Adoremus Bulletin - November 2022

New Source & Summit Missal Seeks to Help Raise Up and Renew Liturgy

By Joseph O’Brien

National Catholic Register—Over the last decade, the Church has struggled to draw people closer to the celebration of the liturgy—and especially the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Lack of attendance at Mass among younger Catholics, a lack of belief in the Real Presence, and congregations minimized by CO VID-19 (and the resulting strictures on public gatherings) have all been contributing factors in this struggle.

But Adam Bartlett, CEO and founder of the liturgical publisher and tech company Source & Sum mit, hopes to provide the resources necessary to help renew and refocus the beauty and simplicity of the liturgy at Catholic parishes, campus ministries, and other faith com munities in the Church. And, as Bartlett sees it, Source & Summit couldn’t have come at a better time to help the Church meet the chal lenges it faces in fostering transcen dent and transformative encounters with Christ in the liturgy that help form and equip disciples for the Church’s mission.

Pope Francis, in his recent ap ostolic letter on the liturgy, Desid erio Desideravi, acknowledged that there are those who know about the Church’s invitation to participate in the liturgy but “have forgotten it or have got lost along the way in the twists and turns of human living.” The Pope’s words seem especially true in the U.S.; for, while Pope Francis does not offer specifics

Adoremus Bulletin

For the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy

To Adore the Father in Spirit and in Truth: The Liturgical Vision of Benedictine Mother Cécile Bruyère

By Kevin D. Magas

Feminist theologian Marjorie Procter-Smith criticized the classical 20th-century liturgical movement as being exclusively initi ated and led by men in general and priests in particular, in contrast to the women’s movement as started and directed by women.1 However, women such as Dorothy Day, Therese Muel ler, Mary Perkins Ryan, Justine Ward, and many others offered distinctive and substantial contributions to the liturgical movement. Although recent scholarship has sought to give greater visibility to women’s integral contribu tions to the movement,2 this renewed attention doesn’t often extend to the movement’s roots in 19th-century France.

Students of the movement will recog nize the pivotal role that Dom Prosper Guéranger, the “father of the liturgical movement,” played. Besides restoring Benedictine life at the monastery at Solesmes after the French Revolution, this great Benedictine contributed to the revival of Gregorian chant, histori cal scholarship on the origins of the liturgy, and renewed appreciation to liturgical time in his popular commen taries on the liturgical year. Less well known is another Benedictine, Mother Cécile Bruyère (1845-1909), the founding abbess of St. Cecilia, the first women’s monastic foundation of the Solesmes congregation. Although her contributions are often overlooked in most historical accounts of the liturgi cal movement, she not only anticipated many of the theological emphases of the 20th-century movement and the Second Vatican Council, but she also articulated a distinctively contempla tive and liturgical spirituality worthy of revisiting today.

Early Life

Mother Cécile was born Jeanne-Hen riette “Jenny” Bruyère to a well-to-do French bourgeoise family in Sablé-surSarthe in western France. While her father was an irate man who despised religion and never attended Mass, her mother was a devout Catholic from whom she received much of her reli gious education and formation in the meaning of the liturgical feasts. In her autobiographical memoirs, which are strikingly similar in tone and content to St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s Story of a

Soul, she displayed an intuitive aware ness of God’s presence at an early age: “I was beginning to think, to talk, and I already had a precise notion (my Lord) of Your presence everywhere. When I was taken to church, although the hour was quite early, I would be very still and quiet, in great tranquil ity, for as long as we remained there.”3 Nevertheless, Bruyère did not have a docile character, but was often de scribed as proud, stubborn, and prone to bouts of anger and scrupulosity. The course of her life changed when she came into contact as a young girl with Dom Prosper Guéranger. Her mother’s family owned a country house by the sea that they visited near Solesmes, and Guéranger’s influence spread over the family as he converted and mar ried many of its members and became pastorally involved in their lives.

When Bruyère came down with a fever and was unable to make her First Communion, her aunt asked Guéranger to personally prepare her, thus beginning a relationship of spiritual direction and spiritual friendship that would continue for the rest of their lives. Upon Bruyère’s First Communion, Guéranger gave her a piece of cloth from the tomb of St. Cecilia, resonating with her secret desire of preserving and consecrating

her virginity to God. Bruyère’s account of Guéranger as a spiritual father is very moving and reveals a tenderness and spiritual depth of a figure that was often perceived as polemical and “warlike” (a play in French on his last name, “Guerre-anger”). In addition to her spiritual formation, Guéranger taught her Latin, which was not typically a part of the classical curriculum of women at the time, simply because she expressed a desire to understand and take an active part in the prayers of the Church.

Foundation of Saint-Cécile

In the context of Guéranger’s spiri tual direction, Bruyère grew in a deeper desire for a contemplative life shaped by the Benedictine liturgical spirituality Guéranger had revived in the restoration of the monastery of Solesmes (rather than the traditional path towards Carmelite spirituality for aspiring nuns in France at that time). Although Guéranger never intended to initiate a women’s founda tion to Solesmes, he perceived Bru yère’s spiritual charism of leadership among a group of lay women involved in apostolic work called “The Great Catechism.” In 1866, these women gradually formed a sort of pre-no vitiate under Guéranger’s direction, and, at the young age of 22, Jenny was entrusted as the superior of the new foundation. Guéranger formed them in a liturgical spirituality that was largely absent in women’s cloistered spiritual ity at the time: how to pronounce the Latin well, sing Gregorian chant, and understand the rubrics of the Mass. As he instructed them on how to live from the Divine Office, the feasts of the liturgical year and the saints, and the Rule of Benedict, he also worked at raising funds to further develop the fledgling foundation on a more perma nent structure on a hill a few minutes’ walk from Solesmes.

In beginning the women’s founda tion, Guéranger anticipated future ecclesial and liturgical developments. While the post-Tridentine practice largely consisted of bishops assum ing direct responsibilities for religious communities of nuns, these bishops often didn’t understand or fully appre ciate their congregation’s spirituality. In light of this, Guéranger advocated for the creation or a co-jurisdiction shared with the

the

of

A Women’s Movement (Too!)

The Liturgical Movement may have been started by men, but, as Kevin Magas demonstrates, women such as 19th-century Benedictine Sister Cécile Bruyère also played a vital role 1 Ratzinger and Romans

What’s Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s favorite scripture passage? Perhaps it’s Romans 12:1. Mariusz Biliniewicz explains how its message on sacrifice is a key to Ratzinger’s own 6 Liturgical Entrance Ramp

Four hundred years ago, St. Francis de Sales wrote Introduction to the Devout Life, and, as

Anne Koerner Simpson notes, it could just as well be called “Introduction to the Liturgical Life” 8

Upon Further Review…

The Mass is all that. English convert and Catholic apologist Ronald Knox in his book

The Mass in Slow Motion, reviewed by Joseph Tuttle, takes us through the motions that make it so 12

bishop in order to bring

nuns back under the influence

the

Although Guéranger never intended to initiate a women’s foundation to Solesmes, he percieved Benedictine Sister Cécile Bruyère's spiritual charism of leadership among a group of lay women involved in apostolic work called “The Great Catechism.” In 1866, these women gradually formed a sort of pre-novitiate under Guéranger’s direction, and, at the young age of 22, Jenny was entrusted as the superior of the new foundation.

AB/WIKIPEDIA

VIEWS

Continued from NEWS & VIEWS about those who “have forgotten” the liturgy, accord ing to a 2016 Center for Applied Research in the Apos tolate report, 86% of baptized and confirmed Catho lics of the millennial generation in the U.S. no longer regularly practice their faith. In addition, even those who are practicing their faith may not even know what they’re practicing, as a 2019 Pew report indicates that 70% of Massgoing Catholics in the U.S. do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. To compound the dismal state of belief these statistics reveal, bishops and pastors are still looking for ways to return their flocks to the pews after COVID depleted churches in 2020.

This past summer, on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the U.S. bishops offered a formal response to these challenges when they announced a three-year Eucharistic Revival. But hand-in-hand with an effort to revitalize belief in the Eucharist through evangeliza tion and catechesis, Bartlett said, bishops, pastors, and the faithful also have an opportunity to “help revive Eucharistic faith by elevating the beauty and rever ence of our celebrations of the liturgy, and especially through sacred music.” And that’s where Source & Summit comes in.

According to Bartlett, Source & Summit “is aimed at helping make authentic liturgical renewal as acces sible as possible to ordinary parishes, in a way that helps inspire and invigorate missionary disciples to undertake the work of the New Evangelization.”

The name of the organization itself—Source & Summit—speaks directly to this connection between worship and the Church’s mission in the world, Bartlett said. The constitution on the liturgy of the Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium, Article 10, states that “the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows.”

“Our mission, ultimately, is to help parishes realize that ideal,” Bartlett said, adding, “With this image, the Church tells us that the liturgy is set upon the moun taintop of the Church’s life, above all the other impor tant and necessary things we do [such as catechesis, evangelization, and charitable outreach], but it’s distinct from these, and serves as the font and goal of them all.”

Source & Summit offers two primary resources to help parishes in their work of authentic liturgical renewal, Bartlett told the Register.

“First, through the Source & Summit Missal,” he said, “and, secondly, throughout the Source & Summit ‘Digital Platform’ for liturgy and music preparation. Both resources are designed to be used together, but they also can be used independently, based upon the needs of the parish.

According to Bartlett, the Source & Summit Missal, first published in 2021, is the flagship of Source & Summit’s offerings.

“When you first hold the missal,” he said, “you im mediately realize it was designed for something sacred and important. The custom cover art, whether it’s St. Gabriel the Archangel or Christ the High Priest, is set in gold leaf that radiates from the front cover, immedi ately drawing its viewers into the beauty of the liturgy.”

Describing the missal’s contents, Bartlett said that “while it offers parishes much of what they would expect to find in a pew missal or hymnal, such as the Lectionary readings and Order of Mass, what sets the Source & Summit Missal apart is its presentation of all of the texts that the Church invites us to sing in the Mass, paired with simple, beautiful melodies. This includes the Entrance, Offertory, and Communion Antiphons, each of which can be sung in simple, con gregation-friendly settings or to one of eight simple tones. This is in addition to the Responsorial Psalm and Alleluia, as well as the various special chants that occur throughout the year.”

Recalling the September 2020 directives on evalu ating Catholic hymnody issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, Bartlett said that the Source & Summit Missal also “contains over 400 hymns in English, Latin, and Spanish that come from the core repertoire of time-tested, theologi cally sound hymnody for both liturgical and devo tional use.”

Msgr. John Cihak, pastor of Christ the King Parish in Milwaukie, OR, started subscribing to the Source & Summit Digital Platform during its pilot phase in 2020 and then added the Source & Summit Missal in 2021. Because his parish has more than 1,300 families and a grammar school to keep him busy, he has found Source & Summit to be a convenient and time-saving resource.

“Source & Summit has helped me because their

missal and digital platform are eminently practical,” he said. “As a pastor, I don’t have the time to find the content necessary for a beautiful liturgy, and I found that Source & Summit has already done that work for us. My sacred music director got familiar with these resources and started incorporating them gradually into the liturgy.”

Before coming to Christ the King, from 2009 to 2018, Msgr. Cihak served as an official for the Con gregation of Bishops and papal master of ceremonies in the Vatican. His four years of service under Pope Benedict XVI and five years with Pope Francis have helped him grow in his understanding of the Church’s view of the liturgy. It is an understanding he was keen to share with his parishioners at Christ the King.

“We strive at Christ the King to celebrate the sa cred liturgy as asked for by Vatican II,” he said.

For more information about Source & Summit and its resources, or to request a free review copy, visit SourceandSummit.com or call (888) 462-7780.

Benedict XVI Reflects on Vatican II in New Letter

By AC Wimmer, Shannon Mullen

CNA—In a new letter, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI characterizes the Second Vatican Coun cil as “not only meaningful, but necessary.”

Released October 20, the letter is addressed to Franciscan Father Dave Pivonka, president of Fran ciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, OH, which concluded a two-day conference on October 21, centered on the theology of Benedict XVI/Joseph Ratzinger.

Nearly three-and-a-half typewritten pages long, the letter provides fresh observations about Vatican II from one of the few remaining theologians in the Catholic Church to have personally participated in the historic council, which opened 60 years ago last October.

“When I began to study theology in January 1946, no one thought of an Ecumenical Council,” the 95-year-old retired pope recalls in the letter.

AB/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO

radicality,” he continues.

“The same is true for the relationship between faith and the world of mere reason. Both topics had not been foreseen in this way before. This explains why Vatican II at first threatened to unsettle and shake the Church more than to give her a new clarity for her mission,” Pope Benedict writes.

“In the meantime, the need to reformulate the question of the nature and mission of the Church has gradually become apparent,” he adds. “In this way, the positive power of the Council is also slowly emerging.”

Ecclesiology—the theological study of the nature and structure of the Church—had evolved after World War I, Pope Benedict writes. “If ecclesiology had hith erto been treated essentially in institutional terms,” he says, “the wider spiritual dimension of the concept of the Church was now joyfully perceived.”

At the same time, he writes, the concept of the Church as the mystical body of Christ was being criti cally reconsidered.

It was in this situation, he says, that he wrote his doctoral dissertation on the topic of “People and House of God in Augustine’s Doctrine of the Church.” He writes that “the complete spiritualization of the concept of the Church, for its part, misses the realism of faith and its institutions in the world,” adding that “in Vatican II, the question of the Church in the world finally became the real central problem.”

Pope Francis: St. Pius V Teaches Us to Seek Truth, Pray the Rosary

By Hannah Brockhaus

CNA—Pope Francis on September 17 recalled the legacy of the 16th-century pope St. Pius V, a Church reformer who standardized the Mass and opposed heresy.

The teachings of Pius V “invite us to be seekers of the truth,” Pope Francis said in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall to Catholics from northern and central Italy.

“Jesus is the Truth, in a sense that is not only uni versal but also communal and personal,” he said, “and the challenge is to live the search for truth in the daily life of the Church today, of Christian communities.”

The search for truth, Pope Francis said, “can only take place through personal and community discern ment, starting from the Word of God.”

He explained that the Word of God comes alive in a particular way in the Mass, in both the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, “where we somehow touch the flesh of Christ.”

St. Pius V, he said, reformed the liturgy of the Church, which was then further reformed four centu ries later at the Second Vatican Council.

“In these years much has been said about the Liturgy, especially its external forms. But the greatest commitment must be placed so that the Eucharistic celebration actually becomes the source of community life,” Pope Francis said.

He also recalled St. Pius V’s commitment to rec ommending prayer, especially the rosary.

St. Pius V was born Antonio Ghislieri in Bosco Marengo, Piedmont. The year 2022 marks the 450th anniversary of his death on May 1, 1572. His papacy began in 1566.

“When Pope John XXIII announced it, to every one’s surprise, there were many doubts as to whether it would be meaningful, indeed whether it would be possible at all, to organize the insights and questions into the whole of a conciliar statement and thus to give the Church a direction for its further journey,” Pope Benedict observes.

“In reality, a new council proved to be not only meaningful, but necessary. For the first time, the ques tion of a theology of religions had shown itself in its

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Pius V “faced many pastoral and governance chal lenges in just six years of his pontificate,” Pope Francis said. “He was a reformer of the Church who made courageous choices. Since then, the style of Church government has changed, and it would be an anachro nistic mistake to evaluate certain works of Saint Pius V with today’s mentality.”

“So too, we must be careful,” he added, “not to re duce him to a nostalgic, stuffed memory, but to grasp his teaching and witness. With this insight, we can note that the backbone of his entire life was faith.”

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Let the Liturgy Shine—Symbolically, of Course.

By Christopher Carstens, Editor

When Alexander the Great made his way through Palestine in the 4th century BC, he left behind key features of Hel lenistic culture. Chief among these was the Koine dialect of the Greek language, which became the language of the New Testament.

Consequently, not only a great many secular words today, but a large number of ecclesial words (such as “ecclesial”) are Greek in origin: episcopate and diaconate, baptism and eucharist, evan gelization and martyrdom. The word “liturgy” is also Greek (leitrougias), in dicating a work (ergon) that is done on behalf of the people (laos), as is a term for one of the liturgy’s most essential concepts: symbol.

“Symbol” is built on the root ballein, which means to throw, hurl, or toss. Ballein is the root of today’s English word “ballistics.”

A “parable” is similarly structured on this root ballein, and it means “to throw (ballein) alongside (para),” as when Jesus tells a story that illustrates— but does not come out explicitly and state—a truth of faith. The “Parable of the Sower,” for example, speaks of the various types of soil (that is, souls) that receive the Word of God. Only after the parable has been told do the disciples ask him its core meaning (see Luke 8:115).

“Hyperbole” indicates an exaggerated way of speaking: “The Adoremus Bul letin is the best liturgical journal ever!” Literally, hyperbole means “to throw (ballein) up (hyper).”

An “embolism” is an obstruction that has been “thrown (ballein) into (em)” the heart or artery. Less painfully—in fact, more helpfully—the priest “throws in” a special prayer or elaboration after the Lord’s Prayer and before its conclu sion at Mass, when he says, “Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days…”— thus, this heart-felt prayer is also called an embolism.

Even evil throws its weight around. “The devil (dia-bolos) is the one who ‘throws himself across’ God’s plan and his work of salvation accomplished in Christ” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2851).

But let’s now throw ourselves back together with the term “symbol.” The liturgy, the Catechism teaches, “is woven together from signs and sym bols” (1145). Every ritual is a tapestry of symbols—objects, actions, words, ministers and people, times, music, art, and architecture. Think, for example, of the Introductory Rites of the Mass, or the baptism of an infant, or the celebra tion of Vespers. In each and every case, the ordered use of symbols “throw together.” But throw together exactly what?

In the beginning, when God made the cosmos (which is an another Greek term, meaning order and beauty), heaven was united to earth, God walked together with man, and all lived togeth er in unity and peace. But with sin—en ter the diabolic one—cosmos turned to chaos: creation separated from heaven, man hid himself from God, and the fallen world came to disorder. What was needed to undo the separation and restore unity was a great Symbolizer— indeed, a super-symbolizer: a sacramen talizer—who could throw heaven and earth, God and man, and all of creation together again. This is the incarnate Christ.

His work of rejoining heaven and

earth, however perfect, is as of yet incomplete. In God’s grand plan, we are called to join him in joining earth to heaven once again. And the greatest means by which this saving and sanc tifying work is accomplished is in the liturgy and sacraments. Woven “from signs and symbols,” liturgical celebra tions restore us to God.

Much rides, then, on getting sacra mental signs and symbols right. And by getting them right, I mean both representing fully and clearly the divine realities they signify, and also allowing us fallen beings to engage them and reunite ourselves through them, and Christ, to God. Most liturgical debates can be reduced to this basic level: do the various ritual symbols—words, music, gestures—bring together heaven and earth? Or, perhaps, are they “lop sided” (not a Greek word, by the way), by not revealing the mystery as fully and authentically as they might, or, for a variety of reasons, by thwarting our encounter with the mystery?

The seriousness of liturgical symbol ism was a large part of what Sacrosanc tum Concilium addressed in its reforms. Pope John XXIII first laid some found ing principles when he opened the Council on October 11, 1962: “The sub stance of the ancient doctrine of the de posit of faith is one thing, and the way in which it is presented is another” (em phasis added). In liturgical terms, the divine reality of the liturgy—the saving work of Christ—remains an unchang ing reality for all ages, yet the manner in which it is symbolized requires that it be adapted, when possible, to the condi tions of those who celebrate.

Sacrosanctum Concilium would say as much when it established norms for the reform and restoration of the liturgy’s sacramental signs: “That sound tradition may be retained, and yet the way remain open to legitimate prog ress…” (22). And again: liturgical signs and rites “are to be simplified, due care being taken to preserve their substance” (50). Yet, even while liturgical signs and symbols “preserve their substance,” they should radiate with “a noble simplicity; they should be short, clear, and unen cumbered by useless repetitions; they should be within the people’s powers of comprehension, and normally should not require much explanation” (34). To rejoin heaven and earth—to symbol ize—sacramental symbols must be both heavenly and earthly.

Prior to the Council, a common complaint about liturgical symbol ism claimed that its expression of the mystery was “overlaid with whitewash” (Benedict XVI, The Spirit of the Liturgy, preface) and that it needed to be “puri fied of the imperfections brought by time, newly resplendent with dignity and fitting order” (Pius X, Motu proprio Abhinc Duos Annos, 1913). Postconcil iar reforms certainly “laid bare” (Pope Benedict XVI) the essentials, but in so doing stripped away much that was meaningful, leaving a symbol system too didactic and lacking beauty.

So we still work today to understand, celebrate, and appreciate the liturgy’s symbols. Far from obscure, yet never anemic, liturgical symbolism ought to radiate the glory of God to eyes and ears willing and able to see and hear. When we can hit upon such a formula, we are truly reunited to God.

The Blessed Virgin Mary, follow ing the remarkable events of her Son’s conception and birth, “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Writing in Greek, Luke the Evangelist said more than “reflecting,”

Far from obscure, yet never anemic, liturgical symbolism ought to radiate the glory of God to eyes and ears willing and able to see and hear. When we can hit upon such a formula, we are truly reunited to God.

but, rather, “symbolizing” (symballousa) these things in her heart, fitting them together into a whole that kept her in

union with God’s plan. May she pray for us now as we pray for citizenship in the Heavenly Jerusalem.

Now Available!

Romano Guardini’s Liturgy and Liturgical Formation

Available in English for the first time!

KEVIN

In Liturgy and Liturgical Formation, Guardini presents the specific task of the liturgy, and by extension, the ways in which the liturgy forms us to respond to sacramental signs and to understand our place in the community. Pope Francis drew upon Guardini’s insights from Liturgy and Liturgical Formation in his recent apostolic letter, Desiderio Desideravi, highlighting how, as Guardini wrote, the liturgy forms us “to relate religiously as fully human beings.” The ongoing formation and education of the assembly is essential, and this work provides a lens through which this formation can be realized.

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“In this long-awaited English translation of Liturgy and Liturgical Formation Guardini prompts us to consider more profound questions about the nature of the liturgy than the superficial discussions which often permeate the Catholic blogosphere. Here is a timely reminder that we need to be formed to participate in the liturgy in order for it to transform our daily life in the world.”

D. MAGAS, phd Assistant Professor of Dogmatic Theology Director of Intellectual Formation, The Liturgical Institute University

of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary

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Continued from BRUYERE, page 1

Benedictine monks who could better help cultivate their spiritual charism. In practice, Guéranger did not think of himself as the “superior” of the nuns but fully entrusted the power and governance of the women’s foundation to Bruyère, believing this better reflected the ancient office and role of the Abbess. Guéranger also set a liturgical precedent by reviving an ancient tradition during the nun’s ceremony of profession. Guéranger combined the rite of monastic profes sion with the rite of the consecration of virgins as it was described in the Roman pontifical, even though this rite had fallen into practical disuse by the 15th century. In reviving the rite of the consecration of virgins, the Abbey of St. Cécile started a precedent among monastic orders that spread and was later recommended by Pius XII’s apostolic constitution Sponsa Christi as “one of the most beautiful monu ments of the ancient liturgy.”4

from the spiritual influence she had, not only over her own nuns, but over the monks of Solesmes as well, who streamed to her for spiritual guidance. The abbot approved of this, and the novitiate at Solesmes almost took place at the feet of Bruyère, whom the monks came to in order to encounter the thought and spirit of the departed Guéranger.6 However, two monks resented her spiritual authority, and blamed her for interfering in the election of their new abbot. They claimed she was trying to bring back to life the monasticism of the medieval abbey of Fontevrault, in which the abbess was the head of the order, having the monks as well under her jurisdiction. However, they took this all the way to the Pope Leo XIII, who enforced harsh separations between the monasteries until they could sort out the situation. Even after a visitation found the accusations baseless, the mod ernist Albert Houtin published a calumnious account accusing Bruyère of “moral hysteria.” It should be

come to know profoundly the liturgical prayers and all that makes up the public prayer of the Church, and no one will be able to remonstrate with you in matters of doctrine…. With this, one can form priests and saints, and I reckon that if this were the basis of education in theological schools, it would bring about the development of souls. Poetry, music, and the arts would play their part, as much as the intelligence and heart, and instead of producing either ‘nullities’ or ‘specialists’ we would see the emergence of ‘men,’ that is, intelligent creatures, complete and able.”8 To another, she gives a similar exhortation: “My dear little brother, run well after the fragrance of the per fumes that our great King has left behind Him in His church, by which I mean, always profit by the Holy Scriptures and the sacred liturgy.”9

Bruyère also advocated for a spiritual nourishment on the primary sources of scripture and the liturgy in her conferences with her nuns, several of which were transcribed. Many of her conferences were given directly on Scripture, and she worked through the Old Testament book by book. Unlike other religious of her time, she ensured her nuns had not only a psalter and New Testament but an entire Bible. Re gretting that Catholics viewed scripture as a remote “museum-piece” or as part of an apologetic arsenal against Protestants, she instead revived the ancient monastic practice of lectio divina, a meditative, prayerful “chewing” on the Word of God which sees the Word as a profound source of spiritual nourish ment. Bruyère’s nuns were even accused by certain

Abbess and Mother of Souls

Bruyère received the abbatial blessing and enthrone ment in 1871, four years before the death of Abbot Guéranger in 1875. Her biographer, Dom Guy Oury, notes that Guéranger’s guidance and spiritual direc tion, ultimately culminating in encouraging her to lead on her own, helped form this once stubborn but gifted girl into a true mother of souls, a fact over whelmingly noted by both the nuns and monks of Solesmes. Her character traits bear a resemblance to Teresa of Avila: she had a dynamism, liveliness, humor, simplicity, and attentiveness to details. She gave pride of place to the Office and joyful recreation, always reminding the nuns of the essentials in the spiritual life: “If you are in need of a good word, open your breviary, your Old Testament, your psalms; therein is our spiritual direction, and it is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit; we do not have need, as elsewhere, of so many spiritual directors.”5 Under the direc tion of Bruyère, the abbey grew in influence and was viewed as a model of Benedictine life, leading to the establishment of two other foundations in her lifetime.

Although Bruyère’s description of her interior life as Abbess bears witness to her growth in the unitive way of contemplative prayer, her life in the world was marked by many challenges. The first challenge was with a new bishop who didn’t like the indepen dence in governance that Guéranger had given her and wanted matters back under his control. Bruyère fought this, preparing a brief that shows the relevant historical tradition in favor of the way the monas tery was governed, and her appeal was ultimately upheld by the Pope Leo XIII. Another issue arose

noted that Houtin produced this account after he had left the priesthood and sought to settle scores with the hierarchical Church.

Near the end of her life, the volatile political situ ation in France led to the eviction of the contempla tive monastic orders which were viewed as lacking any utilitarian contribution to society. The nuns had to move to a foundation in England where Bruyère eventually died in exile in 1909. Weakened by the baseless attacks on her character, the uprooting of her monastic community, and failing health due to anemia, she spent the last six years of her life in a silent offering of herself to God in her cell. In all these events she did not fail to trust the workings of divine providence: “We are quite simply in the divine hands of him who has deigned to take seriously the offering of all our being which we so often renew. Isn’t it only just that among the members of our Lord Jesus Christ there be some who consent to be attached to the same cross as He, to die with Him, according to the will of the Heavenly Father and for the adorable purposes of His intentions?”7

Her

Teaching: Letters and Conferences

Bruyère’s spiritual and liturgical contributions are vis ible in the extensive correspondences she maintained through her letters, her conferences to her nuns, and her influential, widely circulated book on prayer, The Spiritual Life and Prayer According to Holy Scripture and Monastic Tradition. Her letters were a central part of her ministry of spiritual motherhood, and many of the letters she sent to monks were kept and treasured by them their entire lives. These often in cluded encouragements to root one’s spiritual life and monastic vocation in the liturgical life of the Church. In a letter to a young monk she extols the formative capacity of the liturgy: “Oh! Mark well, my brother,

critics as “not praying” simply because they did not practice the discursive, methodic type of mental prayer which had grown in popularity in the 16th and 17th centuries, even though their own lectio reflected a more ancient and universal monastic practice.10 As Bruyère often reminded her sisters, “If the Holy Spirit doesn’t feed your soul himself, you must look for food by reading the Holy Scriptures.”11

Her conferences thus advocated a return to the pri mary sources of sanctification: the celebration of the liturgy and sacraments, knowledge of the scriptures, and the doctrines of the Church. She lamented that Catholics of her era derived their spiritual nourish ment from innumerable devotions rather than a spiri tual encounter with Christ in the liturgy, a choice she compares to preferring to drink from a “bottle” rather than the ocean: “That is the reason for our existence, we who are daughters of St. Benedict. We must prefer this life of the Church to all possible and imagin able devotions. To live from the life of the Church; to observe above all what the Church enjoins us to do, to desire but one thing: to live this life to the fullest…. What would you say of someone who, being able to satiate himself in the ocean, prefers to drink from a bottle? He would say: ‘but this is water from the sea, it is enough for me.’ Well! I prefer the ocean. If you prefer the bottle, I leave it to you.”12

Bruyère challenged her sisters to remember the Rule of Benedict’s admonition to prefer nothing to the opus Dei, to God’s work in us and for us in the liturgical life of the Church. In an era suffused with the utilitarian understanding of the Enlightenment that the monk or nun needed to perform some sort of active work of charity or scholarship to contribute to society, Bruyère deepened Guéranger’s articula tion of the contemplative charism of Solesmes. In her conferences she insists on the primacy of the Divine Office, prayer, and the quest for God above all things

“Her conferences advocated a return to the primary sources of sanctification: the celebration of the liturgy and sacraments, knowledge of the scriptures, and the doctrines of the Church.”

AB/WIKIPEDIA

The course of Cécile Bruyère's life changed when she came into contact as a young girl with Dom Prosper Guéranger. Her mother’s family owned a country house by the sea that they visited near Solesmes, and Guéranger’s influence spread over the family as he converted and mar ried many of its members and became pastorally involved in their lives.

AB/PHIL MCIVER ON FLICKR. ADORATION OF THE LAMB AT THE CHURCH OF ST MARY MAGDALENE, NEWARK, UK.

In our own time, when many liturgical discussions fixate on external forms or rubrical details, Cécile Bruyère’s liturgical spirituality reminds us that the ultimate purpose of the liturgy is to fashion us into true adorers of the Lord in spirit and truth.

“Her character traits bear a resemblance to Teresa of Avila: she had a dynamism, liveliness, humor, simplicity, and attentiveness to details.”

and their apostolic fruitfulness for the salvation of the world. In many instances, her conferences echo Thérèse of Lisieux’s “little way,” highlighting the beauty of mundane, ordinary things done with extraordinary love for the glory of God: “Who can say how much merit and recompense God has reserved for us by our accomplishment of the most humble of our daily duties? We belittle these things too much. Who has organized our life as it is? Was it not the Creator Him self?...If the good God had wanted something else for us, he would have made us differently.”13

The Spiritual Life and Prayer

The main distillation of Bruyère’s teaching on the spiri tual life and its essential foundations in the Bible and the liturgy can be found in her work The Spiritual Life and Prayer According to Holy Scripture and Monastic Tradition. While Guéranger had advocated for the primacy of the Divine Office, liturgy, and lectio divina in private conferences to his monks, his thoughts on these subjects remained unpublished. Bruyère’s intent was to engage in a thoroughgoing ressourcement of the monastic tradition and write the book on prayer Guéranger would have written had he the required time and desire to do so.

The very structure of Bruyère’s work manifests a liturgical “frame” to the spiritual life. In this respect, Bruyère’s work differs in tone and emphases from standard scholastic spiritual theology textbooks writ ten around the time, such as Adolphe Tanquerey’s The Spiritual Life. While Bruyère includes a standard account of the purgative, illuminative, and unitive stages of classical treatises on the spiritual life, a con sideration of the sacraments and liturgy at both the beginning and end of the work serve as “book-ends” to remind the reader that they serve as both the “source” and the “summit” of the spiritual life.

One of the central themes pursued from the very be ginning of her text is what the Second Vatican Council later referred to as “the universal call to holiness,” a familiar theme in our contemporary theological con text but scarcer in spiritual literature of the late 19th century. “The secrets of the spiritual life,” she reminds us, “are not reserved exclusively for a few chosen souls, as people too often believe, nor for those only who make religion their specialty. All men are created by God; all are called to save their souls; all are regener ated by the same means…. ‘One Lord, one faith, one baptism.’”14 In fact, Bruyère grounds her entire account of the spiritual life as the unfolding and actualization of the graces received at baptism.15 For her, the heights of contemplation must not be relegated to extraordi nary visions or mystical raptures given to a select few but the progressive growth in the likeness of Christ available to all through communion in the sacramental life of the Church. The sacraments are the certain and authentic “means instituted by God for enabling man to attain to holiness, without there being any need to look for extraordinary means…. They communicate God to man and hence they all tend to divine union; they are provided with the energy necessary to bring it about, and they enable us fully to attain our end.”16 Rather than a doloristic spirituality of “suffering for suffering’s sake” popular in certain strains of Romantic spirituality of the time, Bruyère articulates a theol ogy of divinization and desire for happiness which prompts the human being to search for God and ceaselessly gaze upon him who imprints himself upon us in the depths of our soul.17

Bruyère also treats a number of themes that would receive further attention later in the 20th-century liturgical movement. In an age where the Divine Office was often viewed strictly as a burdensome external, canonical obligation to fulfill rather than an intimate encounter with Christ, Bruyère draws attention to the mutually enriching relationship between private, silent, mental prayer and liturgical prayer: “Thus, by a double current, which consists in praying mentally the better to celebrate the Divine Office, and seeking in the Divine Office the food of mental prayer, the soul gently, quietly, and almost without effort arrives at true contemplation.”18 While many in Bruyère’s time viewed the liturgy merely in its rubrical and canonical dimen sions as the external, official worship of the Church, she insists on the preeminent spiritual role the liturgy has in fashioning us into “true adorers” of the Lord “in spirit and truth” (cf. John 4:23-24). She challenges her readers to live a life permeated by the spirit of the liturgy such that our hearts and voices unite with the hymn of praise and love the Word Incarnate offered on earth to his eternal Father.19 In this way, the “heart becomes an altar where God alone dwells, and offers to his Father a sacrifice of adoration, of praise and of love.”20 For Bruyère, we are assimilated to the myster

ies of Christ’s life through the sacred liturgy, and these mysteries must be reproduced in the sanctuary of the human heart such that we can say, “It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).21

One of the chief theological retrievals that contrib uted to an enriched understanding of the liturgical act in 20th-century liturgical theology was a renewed understanding of liturgy as an exercise of the priestly office of Christ. In a theologically rich last chapter of

her advocacy for liturgy as the center of the spiri tual life foreshadowed fundamental concerns of the 20th-century liturgical movement. Without agitating for the reform of rites or texts, Bruyère shared in the primary goal of the movement classically understood as “a movement towards the liturgy, a movement towards the Christ-life giving mysteries” in order to usher in the “renewal and intensification of Christian life through its primary and indispensable source, the sacred liturgy.”25 In our own time, when many liturgi cal discussions fixate on external forms or rubrical details, Bruyère’s liturgical spirituality reminds us that the ultimate purpose of the liturgy is to fashion us into true adorers of the Lord in spirit and truth. Then the liturgy becomes a true school of prayer and contem plation, for “in the sacred liturgy the Church’s children have all their mother’s learning: it is the most perfect way of prayer, the most traditional, the best ordered, the simplest, and the one that gives the strongest im pulse to the freedom of the Holy Spirit.”26

her text, entitled “There is But One Liturgy,” Bruyère meditates on the eschatological dimension of the heav enly liturgy described in the book of Revelation which is opened up for our participation through Christ’s priestly work. She marvels at how the Incarnation en ables rational creatures to share in Christ’s praise and adoration of the Father. In baptism we become liturgi cal apprentices to Christ, the premiere liturgist, and join in his saving work on behalf of the world: “Thus the sovereign pontificate is eternal, and it is exercised forever; not only in the adorable person of the Son of God, but in that priestly tribe of which He is the Head, ‘a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood,’ wherein all are priests, although in different degrees, and all are called to concelebrate with the supreme Pontiff.”22 The pilgrim Church on earth shares not only in praise and adoration but anticipates Christ’s sacrificial love in the redeemed city of God: “During the days of her pil grimage our Pontiff would not abandon His bride; and by a wonderful way, and with a wisdom all divine, He found the means of identifying the sacrifice of earth with that of heaven, since there is but one priesthood, that of Jesus Christ, but one sacrifice on earth and in heaven, but one victim, namely the Lamb conquer ing yet slain…. Thus the Church’s hierarchy on earth through the wonders produced by the Sacraments, presents to the ravished gaze of the heavenly citizens a faithful reproduction of that which takes place ‘within the veil, ad interiora velaminis.’”23

While originally intended as a private work for the edification of her spiritual daughters, the book was translated into German and English, achieving widespread praise and commendation among bishops, theologians, and monasteries across Europe. It was acclaimed as a “watershed book” for bringing Catho lics to a transformative return to the primary sources of the Bible and the Church Fathers for their prayer at a time when a proliferation of devotions preoccu pied the spiritual life.24 In this way, Bruyère’s return to the essential sources of sanctification anticipated the 20th-century movement known as resourrcement, and

Pioneer Woman

Mother Cécile Bruyère’s substantial influence on the Benedictine monasteries who would be promoters of the 20th-century liturgical movement and the wide influence of her book on prayer throughout Europe’s ecclesial circles leads her biographer, Dom Oury, to argue that there are few women from the turn of the 19th century whose teachings have had such repercus sions.27 Not only should Bruyère’s contributions find their rightful place in histories of pioneers of the litur gical movement, but her advice on living a life formed by the rhythms of liturgical life should resonate in the hearts of all who celebrate the liturgy faithfully today. “Our best formation is made,” Bruyère concludes, “when the part played by the liturgy is not limited to the actual celebration of the Divine Office but when our whole life is grounded upon it, when the content of our prayer, as well as the principles for the correc tion and sanctification of the soul, are drawn from it. In it will be found the surest commentary on scrip tures, which are the true bread of the spirit after the Eucharist, and the true orientation of our piety.”28

Kevin D. Magas holds an MTS and PhD in theology from the University of Notre Dame. He currently serves as an assistant professor of dogmatic theology and direc tor of intellectual formation for the Liturgical Institute at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, Mundelein, IL, where he teaches sacramental theology and liturgical studies. He lives in Mundelein with his wife and children.

1. Marjorie Procter-Smith, In Her Own Rite: Constructing Feminist Litur gical Tradition (Nashville: Abingdon Press 1990), 18-35.

2. See Katharine Harmon There Were Also Many Women There: Lay Women in the Liturgical Movement in the United States, 1926-1959 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2012).

3. Dom Guy Marie Oury, O.S.B. Light and Strength: Mother Cécile Bruyère, First Abbess of Sainte-Cécile of Solesmes trans. M. Cristina Borge (Hulbert, OK: Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey, 2012), 8. The biographical details that follow here are drawn predominately from Oury’s account.

4. Ibid., 135.

“In baptism we become liturgical apprentices to Christ, the premiere liturgist, and join in his saving work on behalf of the world.”

Without agitating for the reform of rites or texts, Cécile Bruyère shared in the primary goal of the movement classically understood as “a movement towards the liturgy, a movement towards the Christ-life giving mysteries” in order to usher in the “renewal and intensification of Christian life through its primary and indispensable source, the sacred liturgy.”

Why Romans 12:1 Is Ratzinger’s Key to the Spirit and Truth of Worship

By Mariusz Biliniewicz

Romans 12:1 must be one of Joseph Ratzinger’s/ Benedict XVI’s favorite biblical quotations. It appears in many of his major works on the liturgy, and it is often used in his treatment of the sac rificial nature of the Eucharist. In this passage St. Paul writes: “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sac rifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiri tual worship” (Revised Standard Version). The idea of “spiritual worship” (Gr. λογικὴν λατρεία) is translated into the English language in various ways: the New International Version talks about “true and proper worship,” the Douay Rheims-American Edition about “reasonable service,” the American Standard Version about “spiritual service,” the Christian Standard Bible about “true worship,” the Phillips New Testament in Modern English about “intelligent worship,” the New American Standard Bible about “spiritual service of worship,” the New Catholic Bible about “a spiritual act of worship,” and the New English Translation about “reasonable service.”

In order to understand what this idea means for Ratzinger, we need to place it in the context of his general understanding of sacrifice in the Christian sense (St. Paul talks about “living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God”). In The Spirit of the Liturgy (SL), Ratzinger believes that the true meaning of the Christian sacrifice (i.e., the Mass) is “buried under the debris of endless misunderstandings” (SL, 27) and that this causes problems not only in the ecumenical dialogue with non-Catholic Christians, but also in the inner-Catholic theological and liturgical debate.

“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

— Romans 12:1

Sacrifice before Christ Ratzinger believes that “in all religions sacrifice is at the heart of worship” (SL, 27) and that the centrality of this concept in the history of religion is an expres sion of something important, a reality that concerns us as well (SL, 19). In pre-Christian religions, sacrifice was always associated with destruction and atone ment: man, aware of his guilt, wanted to offer to God (or gods) something that would bring him forgive ness and reconciliation. At the same time, these attempts of arriving at reconciliation with the deity were always accompanied by a sense of inadequacy and insufficiency: the offering could always be only a replacement of the true gift, which is the man himself. Animals or fruits of the harvest could not possibly satisfy God and could only serve as an imperfect rep resentation of the one who offers them.

The same could be said about the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. Bloody sacrifices of animals were to be offered by priests to God in order to recog nize his sovereignty and obtain his blessing. However, the Temple worship prescribed by the Law also “was always accompanied by a vivid sense of its insufficien cy” (SL, 39). The People of God slowly and gradually came to realize that there was nothing that they could offer God who owns everything. God wanted some thing else: “More precious than sacrifice is obedience, submission better than the fat of rams!” (1 Samuel 15:22); “I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6). This was confirmed by God himself who, through the prophets, accused Israel of cultivating empty gestures that were not accompanied by an in ternal transformation of the heart: “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world and all that is in it is mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High” (Psalm 50[49]: 12-14); or “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and cereal offerings, I will not accept them, and the peace offerings of your fatted beasts I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen” (Amos 5:21-23).

In the Old Testament, bloody sacrifices of animals were to be offered by priests to God in order to recognize his sovereignty and obtain his blessing. However, the Temple worship prescribed by the Law also “was always ac companied by a vivid sense of its insufficiency.” The People of God slowly and gradually came to realize that there was nothing that they could offer God who owns everything. God wanted something else….

cisely this crisis situation that brought about a revision of the theology of worship in the Old Testament. It was precisely “the very emptiness of Israel’s hands, the heaviness of her heart, that was now to be worship, to serve as a spiritual equivalent of the missing Temple oblations.” It was Israel’s suf ferings “through God and for God, the cry of her broken heart, her persistent pleading before the silent God, had to count in his sight as ‘fatted sacrifices’ and whole burnt offerings” (SL, 45).

The situation in which Israel found herself coincided with the encounter of the Greek critique of cult as such. This led to the development of the idea of λογικὴν λατρεία (θυσία): spiritual wor ship, worship according to the Logos, that is, according to reason. It is to this idea that Romans 12:1 alludes. In the Old Testament the People of God have finally came to realize that acknowledg ing God’s sovereignty over all things does not consist of destruction, but of something completely different. As Ratzinger states, “[the true surrender to God] consists in the union of man and creation with God. Belonging to God has nothing to do with destruction or non-being: it is rather a way of being. It means losing oneself as the only possible way of finding oneself (cf. Mark 8:35; Matthew 10:39)” (SL 28, “Theology of the Liturgy” (TL), 25).

A turning point came with the Babylonian exile. In a foreign land, there was no Temple, no public and communal form of divine worship as decreed in the law. Israel was deprived of worship and stood before God with empty hands. However, it was pre

At the same time, an important aspect is being added here by Ratzinger, through the influence of his great master, St. Augustine of Hippo. This trans formation leading to union of human beings with God, which is the true and proper sacrifice pleasing to God, is not to be achieved only on the level of individuals, but on the level of community. Therefore, there is a very important ecclesiological component here in Ratzinger’s thought. Augustine teaches that the true fulfillment of the cult takes place when “the whole redeemed human community, this is to say the assembly and the community of the saints, is offered to God in sacrifice by the High Priest who offered himself” (City of God, X,8; see: TL, 25). In other

“ The true surrender to God consists in the union of man and creation with God. Belonging to God has nothing to do with destruction or non-being: it is rather a way of being. It means losing oneself as the only possible way of finding oneself.”

In pre-Christian religions, sacrifice was always associated with destruction and atonement: man, aware of his guilt, want ed to offer to God (or gods) something that would bring him forgiveness and reconciliation. At the same time, these at tempts of arriving at reconciliation with the deity were always accompanied by a sense of inadequacy and insufficiency: the offering could always be only a replacement of the true gift, which is the man himself. Animals or fruits of the harvest could not possibly satisfy God and could only serve as an imperfect representation of the one who offers them.

AB/WIKIPDEDIA. DEPICTION OF THE SACRIFICE OF A YOUNG BOAR, 6TH CENTURY BC.

AB/WIKIPEDIA

words, “the sacrifice is ourselves…, the multitude: a single body in Christ” (TL, 25); “the true ‘sacrifice’ is the civitas Dei, that is, love-transformed mankind, the divinization of creation and the surrender of all things to God: God all in all (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:28). That is the purpose of the world. That is the essence of sacrifice and worship” (SL, 25).

The New Covenant and Eucharist

While linking the animal sacrifices with the idea of worship according to reason/Logos was a step in the right direction, human nature still consists of spirit and body. While the spiritual aspect of cult is primary and essential, human nature still longs for an external expression of this internal submission to God. This is where the Greek concept of λογικὴν λατρεία (“spiri tual worship”) falls short since it does not do justice to the human pscyhosomatic condition—our natural struggle to express our spiritual dimension through physical means. This is where a final fulfillment of this idea arrives with the event of the Incarnation of the Logos, the Divine Son—in which, finally, God and man are met in one person, Christ.

Ratzinger’s theology of Christ’s sacrifice is largely based on his reading of the Gospel of St. John and the Letter to the Hebrews. From Hebrews, Ratzinger takes the idea of Christ’s sacrifice being offered once and for all, at the altar of the cross, with Christ as the new and ultimate High Priest. From John he takes the idea of Christ being also the new temple—it is his humanity that Jesus has in mind when he announces: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 12:19). The event of the cleansing of the Temple is more than just an angry outburst against the merchants and the abuses that were taking place at that time. It is “an attack on the Temple cult, of which the sacrificial animals and the special Temple moneys collected there were a part” (SL, 43). Christ’s death on the cross, followed by the tearing of the Temple curtain into two, and then, in years to come by the physical destruction of the Temple, brought an end to the old economy of worship and inaugurated the new one: the true worship will now take place in the new Temple, in Christ himself, who is the dwell ing place of the Father and the Spirit.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, however, is constantly re-presented by the Church when the sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated. The once-and-for-all event reaches beyond the historical boundaries and spills over to the past and to the present: if we mention Abel, Abraham, and Melchisedek in the Roman Can on as those who also participate in the offering of the Eucharist, then in the celebration of the Mass we are dealing with something more than a simple memorial understood as remembering an important event from the past. As Ratzinger explains, the εφάπαξ, that is, Once For All, is bound up with the αἰώνῐος, that is, everlasting; and the semel, that is, once, bears within itself the semper, that is, always (SL, 56-57).

It is in the context of the Christian celebration of the Eucharist that Paul’s utterance from Romans 12:1

Why St. John Paul II Added the Luminous Mysteries to the Rosary

CNA—Twenty years ago, St. John Paul II published the apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, adding five Luminous Mysteries to the traditional 15 meditated on in the rosary.

The Luminous Mysteries refer to Christ’s public life, and are his Baptism in the Jordan; his self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana; his proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with his call to conversion; his Transfiguration; and his institution of the Eucharist, “as the sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery,” according to the letter.

In his apostolic letter, the Holy Father explained that “the rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer” and that it had “an important place” in his spiritual life during his youth.

In fact, two weeks after being elevated to the Chair of Peter, St. John Paul II publicly confessed: “The rosary is my favorite prayer.”

The pope proposed the Luminous Mysteries to “high light the Christological character of the rosary.” These mysteries refer to “Christ’s public ministry between his Baptism and his Passion,” the Holy Father explained.

Thus in these mysteries “we contemplate important aspects of the person of Christ as the definitive revelation of God,” the pope said, since it is he who “declared the beloved Son of the Father at the Baptism in the Jordan, Christ is the one who announces the coming of the King

needs to be understood. Our “spiritual worship” con sists of our submission to God “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). This submission is internal (spiritual), but also physical (bodily)—even if for “body” Paul is using the more generic Greek term σῶμα rather than the more specific σάρξ, there is no doubt that he is talking here about the whole person. This submission of the human person takes place not somehow in isolation, or in parallel with Christ’s submission to the Father represented in the Eucharist, but in deep relation to it. In the Eucharist, the spiritual element

dom, bears witness to it in his works and proclaims its demands.”

St. John Paul II also noted in his apostolic letter that “it is during the years of his public ministry that the mys tery of Christ is most evidently a mystery of light: ‘While I am in the world, I am the light of the world’ (John 9:5).”

Thus, for the rosary to “become more fully a ‘compen dium of the Gospel,’” the pope considered it appropriate that there be “a meditation on certain particularly signifi cant moments in his public ministry, following reflection on the Incarnation and the hidden life of Christ (the joyful mysteries) and before focusing on the sufferings of his Passion (the sorrowful mysteries) and the triumph of his Resurrection (the glorious mysteries).”

The pope stressed that adding the Luminous Myster ies is done “without prejudice to any essential aspect of the prayer’s traditional format, is meant to give it fresh life and to enkindle renewed interest in the Rosary’s place within Christian spirituality as a true doorway to the depths of the Heart of Christ, ocean of joy and of light, of suffering and of glory.”

St. John Paul II explained that each of the mysteries of light “is a revelation of the Kingdom now present in the very person of Jesus.”

This presence is manifested in a particular way in each one of the Luminous Mysteries.

In Baptism, Christ “became ‘sin’ for our sake (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21),” the Father proclaims him the Beloved Son and the Holy Spirit “descends on him to invest him with the mission which he is to carry out.”

At the wedding at Cana, Christ, by transforming

is combined with the physical component—through the visible signs and actions, invisible, spiritual realities take place. The longings of all pre-Christian religious systems and the Old Testament dynamism of worship are being fully realized in the sacrifice of the Mass where the physical offering cannot be just an empty gesture that may (or may not) express an internal disposition of the person. The person that offers this sacrifice, Christ himself, offers to the Father both his spirit and his body, and into this process of submission in love, the Church is being invited and drawn. The two sides of the same coin, the external offering and the internal disposition, in Christ become the reality, and they are perpetuated in the gift of the Eucharist.

Worship: Reasonable, Spiritual, True Ratzinger’s understanding of the concept of λογικὴν λατρεία in Romans 12:1 is indicative of the way he understands the general relationship between ideas that originate outside of Christianity, and the divine revelation that we know from the Bible and from Tradition. Just as philosophy can prepare the ground for faith (“the God of the philosophers” is at the same time the Biblical God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), the Greek idea of “spiritual/reasonable worship” can be understood as preparation for the true worship “in spirit and in truth” that comes with the revelation of the Incarnate Logos. Christian scriptures and theol ogy take up those non-Christian concepts and ideas that point to the right direction, and they fulfill them with new meaning, the ultimate meaning that comes with Jesus Christ, the Word (Logos) of the Father.

This fulfillment does not supplement the Christian revelation with something that it would not possess otherwise; but it helps to bring out and articulate those elements that are already there, even if it not always present in an evident way, or even if not perceived with ease. The dialogue between human reason and faith takes place in all areas of theology, including in the area of the liturgy and sacraments. Catholics have been long accustomed to uniting their own offerings with the Sacrifice of the Mass. Ratzing er’s analysis of Romans 12:1 helps us to understand even more the inner relationship that exists between the sacrifice of the altar and our own spiritual of ferings that we bring to the Eucharist, so that the promised worship “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24) may become an ever fuller reality in our lives.

Mariusz Biliniewicz currently serves as Director of the Liturgy Office in the Archdiocese of Sydney, Austra lia. He has worked at the University of Notre Dame Australia as Senior Lecturer in Theology and Associate Dean of Research and Academic Development. He has studied and worked in Poland, Ireland, and Austra lia, and has spoken and published internationally on a number of theological topics. His interests include contemporary Catholic theology, liturgy, sacraments, the Second Vatican Council, intersections between ecclesiology and moral theology, faith and reason, and general systematic theology.

water into wine, “opens the hearts of the disciples to faith, thanks to the intervention of Mary, the first among believers.”

With the preaching of the kingdom and the call to conversion, Christ initiates “the ministry of mercy,” which continues through “the Sacrament of Reconciliation which he has entrusted to his Church.”

For St. John Paul II, the Transfiguration is the “mys tery of light par excellence” since “the glory of the God head shines forth from the face of Christ as the Father commands the astonished Apostles to ‘listen to him.’”

The institution of the Eucharist is also a mystery of light because “Christ offers his body and blood as food under the signs of bread and wine, and testifies ‘to the end’ his love for humanity (John 13:1), for whose salva tion he will offer himself in sacrifice.”

The Holy Father pointed out that “apart from the miracle at Cana, the presence of Mary remains in the background.” However, “the role she assumed at Cana in some way accompanies Christ throughout his ministry,” with her maternal counsel: “Do whatever he tells you (John 2:5).”

St. John Paul II considers this counsel to be “a fitting introduction to the words and signs of Christ’s public ministry and it forms the Marian foundation of all the ‘mysteries of light.’”

The pope then proposed that these mysteries of light be contemplated on Thursdays.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Ratzinger’s theology of Christ’s sacrifice is largely based on his reading of the Gospel of St. John and the Letter to the Hebrews. From Hebrews, Ratzinger takes the idea of Christ’s sacrifice being offered once and for all, at the al tar of the cross, with Christ as the new and ultimate High Priest. From John he takes the idea of Christ being also the new temple.

AB/WIKIMEDIA. GIOVANNI BELLINI (CIRCA 1430 –1516)

“ The longings of all pre-Christian religious systems and the Old Testament dynamism of worship are being fully realized in the sacrifice of the Mass.”

Four Centuries Later: A Modern Look at Introduction to the Devout Life

By Anne Koerner Simpson

December 28, 2022, marks the 400th anniversary of the death of St. Francis de Sales. As the bishop of post-Reformation Geneva, he devoted much of his time to reconverting Catholics who had embraced the heretical tenets of the Geneva-based Protestant reformer John Calvin. He accomplished a miraculous number of such conversions through his trademark style of speaking and writing the truth in charity. This gentle approach is found in tracts which he wrote and left at private residences throughout Geneva (because of his effective use of writing media, St. Francis is considered the patron saint of writers and journalists) and he effectively employed the same charitable style in the spiritual direction of souls, preaching, and hearing confessions.

Among de Sales’s works is a classic of sacred literature which has shaped the minds, hearts, and souls since its first publication in 1609, Introduction to the Devout Life. This little book is unique because it is written as a series of instructional letters to a lay woman—the wife of a wealthy courtier. “Philothea” (as de Sales addresses her in the book) is instructed on how to live the life of a holy woman in the world around her, not as a monastic might, but as a regular lady, living a regular life, having regular duties and obligations, including those she owes to her family and children. Francis instructs Philothea on how to live a devout life in a way that balances the needs and realities of ordinary life with the true call to holiness. He does this by outlining a method of living through reconciliation with God, prayer, the sacraments, and virtue.

Introduction is particularly remarkable because it was written to and for the laity, a fact which may seem commonplace today. Of course, in another sense, all who wish to achieve holiness are “Philothea” and this work is for every one of us—clergy, laity, and religious alike. But how does St. Francis de Sales’s advice to Philothea synthesize with modern life? Is a devout life also a liturgical life? How do de Sales’s instructions to be devout accord with the Second Vatican Council’s desires for liturgy to be the source and summit of all the Church’s actions? The word “devout” is something that may cause confusion to the modern audience. After Vatican II, the devotional practices of the Church were tamped down, redirected from the liturgical sphere to a private one, lending to a preference for worship rooted in liturgy.

Both/And

While Sacrosanctum Concilium states “the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the church is directed” (10), at the same time the document says that the liturgy “does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church” (9). Though the liturgy be the “font from which all her power flows” (10), at the same time, “popular devotions are to be highly commended” (13). Sacrosanctum Concilium notes that the spiritual life, while having its source in the liturgy, is not limited to the liturgy: “The Christian… must also enter unto his chamber to pray to the Father, in secret, yet more, according to the teaching of the Apostle, he should pray without ceasing” (12). This fulsome prayer life is in fact what de Sales mean by “devout life.” It does not mean simply that one practices devotions, nor is it contrary to a liturgical life.

“What is a devout life?” is answered immediately in the opening paragraphs of the book: “Genuine living devotion, Philothea, presupposes love of God, and hence it is simply true love of God. Yet it is not always love as such. Inasmuch as divine love adorns the soul, it is called grace, which makes us pleasing to his Divine Majesty. In as much as it strengthens us to do good, it is called Charity. When it has reached a degree of perfection at which it not only makes us do good but also do this carefully, frequently, and promptly, it is called devotion.”1

In other words, a devout life reflects a soul who, through love, conforms her life to God and habitually chooses the good. Charity is the source of devotion. De Sales writes, “Charity and devotion differ no more from one another than does flame from the fire. Charity is a spiritual fire and when it bursts into flames it is called devotion. Hence devotion adds nothing to the fire of charity except the flame that makes charity prompt, active, and diligent not only to observe God’s commandments but also to fulfill his

heavenly counsels and inspirations.”2

The foundational paragraphs of Introduction clearly express that a devout life is a life rooted in prayer and sacraments which then out of habitual charity lives a life of virtue, transforming the soul into union with God. This is applicable to all persons, no matter their state in life. De Sales’s term, “devout,” should in no way be associated with something contrary to modern ideas of a sacramental, liturgical life. These truly are the same. To illustrate this further, his methods for achieving a devout life should be examined.

Steps to Christ

The first step in the method is the choosing of Christ. This seems the simplest of all things but is profound in action because the turning of one’s life toward the open arms of Jesus Christ is simultaneously the turning away from and rejection of a life of sin. De Sales details a process of purgation of the soul whereby a series of meditations draws the heart to step into God’s grace and live without reproach. This section culminates in instruction for sacramental confession.

Once the soul has turned toward God and turned away from sin and the attachments to sin, the second part of this method is the life of prayer. “Just as little children learn to speak by listening to their mothers and lisping words with them, so also by keeping close to our Savior in meditation and observing his words, actions, and affections we learn by his grace to speak, act, and will like him.”3 He says the subject of our meditations should be the life and passion of Christ. “His life and death are the most fitting, sweet, wonderful and profitable subject that we can choose for our ordinary meditations.”4

Prayer is divided into vocal prayer and mental prayer. In addition to classic vocal prayers in Latin, he encourages the learning of these prayers in the vernacular so that one may meditate upon them and understand them better. He lauds the rosary as a useful prayer when recited properly, taking care to learn the method of recitation through the “little books that teach us the way to recite it.”5 In both ways, he does encourage the intelligent worship that was the desire of the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

Towards the end of this rich second part on the subject of prayer is a section on the attendance at Holy Mass. While it seems to be the third step in his method, it is clear by his writing that this is truly the source and summit of the devout life. “Thus far I have said nothing of the sum of all spiritual exercises—the most of divine charity, the mystery in which God really gives himself and gloriously communicates his graces and favors to us. Prayer made in union with this divine sacrifice has inestimable power, Philothea, so that by it the soul overflows with heavenly favors… make every effort therefore to assist every day at holy Mass so that together with the priest you may offer up the sacrifice of your Redeemer to God his father for yourself and for the whole church.”6

December 28, 2022, marks the 400th anniversary of the death of St. Francis de Sales. As the bishop of post-Refor mation Geneva, he devoted much of his time to reconvert ing Catholics who had embraced the tenets of the Genevabased Protestant reformer John Calvin. He accomplished a miraculous number of such conversions through his trade mark style of speaking and writing the truth in charity.

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It was not a common practice during St. Francis de Sales’s time to receive communion frequently. Not until Pius X pub lished his 1905 decree Sacra Tridentina was frequent communion encouraged such as we practice it today. Yet Francis de Sales was a supporter of at least weekly communion, if not more frequently, according to the individual and his spiritual director. It was de Sales’s view that reception of this sacramental food which nourishes and sustains the soul should not be denied if the soul is in the state of grace to receive it.

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It is notable that de Sales encourages Philothea to attend daily Mass, and to offer herself in union with Christ and in supplication for the whole Church. He outlines the proper way to attend Mass by offering preparation in union with the priest, including sorrow for sins, and throughout the Mass by meditating on the life of Christ, resolving to live a life in union with Christ and obedience to his Church, meditating upon his death and recognizing that during the anaphora of the Mass the mysteries of the passion and death “are actually and essentially represented in this Holy Sacrifice. Together with the priest and the rest of the people you will offer them to God the Father for his honor and for your own salvation…. [S]trive to excite a thousand desires in your heart and ardently wish to be joined and united forever to our Savior in everlasting love.”7 Then after communion he details an act of thanksgiving.

Prophetic Piety

Bear in mind, the historical context of the Mass at this time did not avail laity to have the words of the Mass such as the small personal missals provided during the 20th century. His idea of directing Philothea’s thoughts to the sacred action in union with the priest was unique for the time. A great pastor of souls, he outlines how to attend Mass with purposeful intention, understanding that our participation in it is in union with the sacrifice of Christ being offered. There is no conflict here between de Sales’s Introduction and our current practice of liturgy. St. Francis prophetically promotes the idea of intelligent worship which is the cornerstone of Sacrosactum Concilium. The Council fathers were emphatic about this point in their document on the liturgy: “The Church, therefore, earnestly desires that Christ’s faithful, when present at this mystery of faith, should not be there as strangers or silent spectators; on the contrary, though a good understanding of the rites and prayers they should take part in the sacred action conscious of what they are doing, with devotion and full collaboration” (48).

It was also not a common practice during de Sales’s time to receive communion frequently. Not until Pius X published his 1905 decree Sacra Tridentina was frequent communion encouraged such as we practice it today. Yet Francis de Sales was a supporter of at least weekly communion, if not more frequently, according to the individual and his spiritual director. Such open encouragement for frequent communion was uncommon at the time. But it was de Sales’s view that reception of this sacramental food which nourishes and sustains the soul should not be denied if the soul is in the state of grace to receive it. For this reason, he also encouraged the laity to avail themselves of weekly confessions before reception of communion. Eloquently and emphatically, he defends this practice of frequent communion. He writes: “If worldly people ask you why you receive communion so often, tell them that it is to learn the love of God, to be purified from your imperfections, delivered from misery, comforted in affliction, and supported in weakness. Tell them that two classes of people should communicate frequently: the perfect, because being well disposed they would be very much to blame if they did not approach the source and fountain of perfection, and the imperfect, so that they rightly strive for perfection; The strong lest they become weak, and the weak that they may become

Continued from BRUYERE, page 5

5. Ibid., 280.

6. To illustrate this point, when Guéranger died before finishing several volumes of The Liturgical Year, the monk charged with completing the series, Dom Lucien Fromage, submitted every page of the volumes he wrote to Bruyère to review whether they remained faithful to the spirit of Guéranger’s thought.

7. Ibid., 326.

8. Ibid., 225. As evidence of her influence, Dom Fernand Cabrol, the famous li turgical scholar and co-editor of the Dictionnaire d’archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie, said he never forgot the letter he received from her at his profession: “Assuredly you will not yet comprehend all the grandeur of this life that goes on blossoming and expanding into eternity, but its base rests solidly upon Christ, Who is its foundation and its Crown.”

9. Ibid., 225.

10. See ibid., 238-241; Pierre Pourrat, Christian Spirituality trans. Donald Attwa ter (Westminster, MD: Newman Press, 1955), 499-501.

11. Oury, Light and Strength, 292.

12. Ibid., 291.

especially at Sunday vespers, saying that “there is always more benefit and consolation to be derived from the public offices of the Church than from private, particular acts. God has ordained that communion in prayer must always be preferred to every form of private prayer.”9 Sacrosanctum Concilium concurs that liturgical prayer is of primary importance by saying, “every liturgical action, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of His Body, which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others” (7), and also, “pastors of souls should see to it that the chief hours, especially Vespers, are celebrated in common in church on Sundays and the more solemn feasts. And the laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office” (100).

Live into Jesus

Among St. Francis de Sales’s works is a classic of sacred literature which has shaped the minds, hearts, and souls since its first publication in 1609, Introduction to the Devout Life. Introduction is particularly remarkable because it was written to and for the laity, a fact which may seem common place today. But how does St. Francis de Sales’s advice to Philothea synthesize with modern life? Is a devout life also a liturgical life? How do de Sales’s instructions to be devout accord with the Second Vatican Council’s desires for liturgy to be the source and summit of all the Church’s actions?

strong; The sick that they may be restored to health, and the healthy less they fall sick.”

Furthermore, de Sales adds, “Tell them that for your part you are imperfect, weak, and sick and need to communicate frequently with him who is your perfection, strength, and physician. Tell them that those who do not have many worldly affairs

The remainder of the book is dedicated to leading a virtuous life with extensive instruction in virtue, advice such as counsel against temptations, instructions for devotional practice, true Christian friendship, modesty in speech, how to deal with anxiety, and instructions for various states in life, to name merely a few. The third part is the largest part of the book because a robustly lived Christian ethos is the hardest part of the devout life. Prayer and liturgy adhere to a formula: but life is messy. While the modern reader may find some of his analogies antiquated, the enduring truth he puts forth rises above his somewhat dated style and shows itself to be quite applicable, wise, and undying in eternal truths. This is the very definition of a classic of sacred literature.

to look after ought to communicate often because they have leisure to do so and those who have great undertakings because they have need to do so, since one whose labor is hard and is weighed down with troubles should eat solid food and do so frequently, tell them that you received the Blessed Sacrament often so as to learn how to receive it well, for we hardly do an action well which we do not practice often.”

He continues: “Go often to communion, Philothea, as often as you can with the advice of your spiritual director. And, believe me, just as hares in our mountains become white in winter because they neither see nor eat anything but snow, so by adoring and eating beauty, purity and goodness itself in this divine sacrament you will become wholly beautiful, wholly good, and wholly pure.”8

Regarding the Divine Office, he says Philothea should assist at the hours whenever possible,

13. Ibid., 294.

14. Cécile Bruyère, O.S.B., The Spiritual Life and Prayer According to Holy Scripture and the Monastic Tradition, trans. The Benedictines of Stanbrook (reprint: Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2002), 1.

15. She poetically extols the beauty of living out one’s baptism: “To live in the thought of our Baptism, of the nobility which it has conferred upon us, of the energies with which it has endowed us, of the obligations which it has imposed upon us, and to be ever striving more perfectly to fulfill these obligations—all this constitutes in itself a very extensive and important outline of perfection,” Bruyeré, The Spiritual Life and Prayer, 53-54. This theme is treated in a profound way in David Fagerberg, Liturgical Mysticism (Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Academic, 2019).

16. Bruyère, The Spiritual Life and Prayer, 52.

17. See The Spirit of Solesmes, ed. Mary David Totah, O.S.B., 2nd ed. (Hereford shire, UK: Gracewing, 2016), 150; The Spiritual Life and Prayer, 5-8.

18. The Spiritual Life and Prayer, 144.

19. Bruyère’s use of the imagery of liturgical prayer as a hymn of praise sung by Christ the Word as the “unique Cantor who gives a voice to the entire creation” anticipates language used in the Second Vatican Council’s

The exclamatory phrase “Live Jesus” serves as bookends in the text, appearing in the dedicatory prayer and in the very last paragraph, as the final sentiments of this holy bishop. “Vivre Jésu! Vivre Jésu!”—a motto for Christian living, a battle cry, a triumphal song. What does it mean for the soul to live Jesus? “Live Jesus” is to conform ourselves to him, becoming one with him by our sacramental life, divinized into the Holy Trinity. Introduction to the Devout Life is an instruction manual for “Live Jesus!” whereby a soul must first conform to Christ by turning away from sin, seeking reconciliation with the Father through Christ, and entering union with God through a life of charity rooted in prayer, frequent reception of Holy Communion and Confession, obedience to one’s state in life, and the virtuous life which is borne through this living charity in the soul. While Introduction to the Devout Life is now over 400 years old, it is still applicable to modern lives, to liturgical lives, and to a post-Vatican II Church. It is a timeless classic full of truth and prophetic wisdom, accounting for deep spiritual probing of the heart, instructions for intelligent worship, and frequency of sacraments. “Live Jesus!” is a choice and invitation—live Jesus in me, through my lived experience of liturgy, study, prayer, and charity. Live Jesus through my life lived in Jesus, through Jesus and with Jesus, that I may say with St. Paul in Galatians 2:20, “it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.”

Anne Koerner Simpson, musician and mother of five, has spent the last 20 years serving on the parish level as Director of Music and holds a Master of Arts in Liturgy from the Liturgical Institute, Mundelein, IL.

1. Saint Francis De Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, trans. John K Ryan (Doubleday, NY: Doubleday, 1972), 40.

2. Ibid., 41.

3. Ibid., 81.

4. Ibid., 82.

5. Ibid., 83.

6. Ibid., 103.

7. Ibid., 104.

8. Ibid., 118-19.

9. Ibid., 105.

theology of the Divine Office in paragraph 83 and The General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours, paragraph 16. See The Spirit of Solesmes, 170.

20. The Spirit of Solesmes, 170.

21. The notion of an assimilation to the mysteries of Christ through the liturgy is a central theme in the spiritual writings of her contemporary, Abbot Co lumba Marmion O.S.B, particularly when she writes that “happy the souls that know how to work the treasure contained in the sacred liturgy, and this not for the sake of loving it with a sterile and purely external love, but that they may draw into themselves and reproduce the symbols and the forms which contain realities so full of life.” See The Spiritual Life and Prayer, 432.

22. Ibid., 409.

23. Ibid., 413.

24. Oury, Light and Strength, 250.

25. The Liturgical Movement, Popular Liturgical Library, series IV, number 3 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1930) 7, 9.

26. Oury, Light and Strength, 239.

27. Ibid., 388.

28. The Spirit of Solesmes, 237.

“St. Francis prophetically promotes the idea of intelligent worship which is the cornerstone of Sacrosactum Concilium.”

“ While Introduction to the Devout Life is now over 400 years old, it is still applicable to modern lives, to liturgical lives, and to a postVatican II Church.”

Cluny Media Offers a Slow-Motion Replay of Father Knox Book on the Mass

By Joseph Tuttle

The Mass in Slow Motion by Ronald Knox. Providence, Rhode Island: Cluny Media, 2022. 130 pp. ISBN: 9781685950736 $19.95 paperback; $12.95 digital.

Cluny Media has republished one of the more inci sive books by the legendary English convert and apologist for the Catholic faith, Father Ronald Knox. This book, The Mass in Slow Motion (originally published in 1948), is a series of sermons given to a group of young women attending the convent school of the Assumption Sisters in Aldenham Park, England. (The Mass in Slow Motion is also the first of Fr. Knox’s “Slow Motion” series, which includes The Creed in Slow Motion (1949) and The Gospel in Slow Motion (1950).) Because of the relatively young age of his audience, the language of the book is not very sophisticated but is still readable and enjoyable for an older audience. These reflections on the Tridentine Mass (the only form of the Mass available at the time Father Knox was writing) are personal reflec

tions rather than a strictly liturgical explanation of what each part of the Mass means and represents. He states at the beginning and throughout the book that he is not an expert in the liturgy nor does he pretend to be one.

Father Knox was originally an Anglican and con verted to the Catholic faith in 1917. His conversion was in part due to the “Apostle of Common Sense,” G. K. Chesterton, who was himself an Anglican at the time. After converting to the Catholic faith, Knox was ordained to the priesthood in 1918. Chesterton would convert in 1922 and attributed it in part to Father Knox’s initial conversion. He was a chaplain at Oxford Univer sity from 1926-1939. He died of terminal cancer in 1957. Father Knox is largely known for translating the Vulgate into a beautiful English edition, apologetical writings, and detective fiction.

Throughout The Mass in Slow Motion, Father Knox makes numerous comical references to the little things that sometimes take place at Mass: someone sitting in your favorite pew; the altar server not knowing what exactly he is to do; and Father Knox himself trying to

chant the Ite, missa est at the end of a High Mass. Father Knox’s approach is similar to that of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen—like this other great Catholic evangelist, Father Knox uses humor to lighten the mood before delving into a deeper theological issue or topic.

One of the key elements running through the book is Knox’s view that the Mass is a type of “dance.” This idea originally came from Father Robert Hugh Ben son’s book, Papers of a Pariah (1907). (Father Benson is another well-known Catholic convert and powerful apologist for the faith.) Father Knox clarifies, however, that this dance is not the typical dance we think of: “Of course that sounds like nonsense to you, because what you mean by a dance is the wireless in the hall playing revolting stuff and you lounging around in pairs and feeling all gooey. But dancing when it first started meant something and nearly always something religious.” He explains that all the actions at Mass (some of which may seem strange) are actually expressing a religious idea to the onlookers.

New Ascension Book About Solemnities Draws Catholics Deeper into Prayer

By Rick Dooley

The liturgical celebrations of the Church reach back to her earliest days—and have their roots in the liturgical life of the Old Testament. When Catholics attend the liturgy, they are drawn up into eternity, and the mysteries of salvation history are made present to the faithful in the celebration, where we pray before the throne of God in commu nion with all the saints and angels from across time.

Many engaged Catholics may not explicitly know this about the Church’s prayer life, but they instinc tively know it at some level and certainly desire such a spiritual connection with the past. The popularity of Ascension’s The Great Adventure series of Scripture studies, The Great Adventure Catholic Bible, and the Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) podcast have shown, time and again, that Catholics who take their faith seriously seek out that connectivity. The ap proach of these catechetical tools is one that draws Catholics into the story—salvation history is their

story. The actions of God in our world are not con signed to thousands of years ago, to people halfway around the world, but God’s activity continues to be present in the lives of believers every day. God’s ac tions, as recorded in the Scriptures and the annals of Church history, do not only belong to the ages of the past—they belong to the Church in every age. They witness to us. The people of God become our people. The family of God becomes our family. This vibrancy feeds the lives of Catholics across the world.

This concern for connecting the prayer life of Catholics with the greater Church is part of what fed Ascension’s decision to commission Solemnities: Celebrating a Tapestry of Divine Beauty. The Solem nities are the greatest feasts in the life of the Church wherein we celebrate God’s saving actions in history through his revealed truths and the lives and wit ness of those who have gone before us in faith. In celebrating the Solemnities, Catholics are present to many of the Church’s most profound mysteries and connect the Church today with the people and events of the past. The uptick in interest in liturgical living seen in recent years indicates this desire to find some further way to connect with the past, to stay close to those important events and people that make up our Catholic patrimony and family.

Of course, the primary way to enter into these mysteries is through active participation in the

liturgy. A natural outgrowth of this active participa tion is indeed liturgical living. Our Faith needs to be practiced for more than simply an hour on Sunday— it must be integrated into our very lives. In this way, we can better learn how to fast and feast with the Church.

To help Catholics better access these mysteries of the Solemnities, Ascension set out to produce a book that would do three very important things: (1) explain what is being celebrated, (2) facilitate authen tic prayerfulness conducive to each Solemnity, and (3) suggest how the Solemnity might be celebrated in deeply rooted ways beyond attending Mass or pray ing the Hours.

To ensure a truly enriching resource, Ascension reached out to Jesse Weiler, then director of The Liturgical Institute at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein, IL. Weiler connected Ascen sion with the three authors: Chris Carstens, Alexis Kutarna, and Denis McNamara. Ascension’s editors divided up the treatment of the Solemnities into three articles for each of the 17 Solemnities of the Roman Rite, corresponding respectively to the three above-stated goals. The result was a beautiful and inspiring volume that will bless the lives of Catholics for years to come.

The first goal—explaining each Solemnity—was achieved with an entry describing the biblical or historical genesis of the Solemnity or its celebration, tying the reader to the richness of Catholic tradition. The liturgical and spiritual background of the par ticular Solemnity is also addressed in the first article

for each Solemnity, giving the reader a well-rounded understanding of the celebration. This article was authored by Carstens, who, in addition to being the editor of Adoremus Bulletin, is the director of the Of fice for Sacred Worship in the Diocese of La Crosse, WI, and a visiting faculty member of the Liturgical Institute.

Beauty was an important factor when creating this book so that the glory of the subject being celebrated could worthily be expressed. Therefore, to achieve the second goal of facilitating prayerfulness, Ascension strove to incorporate beautiful sacred artwork from as early as the 13th century up to our current 21st cen tury. Pieces from both Eastern and Western traditions were selected. Each image is displayed in a full-page spread (a sizable 9x10.5”) alongside commentary on the image on the accompanying page. The under standing behind the symbolism in these pieces of art will support prayerful meditation upon the myster ies depicted therein. McNamara, executive director of the Center for Beauty and Culture at Benedictine College, Atchison, KS, was a natural fit to author this section with his background as an expert in sacred architecture, with a PhD in architectural history, and extensive experience speaking about beauty, culture, and the liturgy.

The third section containing suggestions of how the Solemnity might be celebrated is critically steeped in Catholic culture and history. Rather than gener ate new ways to celebrate the Solemnities, Ascension endeavored to draw the reader into the history of these celebrations so that they can have that sense of connectivity to what is being celebrated. This sec tion describes how the Church has celebrated the Solemnity in history as well as what has been done in various cultures around the world. Then it suggests how those ancient or traditional celebrations might be applied in a family or community. This often in cludes an associated prayer or hymn. The observation of the Solemnity by the faithful is enriched by a more robust celebration steeped in the rich history of the Church. The extensive research and writing for these articles was completed by Kutarna, a PhD candidate in liturgical studies and a musician whose career has featured extensive practical experience in sacred mu sic ministry.

The work of these three authors has been woven together into a beautiful and inspiring book. Solemni ties: Celebrating a Tapestry of Divine Beauty is avail able at AscensionPress.com/Solemnities.

Rick Dooley is a Product Manager at Ascension. Prior to his work at Ascension, Rick served the Diocese of Allentown, PA, as Director of Adult Catechesis and Formation and earned a Master’s degree in Theology from the Augustine Institute.

“God’s actions, as recorded in the Scriptures and the annals of Church history, do not only belong to the ages of the past—they belong to the Church in every age.”

“

The uptick in interest in liturgical living seen in recent years indicates a desire to find some further way to connect with the past.”

A: Eucharistic Prayers II, III, and IV were written in the 20th century for the Roman Missal of 1969 based on traditional models. They were each written as a single narrative with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Eucharistic Prayer I has a different origin and a different structure. This is reflected in the repeated occurrence of the phrase “Through Christ our Lord. Amen.” throughout the prayer. Four of these occurrences became optional in 1969. The fifth and final occurrence is still required because it leads directly to the conclusion of the prayer itself: “…but granting us your pardon, through Christ our Lord. Through whom you continue….”

Eucharistic Prayer I, the Roman Canon, appears to have been assembled from a number of independent prayers which were brought together over time. Some of the earliest units in Eucharistic Prayer I go back at least to the fourth century, if not earlier. Other parts were added to the original form of the prayer. For example, the Sanctus seems to have been added to the prayer by the middle of the fifth century. The sections which begin “In communion…” and “To us, also, your servants…” were probably added during the time of Pope Gelasius at the end of the fifth century. It also appears that the sections which commemorate the living and the dead, both of which begin “Remember Lord your servants…,” were used occasionally as special inserts whenever the circumstances warranted their use. Over time, they begin to be used during all celebrations of Mass. These additional sections to the Eucharistic Prayer ended with “Through Christ our Lord,” as all prayers normally do. These words testify to the Church’s faith that all prayer addressed to God the Father is offered through the ministry of Christ the High Priest. In the Middle Ages, due largely to the force of habit, the custom arose of the priest celebrant spontaneously (it seems) adding “Amen” to each of the phrases, “Through Christ our Lord.” The word “Amen” at these various points eventually became a formal part of the Roman Canon.

Until 1967, the Roman Canon was said in a low voice by the priest and was not heard at all by the faithful. Once this Eucharistic Prayer began to be heard by all those present, it was thought that the repetition “Through Christ our Lord. Amen.” broke up the narrative unity of the prayer. It was argued that these endings made the Roman Canon sound like a collection of five unrelated prayers rather than one single prayer of praise and intercession. That is why the decision was taken to make four of the five occurrences of “Through Christ our Lord. Amen” optional (which is why the words appear in parentheses). Whenever a celebrant exercises the option to include that phrase when praying the Roman Canon, the entire phrase is recited out loud by the celebrant alone, including the word “Amen.” The faithful offer their “Amen” at the very conclusion of the Eucharistic prayer, in response to the doxology, “Through him, and with him, and in him….”

—Answered by Msgr. Marc Caron Diocese of Portland, ME

THE RITE QUESTIONS

or which becomes hard too soon and cannot immedi ately be eaten, should be completely avoided.

Recall that the Church speaks of the constituent parts of her sacraments—such as matter and form—in terms of validity and liceity. In terms of sacramental matter, valid matter is necessary for the sacrament to be a real, actual presentation of Christ and his saving grace; invalid matter renders the sacrament null and void. Licit matter is not only valid material for use in a particular sacrament (e.g., water at baptism), but also adheres to the other ecclesial laws concerning it (e.g., it is also “natural and clean” [General Introduc tion to Christian Initiation, 18]); illicit matter does not nullify the sacrament, even though its use is contrary to Church law. Ultimately, both valid and licit matter make Christ present and active in the most efficacious and fruitful way.

For validity, only wheat (grain from the genus Triti cum) may be used in the bread. St. Thomas Aquinas argued that if a small quantity of another grain be mixed with a much greater quantity of wheat, bread made from that mixture would be valid matter. This apparently comes from a lack of availability in the Middle Ages to obtain 100% pure wheat flour. In a 1929 instruction, the Apostolic See clarified that bread made of any substance other than wheat is invalid matter, as is bread to which has been added such a great quantity of another substance that it can no longer be considered wheat bread in the common esti mation. Nonetheless, a further instruction from 1980 notes that no other ingredients are to be added to the wheaten flour and water, and current canon law notes that only (mere) wheat is to be used; therefore, current law is that only pure wheat flour with no additives or other grains present is valid matter. It would be a grave abuse to introduce other substances, such as fruit, sugar, or honey, into altar bread since this bread would be invalid matter according to current norms.

If the bread has spoiled so much that the continu ity of its parts is destroyed, and the taste, color, and other accidents are changed, such bread would also be invalid. However, Thomas notes that if the bread has spoiled but not so much as to as to alter the species, but merely to be disposed towards corruption, this bread is valid but illicit (nonetheless, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, such bread is sinful to use because of irreverence [see STh, IIIa, q. 74, a. 3]). At least one early 20th-century instruction from the Apostolic See condemned obtaining a sufficient amount of altar bread to last for two or three months, and some commentators note that the requirement of celebrat ing Mass at least twice a month in those places where the Eucharist is reserved indicates that the altar bread might spoil after two weeks. With the modern manu facture of altar bread and the use of refrigeration or freezing, this time period should now be considered extended; however, climate, especially humidity, plays a large part in keeping the altar bread fresh.

In the Latin Church, unleavened bread is required for liceity. In the Eastern Churches, leavened bread is required for liceity. In the Decretals of Gregory IX that formed part of medieval canon law, priests should be punished “for presuming to celebrate using fermented bread.” Valid and licit matter should always be used, apart from extreme necessity. As previously noted, illicit matter, while valid, goes against the laws and rubrics and should always be avoided.

does not give rise to excessive fragments, and does not offend the sensibilities of the faithful when they eat it. The 2004 Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum notes that small hosts requiring no further fraction ought customarily to be used for the most part.

No treatment of altar bread would be complete without considering low-gluten altar breads. It must first be stated that altar bread that is completely gluten-free is invalid matter for the Eucharist, since gluten is considered a constituent part of wheat bread. However, low-gluten hosts (partially gluten-free) are valid matter, provided they contain a sufficient amount of gluten to obtain the confection of bread without the addition of foreign materials and without the use of procedures that would alter the nature of bread. These breads are considered to be made from wheat starch (that is, wheat flour from which much of the gluten has been removed). As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops notes, the sufficient amount of gluten necessary for validity in such bread is not determined by minimum percentage or weight. A brief survey of low-gluten hosts available have less than 20 parts per million of gluten (which, since 2013, has been the FDA threshold in the United States for the label of “gluten-free”). Priests and others must be very careful to purchase only low-gluten hosts made of only wheat and water (which may be advertised as “gluten-free”) and not wheat-free hosts made with rice or potato starch (which would be invalid matter).

While previous norms required the presentation of a medical certificate to one’s ordinary to receive permission to use low-gluten hosts, such presentation is no longer required. One’s ordinary is competent to give permission for an individual priest or layperson to use low-gluten hosts. Permission can be granted habitually, for as long as the situation continues which occasioned the granting of permission. The authority to permit the lay faithful to use low-gluten hosts may be delegated to pastors under canon 137 §1 of the Code of Canon Law.

The fact that permission must be given by one’s ordinary or his delegate should not be overlooked; for, common practice in the United States seems to be that anyone who wants to receive a low-gluten host can receive one without permission being granted. Ordi naries should be attentive to the requirements and, as some dioceses have done, delegate the permission to a priest with knowledge of celiac disease, gluten intolerance, and sacramental theology or, at the very least, train pastors in proper procedures and delegate pastors to give permission. The concern about cross contamination of gluten should not be overlooked and it would seem part of the reason permission is to be given is to inform the communicant about the procedures in place.

Ensuring proper valid matter for the Eucharist is an important task. The 2017 Circular Letter to Bishops on the Bread and Wine for the Eucharist noted that altar bread should obviously be made by those who are not only distinguished by their integrity, but also skilled in making them and furnished with suitable tools.

A: Over the years, questions have arisen about the validity of the bread used for the celebra tion of the Mass. The 1983 Code of Canon Law in canon 924 §2 requires that the “bread must be only wheat and recently made so that there is no danger of spoiling.” The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) clarifies that, according to the ancient tradition of the Latin Church, the bread must be unleavened. The GIRM goes on to say that diligent care should be taken to ensure that the bread intended for the Eucharist is kept in a perfect state of conserva tion, meaning that the bread is not spoiled or has be come too hard to be broken easily. The Apostolic See instructed that bread which tastes like unbaked flour

Much has been written about the GIRM’s require ment that the material for the Eucharistic celebration truly have the appearance of food and that the altar bread be fashioned in such a way that the priest is truly able to break it into parts and distribute these to at least some of the faithful. Over the years, the Apostolic See has attempted to clarify this by indicat ing that the “appearance” of bread applies to its color, taste, and texture rather than to its form or shape. As one instruction from the Apostolic See puts it, “This [actual food] is to be understood as linked to the consistency of the bread, and not to its form, which remains the traditional one” (1980 Instruction Inæstimabile Donum). This “traditional form” refers to either small hosts for the communion of the faithful or a larger form of host which is then to be broken into sections. The Apostolic See is careful to note that when manufacturing altar bread, the preparation requires attentive care to ensure that the product does not detract from the dignity due to the Eucharistic bread, that it can be broken in a dignified way, that it

MEMORIAL FOR

Father Paul Carey from Dr. Luana Pesco Koplowitz

William J. Doyle from Spouse

Deceased Fernandez Family Members from Raymond and Christine Fernandez

Maria Martino from son Robert

Msgr. Richard Schuler from Jean Ann Haskell

Francis Slade from Ann Hartle

Genevieve D. Browne from Msgr. Ronald T. Browne

Daniel and Barbara Kasel Family

—Answered

by Father Alan Guanella Diocese of La Crosse, WI

: What is the origin—and proper use—of the mul tiple insertions of “Through Christ our Lord. Amen.” in the Roman Canon?

: What are the liturgical laws concerning altar breads?

Insight in Sight

Father Knox begins his study of the Mass by focusing on the introductory Psalm 42, Judica me Deus. He believes that the introductory psalm is about a Levite—a priest of the Jewish Temple—who was unjustly accused of a crime and banished. In the end, Father Knox concludes, the priest is justified by God who knows the truth of the matter. Once the priest is exonerated, he returns to his country to minister to his people. This histori cal background helps us understand why this psalm is a particularly fitting prayer for the priest to recite as he begins Mass.

Father Knox proceeds to examine many of the dif ferent parts of the liturgy, including the Introit, Gloria, Creed, Collects, Offertory, the Secret prayer, and more. Of particular note is his analysis of the moment the priest kisses the altar. Here, according to Father Knox, the priest is venerating the relics of saints placed within the altar stone. The author explains that this veneration of the relics calls to mind the early Christians celebrating Mass in the catacombs on the tombs of saints and mar tyrs. Father Knox writes that many think this practice is even mentioned in the book of Revelation when St. John describes how “When [the Lamb] broke open the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the witness they bore to the word of God” (6:9).

In his introductory remarks about the Mass, Father Knox reminds us that the Mass is not merely a series of words prayed but is a series of words and actions: “the Mass is actions as well as words, in fact the whole time it is suiting the actions to the words.” Because humans are body-soul composites, the Mass is a composite of actions and prayers as well. Problems arise, however, when we fail to recognize this composite in a balanced way. Modernism, for instance, denies the spiritual aspect of man, while those with an erroneous sense of piety may see the body as “dirty” or “unworthy,” denying the physical aspect of humanity. But we know, since God, after creating the physical world, called it “good,” that all of creation is good. This truth is also underscored by the liturgy itself. For, in the liturgy, God takes mat ter—bread, wine, incense, mosaics, and the stone and wood that make up a church—and transforms them into something spiritual, even while retaining their physi cal qualities. Bread and wine are transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ while retaining the accidents of bread and wine. Wood, stones, and other materials are made into the church building represent ing the Heavenly Jerusalem here on earth. In this way, all of creation gives praise to God through the liturgy.

Priestly Users Guide

Father Knox’s reflections on the Mass are particularly pertinent for priests. He explains the immense sense of unworthiness that the priest feels at different mo ments of the Mass, noting that he is but an instrument of Christ, an instrument of the Church. As Knox says in his introduction: “He must think of himself as an inconsiderable unit of this great army whose whole cause now, all the multitudinous needs of the Church of God, he proceeds to recommend to God....” Continu ing, he also states that often Holy Communion can seem like an interruption for the priest, but he points out its significance: “As for the Communion of the Faithful—at least if there are many—how difficult it is not to feel this as an interruption in ‘my Mass’! But of course there is no such thing as ‘my Mass’; we are ministers before we are priests, and it is for us to wait (hours, if need be) on our ministering.” During Mass and indeed all the celebra tions of the sacraments, the priest acts in persona Christi Regardless of how unworthy the priest may be, he can celebrate the sacraments by the fact of his ordination.

Another point that Knox emphasizes is that the Mass is a corporate action of the people and the priest. During offertory, the people present to the priest the wine and bread for consecration as their gifts to the Church. The priest then takes the prayers of the people

and their gifts and presents them to God. Although he does not explicitly say it, Knox is here referring to the people’s active participation (mainly their interior par ticipation) in the sacred liturgy. Knox makes it a point to say that the congregation should not only bring to God those things that are bad but also those things that are good. He says that Catholics so often speak of “offer ing up” pains and sufferings but never think to offer up their joys and blessings as well. This makes perfect sense considering that the Mass is a Eucharistic sacrifice. The Greek word transliterated to eucharist literally means a “thank offering” which stems from the thank offer ings of the Old Testament. To fill out the picture of this “thank offering,” Father Knox uses the typical example of the people placing all their prayers and offerings on the priest’s paten to be united with his offering.

While discussing this aspect of the liturgy, Father Knox makes an important distinction between what takes place during Mass and during Benediction. He writes, “What you come to Mass for isn’t to worship Jesus Christ present in the Sacrament of the Altar; that isn’t Mass, that’s Benediction. You come to Mass to offer Jesus Christ with the priest, and to offer yourself to God with Jesus Christ and as a part of Jesus Christ.” While Eucharistic adoration is an important complement to the sacred liturgy, it is not the primary expression of worship in the Church. The primary expression is found in Mass, the re-presenting of the sacrifice that Christ made of himself on Calvary, which we take part in at Mass.

Throughout his reflections, Father Knox mentions how many of the prayers of the liturgy, especially the Psalms, often speak of the righteousness of the people of God. Upon further reflection, however, he states that all the people of God are in fact sinners. Put simply, we are all unworthy to receive our Lord in Holy Communion. We are not as righteous as the prayers claim we should be. Father Knox mentions that he himself is a sinner as indeed all men are sinners (See Romans 3:9-12)—if we are being honest with ourselves and others. Father Knox explains that God makes us worthy by his grace to re ceive him. We have no right to receive him, but because of Christ’s redemptive Passion, death, and resurrection, we can and do.

Mass Made Simple

The favorite part of the Mass for Father Knox is the “Our Father.” Being a gifted translator, he explains that when

Jesus taught his disciples to pray the “Our Father” and mentions how the heathens pray, the original Greek is often translated into English as “vain repetitions.” Father Knox says that this may seem strange considering that Catholics pray the “Our Father” numerous times a day. Even priests and religious usually pray the “Our Father” at least three times a day (Morning Prayer, Mass, and Evening Prayer).

But Father Knox offers a different translation. He sees the Greek saying, “Do not use many Phrases.” In his explanation of this alternative translation, he writes “I think it’s a warning against saying complicated sort of prayers and expecting them to be effective because they are complicated, which is what the heathen did.” The pagans would often use sophisticated language thinking it would gain more favor with their deities. For Father Knox, the “Our Father” is the best prayer to be said because it asks for everything that a man needs and asks for God’s protection from evil and temptations without using long and wordy phrases.

Father Knox emphasizes the importance of active participation in the liturgy in a number of ways. He greatly encourages the reader to use pew missals with English translations of the Mass parts. He even says that he wished certain parts of the Low Mass were done out loud so that people could hear the beautiful prayers. The sermons he presents are mainly to help the reader delve deeper into understanding the Mass and to better partic ipate in it. He critiques those who say devotional prayers throughout Mass and says that his sermons are “for those who like to follow the liturgy.” In other words, he is speaking to those who actively participate at Mass—or want to. In these observations, Father Knox appears to be adopting the perspective of the great Liturgical Move ment thinkers, for whom a true understanding of active participation at Mass was a kind of first principle of their approach to the liturgy.

Likewise, more than two decades after Father Knox was writing, the Second Vatican Council’s document on the liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, emphasized the importance of active participation in the liturgy: “Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active par ticipation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy. Such participation by the Christian people as ‘a chosen race, a royal priest hood, a holy nation, a redeemed people’ (1 Peter 2:9; cf. 2:4-5), is their right and duty by reason of their baptism” (14). The fruitfulness of the grace one receives at Mass is conditioned upon the degree to which one is actively and consciously participating in the Mass. Father Knox’s The Mass in Slow Motion can greatly help in the active participation of the Mass, in either its preconciliar or postconciliar forms.

In addition, this book is an important aid to help those who know little to nothing about the preconciliar form of the Mass and are looking for a primer on the subject. Father Knox gives the reader a window into the celebration of the preconciliar Mass without getting into the technical liturgical language common to textbooks. For this reason, the book is a good read for younger audiences—which shouldn’t be a surprise since it was a young audience that he addressed these sermons to in the first place. Of course, many of the principles laid forth by Father Knox pertain equally to both forms of the Roman Rite. While both celebrations vary to some degree, the theology of the Mass presented by Father Knox is the same. Overall, The Mass in Slow Motion is a brief and enjoyable read on the Mass.

Joseph Tuttle is a Catholic freelance writer and author. His work has appeared in or is forthcoming from Word on Fire Blog, The St. Austin Review, New Oxford Review, The University Bookman, and Aleteia among others.

He is the author of An Hour with Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (Liguori, 2021) and a contributing author/editor of Tolkien and Faith: Essays on Christian Truth in Middle Earth (Voyage Comics, 2021). He graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Theology from Benedictine College.

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