THE SACRED LITURGY:
Sacrosanctum concilium recentred Catholicism around the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Pope Pius had precipitated the process of change for the liturgy through the Papal Encyclical directed towards increasing its relevance (Martos, 2001). Some believe that the reformation of the liturgy is one of the most discernible and significant triumphs of Vatican II (Faggioli, 2015). The Church had already begun allowing some sacramental rites to be practiced in modern languages and a new found realisation on the importance of developing rituals that enhance the spiritual experience of adherents was emerging. The Church began questioning the purpose of certain practices and assessing them within the context of the people they were intended for. There was a new understanding that these practices were not fixed and immovable, but should change and morph to remain pertinent and be subjected to regular review and renewal (Martos, 2001).
As part of the historical scholarship movement that was occurring during the 1940s-50s, studies conducted by Josef Jungmann and the monks of Maria Laach led to a call for greater involvement of the laity in the liturgy. The problem of conducting the Eucharist in the local tongue had been an issue that was raised as far back as the Reformation and was now forefront on the agenda for change in the Second Vatican Council (Shreiter, 1999). The reinvigorated liturgy substituted the abstract and transcendental nature of a Tridentine idea of liturgical practices into a much more tangible and connected patristic version that involved active participation by all baptised devotees (Shreiter, 1999).
Some key changes:
• The priest faced the congregation to celebrate the Eucharist (Shreiter, 1999).
• Mass was performed in the vernacular (McBrien, 2008).
• Eucharistic ministers and lay readers became standard (Shreiter, 1999).
• The kiss of peace was replaced by a handshake (McBrien, 2008).
• Holy communion was received in the hand rather than the mouth (McBrien, 2008).
• Greater singing and verbal responses came from the laity (McBrien, 2008).
IMPACT AND SIGNIFICANCE:
The complete transformation of experience encountered in the post Second Vatican Council Mass is captured by Hebblethwaite’s keen observation as “gazing with love and silence at one’s knees, [listening to ] mysterious rites in barely audible foreign words” morphed into “more standing, singing, participating and responding” (Hebblethwaite, 1991, p. 241).
This new spiritual landscape provided for a greater connection with people’s faith as “God seemed to draw nearer and be less forbidding” (Shreiter, 1999, p. 163). People engaged more in the taking of communion and less in the practice of confession (Hebblethwaite, 1991). The former stance of fire and damnation and the purposeful separation between the clergy and the laity was replaced with a much more inviting and warm space of worship. The overwhelming strength of the hierarchical structures that had formed the completely controlling framework that defined people’s faith receded and was replaced with a greater sense of individual autonomy over one’s spiritual life (Hebblethwaite, 1991). The laity were no longer considered to be mere “objects of the administration of the sacred into their profane lives by the ordained” (Price, 2013, p. 186). Many Catholics, both Religious and lay, found this onslaught of changes far too revolutionary and for years into the future and still presently it has fuelled the fire of the liturgy wars (McBrien, 2008). For many very traditionalist clergy people and some conservative laity, they encountered a profound sense of alienation from their faith (Meichtry, 2006). During Pope John Paul II’s reign, he made a concerted effort to wind back changes that were implemented rapidly after the Second Vatican Council and aimed to “recentralise authority and re-establish control” (Lakeland, 2003, p. 117) towards the institution and claw back some of the control that had been granted to the laity.
REFLECTION: How do you think the liturgical changes have affected people’s ability to connect with their faith? Is there a place in modern day society for the Tridentine Mass? Discuss this in your groups.
As part of the historical scholarship movement that was occurring during the 1940s-50s, studies conducted by Josef Jungmann and the monks of Maria Laach led to a call for greater involvement of the laity in the liturgy. The problem of conducting the Eucharist in the local tongue had been an issue that was raised as far back as the Reformation and was now forefront on the agenda for change in the Second Vatican Council (Shreiter, 1999). The reinvigorated liturgy substituted the abstract and transcendental nature of a Tridentine idea of liturgical practices into a much more tangible and connected patristic version that involved active participation by all baptised devotees (Shreiter, 1999).
Some key changes:
• The priest faced the congregation to celebrate the Eucharist (Shreiter, 1999).
• Mass was performed in the vernacular (McBrien, 2008).
• Eucharistic ministers and lay readers became standard (Shreiter, 1999).
• The kiss of peace was replaced by a handshake (McBrien, 2008).
• Holy communion was received in the hand rather than the mouth (McBrien, 2008).
• Greater singing and verbal responses came from the laity (McBrien, 2008).
IMPACT AND SIGNIFICANCE:
The complete transformation of experience encountered in the post Second Vatican Council Mass is captured by Hebblethwaite’s keen observation as “gazing with love and silence at one’s knees, [listening to ] mysterious rites in barely audible foreign words” morphed into “more standing, singing, participating and responding” (Hebblethwaite, 1991, p. 241).
This new spiritual landscape provided for a greater connection with people’s faith as “God seemed to draw nearer and be less forbidding” (Shreiter, 1999, p. 163). People engaged more in the taking of communion and less in the practice of confession (Hebblethwaite, 1991). The former stance of fire and damnation and the purposeful separation between the clergy and the laity was replaced with a much more inviting and warm space of worship. The overwhelming strength of the hierarchical structures that had formed the completely controlling framework that defined people’s faith receded and was replaced with a greater sense of individual autonomy over one’s spiritual life (Hebblethwaite, 1991). The laity were no longer considered to be mere “objects of the administration of the sacred into their profane lives by the ordained” (Price, 2013, p. 186). Many Catholics, both Religious and lay, found this onslaught of changes far too revolutionary and for years into the future and still presently it has fuelled the fire of the liturgy wars (McBrien, 2008). For many very traditionalist clergy people and some conservative laity, they encountered a profound sense of alienation from their faith (Meichtry, 2006). During Pope John Paul II’s reign, he made a concerted effort to wind back changes that were implemented rapidly after the Second Vatican Council and aimed to “recentralise authority and re-establish control” (Lakeland, 2003, p. 117) towards the institution and claw back some of the control that had been granted to the laity.
REFLECTION: How do you think the liturgical changes have affected people’s ability to connect with their faith? Is there a place in modern day society for the Tridentine Mass? Discuss this in your groups.