c i l i a t io n . " T h e w o r d " p e n an ce " wen t an t e d i lu v ian . W h e n " ex-t r em e u n c t io n " was r en am ed th e " an o in t in g o f t h e s i ck , " t h e sac r am en t b ecam e m o r ewid e ly u sed s in ce p eo p le u n d e r s to o d b y th e ch an g e in t i tl e t h a t y o u n eed n o t b e a t t h eb r in k o f d ea th i n o r d e r t o a sk f o r t h e sac r am en t . I h av e a lwa y s wo n d e r ed i f t h e n e wt i t le o f " reconci l ia t ion" d id no t have the same ef fec t , in reverse , so tha t fewer andf e w e r p e o p l e w o u l d a s k fo r t h e s a c r a m e n t , t h i n k i n g t h e s a c r a m e n t w a s n o w i n t e n d e do n ly f o r t h o se i n m o r t a l s i n an d th e r e f o r e i n n eed o f r e co n c i l i a t i o n w i th Go d .

At an y r a t e , t h e co n s t i t u t i o n n ev e r r e f e r s t o t h e sac r am en t o f r e co n c i l i a t i o n b u to n ly to t h e sac r am en t o f p en an ce , 1 9 which is indeed i ts off icial t i t le to this day. 20

A lo t o f those o ld phrases , t r ied and t rue th rough cen tur ies o f venerab le use , s t i l lsay i t bes t .

T h e t em p ta t io n i s f i er ce , an d I h av e r a r e ly seen an y o n e su ccess fu l ly o v e r co m e i t .W h e n a v e r y sp ec i a l ev en t i s t o b e ce l eb r a t ed w i th a M a ss , e .g . , t h e i n s t a l l a t i o n o f t h eb ishop , o r h is funera l , those in charge o f p lann ing the l i tu rgy wi l l invar iab ly fee l i tap p r o p r i a t e t o m ak e th e l i t u r g y lo n g e r , m o r e co m p lex , m o r e e l ab o r a t e . I f t h e r e a r etwe lv e v e r se s o f a h y m n p r in t ed in t h e h y m n a l , a l l twe lv e w i l l b e su n g . Af t e r a l l , t h i si s a spec ia l occas ion . The longest Euchar is t ic p rayer i s se lec ted de rigeur. M u s i c a li n t e r l u d e s s o m e t i m e s b e c o m e m i n i - c o n c e r t s . H o l y C o m m u n i o n , o f c o u r s e , m u s t b ead m in i s t e r ed u n d e r b o th sp ec i e s , i n sp i t e o f an y lo g i s t i c a l p r o b lem s w i th t h e s i z e o fth e co n g r eg a t io n . T h e p r in c ip l e seem s to b e : Wh a tev e r ca n b e a d d e d , should b ead d ed to t h e l i t u r g y o f a sp ec i a l o cca s io n .

E x t r ao r d in a r y l en g th of l i t u rg y , I h a d a lway s th o u g h t t o myself, was n o t an ex -t r ao r d in a r y s ig n o f r ev e r en ce , e i t h e r f o r Go d o r m an . T h a t n ag g in g th o u g h t , su r f ac -in g d u r in g a m ar a th o n l i t u r g y , h a s a lway s cau sed m e so m e d eg r ee o f g u i l t , f e e l in gth a t I s im p ly w as n o t g en e r o u s en o u g h to sen se t h e u n iq u en e ss o f t h e ev en t an d th eap p r o p r i a t en e ss o f an e l ab o r a t e l it u r g y . M y g u i l t i s r e l i ev ed , h o we v e r , wh e n ev e r I

PASTORAL rea d the co nst i tu t ion on the sacre d l i tu rgy . A pp ar en t ly the coun ci l f a the rs ha d fe lt


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the same way I have, for they directed that the renewed rites thereafter should be"simple, short and clear"without granting exemptions for special events.21

"In your prayer," said the Lord, "do not rattle on like the pagans. They think theywill win a hearing by the sheer multiplication of words. Do not imitate them" (Mt.6:7).

While the constitution aimed to launch a whole new era of liturgical reform andrenewal, it explicitly called for the preservation of three traditional externals that forcenturies had served the Church's liturgy, especially the Mass, with dignity anddecorum. They had to do with sound and the sense of hearing, the three sounds oflanguage, song, and musical instrument:

1) Gregorian chant ". . .should be given pride of place in liturgical services."222) "The pipe organ is to be held in high esteem in the Latin Church, for it is thetraditional musical instrument, the sound of which can add a wonderful splendor to theChurch's ceremonies and powerfully lifts up men's minds to God and high things."233) "The use of the Latin language, with due respect to particular law, is to be preservedin the Latin rites.."24

Whatever happened to these venerable old sounds? Well, I can understand why, atthe beginning of the renewal, they were left behind in the excitement of embracingsuch a variety of new forms and substitutes. Are the three traditional sounds goneforever? Hardly. The era of renewal is still underway, and another sign of progress isthe already visible return of these three jewels of sound. They will be back, not todominate, but to take their rightful and honorable place in the rich mosaic ofCatholic ritual.

The liturgy is such a sacred possession of the Church that no one, "not even apriest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority." 25Many subsequent documents have reiterated this basic norm of the constitution onthe sacred liturgy:

Only the supreme authority of the Church, and, according to the provisions of the law,the bishop and episcopal conferences, may do this. Priests should, therefore, ensure thatthey so preside over the celebration of the Eucharist that the faithful know that they areattending not a rite established on private initiative, but the Church's public worship,the regulation of which was entrusted to the apostles and their successors.26

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote this memorable phrase: ". . .liturgy can only beliturgy to the extent that it is beyond the manipulation of those who celebrate it"(Feast of Faith, p. 85). The liturgy, by its very nature, is the public patrimony of thewhole Church; it cannot be the possession or hallmark of an individual priest or aparticular parish community.

The priest must realize that by imposing his own personal restoration of sacred rites heis offending the rights of the faithful and is introducing individualism and idiosyncracyinto celebrations which belong to the whole Church.27In the l i t u r g y the pr ies t ac ts in persona Christi, in the p e r s o n of C h r i s t , not in his

o w n n a m e or by his own a u t h o r i t y . How the p r i e s t co n d u c t s h im se l f at the a l t a r hasto be b a s e d not on a sen se of p e r s o n a l o w n e r s h i p of the r i t u a l , but on the deferencean d r ev e r en ce o wed to the L o r d Himself, wh o e n t r u s t e d the M a s s to His C h u r c h . It ist h e u l t im a te , m o s t p r i z ed and j e a lo u s ly g u a r d ed p o sse s s io n of the C h u r c h . It is nosu r p r i se t h a t the Ch u r ch in s i s t s on the use of o f f i c i a l l y au th o r i zed r i t u a l s and mis-sa l s , r u b r i c s and direc t ives for the ex te r n a l s of its l i turgy.2 8

T h e r e is h e a r d at t i m e s the co m p la in t t h a t l i t u r g i ca l n o r m s t en d to stifle thef r eed o m and s p o n t a n e i t y t h a t s h o u l d m a r k p r i v a t e and p u b l i c w o r s h i p . "We are a PASTORAL


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church o f char i ty , no t law," they say . "Let the sp i r i t b low where i t wi l l . Don ' t shack lei t ; don ' t r es t ra in i t s po w er by p lac in g it un de r law and o rder ."

By h a p p y co in c id en ce , I h ap p en ed to b e in Ro m e o n Jan u a r y 2 5 , 1 9 8 3 . T h a t wa sth e lo n g awa i t ed d ay f o r t h e p r o m u lg a t io n o f t h e n ew co d e o f c an o n l aw th a t h adb een in p r ep a r a t io n f o r m o r e th an a d ecad e . As an o ld can o n i s t myself, I wase sp ec i a l l y d e l ig h ted to see an d h ea r t h e Ho ly Fa th e r , Po p e Jo h n Pau l I I , p e r so n a l lyp r o m u lg a t e t h e co d e in t h e Ha l l o f Ben ed ic t io n s ab o v e th e f r o n t v e s t ib u l e o f S t .Pe ter ' s Basi l ica .

I n h i s t a lk t h e Ho ly Fa th e r sp o k e o f t h e sam e co m p la in t ab o u t t h e " in t r u s io n " o flaw in to mat te r s o f the sp i r i t . He sa id tha t church law does no t subst i tu te fo r fa i th o rg r ace o r ch a r i sm s o r ch a r i t y . No , i t c r ea t e s t h e b e s t co n d i t i o n s wh e r eb y th o se p r i -m ar y v a lu e s h av e a ch an ce to f l o u r i sh u n im p ed ed in t h e v a s t so c i e ty o f t h e Ch u r chan d th e wo r ld . L aw c r ea t e s t h e co n d i t i o n s f o r t h e d ev e lo p m en t o f t h e i m p o r t an tth in g s . By th e sam e to k en , t h e r u b r i c s o f t h e l i t u r g y a r e n o t e s t ab l i sh ed to su b s t i t u t ef o r t r u e wo r sh ip , b u t t o c r ea t e t h e ex t e r n a l co n d i t i o n s so t h a t t h e i n t e r io r v a lu e s o fth e l i t u r g y h av e a b e t t e r ch an ce to ach iev e th e i r p u r p o se .

As we Ca th o l i c s a r e o n e in f a i t h an d sac r am en t , so m u s t we b e o n e in wo r sh ip .Un i ty i n t h e Ch u r ch ex t en d s n o t o n ly t o d o c t r in e , f a i t h , an d m o r a l s , b u t a l so t owo r sh ip an d l i t u r g y . An d wh en y o u sp eak o f t h e E u ch a r i s t , h o w i r o n ic t h a t t h e M asssh o u ld so m e t im es b eco m e a cau se o f d i su n i ty , d iv i s io n , o r r e sen tm en t , a s i t c anwh en i t s r i t u a l i s t am p e r ed w i th . Po p e Jo h n Pau l I I wr i t e s :

Above all I wish to emphasize that the problems of the liturgy, and in particular of theEucharistic liturgy, must not be an occasion for dividing Catholics and for threateningthe unity of the Church. This is demanded by an elementary understanding of thatsacrament which Christ has left us as the source of spiritual unity. And how could theEucharist. . .form between us at this time a point of division and a source of distortionof thought and of behaviour, instead of being the focal point and constitutive center,which it truly is in its essence, of the unity of the Church herself? 29

I so m e t im es v i su a l i z e t h e M ass a s t h r ee - d im en s io n a l i n i t s u n i f y in g p o wer . L ik e th ea l t a r o n wh i ch i t t ak e s p l ace , I s ee t h e M a ss w i th a c e r t a in l en g th , w id th an d h e ig h t .T h e d im en s io n o f l en g th r each es b ack a s a m em o r i a l a c r o ss twen ty cen tu r i e s t o t h eL as t Su p p e r an d Ca lv a r y . I t s w i d th i s a l l - en co m p ass in g , a s w id e a s t h e ea r th , em -b r ac in g th e en t i r e b o d y o f t h e f a i t h f u l a r o u n d th e wo r ld . I t s d im en s io n o f h e ig h tm ak es i t r e ach u p to t h e o n e t r u e Go d in h eav en in ad o r a t io n , t h an k sg iv in g , s a t i s f ac -t i o n an d p e t i t i o n .

T h e lo n g m em o r y o f t h e Ch u r ch th r o u g h th e cen tu r i e s l e ad s t o o n e co n c lu s io n :s im p le an d s t r a ig h t f o r war d o b se r v an ce o f t h e n o r m s f o r c e l eb r a t in g M ass c r ea t e s t h ebest cond i t ions fo r the inner rea l i ty o f the l i tu rgy to be g rasped by the g rea tes tn u m b er o f p eo p le . As a r u l e , wh en M ass i s c e l eb r a t ed in t o t a l a cco r d w i th t h eCh u r ch ' s n o r m s , t h e l i t u r g y h a s i t s w id es t an d d eep es t e f f ec t iven ess am o n g p eo p le .II . T H E IN T E R N A L R E A L I TY

To the degree tha t the ex terna ls o f the l i tu rgy can pass beyond our senses o f s igh t ,h ea r in g , t o u ch , sm e l l an d t a s t e , an d r each th e h ea r t an d so u l , t o t h a t d eg r ee w i l l t h eex te r n a l s a ch iev e th e i r p u r p o se in t h e l i t u r g y . As ca r e f u l ly p l an n ed an d b eau t i f u l lyex ecu ted a s a p a r t i cu l a r l i t u r g y m ig h t b e , i f i t d o es n o t en t e r t h e h ea r t , t h e p sy ch e ,the in te l lec t , the memory , the wi l l , the sp i r i t , i t f a i l s in i t s purpose . I t must reach thehuman sou l in i t s dep ths . I t i s there , in the inner sanc tum of one ' s sou l tha t a s ix thsen se can b e n o u r i sh ed , en l iv en ed , f o cu sed th e sen se o f r ev e r en ce b e f o r e t h e p r e s -en ce an d ac t io n o f Go d Himself.

PASTORAL I som et im es go t the im pres s io n in the yea rs r igh t a f te r Vat ic an Co unc i l I I tha t there10


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was so m u ch em p h as i s p u t o n s ty l e an d sen su a l e l an th a t t h e u l t im a te p u r p o se o f t h el i t u r g y was h a r d ly ad v e r t ed to . T h o se in ch a r g e o f p l an n in g an d ex ecu t in g th e l i t u r g ymu st rea l ize tha t m uc h mo re is requ i red th an cor rec t rub r ics . "I t i s the du t y ofpas to rs ," d i rec ts the const i tu t ion , " to ensure tha t the fa i th fu l take par t , fu l ly aware o fwhat they are do ing , ac t ive ly engaged in the r i te and enr iched by i t . " 30

Th e hear t i s wh ere i t 's a t . Jesus once quo ted a passa ge of I sa ias to peo p le w ho sere l ig ion s topped a t the ex terna ls : "This peop le honors me wi th i t s l ips , bu t i t s hear t i sf a r away f r o m m e ( M k . 7 :6 ) . T h e co n s t i t u t i o n p u t s i t an o th e r way : Peo p le ' s m in d smust be a t tuned to the i r vo ices . 3 1 A basic l i tu rg ica l p r inc ip le has to be th is : "Out o fth e ab u n d an ce o f t h e h ea r t , t h e m o u th sp eak s" ( L k . 6 :4 5 ) .

Peop le rea l ly have to " see th rough" the ex terna ls o f the l i tu rgy to g rasp the innerrea l i ty . And one o f the most obv ious ex terna ls i s the p r ies t himself. Pope John Pau l I Ig ives a powerfu l ins tance o f th is , where the fa i th fu l a t Mass must pass beyond theex terna ls o f the p r ies t f rom the f i r s t moment he appears in p rocess ion and ap-p r o ach es t h e a l t a r :

It is Christ Himself who, represented by the celebrant, makes His entry into the sanctu-ary and proclaims His gospel. It is He who is the "offerer and the offered, the consecra-tor and the consecrated.32

If I th in k tha t I hav e g iven a fa i r ly goo d hom ily , I have a l wa ys had the c usto m,even f rom the t ime of my ord ina t ion to the p r ies thood th i r ty years ago , to type i t ou taf te rward and save i t . I have a few "keepers" f rom my f i r s t months as a young pr ies tin 1959 , a few years before th e counc i l be ga n . W he n I loo k a t thos e ear ly ser mo nsnow , in l igh t of Vat ican I I , I can ha rd l y be l ieve tha t I once ha d the au da ci ty toco n s id e r t h em g o o d an d d ecen t s e r m o n s wo r th sav in g . F r an k ly , t h ey a r e awf u lse r m o n s , t o o lo n g an d in v o lv ed , a cad em ic an d ab s t r ac t , a s en g ag in g a s a f i l ib u s te r .T h ey d id n o t h av e a m in im a l ch an ce o f m o v in g an y o n e , o f t o u ch in g th e h ea r t s o fan yo ne , o r he lp i ng peop l e a r r ive a t the inner mys tery o f the Eucha r is t . I r ea l ly was , ifI say so myself, a m a lad r o i t y o u n g p r each e r .

In a cou p le o f my pre-Vat ican "ke epers" I exp l a ined qu i te cor rec t ly to peo p le tha tb y th e co n sec r a t io n p e r f o r m ed b y th e p r i e s t t h e su b s t an ce o f t h e b o d y an d b lo o d o fCh r i s t b eco m es p r e sen t u n d e r t h e ap p ea r an ce o f b r ead an d w in e , i n p l ace o f t h en a tu r a l su b s t an ces co r r e sp o n d in g to t h e se ap p e a r an c es . I ex p la in ed f u r th e r t h a t t h esu b s t an ce o f Ch r i s t ' s b o d y an d b lo o d r em a in s ac tu a l ly , t r u ly , an d e s sen t i a l l y p r e sen ta s l o n g a s t h e ap p ea r an ce s en d u r e , y e t in su ch a m a n n e r t h a t i t i s p r e sen t w h o le an dind iv is ib le under each spec ies , as wel l as under any par t thereof. So u n d th eo lo g y , a l lr igh t , bu t I nev er appea led t h ro ug h the senses to the hear t , a s the l i tu rgy i s m ea n t tod o . A nd th e hom ily , o r serm on , i s pa r t an d parce l of the l i tu rg y itself.33

T h e b o d y o f Ch r i s t is b ey o n d a l l s en s ib l e p e r ce p t io n . C an i t h a p p e n a t M ass t h a twe s to p a t t h e sen su a l p e r cep t io n s an d n ev e r r each th e m y s te r y b ey o n d ? So m e t im esgo ing to Mass can be l ike l i s ten ing to a fo re ign language , no t a word o f which youco m p r eh en d . T h e f o r e ig n wo r d s t o u ch y o u r sen se o f h ea r in g , b u t d o n o t p en e t r a t eth e u n d e r s t an d in g o f y o u r m in d . T h e l i t u r g y can so m e t im es to u ch th e sen se s o f s ig h tan d so u n d . . . y e t t h e h ea r t an d so u l d o n o t c o m p r eh en d .

The v is ib le s igns o f the l i tu rgy are necessar i ly l imi ted in conduct ing us to the innermystery . In the f ina l ana lys is , the mystery wi l l a lways remain a mystery . "Sensesca nn ot g rasp th is ma rve l ; f a i th mu st serve to com pen sa t e" is the l ine f rom thew o n d e r f u l o l d h y m n Tantum ergo sung a t bened ic t ion o f the Blessed Sacrament , aEuchar is t ic l i tu rgy tha t t ru ly be longs in the Church o f Vat ican Counci l I I .

Before the Euchar is t , the senses fa i l us , i t i s t rue . And when we become t ru lycons c iou s o f tha t fac t , we are a l r ead y a t the th re sho ld o f the inner mys tery . PASTORAL


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Lord and G od, devoutly you I now adore,hidden under symbols, bread and wine no more.Sight and touch and taste, Lord, are in you deceiv'd;by your Word alone, Lord, can you be believ 'd .All that you have taught me, I do firmly hold,truer words than yours, Lord, never have been told.As I contemplate you, senses fail to see,but my heart and soul, Lord, with my faith agree.

A key phrase o f the const i tu t ion s ta tes the goal o f l i tu rgy , to move peop le to " fu l l ,co n sc io u s , an d ac t iv e p a r t i c ip a t io n . " 3 4 Of th e th r ee ad j ec tiv e s u sed f u l l , co n sc io u s ,an d ac t iv eth e wo r d " ac t iv e" seem ed to b e t h e o n e f av o r ed b y m o s t l i t u r g i s t s an dp as to r s wh en f ir s t im p lem en t in g th e n ew l i t u r g y . " Ac tiv e p a r t i c ip a t io n " b ecam e th em o t to o f t h o se t im es .

Yet, of the th ree ad jec t ives I rea l ly th ink th a t th e mos t im po r ta n t one i s " fu ll" as infull p a r t i c i p a t i o n . T h e w o r d " a c t i v e" c a n b e t a k e n t o m e a n m e r e l y external p a r t i c i p a -t i o n w i t h o u t m u c h a t t e n t i o n t o i n t e r i o r w o r s h i p ; " c o n s c i o u s " c a n m e a n m e r e l y inter-nal p a r t i c i p a t i o n w i t h o u t j o i n in g th e w o r s h i p p i n g c o m m u n i t y . B u t "f ul l" m e a n s b o t hto g e th e r , i n t e r n a l an d ex t e r n a l p a r t i c ip a t io n . Peo p le a r e t o t ak e p a r t i n t h e M ass" co n sc io u s o f wh a t t h ey a r e d o in g , w i th d ev o t io n a l ( i n t e r n a l ) an d f u l l co l l ab o r a t io n(external) ." 35

W h e n a p e r s o n i s f u lly p a r t i c ip a t in g , i n t e r n a l ly w i th r ev e r en ce an d d e v o t io n , an dex te r n a l ly i n co l l ab o r a t io n w i th h i s fe l l ow w o r sh ip p e r s , h e i s d o in g f iv e th in g s , f iv eb as i c a c t io n s d e sc r ib ed b y th e co n s t i t u t i o n : 3 6

1) He is instructed (Scriptures, homily)2) He is nourished (Holy C omm union)3) He gives thanks to God (the meaning of "Eucharist")4) He offers Christ and himself in sacrifice to the Father5) He unites with God and his brothers and sisters at worship.I f the words " fu l l , consc ious , and ac t ive" a re the key words fo r a l l par t ic ipan ts inthe l i tu rgy , wh at i s the key wo rd fo r th e p r ies t? I th i nk a key goal fo r th e p r ies t i s

"ef fec t ive" par t ic ipa t ion ; the Mass i s to be ce lebra ted "ef fec t ive ly ," tha t i s , so peop lecan rece ive the "very many f ru i t s" the Lord in tends by i t . 37 T r u e , t h e r e a r e so m ep eo p le o f ex t r ao r d in a r i l y d ev e lo p ed f a i t h an d r ev e r en ce f o r wh o m th e d em ean o r o fth e p r i e s t a t t h e a l t a r d o es n o t m ean th a t m u ch , o n e way o r t h e o th e r . Bu t f o r m o s t o fu s , t h e m an n e r i n wh ich th e p r i e s t c e l eb r a t e s M ass h a s a l o t t o d o w i th p eo p le ' sab i l i t y t o wo r sh ip we l l an d to r ece iv e wh a t t h e L o r d in t en d s t o g iv e t h r o u g h th e M assto each so u l .

I n t h e m a t t e r o f p e r so n a l p a r t i c ip a t io n in t h e M ass , t h e co n s t i t u t i o n s t a t e s t h a t , a sfa i th fu l d ispensers o f the myster ies o f God , p r ies ts "must lead the i r f lock no t on ly inwo r d b u t a l so b y ex am p le . " 3 8 The pr ies t ' s demeanor , h is sense o f reverence , h is senseo f t h e sac r ed , h i s ab i l i t y t o en h an ce , n o t i n t r u d e o n , p eo p le ' s awa r en ess o f t h e i n n e rm y s t e r y , m e a n s o m u c h .

. . .it would be futile to entertain any hopes of realizing this goal (viz. of achievingactive and full participation among the faithful) unless the pastors themselves, to beginwith, become thoroughly penetrated with the spirit and power of the liturgy, andbecome masters of it.39Bu t it i s n o t o n ly t h e d em ean o r o f t h e p ri e s t t h a t m ean s so m u c h to f u ll , co n sc io u s

an d ac t iv e p a r t i c ip a t io n ; i t i s a l so t h e d em ean o r o f f e l lo w p a r t i c ip an t s t h a t co u n t s . Ih av e a lway s th o u g h t t h a t t h e r e a r e two b as i c way s to d r aw a so u l t o Go d th r o u g h th e

PASTORAL li t urg y: 1) the po w er of th e l i tu rgy itself; an d 2 ) t h e g o o d ex am p le o f o th e r s ' r ev e r -12


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ence in the l i tu rgy . One can g row th rough the l i tu rgy in two ways bas ica l ly : 1 ) byach iev in g an awar en ess o f Go d ' s p r e sen ce an d ac t io n ; an d 2 ) b y a s so c i a t i n g w i tho thers who are ach iev ing i t . The l i tu rgy wi l l d raw peop le to tha t awareness i f i tr em ains t rue to i t s pu rpo se , a f f i rming the deposi t o f fa i th en t rus ted to the C hu rch ,an d h e lp in g p eo p le p r o f e s s t h a t f a i t h i n u n io n w i th t h e wh o le Ch u r ch .

"The Euchar is t i s above a l l e lse a sacr i f ice ," wro te Pope John Pau l II .40 T h e M a s s ,you can say , has th ree bas ic aspec tssacr i f ice , meal , and communi ty . But o f theth ree aspec ts , the sacr i f ic ia l i s the p r imary one , even though i t i s the one most h iddenbeh ind the ex terna ls o f the r i tua l .

The celebration of the Eucharist which takes place at Mass is the action not only ofChrist, but also of the Church. For in it Christ perpetuates in an unbloody manner thesacrifice offered on the cross, offering Himself to the Father for the world's salvationthrough the ministry of priests. The Church, the spouse and minister of Christ, per-forms together with him the role of priest and victim, offers Him to the Father and at thesame time makes a total offering of herself together with Him. 41The Euchar is t ic r i tua l makes i t qu i te obv ious tha t i t invo lves a meal , the tak ing o f

n o u r i sh m en t . T h e r i t u a l l i k ewise m ak es i t e a sy to u n d e r s t an d th a t t h o se wh o p a r t i c i -p a t e a r e o n e co m m u n i ty , w h o th e r e b y ex p r e s s t h e i r u n i ty b y af f ir m in g o n e f a i th , o n eFa th e r , s i n g in g o n e ch o r u s o f ad o r a t io n an d th an k sg iv in g , an d p a r t ak in g o f t h e o n eb r e a d :

Because the bread is one, we, the many who all partake of that one bread, form onebody (I Cor. 10:17).The s igns and symbols o f the Euchar is t ic r i tes , however , concea l ra ther wel l the innersacr i f ic ia l ac t ion . Noth ing on the a l ta r looks l ike a sacr i f ice ; no par t icu lar ac t ion o fthe p r ies t o r peop le resembles the per fo rming o f a sacr i f ice . I t i s the g r ea t m y s te r y ."The mystery o f th is water and wine . . . the mystery o f fa i th" a re phrases tha t thep r i e s t r ep ea t s i n ev e r y M ass .

T h e p r i e s t m ig h t we l l b e j o in ed b y th e u n o r d a in ed in ce l eb r a t in g th e o th e r twoasp ec t s o f t h e M ass , b y th o se wh o a s s i s t h im in t h e d i s t r i b u t io n o f Ho ly Co m m u n io nand those who af f i rm wi th h im the i r un i ty o f fa i th and worsh ip as a s ing le commu-n i ty o f God ' s peop le . But in the per fo rmance o f the sacr i f ice , he s tands a lone . No onepro no unc es wi t h h im the w ord s of con sec ra t io n . In th is he i s exerc is ing the u l t i ma tero le o f p r ies t ; in th is he i s a f f i rming the un iqueness o f the min is te r ia l p r ies thood ofthe New Testament ; in th is he ac ts most per fec t ly in the person o f Chr is t .

Pe rha ps tha t i s why , in o rder to pen et ra te the sacri f ic ia l rea l i ty ta k ing p lace on thea l ta r , peop le depend so much on the leadersh ip o f the i r p r ies t . There he s tands a loneas the s teward , the admin is t ra to r , t he d ispens er of the mys ter ies of God ( I Co r . 4 :1 ) .The sp i r i t and power o f the l i tu rgy usual ly wi l l no t engage the par t ic ipan ts in thesacr i f ic ia l aspec ts o f the r i te un less tha t sp i r i t and power a re ev iden t in the p r ies t whois lead ing the l i tu rgy .Canon 836 says i t so s imply : Sacred min is te r s a re to a rouse and en l igh ten peop le ' sfa i th . To arouse i s to mot iva te the wi l l o f peop le ; to en l igh ten i s to fu r ther the i ru n d e r s t a n d in g . I t' s n o w o n d e r t h a t t h e co n s t i t u t i o n p o in t ed u p th e su p r em e im p o r -tance of l i turgical training for clergy 4 2 who "are to be g iven a l i tu rg ica l fo rmat ion intheir spir i tual l ife."43

Du r in g th e ce r em o n y wh en th e b i sh o p o r d a in s a m an to t h e p r i e s th o o d , t h e r e i s ad r am a t i c , r i v e t in g m o m en t wh en th e m an k n ee l s b e f o r e t h e b i sh o p , wh o h an d s h im ach a l i c e f i l l ed w i th w in e an d a p a t en ca r r y in g b r ead . L o o k in g th e n ew p r i e s t s t r a ig h tin the eye , the b ishop charges h im for the res t o f h is l i f e : "Know what you are do ing ,an d im i t a t e t h e m y s te r y y o u ce l eb r a t e . " Co m m en t in g o n th i s , Po p e Jo h n Pau l I Iwrites: PASTORAL

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It is from this admonition that the priest's attitude in handling the Bread and Winewhich have become the Body and Blood of the Redeemer should draw its inspiration.Thus it is necessary for all of us who are ministers of the Eucharist to examine carefullyour actions at the altar, in particular the way in which we handle that Food and Drinkwhich are the Body and Blood of the Lord our God in our hands. . .44" Ar o u se an d en l ig h ten " th i s t h e p r i e s t m u s t co n s t an t ly s t r i v e t o ach iev e , t o

arouse fa i th in the sacr i f ice by h is reverence , and to en l igh ten tha t fa i th by h isins t ruc t ion on the mystery o f the sacr i f ice ." It i s ev id en t , " co n c lu d ed th e ex t r a o r d i n a r y sy n o d o f b i sh o p s in 1 9 8 5 , " th a t t h e

l i tu rgy must favor the sense o f the sacred and make i t sh ine fo r th . I t must bep e r m ea ted b y th e sp i r i t o f r ev e r en ce , ad o r a t io n an d th e g lo r y o f Go d . "

In the ear ly years o f the re fo rm, active p a r t i c i p a t i o n w a s s o e m p h a s i z e d t h a tq u a l i t y an d ach iev em en t we r e g au g ed so l e ly o n th e l ev e l o f ex t e r n a l p e r f o r m an cesin g in g , r e sp o n d in g , ex c l a im in g , p r o c l a im in g , c e l eb r a t in g , e t c .th a t f ew ch eck ed tosee i f t h e sen se o f t h e sac r ed p e r v ad ed . Ban n e r s an d b a l lo o n s , p r o se an d p o e t r y ,o r ch es t r a t i o n an d ch o r eo g r ap h y we r e so h ig h l ig h ted th a t p eo p le o f t en h ad n o g o o dc h a n c e t o a d o r e . W h e n g e s t u r e s , v e s t m e n t s , m o v e m e n t s , w o r d s , p o s t u r e s , s i n g i n g ,s igh ts and sounds o f the r i tua l do no t express the in te r io r awareness o f the sacred ,th ey a r e o n ly c l an g in g cy m b a l s , n o t e f f ec t iv e sy m b o l s .

T h e Ho ly Fa th e r o f t en sp eak s o f " a n ew sp i r i t u a l awa r en ess an d m a tu r i t y " d e -manded o f ce lebran t and fa i th fu l a l ike :

Eucharistic worship matures and grows. . .when it brings about in us such recollectionand devotion that the participants become aware of the greatness of the mystery beingaccomplished and show it by their attitude. 45T h a t aw ar en es s , s ay s t h e Ho ly Fa th e r , is t r u ly m a tu r e wh en i t i s g en u in e ly i n t e r -

p e r so n a l , co n sc io u s o f Go d an d , a t t h e sam e t im e , co n sc io u s o f H i s awar en ess o fy o u . . . l i k e t h e awar en ess o f M ar y wh en h e r s i s t e r M ar th a to ld h e r : " T h e M as te r i sh e r e an d i s a sk in g f o r y o u " ( Jo h n 1 1 :2 8 ) .

Sa in t Pau l was speak ing no t o f the s in o f d isbe l ie f bu t o f i r reverence when hewr o te : "A p e r s o n sh o u ld ex a m in e h i s co n sc i en ce an d a f t er so d o in g h e m ay ea t o f t h eb r ea d an d d r in k o f t h e ch a l i c e , b eca u se h e w h o ea t s an d d r in k s w i t h o u t r e co g n iz in gth e b o d y , e a t s an d d r in k s t o h i s o wn co n d em n a t io n " ( I Co r . 1 1 :2 0 ) .

Th ere i s an in te res t in g ins igh t , I th i nk , in the new c ode o f ca no n law, in ca no n 91 3w h i c h s p e a k s of t h e p r e p a r a t i o n a n d b a s i c c o m p r e h e n s i o n w h i c h c h i l d r e n s h o u l dr eg u la r ly h av e b e f o r e m ak in g th e i r f i r s t Ho ly Co m m u n io n . Sh o u ld th e ch i ld b e i nd an g e r o f d ea th , h o wev e r , t h e can o n in d ica t e s t h a t t h e p r e l im in a r i e s m ay b e d i s -p e n s e d w i t h a n d t h e c h i l d g i v e n H o l y C o m m u n i o n p r o v i d e d t h a t h e c a n d o t w oth in g s : 1) d i s t i n g u i sh th e Bo d y o f Ch r i s t fr o m o r d in a r y b r ead ; an d 2 ) r e ce iv e C o m -m u n i o n reverently. Reve rence fo r the Euc har is t i s nev er d is pen sab le , even in a ch i ld ,ev en in d an g e r o f d ea th .A sense o f the sacred , a sense o f reverence , i s due no t on ly to the Euchar is t , bu t too th e r p e r so n s t o o , an d to p l ace s an d th in g s . I am a lway s s t r u ck b y a r en ewed sen se o fth e sac r ed d u r in g th e r i t e o f d ed ica t in g a n ew ch u r ch b y wh ich i t b eco m es sac r ed , asac r ed p l ace , s e t a s id e ex c lu s iv e ly an d p e r p e tu a l ly f o r t h e wo r sh ip o f Go d . I t m ak esm e co n sc io u s ag a in o f " th e r ev e r en ce d u e to t h e h o u se o f Go d " 46 an d th e r ev e r en t i a ls i l en ce we k eep in ch u r ch in t h e p r e sen ce o f t h e Ble s sed Sac r am en t .

Vat ican Counci l I I , desp i te a l l myths to the con trary , reaf f i rmed our c lear ob l iga-t i o n a s Ca th o l i c s t o p a r t i c ip a t e i n Su n d ay M ass . T h e co n s t i t u t i o n o n th e sac r edl i t u r g y s t a te s t h a t t h e cen tu r i e s ' o ld o b l ig a t io n i s b o th co m m u n a l an d p e r s o n a l t oeach o f us : "The fa i th fu l a re bound to come together in to one p lace : to l i s ten to the

PASTORAL w or d of G od an d to tak e pa rt in th e Eucha rist ."4 714


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Going to Mass is basic to a Catholic's self identity as a Catholic. After all, "Thecelebration of the Eucharist is the center of the whole Christian life both for theuniversal Church and for the local congregations of that Church." 48 ". . .in the mostblessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church."49 The personwho places going to Mass on Sunday higher than anything else that day is rightlyreferred to as a "good Catholic" or a "practicing Catholic." If going to Mass is not theheart of Catholicism, a lay friend of mine recently asked, "then what is?"Last June during our ad limina visit in Rome, twenty-four of us American bishopsmet with the Holy Father, who gave us a marvelous talk on prayer. In the course ofhis allocution, he touched on the subject of Sunday Mass:Five years ago, in speaking at some length about this matter, I mentioned that "through-out the United States there has been a superb history of Eucharistic participation by thepeople, and for this we must all thank God" (A d limina address of July 9, 1983). Thetime is ripe to renew gratitude to God for this great gift and to reinforce this splendidtradition of American Catholics.Through baptism and membership in the Church, a believer undertakes a wholenew network of rights and obligations. Sure, there is the obligation of Sunday Mass,but by the same token Catholics have a clear right to good liturgy. If the aim of theliturgy is to draw out and vivify people's highest and noblest religious aspirationsand affirmations, then the job of parish liturgy is a very lofty one, and success comesnot that easily. Nevertheless, the people have a right to good liturgy.I think it can be said that if reverence does not pervade a liturgy, it will fail in itspurpose even if all the liturgical roles within it are correctly carried out. Conversely,a liturgy that is not competently executed can sometimes achieve success if it ispervaded by reverence for the presence and action of God among us.No one can deny that, in the wake of the Vatican Council, some attempts toimplement the liturgical reforms were themselves in need of reform. Some appealedto the "spirit of Vatican II" to justify some fanciful and distorted interpretations of

conciliar doctrine. Given the magnitude and pace of such remarkable changes takingplace, a certain amount of misdirection, confusion, and consequent upset was inevi-table. Part of that was the fault of us who plunged into the work of implementationwithout sensing people's need of adequate explanation. The rush to change externalssometimes outpaced the interior need to understand and digest. Perhaps there wasjust too much early excitement about the changes to pay any attention to a basicground rule given us back in 1964 in the Instruction on the Proper Implementation ofthe Cons titution on the Sacred Litury.. . .the general reform of the liturgy will be better received by the faithful if it isaccomplished gradually, and if it is proposed and explained to them properly by theirpastors.

50

Po p e Jo h n Pau l II wr o te so m e r em a r k a b le t h o u g h t s t o u s b i sh o p s in 1 98 0 :As I bring these considerations to an end, I would like to ask forgivenessin my ownname and in the name of all of you, venerable and dear brothers in the episcopateforeverything which, for whatever reason, through whatever human weakness, impatienceor negligence, and also through the sometimes partial, one-sided and erroneous applica-tion of the directives of the Second Vatican Council, may have caused scandal anddisturbance concerning the interpretation of the doctrine and the veneration due to thisgreat sacrament. And I pray to the Lord Jesus that in the future we may avoid in ourmanner of dealing with this sacred mystery anything which could weaken or disorient inany way the sense of reverence and love that exists in our faithful people. 51 PASTORAL

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In officially bring ing to a close Vatican Co uncil II in 1965, Pop e Paul VI called thecouncil "a wondrous event." Twenty years later, Pope John Paul II called it "a newPentecost." Again in 1987 he referred to the council as "a new Pentecost for ourcentury" as he announced the start of the Marian Year. Indeed the council has beenan indescribable blessing, an event that, through the power of the Holy Spirit,signaled a process of renewal that is steadily moving ahead. The doctrine and theideals of the council, as the Holy Father has said, need to be still further deepenedand engrafted into the Church's life.The liturgical renewal is the most visible fruit of the whole conciliar effort. Andone of the most crucial insights we have gained in the wake of the council is that theliturgy's effect cannot be achieved in a purely external manner. We have learned,writes Cardinal Ratzinger, that ". . .we are in such urgent need of an educationtoward inwardness. We need to be taught to enter into the heart of things. As far asliturgy is concerned, this is a matter of life or death."52

Liturgy addresses the human being in all his depth, which goes far beyond our everydayawareness; there are things we only understand with the heart; the mind can graduallygrow in understanding the more we allow our heart to illuminate it. . .No externalparticipation and creativity is of any use unless it is a participation in this inner reality,in the way of the Lord, in God Himself.53Twenty-five years ago today the constitution on the sacred liturgy gave birth to aremarkable worldwide renewal in the way we worship God together and receive Hisgift of sanctification. The transformation is well underway and, thanks to the HolySpirit, there are palpable impulses everywhere, prompting us to an ever greaterreverence for the Eucharist.Indeed we are privileged witnesses to "a new Pentecost."MOST REVEREND JOHN R. KEATINGBishop of Arlington

NOTES1. Liturgiae Instaurationes Third Instruction on the Correct Implementation ofthe Con stitution on the Sacred Liturgy, September 5, 1970. 1.2. Eucharisticum Mysterium Instruction on the Worship of the Eucharistic Mys-tery, May 25, 1967. 1.3. Lumen Gentium Dogm atic Constitution on the Church, November 2, 1964.

11 ; Code of Canon Law, 1983. 897.4. Dominicae Cenae On the Mystery and W orship of the Eucharist, February24, 1980. 5.5. Presbyterorum Ordinis Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, December7, 1965. 5.6. Ibid. 5.7. I Cor. 11:20.8. Jude 12.9. Acts 2:42.10. Sacrosanctum Concilium The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, December4, 1964. 2.11. Musicam Sacram Instruction on Mu sic in the Liturgy, March 5, 1967. 17.12. General Instruction on the Roman Missal, March 26, 1970. 23.

PASTORAL 13. Ibid. 2 1 .16


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14 . Eucharistiae Sacramentum On Holy Comm union and the Worship of theEucharistic Mystery Outside of Mass, June 21, 1973. 84.15 . Sacrosanctum Concilium. 7, 49.16 . Ibid. 56.17 . Ibid. 35.2.18 . Ibid. 52.19 . /bid. 72.20. Code of Canon Law. 959.21. Sacrosanctum Concilium. 34.22. /bid. 116.23. /bid. 120.24. Ibid. 36.1.25. Ibid. 22.26 . Eucharisticum Mysterium. II IV D.27. Liturgiae Instaurationes. 1.28. Code o/ Canon Law. 846.1.29. Dominicae Cenae. 13.30 . Sacrosanctum Concilium. 11.31. Ibid. 11.32. Dominicae Cenae. 8.33 . Code o/ Canon Law. 767.1.34 . Sacrosanctum Concilium. 14.35 . /bid. 48.36 . /bid. 48.37. Code o/ Canon Law. 899.3.38. Sacrosanctum Concilium. 19.39. /bid. 14.40 . Dominicae Cenae. 9.41. Eucharisticum Mysterium. 3.42. Sacrosanctum Concilium. 16.43. /bid. 17.44. Dominicae Cenae. 11.45 . Ibid. 9.46 . Code o/ Canon Law. 562.47. Sacrosanctum Concilium. 106.48. Eucharistiae Sacramentum. 1.49. Presbyterorum Ordinis. 5.50 . /nfer Oecumenici Instruction on the Proper Implementation of the Constitu-

tion on the Sacred Liturgy. 4.51. Dominicae Cenae. 12.52. Feast of Faith, p. 73.53 . Ibid., p. 151.

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^^i

VcA-sf l i7/es.


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BAROQUE LITURGY ON TRIAL(Given at the conference on baroque culture at Franciscan University, Steubenville,Ohio, October 8, 1988, this paper first appeared in The Dawso n Newsletter, Volume VI,N o. 3, Fall-Winter, 1988-89. It is reprinted with permission.)

Since the l i tu rgy o f the baroque era i s the Tr iden t ine Mass , i t seems sad ly re levan tto be d iscuss ing i t now, when Archb ishop Lefebvre has jus t gone in to sch ism top r e se r v e th i s v e r y f o r m o f t h e M ass , wh ich m o s t co n tem p o r a r y l i t u r g i s ts co n s id e r t ob e a v e r y p o o r l i t u r g i ca l f o r m . A l l s t an d a r d l i t u r g i ca l au th o r s co n s id e r t h e M ass o fth i s p e r io d to b e ex cess iv e ly d r am a t i c i n i t s m u s ic an d ce r em o n ia l , p r o p ag an d i s t i c i ni t s a rch i tec t u ra l an d ar t i s t ic se t t ing , and far too t igh t ly s t ru c tu red in it s r i tu a l . T hed ean o f l i t u r g i s ts an d th e m an a t wh o s e feet I s t u d i ed a t No t r e D am e an d Br o w nunivers i t ies , Fr . Lou is Bouyer , in h is Liturgical Piety, expresses most c lear ly th isop in i on . I use d to agree , bu t hav e s ince com e to an a l te rn a te v iew, wh ich i s d i f ficu ltf o r m e to ex p r e s s , so g r ea t i s m y r e sp ec t an d a d m i r a t io n f o r t h i s k n o w led g e ab lel i tu rg ica l scho lar and theo log ian . Fr . Bouyer , on th is top ic in h is book LiturgicalPiety, s t a t e s :

From the 16th and 17th century idea of court life Catholics derived their false notions ofpublic worship (i.e., Mass as a performance). An earthly king must be honored daily bythe pageant of court ceremonial, so also the heavenly king. The courtly atmospherearound Him was to be provided by the liturgy. . .as many handbooks of the periodactually say it was considered to be the "the etiquette of the great King." The mostobvious features of it were those embodying the external pomp, decorum, and grandeurbefitting so majestic a Prince. The lack of intelligible meaning in so many rites and evenin the sacred words themselves, was, therefore praised as enhancing the impression ofawe to be given to the dazzled mul titude . So also it would have seemed almost indecentto offer the common people any opportunity to participate directly in so sublime aperformance. They were rather, only to admire it, dimly from afar, as a scene ofunapproachable magnificence.1

Ou r au th o r see s t h i s " d i s to r t ed in t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e n a tu r e o f t h e l i t u r g y " 2 a saris ing from thre e m ai n fact ors: BAROQUE

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1. The neopagan aesthetic world of the renaissance which substituted Greco-Romanmythology for biblical imagery to the detriment of the latter.2. A violent hunger for the "super-human instead of the supernatural, as witness thepaintings of Michelangelo" and the "enormous rather than the great as witness thestatues of St. John Lateran with their hysterical gesticulations." 33. A baroque Catholicism that was more loyal "though not genuinely Christian" whichgradually withdrew into "a soulless kind of conservatism."4T h i s l a s t p o in t h e h a s an am b iv a l en ce ab o u t s in ce o n o n e h an d h e ch a r g es t h e

b a r o q u e e r a h e ld n o d eep o r p o s i t i v e i n sp i r a t i o n o f i t s o wn an d s im p ly f o s s i l i z ed th eM ass , em b e l l i sh in g i t w i th e l em en t s a lm o s t co m p le t e ly ex t e r n a l an d o n th e o th e rh a n d , i t s " r i g id an d u n in t e l l i g en t t r ad i t i o n a l i sm . . .was t h e p r o v i d en t i a l m ean s ,wh e r eb y th e Ch u r ch m an ag ed to k eep h e r l i t u r g i ca l t r e a su r e s sa f e t h r o u g h o u t a l o n gp e r io d wh en sca r ce ly an y o n e was cap ab le o f u n d e r s t an d in g th e i r t r u e wo r th . " 5Bo u y e r co m p ar e s t h e b a r o q u e p r e se r v in g o f t h e l i t u r g y to S t . Pe t e r ' s ch a i r ( a c tu a l ly ath r o n e f r o m a m u ch l a t e r p e r io d ) en sh r in ed in Be r n in i ' s m ag n i f i c en t s l i p co v e r o r t h eco lu m n s o f t h e L a te r an b a s i l i c a ab so r b ed b y Bo r r o m in i ' s p i l a s t e r s . 6

Actual ly what many of us regard as the h ighest aspec t o f th is e ra , i t s a r t i s t icach iev em e n t , B o u y e r c r i ti c i z e s , e sp ec i a l l y t h e m u s ica l a r t f o r m o f t h e t im e , o p e r a . Hech a r g es it w i th ex a l t i n g sen su a l p a s s io n an d u ti l i z in g " im ag e r y a lm o s t co m p le t e lyd eco r a t iv e , f l o wer in g in co u r t l y m u s ic an d b a l l e t . " 7 He decr ies i t s in f luence on thel i t u r g y :

So the faithful of the same period sought to find a religious equivalent of the opera inthe liturgy. Churches came to resemble theaters in plan and decoration. The liturgicalpomps displayed in such churches tended to smother the traditional text of the liturgyunder an increasingly profane kind of polyphony, the text itself having little importanceeither for the performers or the onlookers. The liturgy became the pretext for an"occasion" similar to a soiree at court complete with a divertissement by Lully. The chieffocus of liturgical life, therefore, was no more the Mass, which included too manyelements out of harmony with the mentality of the times. 8Instead, solemn exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, a ceremony created and developedjust in time to satisfy the tastes of the age, managed to assimilate perfectly the courtlyceremony the n fashionable . In the presence of the divine King, a kind of heavenly grandopera could be performed with all the display of lights, jewels (mostly false), exquisitepolyphonic singing and pagean try which comm only accompany a royal reception. Andall this was pervaded with that typ e of sentime ntal piety, those panting after divine love,capable of competing successfully with the ecstatic expression of human love." 9We h av e q u o ted F r . Bo u y e r in extenso b ecau se o f h i s i n f lu en ce an d b ecau se h e

s t a t e s t h e ca se ag a in s t t h e b a r o q u e l i t u r g y so f o r c ib ly . Fa th e r s Ju n g m an n an d K lau se rag r ee w i th h im in g en e r a l o u t l i n e an d y e t e ach o f t h em p o in t s o u t h o w th e T r id en t in el i t u r g i ca l co m m iss io n s ap p o in t ed b y P iu s I V an d P iu s V in t en d ed to r e tu r n to t h eancien t Roman r i tes o r " the p r is t ine norm of the ho ly fa thers ." 10 T h e s e c o m m i s s i o n sin v es t ig a t ed an c i en t so u r ce s an d m ad e u se o f t h em , t h o u g h th ey d id n ' t h av e o u rc r i t i c a l h i s to r i ca l l i t u r g i ca l k n o wled g e , an d th o u g h t t h e Gr eg o r i an m i s sa l a p u r eR o m a n s o u r c e , n o t k n o w i n g h o w m a n y F r a n c o - G e r m a n i c a d d i t i o n s t h e r e w e r e .1 1

T h e co m m iss io n s a l so u sed th e Gr eek f a th e r s a s we l l a s t h e L a t in , u n d e r t h eim p e tu s o f t h e h u m an i s t s t o r e tu r n to t h e so u r ce s . 1 2 T h i s d o es n o t s eem l ik e p u r e an t i -in te l lec tua l c l ing ing to the pas t to me, bu t invest iga t ing the t rad i t ion as wel l as theyco u ld an d m ak in g p r u d en t r e f o r m s in t h e l i g h t o f t h i s l eg acy . Ju n g m an n f u r th e rca t a lo g s t h e r e f o r m s o f t h e T r id en t in e f a th e r s wh o :

1. Threw out all sequences except four as being not in accord with the Roman tradition .BAROQUE 2. Purified the M ari an trop hes (or trimm ings) from the Gloria.20


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3. Recommended that the faithful receive Holy Communion each time they attendedMass, which was not the practice of the time, but that of the early Church.4. Encouraged the printing of prayer book s to follow the Ma ss as long as the canon wasnot printed.13Such an approach hardly seems like "fossilizing" the liturgy, rather reforming it inthe light of sound tradition.The odo re K lauser in his research discovered that the Tridentine liturgical com mis-sions weren't afraid to prune back the number of feasts that had sprung up like Topsyin the medieval epoch.14 He even gives statistics to prove his point. In the years from800 A .D . to 1558 A .D ., 290 new feasts were added to the calendar, but tha t calendarprom ulgated by the Tridentine missal not only didn't introdu ce new feasts; in fact, itcut the number back to 133.1S The commission tried to keep March and April free offeasts so as not to interfere with the venerable season of lent. So anxious were they toreturn to the ancient Roman calendar, that 85% of the feasts that they kept werefrom the first four centuries. The emphasis was on the most ancient and Romanfeasts, especially apostles, popes and martyrs. 16 They were looking for the "goldenliturgical age" of the fathers, as indeed many contemporary liturgists do, and theysought to root out later excesses. They were also interested in centralizing to curb

liturgical abuses and the Roman tradition gave them the unity they sought, althoughPius V was prepared to allow rites 200 years or older (his own Dominican order) tokeep their rites. Louis Bouyer shows that many gladly gave up their rites in exchangefor the Tridentine missals "just off the press" with all conveniently located in onevolume.Perhaps the counter-reformation liturgical reform was not quite so stilted andunthinking as Louis Bouyer makes out. Certainly the conciliar fathers at Trentthought they had intelligently revived the liturgy as we can see from these wordsfrom a sermon p reached by Bishop Jerome Racozonus of Venice at the ninth and lastsession of Trent on December 4, 1563:You have thereby removed from the celebration of the Mass all superstitions, all greedfor lucre and all irreverence. . .rem oved its celebrations from p rivate homes an d profaneplaces to holy and consecrated sanctuaries. You have banished from the temple of theLord the more effeminate singing and musical compositions. 17Moreover , divine worship will be discharged more purely and prom ptly and those whocarry the vessels will be so chastened that they will move others to follow their exam-ple.18I t i s t rue tha t the p r imary concern o f the fa thers a t Tren t was less l i tu rg ica l than

d o c t r in a l an d was e sp ec i a l l y t o d e f en d th e f a i t h ag a in s t P r o t e s t an t v i ews . T h e r e f o r e ,t h e d o c t r in e s o f t h e r ea l p r e sen ce o f Ch r i s t i n t h e E u ch a r i s t b y t r an su b s t an t i a t i o n an dthe Sacr i f ice o f the Mass c la imed the i r a t ten t ion . Yet they t rea t o f the need fo rl i t u r g i ca l r i t e an d ce r em o n ia l :

Since such is the natu re of man that he can not easily with out external m eans be raised tomeditation on divine things, on that account holy Mother Church has instituted certainrites, namely that certain things be pronounced in a subdued tone (canon and words ofconsecration) and others in a louder tone; she has likewise made use of ceremonies suchas mystical blessings, lights, incense, vestments, and many other things of this kind inaccordance with apostolic teaching and tradition, whereby both the majesty of so greata sacrifice might be commended, and the minds of the faithful excited by these visiblesigns of religion and piety to the contemplation of the most sublime matters which arehidden in this sacrifice.19A l th o u g h T r en t i s o p en to r e f o r m i t i s an ap p r o ach a t o n ce co n se r v a t iv e an d

pas to r a l . In C ha p t er 8 , w e read : BAROQUE21


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Although the Mass contains much instruction for the faithful, it has nevertheless notseemed expedient to the fathers that it be celebrated everywhere in the vernacular. Theholy synod commands pastors and everyone who has the care of souls to explainfrequently during the celebration of the Masses, either themselves or through others,some of the things that are read in the Mass, and among other things to expound somemystery of this most Holy Sacrifice, especially on Sundays and feastdays.20We can only wonder at what state the Church would have been on the eve ofVatican II if these wise counsels had b een followed and the explan ations of the M asshad been widespread. Of course, this requires knowledge on the part of the priestand this is encouraged in the catechism issued by Trent:The Sacrifice is celebrated with many solemn rites, none of which should be deemeduseless or superfluous. On the contrary, all of them tend to display the majesty of thisaugust sacrifice, and to excite the faithful, when beholding these saving mysteries, tocontemplate the divine things which lie concealed in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. On theserites and ceremonies, we shall not dwell, since they require a more lengthy expositionthan is compatible with the nature of the present work; moreover, priests can easilyconsult on the subject some of the many booklets and works that have been written bypious and learned men. . .21Thus far, we have tried to show that Trent's liturgical sense was more sensitive totradition and intelligent in handling it than Louis Bouyer gives it credit. In respect tohis charge of the artificially and sensuous aesthetic of the baroque in art and archi-tecture, art history would take a different tack, now acclaiming the baroque contri-bution as serious and not simply theatrical. Monsignor Cartwright remarks in hisCatholic Shrines of Europe:There was a time when it was universally fashionable to mak e little of this bar oqu e stylewith its bold and startling departure from architectural repose. But today most writerson art seem to have come around to quite a different po int of view. Meanw hile Bernini'scolonnade and canopy have stood through the years, admirable when they were notadmired and admirable now that they are admired. A great many people have alwaysadmired them both when it was not correct to admire them and now that it is properagain.22

T h e wo n d r o u s n ew s ty l e b u r s t t h e c l a s s i ca l n o r m s o f r en a i s san ce a r t an d a r ch i t e c -tu r e an d a s em p lo y ed b y th e Ch u r ch so m e t im es to o k i t s i n sp i r a t i o n f r o m th e ea r lyC h u r c h . T h e b a s i li c a n p l a n w i t h a n a v e b e c a m e p o p u l a r i n s t e a d of r o u n d r e n a i s s a n c ech ap e l s . Be r n in i ' s co lo n n ad es a t S t . Pe t e r ' s r em in d s o n e o f t h e co r t i l e s b e f o r e ea r lyRo m an b as i l i c a s an d h i s tw i s t ed co lu m n s f o r t h e b a ld ach in o a r e i n sp i r ed b y an c i en tc o l u m n s f r o m t h e C o n s t a n t i n i a n b a s i l i c a t h e r e . I n b a r o q u e c h u r c h e s , p e o p l e w e r em u ch c lo se r t o t h e a l t a r an d so co u ld p a r t i c ip a t e i n t h e l i t u r g y m o r e c lo se ly , a lb e i ts i l en t ly . T h e m ag n i f i c en ce o f t h e su r r o u n d in g s a r e d e sc r ib ed b y Ju n g m an n :

The Church became a great hall , i ts walls shimmering with marble and gold. Thepaintings on the ceilings which grew right out of the plaster of the entablature made theroom appear to fade away into heavenly glory. . .The interior of the church has becomea great hall filled with sensuous life. 23T he l i tu rg is t ' s ob je c t io n to th is s ty le i s vo ice d by K laus er :

During this period, the interior of the church itself became a throne room, whose mainwall was completely covered with massive architectonic and often m agnificent structuresover the altar. The altar itself played only a subordinate role in the total aspect of thisend of the church and had become debased to a mere detail by the tabernacle and theBAROQUE thron e for the exposition with all their trappin gs. On the other han d, the throne -room22


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character of the baroque church interior excluded all side aisles. . .From every seat inthe church people had to see the. . .m onstrance as the heavenly Lord had to be able tosee everyone of His visitors. Hence the baroque period gave rise to a church interiorwhich once more had the effect of gathering people together.24Even though Klauser criticizes the throne-room concept, he can see some good in itand appreciate its beauty. Of course, the musical flowering is magnificent and too

enormous to detail. From Palestrina's trying to follow the norms of Trent to Vivaldiand the great concert Masses of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, the riches of thebaroque Catholic heritage are too rich to recount here, but surely the beauty ofholiness has never been better portrayed.Before concluding, let us mention the liturgical scholars at work during this periodunearthing ancient li turgical texts. We must note Cardinal Bona, Cardinal Tomasi(recently declared a saint by Pope John Paul II in 1986), the seventeenth centuryMaurists Mabillon and Martene, and the Oratorian Librun in the same era whotranslated the Missale Romanum into French in 1660 for purpose of study.Finally, are there lessons we can learn from the liturgy of the baroque era, since wehave seen that some of its positive aspects departed significantly from Louis Bouyer's

analysis? It seems to me that the delight of this era in beauty in all its forms,painting, sculpture, architecture, and music, and their enthusiastic service of theChurch and its liturgy, is something we ought to emulate. We now seem to cultivatethe cult of the crude and the ugly. As Cardinal Ratzinger says:More and more clearly we can discern the frightening im poverishment which takes placewhen people show beauty the door and devote themselves exclusively to utility. . ."sim-ple" liturgy do es not mean poo r or cheap liturgy; there is the simplicity of the bana l andthe simplicity that comes from spiritual, cultural and historical wealth.25

The cardinal also expresses himself forcibly on a false archaism which would exaltthe patristic period liturgically and throw out every development after:In reality the medieval Church (or the Church of the baroque era in many respects)developed a liturgical depth which must be carefully examined before it is abandoned.Here too we must be aware of the Catholic law of an ever better and deeper insight intothe inheritance entrusted to us. Pure archaism is fruitless, as is pure modernization.26Finally, I would like to suggest we could learn something from the baroque liturgi-cal approach to the sacred. Althou gh there might have been lit t le external participa-tion by the laity in a great concert Mass (liturgists consider this a grave fault)nonetheless there was a great reverence and such sublimity of artistic and musicalform that one was led to bow before the transcendent Lord. This value is so clearlylacking in most of our contemporary liturgy, that the report issued by the extraordi-nary synod of bishops of 1985, while noting the "hunger and thirst for the transcen-

dent and divine "27 admitted the Church "has sometimes failed sufficiently to manifestthe sense of the sacred."28 Attempting to correct too external or active notion ofparticipation in the liturgy, the synod notes that what is to be sought is "the interiorand spiritual participation in the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ."29 The baroqueliturgy did that in its day (critics notwithstanding), but it remains for us to dolikewise in our day.FR. GILES DIMOCK, O.P.

BAROQUE23


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1. Louis> Bouyer,Dame Press ,2. Ibid.3. Ibid.,4. Ibid.5. Ibid.6. /bid.7. Ibid.8. ibid.

' P' PP-P-

1954),. 5.. 5-6.8.7.

Liturgical Pietyp . 4.

NOTES(Notre Dame, IN: The University of Notre

9. /bid.10. Joseph Jungmann, S.J., Missarum Solemnia (New York: Benzinger Brothers,1950), Vol. I, p. 136.11. Ibid., p. 137.12. ibid.13. Ibid., pp. 137-145.14. Theodore Klauser, A Short History of the Western Liturgy (London: OxfordUniversity Press, 1969), Vol. II, p. 104.15. Ibid.16 . Ibid.17. Colman J. Barry, O.S.B., Readings in Church History (Westminster, MD:Newman Press, 1967), Vol. II, p. 104.18. Ibid., p. 105.19 . Roy J. Deferrari, The Sources of Catholic Dogma, a translation of Denzinger'sEnchiridion Symbolorum30th ed. (St. Louis, MO: Herder, 1957), p. 290.20. Ibid., p. 291.21. Catechism of the Council of Trent, translated by Charles J. Callan, O.P., andJohn A. McCue , O.P., New York: Wagner, 1923), p. 259.

22. John K. Cartwright , The Catholic Shrines of Europe (NewYork: Mc Graw HillBook Co., 1954), p. 22.23

Documents

Sacred Music, 116.2, Summer 1989; The Journal of the Church Music Association of America