Adoremus Bulletin - July 2020

Adoremus Bulletin For the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy

JULY 2020

News & Views

XXVI, No.1

Triangulating Sanctity: How the Word of God in the Domestic Church Renews the Liturgy

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VATICAN CITY (CNA)—The Vatican’s doctrinal congregation has asked the world’s bishops to report on how a landmark papal document acknowledging the right of all priests to say Mass using the Roman Missal of 1962 is being applied in their dioceses.

Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), wrote to the presidents of bishops’ conferences in a March 7 letter, asking them to distribute a nine-point questionnaire to bishops about the 2007 apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum.

The questionnaire was distributed to U.S. bishops April 27, a U.S. bishops’ conference spokesperson told CNA. A spokesperson for the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales confirmed April 27 that the conference had received the questionnaire and was preparing to distribute it to bishops.

In a 2007 letter to the world’s bishops, Pope Benedict XVI explained that Summorum Pontificum enabled priests to offer Mass according to the 1962 Missal as a “Forma extraordinaria,” or extraordinary form, of the Roman Rite. The Missal published

by Paul VI would remain the “Forma ordinaria,” or ordinary form, of the Rite, he said.

The CDF survey sent this year includes questions such as: “In your opinion, are there positive or negative aspects of the use of the extraordinary form?” and “How has the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum had an influence on the life of seminaries Please see BISHOP on next page

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Vatican Sends Extraordinary Form Mass Survey to World’s Bishops

The heavenly, or eschatological, vision ceased to exist in much post-conciliar liturgy. But the task of the Church, with the indispensable help of the liturgy, “is not to remake the human city according to the more progressive insights of the age, but to remake it in the light of the new and eternal Jerusalem, the glorious city of God.”

By Michael Brummond

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s we move beyond COVID19-induced cancellations of public Mass and their replacement by more regular domestic prayers, it is worth a look back to see what good has come of it all. While the participation in the Eucharistic Prayer and the reception of the Blessed Sacrament were not options for most families, the reading and praying with the Sunday scriptures became a regular means to engage, albeit imperfectly, with the Word heard behind closed parish doors.

Indeed, “Sacred scripture is of the greatest importance in the celebration of the liturgy” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 24). Given the intimate relationship between the scriptures and the signs, actions, and words of the liturgy, it seems fitting to paraphrase St. Jerome and claim that ignorance of scripture is ignorance of the liturgy.1 Hence, for

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Adoremus Bulletin JULY 2020

the future restoration and progress of the sacred liturgy, it remains essential to promote “a warm and living love,” as Sacrosanctum Concilium notes, for sacred scripture. And it is the family, the domestic Church, that plays an indispensable role in stimulating knowledge of and love for the word of God. Thus, a solicitous regard for the role of sacred scripture in the family is essential to the ongoing restoration of the sacred liturgy.

Recatholicising the Liturgy Among the general norms guiding the reform of the liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium named the importance of sacred scripture: “To achieve the restoration, progress, and adaptation of the sacred liturgy, it is essential to promote that warm and living love for scripture…”

(24). Since the liturgical books were revised in the wake of the Council with this principle in mind (cf. SC, 25), and Word Up! Mike Brummond offers a road map which helps families triangulate holiness with a renewed love for scripture and an effective integration with the liturgy...............................1 You Say You Want a Revolution?

Then go to Mass—that’s Dom Virgil Michel’s advice in a reprint of a 1935 article which explains the link between liturgy and social regeneration........................................................6 Liturgy in Your Living Room Or kitchen or dining room or wherever you have online access. As Joseph O’Brien reports, the Liturgical Institute is offering online courses on the liturgy........................................8

often with greater attention given to the use of scripture in the rites (SC, 35.1, 51, 92), it might reasonably be asked what further restoration and progress of the liturgy remains.

Msgr. M. Francis Mannion argues that there have been in fact five distinct postconciliar approaches to ongoing liturgical reform.2 I offer here a consideration of Msgr. Mannion’s own proposal, which he calls “recatholicising the reform.”

This agenda “is primarily committed to a vital re-creation of the ethos that has traditionally imbued Catholic liturgy at its best—an ethos of beauty, majesty, spiritual profundity and solemnity.”3 It seeks to appropriate more fully the revised liturgical books within a liturgical reform that is primarily spiritual: “It seeks a recovery of the sacred and the numinous in liturgical expression which will act as a corrective to the sterility and rationalism of much modern liturgical Please see SCRIPTURE on page 4 3…2…1….Launch!

Move over Elon Musk—there’s a new digital platform to help the faithful launch into heavenly realities. Its designer, Adam Bartlett, explains how it all works...................................9 Theology + History = Truth In reviewing Helmut Hoping’s newly translated book, Aaron Sanders examines how theology and history play starring roles in the Eucharist’s doctrinal development.................12 News & Views ....................................................1 Readers' Quiz......................................................3 The Rite Questions...........................................10

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Adoremus Bulletin, July 2020

NEWS & VIEWS Continued from BISHOP, page 1 (the seminary of the diocese) and other formation houses?”

The questionnaire also asks whether the extraordinary form responds “to a true pastoral need” or is “promoted by a single priest.”

Bishops are asked to say whether they personally use the 1962 Missal and what advice they would offer about the extraordinary form.

The document also asked whether “in your diocese, the ordinary form has adopted elements of the extraordinary form?”

In his cover letter, which was first published by the website Rorate Caeli along with the survey, Cardinal Ladaria wrote: “Thirteen years after the publication of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum issued by Pope Benedict XVI, His Holiness Pope Francis wishes to be informed about the current application of the aforementioned document.”

Cardinal Ladaria asked bishops to send their responses by July 31, 2020.

The survey is not the Holy See’s first

VATICAN CITY (CNA)—Cardinal Robert Sarah said on June 17 that he would continue to serve as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship beyond his 75th birthday.

Bishops are required to submit their resignation to the pope when they turn 75. The Guinean cardinal celebrated his 75th birthday Monday, June 15.

In a June 17 post on his official Twitter account, Cardinal Sarah wrote: “Thank you for the messages that have reached me from around the world on the occasion of my birthday. Let us continue the path with Christ. For my part, I am happy to continue my work within the Congregation for Divine Worship. Always pray for the pope.”

ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian language partner agency, reported June 18 that Pope Francis had asked Cardinal Sarah to remain as prefect of the liturgy department donec aliter provideatur, or “until further provision is made.”

Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Sarah, the most senior African prelate at the Vatican, prefect of the liturgy department in November 2014.

He had previously served as the president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum and as secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

During his tenure at the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments he has built a reputation for outspoken commentary on the Church and the world.

In 2016, he encouraged priests to celebrate Mass facing east, prompting a Vatican spokesman to say that his words had been “misinterpreted.”

In an April 2020 interview with the French magazine Valeurs actuelles, Cardinal Sarah said that the sick and dying cannot be denied the sacramental assistance of a priest during the coronavirus pandemic.

He said: “Priests must do everything they can to remain close to the faithful.

They must do everything in their power to assist the dying, without complicating the task of the caretakers and the civil authorities.”

“But no one,” he continued, “has the right to deprive a sick or dying person of the spiritual assistance of a priest. It is an absolute and inalienable right.”

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Cardinal Sarah Turns 75, Remains Head of Vatican Liturgy Department

2020 Ordination Class Study Provides Hope for State of Vocations in the Church WASHINGTON—The release of the study of the Ordination Class of 2020 reveals a great sign of life and hope in the Church in the United States, despite uncertainty in the world brought by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

As a part of its mandate, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations sponsors an annual survey, in conjunction with the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), of the members of the current year’s ordination class.

The survey shows a wide variety of men from varied backgrounds who have all responded to God’s call to serve his people. Below is a summary of the results of the findings of the CARA study.  Th is year, 77% of the 448 identified members of the Ordination Class of 2020 responded to the survey. Of those responding, 82% will be ordained to the diocesan priesthood and 18% will be ordained to the priesthood for an institute of religious life or society of apostolic life.  Th e average age of the ordination class of 2020 is 34 years old. On average, the respondents were 16 years old when they first considered the priesthood.  T wo-thirds of the respondents (67%) are Caucasian; one in six (16%) is Hispanic/ Latino; one in ten (10%) is Asian/Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian; one in twenty

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solicitation for feedback about the extraordinary form.

In his 2007 letter, Benedict XVI asked bishops “to send to the Holy See an account of your experiences, three years after this motu proprio has taken effect,” in 2010.

The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei subsequently issued the 2011 instruction Universae ecclesiae, clarifying aspects of Summorum Pontificum.

In March the CDF announced that it had issued two decrees giving new Eucharistic prefaces and provision for the optional celebration of more recently named saints in the extraordinary form.

The decree Quo magis provided seven new Eucharistic prefaces for the extraordinary form of the Mass, which may be used for particular occasions, such as votive Masses or the feast days of saints.

The second decree, Cum sanctissima, established a provision for the celebration of the third-class feasts of saints canonized after July 1960, whose memorials were established after the 1962 Roman Missal.

(6%) is African/African American/ black.  Th e four most common countries of birth among those foreign-born are Mexico, the Philippines, Nigeria, and Colombia.  B etween 35% and 44% of all respondents attended a Catholic school for at least some part of their schooling.  S even in ten respondents (72%) participated in Eucharistic adoration on a regular basis before entering the seminary, a similar proportion (70%) prayed the rosary, more than two in five (44%) attended prayer group/Bible study, and two in five (38%) participated in high school retreats.  S even in ten respondents (73%) served as altar servers before entering the seminary. Half (50%) served as lectors.

Four in ten (40%) served as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion.  N ine in ten respondents (89%) were encouraged to consider the priesthood by someone in their life, most frequently a parish priest, friend, or another parishioner.

The USSCB sees these findings as a sign of hope for the state of vocations in the Church, noting in their press release announcing the survey’s results that “when the faithful are prone to despair and struggle with the sadness of not having the sacraments available, and the public celebration of the Mass suspended, this profile of the 2020 Ordination Class is a ray of light. It is a tangible sign of God’s continued care for His Church.”

Please see NEWS & VIEWS page 9

EDITOR - PUBLISHER: Christopher Carstens MANAGING EDITOR: Joseph O’Brien CONTENT MANAGER: Jeremy Priest GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Danelle Bjornson OFFICE MANAGER: Elizabeth Gallagher WEBSITE AND TECHNOLOGY: Matt Korger MARKETING AND FUNDRAISING: Eugene Diamond SOCIAL MEDIA: Jesse Weiler INQUIRIES TO THE EDITOR P.O. Box 385 La Crosse, WI 54602-0385 editor@adoremus.org

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The Rev. Jerry Pokorsky = Helen Hull Hitchcock The Rev. Joseph Fessio, SJ

Contents copyright © 2020 by ADOREMUS. All rights reserved.

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A Post-pandemic Pastoral Plan for the Liturgy

By Christopher Carstens, Editor

Readers’ Quiz Editor’s note: There’s a joke about liturgists that asks, “How many persons does a liturgist believe are in the Trinity,” the answer to which is, “He doesn’t care, as long as they are standing in the right place when Mass starts.” Not wishing to give credence to such an impression, it is nevertheless worth a liturgist’s time—as well as the time of those who serve or pray at the liturgy—to review just what is to be done by whom when the liturgy starts. To that end, test your knowledge on what today’s Roman Missal, now in its 50th year of use, asks of the liturgy’s ministers.

On Liturgical Ministers in the Roman Missal 1. Which of the following is not listed as a liturgical role by the Roman Missal? a. Instituted acolyte. b. Extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. c. Psalmist. d. Catechist. e. Commentator. f. Sacristan.

2. The most efficacious ministry by which a layperson may participate in the Mass is:

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ow quickly things change—even eternal things.

Six months ago, the Sunday Mass I attended was the typical mixed bag of successes and failures (humanly speaking). We did much of what the Missal directed, and did it well: sang the scriptural antiphons and a good part of the Order of the Mass; heard substantial and orthodox preaching; and completed a glorious redecoration of the church building. At the same time, also typical, attendance was low and still declining, there was little evangelization or social outreach stemming from the liturgy, and many ritual elements were misunderstood and minimized.

Three months ago, I didn’t attend Sunday Mass at all. For all I know, my pastor celebrated alone. He may or may not have familiarized himself with the General Instruction of the Roman Missal’s directions on how to celebrate Mass without a minister. No assembly; no hearing the scriptural word; no music; no sacramental grace.

Today, I’ve begun attending the public Mass on Sunday. And while I’m grateful to be back in the church, these first post-coronavirus Masses are filled with annoyances and aberrations. The masks of ministers seem to deface Christ himself. Singing is silenced for fear of “super-spreading” the virus. Sanitation stations stand where holy water once welcomed the faithful into the church. If you have returned to Mass yourself recently, you know what I mean.

But what about tomorrow? Or three months from now? Or six months from now? What will the liturgy look like then (presuming we’ve moved past the present pandemic)? What ought it look like? If it can change so drastically in the past six months, why can’t it change— for the better—six months from now?

For most of the world, the public celebration of the Mass has arrived at a “reboot” opportunity, a kind of liturgical “Ctrl-Alt-Del.” It is not only necessary that parishes develop a post-pandemic pastoral plan for the celebration of the sacred liturgy, but the occasion should be seen as an opportunity to leave behind liturgical practices that are not in accord with the tradition or the Roman Missal (e.g., the unnecessary multiplication of communion ministers), to strengthen ritual elements that have been done well (e.g., the ars celebrandi of the priest-celebrant), and to add or incorporate aspects that have yet to find a way into most Masses, despite being prescribed by the Missal (e.g., chanting scriptural antiphons rather than singing superficial songs).

What can a priest, a pastoral council, a parish, and even the person in the pew do to move the Mass more in line with the heavenly liturgy? Here are at least a few items to get the conversation started.

First, read and study the General Instruction of the Roman Missal and the Introduction to the Lectionary for Mass. When was the last time you read these? These documents are filled not only with instructions for carrying out the Mass properly, but they give the spiritual and theological rationale for why the Church celebrates

When was the last time you saw a thurible or witnessed your prayers “rising like incense” (Psalm 141) during Mass?

The tradition and the Roman Missal consider the use of incense a regular part of Sunday Mass. During the present pandemic pause to the normative form of the liturgy, it is essential that pastors and parishes review how they can renew the liturgy according to the Church’s own vision.

the way she does. They will also remind us (or teach us for the first time) of sacramental elements that have for too long been overlooked: what are the musical options for the entrance chant? Or, who intones the Gloria? Or, when is incense (incense?!) used? A careful reintroduction to the introductory and preliminary material of the Mass will go a long way to recovering the Second Vatican Council’s and the sacred tradition’s view of the liturgy.

Second, review your Mass’s musical priorities. “The musical tradition of the universal Church,” says the Second Vatican Council, “is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 112). Indeed, what ritual element has more impact on participants than music? Most don’t exit the church doors reciting lines of the homily (unless these are especially egregious or enlightening), or remarking on the stained-glass windows, or even recalling much of the scriptural passages. Rather, music’s melodies go

a. Reader. b. Cantor. c. Extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. d. Master of Ceremonies. e. None of the above.

3. True or False: Cassock and surplice may be worn by servers.

4. Priest concelebrants cannot join the Mass: a. After the entrance procession has begun. b. After the Sign of the Cross and greeting. c. After the Liturgy of the Word has begun. d. After the offertory at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

5. True or False: The cantor can sing the tropes in the third form of the Penitential Act (e.g., “You were sent to heal the contrite of heart: Lord, have mercy.”).

6. Which liturgical minister wears a dalmatic? a. Acolyte. b. Deacon. c. Priest. d. Bishop. e. Pope.

through our minds and, probably, the texts that accompany them do as well. For this reason, the Church directs what is sung, by whom, and according to a hierarchy of importance. Yet, who knows the Church’s own musical preferences and priorities? If one were to judge according to the customary Mass-music repertoire, it would begin with four hymns and end with the Mass Ordinary—but this is not the mind of the Church. Now is the time to understand, teach, and plan to incorporate the Church’s own teaching on sacred music.

Third, drill down to liturgical essentials. Sacrosanctum Concilium’s definition of the liturgy is an excellent place to begin: “the liturgy is considered as an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ. In the liturgy the sanctification of the man is signified by signs perceptible to the senses, and is effected in a way which corresponds with each of these signs; in the liturgy the whole public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and his members” (7). What is the “priestly office of Jesus Christ”? In fact—what does it mean to be a “priest” at all? What is “sanctification,” who is it for, and how does it happen? Why are “signs” so important in the liturgy? Who is the “Mystical Body of Jesus Christ”? What is my place in this Body, and what does it require of me? As the world continues to disintegrate (as all material things are destined to do) and even the local celebration of the Mass itself begins again “from scratch” for us, going back to the basics will lay a firm foundation moving forward.

Finally (although there is much more that can be said), become as docile, humble, and malleable as possible in the hands of God, at work in the liturgy. St. Irenaeus likened the Son and the Holy Spirit as the two hands of the Father during creation. Now, during our new creation, the same Son and Spirit form us into the divine likeness of the Father—if we will let them. If “pride cometh before the fall,” then humility cometh before the resurrection.

St. Paul, in a line regularly-quoted by Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, associates our worship with our renewal, and how we must reject the world (and, by extension, ourselves) and choose God: “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:1). In other words, all the General Instructions and all the music and all the liturgical reflections in the world won’t do any good for the liturgy if we won’t humble ourselves as Christ did.

Pope John Paul II often exhorted the Church’s members to examine their liturgical consciences (see, for example, his Vicesimus Quintus Annus, Tertio Millennio Ineunte, and Spiritus et Sponsa), where one looks back on the teaching of the Council, evaluates present practices in its light, and then resolves to create excellence in the future. Unless we execute an authentic pastoral plan over the months ahead, there is a great danger that much of the liturgical minimalism and abnormality demanded by the pandemic will remain.

7. Which of the following are roles of the lector? a. Proclaims the readings prior to the Gospel. b. D irects the singing and participation of the faithful. c. A nnounces the intentions at the Universal Prayer (General Intercessions). d. Reads the entrance and communion antiphons. e. C arries the Book of the Gospels in the entrance procession in the absence of a deacon. f. Instructs the faithful on the worthy reception of the sacraments.

8. True or False: A liturgical minister must be a member of the Catholic Church.

9. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) envisions the priest celebrant presiding with: a. Grace and lissomness. b. Dignity and humility. c. Creativity and originality. d. Hauteur and confidence.

10. What basic characteristics ought a candidate for liturgical ministry possess?

ANSWERS on page 11

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The eschatological dimension of the liturgy requires familiarity with the Book of Revelation, or the Apocalyptic vision of St. John. This dimension will make clear that the heavenly city, as depicted here in this 14th century tapestry, is the model of our earthly cities.

pale, lifeless and uninspiring. An absence of depth and significance appears to characterize liturgical celebration at the practical level. A sense of cultural weightlessness has set in, so the rites have taken on a superficial and inconsequential quality.”10 Thus, the ongoing restoration and progress of the liturgy includes a renewal of its eschatological, cosmological, and doxological characteristics. For this continuing task, “the warm and living love” for scripture spoken of by Sacrosanctum Concilium remains essential. In short, worshipers must be capacitated for liturgy,11 which includes adopting what might be called a biblical worldview, imagination, or consciousness.

scriptural in their inspiration and their force, and it is from the scriptures that actions and signs derive their meaning” (24).12 Hence, intelligent worship—an understanding of the rites and prayers that facilitates a fully active and conscious participation (cf. SC 21, 48, 59), and yet avoids an unnecessary liturgical didacticism—requires that worshipers possess a biblical consciousness and are at home with biblical images and idioms. Such a worshiper knows the biblical narrative and senses himself as inserted into the drama of salvation.

Take, for example, the eschatological dimension of the liturgy. The worshiper is asked to see beyond her merely quotidian existence and to enter into the

“ Liturgical eschatology in the period after the Second Vatican Council suffered a collapse into a secularized concern for the present world, resulting in secular culture setting the agenda for the liturgy.”

Seeing Scripturally A biblically-inspired worldview offers a corrective to the secularism, anthropocentrism, and pragmatism which have crept into the liturgy. The liturgy itself is imbued with a biblical vision, which it also presumes of the worshiper if the texts prayed and the symbols employed are not to require much explanation (cf.

SC, 34). Indeed, Sacrosanctum Concilium describes why sacred scripture is of the greatest importance to the celebration of the liturgy: “For it is from scripture that lessons are read and explained in the homily, and psalms are sung; the prayers, collects, and liturgical songs are

“ Intelligent worship requires an understanding of the rites and prayers that facilitates a fully active and conscious participation and yet avoids an unnecessary liturgical didacticism— requires that worshipers possess a biblical consciousness and are at home with biblical images and idioms.”

The Family and the Word of God The family as the domestic Church plays a unique and indispensable role in promoting “that warm and living love”

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Continued from SCRIPTURE, page 1 experience.”4 Msgr. Mannion identifies three areas of renewal within this liturgical agenda: the eschatological, cosmological, and doxological characters of Catholic worship.5 I believe that it is within this threefold framework of stillneeded liturgical renewal that promoting a love for sacred scripture remains an essential task.

First, an eschatological liturgical sense had been roused prior to the Council in the 20th-century liturgical movement: “[T]here developed a growing awareness that the Christ who is present in the eucharist is also the Christ who stands above and beyond the liturgy, drawing the church forward into the amplitude of eternity. In this vision, the worship of the church is not self-enclosed, complete in itself, as it were, but always has a dimension of reaching forward—of being pulled ahead of itself into the Kingdom to come.”6 Liturgical eschatology in the period after the Second Vatican Council, however, suffered a collapse into a secularized concern for the present world, resulting in secular culture setting the agenda for the liturgy, rather than vice versa: “The task of the Church is not to remake the human city according to the more progressive insights of the age, but to remake it in the light of the new and eternal Jerusalem, the glorious city of God.”7 The second area for liturgical renewal is the cosmic sense of the liturgy: “Cosmology involves the whole created arena of salvation, not only the earthly and the heavenly, but all the unknown regions of God’s creativity. The cosmic includes the world of angels, principalities and powers, the corporeal, the material, the spiritual, and the energetic. It incorporates the mysterious regions of the heavens and of distant space.”8 Just as the eschatological was swallowed by the secular, the cosmological was likewise replaced in the liturgy by concern for the anthropological: “As transcendence became domesticated, the sacramental life lost its moorings in creation and become interiorized. The sacramental life was no longer viewed as a sanctification of creation, but as nourishment of the individual soul.”9 Finally, the doxological focus of the liturgy gave way to more pragmatic concerns. A liturgy suffering from a poverty of doxology mutes the celebration of the divine glory, resulting in a liturgy that “has lost its former ethos of glory. The Roman liturgy since Vatican II, it is often said, lacks beauty, awe, majesty and splendor. Liturgy has become trivial, commonplace, without exuberance,

book of Revelation: “‘Recapitulated in Christ,’ these are the ones who take part in the service of the praise of God and the fulfillment of his plan: the heavenly powers, all creation (the four living beings), the servants of the Old and New Covenants (the twenty-four elders), the new People of God (the one hundred and forty-four thousand), especially the martyrs ‘slain for the word of God,’ and the all-holy Mother of God (the Woman), the Bride of the Lamb, and finally ‘a great multitude which no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes, and peoples and tongues’” (CCC 1138).

The twelfth chapter of Hebrews also resonates with these cosmological themes, asking the reader to see beyond the mundane and terrestrial to something much broader: “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:22-24).14 If worshipers were to appropriate as their own this scriptural vision of reality, in which the liturgy participates as a foretaste in heavenly eschatological glory and moves beyond the individual or even the congregation to encompass the worship of all creation, this would spontaneously issue forth in doxology. The noble and weighty praise found, for instance, in the Psalms or woven into the writings of Paul would form the imagination of the worshipers and become connatural to them, and thus expected and welcomed in liturgy. Thus, it is clear that, in the words of Louis Bouyer, “the basis for any initiation into the liturgy is an initiation into the Bible.”15 If the ongoing restoration and progress of the liturgy involves adopting a biblically-inspired worldview or imagination, few environments are better suited to this goal than the family.

The family is where our imagination is initially shaped and our worldview first formed. This leaves open the truly radical possibilities of parents handing on either a biblically-inspired worldview, or one completely void of reference to the sacred scriptures.

heavenly liturgy as a foretaste of a future and eternal reality in which Christ is all in all. Such a vision, seen with the eyes of faith, must be supplied to her, and the most fitting source is certainly the Apocalypse of John. As Msgr. Mannion says: “At the beginning of a new millennium, the Christian imagination should be grasped anew by the Book of Revelation. This interest can serve to bring back into Christian focus the heavenly liturgy as the model for the earthly.”13 The book of Revelation is equally rich as a model of the cosmic nature of the liturgy, in which all of creation is involved.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of the celebrants of the heavenly liturgy, borrowing imagery from the

for scripture called for by Sacrosanctum Concilium. The family is where our imagination is initially shaped, and our worldview first formed. This leaves open the truly radical possibilities of parents handing on either a biblically-inspired worldview, or one completely void of reference to the sacred scriptures. The stories we tell in the family, both implicitly and explicitly, create a shared narrative which in turn shapes personal identity.

Beyond merely knowing biblical stories and characters, then, individuals learn in the family to perceive themselves as personally involved in the biblical story of salvation from creation to eschatological fulfillment.

Adoremus Bulletin, July 2020 Benedict, the family’s engagement with the Bible is an element of handing on the meaning of life in Christ. To pass on and bear witness to the meaning of life in Christ is to initiate the family into a worldview—the biblical vision or imagination of which we spoke above.

Most recently, Pope Francis, in Amoris Laetitia, has said that “pastors have to encourage families to grow in faith.” He then turns to the scriptures as a source of help for families: “[T]he word of God is

“ The basis for any initiation into the liturgy is an initiation into the Bible.”

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The papal magisterium of the last several decades has frequently highlighted the family’s role in promoting this same love for scripture. In Familiaris Consortio, for example, Pope St. John Paul II described parents as “the first heralds of the Gospel for their children” who “become fully parents,” in part, “by reading the word of God with them,” thus giving not only bodily life, but also “the life that through the Spirit’s renewal flows from the Cross and Resurrection of Christ” (39). The family shares also in the life and mission of the Church and “fulfills its prophetic role by welcoming and announcing the word of God” (FC, 51).

There is a sense, then, that parents and families only find their true identities and vocations through their appropria-

It seems unlikely that renewal and progress in the Church’s liturgical life will come about without the intimate participation of the domestic Church. The family, therefore, as it shares in the life and mission of the Church, must form its own identity in light of the revealed scriptures.

tion of the biblical word. John Paul II also makes a connection between the family’s devotion to scripture and capacitating worshipers for the liturgy: “As preparation for the worship celebrated in church, and as its prolongation in the home, the Christian family makes use of private prayer” that includes “reading and meditating on the word of God” (FC, 61). Hence, the family’s regular contact with scripture fosters a vision of the liturgy, not as an isolated weekly event, but as part of the fabric of life.

Again, in Dies Domini, Pope John Paul II renewed the call of Sacrosanctum Concilium to foster a warm and living love for scripture. “In considering the Sunday Eucharist more than thirty years after the Council, we need to assess how well the word of God is being proclaimed and how effectively the People of God have grown in knowledge and love of Sacred Scripture” (DD, 40). The Holy Father highlights the indispensable role of the family in the personal appropriation of the scriptures: “If Christian individuals and families are not regularly drawing new life from the reading of the sacred text in a spirit of prayer and docility to the Church’s interpretation, then it is difficult for the liturgical proclamation of the word of God alone to produce the fruit we might expect” (DD, 40).

Pope Benedict XVI, reflecting on the word of God in the family in his exhortation Verbum Domini, wrote: “Part of authentic parenthood is to pass on and bear witness to the meaning of life in Christ: through their fidelity and the unity of family life, spouses are the first to proclaim God’s word to their children. The ecclesial community must support and assist them in fostering family prayer, attentive hearing of the word of God, and knowledge of the Bible. To this end the [2008] Synod [on The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church] urged that every household have its Bible, to be kept in a worthy place and used for reading and prayer” (VD, 85). For Pope

the source of life and spirituality for the family. All pastoral work on behalf of the family must allow people to be interiorly fashioned and formed as members of the domestic church through the Church’s prayerful reading of sacred Scripture.

The word of God is not only good news in a person’s private life but also a criterion of judgement and a light in discerning the various challenges that married couples and families encounter” (AL, 227).

Again, members of the family don’t simply learn biblical stories. They are “interiorly fashioned and formed” through the reading of the scriptures. The scriptures become for them “a criterion of judgement and a light.” They take on a biblical consciousness and view the world differently—they see reality, we might say, as participating now in eschatological hope, sharing in a cosmic drama, and ordered toward doxological praise of God. Thus, if the ongoing restoration and progress of the liturgy relies on promoting “a warm and living love” for scripture, and if the family plays a unique and indispensable role in fostering such a love for the word of God, it then follows that those concerned for the liturgical life of the Church should have a solicitous regard for the role of scripture in the domestic Church. We can turn briefly to the liturgy itself for some indications of how to foster this love for scripture in the family.

Principles of Incorporation The liturgy provides principles that may be adapted as means for incorporating the word of God into the family. Here I will mention only four, drawn from the General Introduction to the Lectionary.

1) The Working of the Holy Spirit First, the family would do well to develop a devotion to the Holy Spirit in relation to the reading of scripture. The Lectionary states: “The working of the Holy Spirit is needed if the word of God is to make what we hear outwardly have

its effect inwardly. Because of the Holy Spirit’s inspiration and support, the word of God becomes the foundation of the liturgical celebration and the rule and support of all our life.”16 Hence, families could be encouraged to begin the reading of scripture with a prayer to the Holy Spirit, perhaps along with an image of the Holy Spirit in the space where the scriptures are read.

2) Signs of Reverence The Lectionary speaks of various outward signs of reverence given to the Gospel during the liturgy: “Of all the rites connected with the liturgy of the word, the reverence due to the Gospel reading must receive special attention.” The Book of the Gospels is carried to the ambo, preceded by servers with candles and incense while the faithful stand. Such signs of reverence are ways “of bringing out the importance of the Gospel reading and of stirring up the faith of those who hear it.”17 The place for the reading of the biblical word is also to be “of a suitable design and nobility. It should reflect the dignity of God's word….”18 Since liturgical books themselves “serve as signs and symbols of the higher realities, care must be taken to ensure that they truly are worthy, dignified and beautiful.19 Hence also in the domestic Church, a special place can be set aside for keeping and reading sacred scripture. Such a sacred space could include a family altar, on which is enthroned a Bible, along with appropriate decorations or other sacred images. Also, while other Bibles in the home may serve personal use and study, such a family Bible would fittingly be larger, of finer quality, and more beautifully ornamented than a common paperback. Families could create their own

“ Parents and families only find their true identities and vocations through their appropriation of the biblical word.” traditions surrounding the special times and customs of using the family Bible for the reading of scripture.

3) The Selection of Readings How might the scriptures read in the family be chosen? The Lectionary presents several criteria by which the liturgical order of readings was determined, including “the principles of ‘harmony’ and of ‘semicontinuous reading.’”20 Harmony arises between the Old and New Testaments “when the doctrine and events recounted in texts of the New Testament bear a more or less explicit relationship to the doctrine and events of the Old Testament.” Harmony also exists “between texts of the readings for each Mass during Advent, Lent, and Easter, the seasons that have a distinctive importance or character.”21 Hence, it would certainly be fitting for families to pray and study texts according to both a typological approach—where persons and events of the Old Covenant find their fulfillment in Christ and his sacraments—as well as one suited to the liturgical seasons.

At other times, such as Sundays in Ordinary Time, “the text of both the apostolic and Gospel readings are arranged in order of semicontinuous reading….”22 Such an arrangement followed by the family would stress the narrative context of the individual scriptural pericopes.

Of course, such a selection of texts according to the principles of harmony and semicontinuous reading would be easily achieved by the use of the Lectionary’s own order of readings as the family’s pattern.

5 4) Silence Finally, the words from the Lectionary regarding silence could be adopted directly into the family’s devotion to scripture: “The liturgy of the word must be celebrated in a way that fosters meditation; clearly, any sort of haste that hinders recollection must be avoided. The dialogue between God and his people taking place through the Holy Spirit demands short intervals of silence, suited to the assembled congregation, as an opportunity to take the word of God to heart and to prepare a response to it in prayer.25 Being silent and praying in silence are skills to be acquired. Pope John Paul II recognized that formation in silence must be taught: “Why not start with pedagogical daring a specific education in silence within the coordinates of personal Christian experience? Let us keep before our eyes the example of Jesus, who ‘rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed’” (Mark 1: 35) (Spiritus et Sponsa, 13). What better place than the family to learn the fruits of silence?

Family - Scripture - Liturgy Families are increasingly becoming “islands of Christian life in an unbelieving world” (CCC, 1655). It seems unlikely that renewal and progress in the Church’s liturgical life will come about without the intimate participation of the domestic Church. The family, therefore, as it shares in the life and mission of the Church, must form its own identity in light of the revealed scriptures. Pastors of souls and those involved in the liturgical apostolate would do well, also, to consider these words of Sacrosanctum Concilium and adapt them to the variety of pastoral work on behalf of families in their care: “The treasures of the Bible are to be opened up more lavishly, so that richer fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God’s word” (SC, 51).

Mike Brummond is an assistant professor of systematic studies at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Hales Corners, WI, and holds a Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.T.D.) from the University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein Seminary, IL. 1. Or as Louis Bouyer contends, “…the Council is certainly correct in emphasizing, far more, the absolute necessity of an initiation to the Bible. Not only because the Bible provides us with the readings given in the liturgy, but because it has directly inspired the whole of it, the liturgy will never again become the familiar prayer of the Christians if the Bible remains for them as a sealed book, which it still is, unfortunately, not only for the majority of them, but for too may priests.” The Liturgy Revived: A Doctrinal Commentary of the Constitution on the Liturgy (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1964), 97.

2. M. Francis Mannion, “The Catholicity of the Liturgy: Shaping a New Agenda,” in Beyond the Prosaic: Renewing the Liturgical Movement, ed.

Stratford Caldecott (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998), 11-48.

3. Ibid., 27.

4. Ibid., 28.

5. Msgr. Mannion returns to these themes in “Rejoice, Heavenly Powers! The Renewal of Liturgical Doxology,” Pro Ecclesia 12, no. 1 (February 2003): 37-60.

6. Mannion, “Rejoice, Heavenly Powers!", 40.

7. Ibid., 42.

8. Ibid., 43.

9. Ibid., 46.

10. Ibid., 49.

11. In Msgr. Mannion’s words, “a deepening of the liturgical competence of congregations.”

“The Catholicity of the Liturgy,” 30.

12. Cf. CCC, 1145.

13. Mannion, “Rejoice, Heavenly Powers!”, 54.

14. Consider also the cosmological portrayal of Christ contained in the hymn of Colossians 1:15-17.

15. Bouyer, The Liturgy Revived, 98.

16. Lectionary, General Introduction, 9.

17. Ibid., 17.

18. Ibid., 32.

19. Ibid., 35.

20. Ibid., 66.3.

21. Ibid., 67.

22. Ibid.

23. Ibid., 28.

Adoremus Bulletin, July 2020

The Liturgy the Basis of Social Regeneration

By Dom Virgil Michel, OSB Editor’s note: The COVID-19 pandemic, economic depression, racial conflict, and social upheaval might lead one to ask about the significance of the Catholic liturgy today. Does it matter, for example, if one sings hymns or chants antiphons? Or if the priest offers the Eucharistic prayer ad orientem or versus populum? Or if the Ascension is observed on a Thursday, forty days after Easter, or is moved to the following Sunday?

Why should these ceremonial details—to say nothing about how the faithful actively and authentically participate in the rite— make an iota’s worth of difference in such a troubled and chaotic world?

Readers of Adoremus Bulletin know that the liturgy is essential. Readers of Orate, Fratres from a century ago knew this, too.

Orate, Fratres was a liturgical journal that began in 1926 (and exists today under the title of Worship) and in many ways served as a forerunner to the work that Adoremus is doing. The following reprint by Dom Virgil Michel—founder of Orate, Fratres, and of the American liturgical movement—explains clearly how the liturgy is the basis of any social regeneration.

When this article first appeared in 1935, extreme individualism and atheistic socialism and communism were preparing for battle. Yet, as Dom Michel explains, neither was the solution to social ills—they were causes. Today, as similar evils emerge, the liturgy remains the indispensable source of social renewal.

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t the first mention of the subject of this address one might be inclined to ask: What has the liturgy to do with social reconstruction or the social question? Can the liturgy help to give jobs or raise wages? Can there be any connection between the liturgy and the social problem?

It is now seven years ago that the Central Bureau of Central-Verein [an assembly of German, Roman Catholic organizations providing aid and direction to German Catholics in the United states] published a pamphlet that was more than usually distinguished for its keen Christian sense as well as its historical vision. It was entitled The True Basis of Christian Solidarity and it carried the explanatory subtitle: “The Liturgy an Aid to the Solution of the Social Question.”

The moment we deal with the problem of social regeneration, we shall do well to have recourse to the classic Catholic text on the question, the encyclical Quadragesimo Anno of the present Holy Father [i.e., Pope Pius XI (d.1939)] “on Reconstructing the Social Order.”

The very idea of social regeneration or reconstruction implies that there is something very much awry with our present social order. Pius XI refers to this fact in the following brief sentence: “Nowadays, as more than once in the history of the Church, we are confronted with a world which in large measure has almost fallen back into paganism.” In analyzing conditions, the Pontiff speaks of a double danger. This is how he expresses it when he discusses the particular question of private property: “There is, therefore, a double danger to be avoided. On the one hand, if the social and public aspect of ownership be denied or minimized, the logical consequence is Individualism, as it is called; on the other hand, the rejection or diminution of its private and individual character necessarily leads to some form of Collectivism. To disregard these dangers would be to rush headlong into the quicksands of Modernism.”

These, then, are the two dangers the Holy Father warns us to avoid if society is to be regenerated; they are the products of an un-Christian view of life and are there-

fore pagan at heart; and they are both current symptoms of a diseased social order.

Don’t Go It Alone I shall deal first with individualism. Christianity has always upheld the supreme value of each individual soul, and so has always been the champion of a moderate form of individualism. It could do no less since the whole Christian view of life, both natural and supernatural, is dependent on the existence of individual human responsibility for one’s action and conduct.

Christianity has always stood for a proper appreciation of human personality and has always opposed the treatment of men as if they were animals or mechanical robots.

When the great break occurred four centuries ago in the Christian tradition that had been developing for centuries, it showed itself precisely in the question of

“ What has the liturgy to do with social reconstruction or the social question? Can the liturgy help to give jobs or raise wages? Can there be any connection between the liturgy and the social problem?” individualism. For many persons the individual conscience was then made the supreme judge in all matters of religion; each man became his own highest authority in the interpretation of the scriptural word of God. At the height of the 18th-century enlightenment, the principle of extreme individualism had entered into the entire field of social life. All authority superior to man was denied, and human traditions were laughed out of court. There was then no longer any master superior to man. Man was his own supreme authority, his own sole lawgiver, not only in religion but in all the fields of human conduct, especially also in economic life. Man no longer had any real duties towards his fellowmen. He had a duty only towards his own self, and that duty was the pleasant one of looking after his own best interests in his own chosen way and not bothering about anyone else. This principle of extreme individualism was then given moral justification by the view that if every individual looks to his own best personal interest and makes that his supreme law in life, then the good of society will also be best attained.

What actually happened thereupon was that this principle of exaggerated individualism made of society a battleground of each against all. This was a condition not of dignified human personalities and life, but a human version of the law of the jungle. It was a raw “struggle for existence and survival of the fittest” disguised under the phrase of “free competition.”

Here is what Quadragesimo Anno has to say on this point: “Just as the unity of human society cannot be built upon class warfare, so the proper ordering of economic affairs cannot be left to free competition alone. From this source have proceeded in the past all the errors of the ‘Individualistic’ school. This school, ignorant or forgetful of the social and moral aspects of economic matters, teaches that the State should refrain in theory and practice from interfering therein, because these possess in free competition and open markets a principle of self-direction better able to control them than any created intellect.

Free competition, however, though within certain limits just and productive of good results, cannot be the ruling principle of the economic world. This has been abun-

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Pope Pius XI’s 1931 encyclical, Quadragesimo Anno (“On the Reconstruction of the Social Order”) observed that “Nowadays, as more than once in the history of the Church, we are confronted with a world which in large measure has almost fallen back into paganism.” Dom Virgil Michel saw the liturgy as the indispensable antidote to this pagan state.

dantly proved by the consequences that have followed from the free reign given to these dangerous individualistic ideals.”

Such is one of the dangers alluded to by the Holy Father. And it is pagan in nature because it contradicts true Christian principles of social life. It has developed, moreover, during the past four centuries step by step with the gradual abandonment of traditional Christianity. As the mighty of the world went on from an

bodies…. Of its very nature the true aim of all social activity should be to help individual members of the social body, but never to destroy or absorb them.”

That is the true danger of Collectivism: that it destroys or absorbs the individual.

For it the individual does not count for anything. Authority and obedience is everything, and the human person nothing.

That this danger is real today a glance at the face of Europe sufficiently proves. We

“ Just as the undue stressing of the individual led to the neglect of the social nature of human life, so the undue stressing of the social nature of man leads to a one-sided neglect of his individual rights as a human person.” abandonment of the Church of Christ to a denial of the divinity of Christ and then to a denial of God, so did the jungle law and pagan principle of the right of the strong and the fortunate spread ever wider into every field of human life.

Altogether Wrong The other danger pointed out by the Holy Father is called by him Collectivism, the opposite extreme to Individualism. In the sense in which the Papal encyclical refers to Collectivism, it is just as pagan, just as un-Christian as Individualism; and it is just as one-sided as the latter. Just as the undue stressing of the individual led to the neglect of the social nature of human life, so the undue stressing of the social nature of man leads to a one-sided neglect of his individual rights as a human person.

“It is true, indeed,” says our encyclical, “that a just freedom of action should be left to individual citizens and families.”

Hence this Collectivism is wrong in fact and principle. To quote again: “Just as it is wrong to withdraw from the individual and commit to the community at large what private enterprise and industry can accomplish, so too it is an injustice, a grave evil and a disturbance of the right order for a larger and higher organization to arrogate to itself functions which can be performed efficiently by smaller and lower

may express it in one word: the totalitarian State. And we shall do well to remind ourselves that similar State absolutism, and supreme and arbitrary political power over life and death was a characteristic of pre-Christian pagan kingdoms and empires. No wonder that where the principles of the totalitarian State have been followed to the full, in Russia and Germany, for instance, we have a conscious espousal and enforcement of atheism on the one hand and a barbaric revival of pagan religion on the other. Such Collectivism is as much the antithesis of Christianity as is Individualism.

Charity’s Antidote Now what is the Christian principle over against these two pagan extremes? It is such a mutual balancing and limitation of the two as brings them into harmony. Pius XI refers to this principle at various times.

Speaking of the question of Capital and Labor he states it as follows: “In the first place, due consideration must be had for the double character, individual and social, of Capital and Labor, in order that the dangers of Individualism and Collectivism be avoided.”

It is this double character, the harmonious fusion of the two elements of human nature, the individual and the social, that we must not only keep in mind, but that must again become dominant in all hu-

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Adoremus Bulletin, July 2020

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under the picture of the human body composed of head and members. When through the liturgical initiation of Baptism we enter the Church, by the same fact we become intimately united with Christ as members of the Mystical Body of which He is the Head. Christ is then most truly and supernaturally our Brother, we are all children of God in a very special and sublime manner; we are all brethren together who are intimately united in the one Christ. In this holy fellowship we find a harmonious combination of the two complementary factors of humankind,

man life. How can that be done?

Pius XI answers by referring to a “new diffusion throughout the world of the Gospel spirit, which is a spirit of Christian moderation and of universal charity.” By reason of it, he says, “we confidently look forward to that complete and much desired renewal of human society, and to ‘the Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ.’”

Now this renewal of human society, which must needs bring about a harmonious relation between men, one of cooperation and mutual aid and not one of mutual strife and cut-throat competition, must have its origin and inspiration in religion.

The Holy Father quotes his great predecessor Leo XIII to that effect: “For the ‘foundation of social laws being thus laid in religion, it is not hard to establish the relations of members one to another, in order that they may live together in concord and achieve prosperity.’”

He is indeed very emphatic on this point: “If We examine matters diligently and thoroughly, We shall perceive clearly that this longed-for social reconstruction must be preceded by a profound renewal of the Christian spirit, from which multitudes engaged in industry in every country have unhappily departed. Otherwise, all our endeavors will be futile, and our social edifice will be built, not upon a rock, but upon shifting sand.”

Now the question logically arises: Where are we to find this Christian spirit that is essential to the successful regeneration of the social order? The answer was given long ago by the saintly Pius X in a statement that many of you have undoubtedly heard repeated time and again. He first of all expressed it as his keenest desire “that the true Christian spirit flourish again and become more firmly grounded in all the faithful.” Then he pointed out the great need “of deriving this spirit from its primary and indispensable source, which is active participation in the sacred mysteries and the public and solemn prayers of the Church.”

Basic Ingredients With this we have come to the liturgy. For the liturgy is nothing else than the solemn and public worship of the Church, her official prayers and blessings, the sacraments,

“ This longed-for social reconstruction must be preceded by a profound renewal of the Christian spirit, from which multitudes have unhappily departed. Otherwise, all our endeavors will be futile, and our social edifice will be built, not upon a rock, but upon shifting sand.”

— Pope Pius XI that is, organic fellowship coupled with full respect for human personality and individual responsibility.

This is not merely an abstract doctrine or truth of our Christian lives, but one that should be the basis of our every thought and action as Christians. The active character of it is seen for instance in what our catechism has taught us about the communion of the saints and the common treasury of supernatural merits in the Church. By becoming members of the Mystical Body of Christ through Baptism,

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“The doctrine of the Mystical Body was explained by Christ under the example of the vine and the branches,” explains Virgil Michel. “When through the liturgical initiation of Baptism we enter the Church, by the same fact we become intimately united with Christ as members of the Mystical Body of which He is the Head. Christ is then most truly and supernaturally our Brother, we are all children of God in a very special and sublime manner; we are all brethren together who are intimately united in the one Christ. In this holy fellowship we find a harmonious combination of the two complementary factors of humankind, that is, organic fellowship coupled with full respect for human personality and individual responsibility.”

“This principle of exaggerated individualism,” writes Virgil Michel in 1935, “made of society a battleground of each against all. This was a condition not of dignified human personalities and life, but a human version of the law of the jungle. It was a raw ‘struggle for existence and survival of the fittest’ disguised under the phrase of ‘free competition.’” Here, individuals and brokers gather on a Wall Street curbside in the 1920s.

and above all the holy Sacrifice of Christ, the Mass. Pius X not only called this liturgy the indispensable source of the true Christian spirit, but added that the faithful must derive this spirit from the Church’s worship by active participation; therefore, not by passive bodily presence, but by being present in such a manner that mind and heart are actively joined to the official worship and take intelligent part in the holy action.

There is no time here to dwell on the meaning of active participation, nor to analyze further the nature of the elements that make up the Church’s liturgy. I shall proceed at once to the question: What is the basic idea of this liturgy?

It is that of the Mystical Body of Christ—a concept that was not only well known to the early Christians but also a primary inspiration for all their conduct and life. It was constantly preached by the Church Fathers and taught by the Church down to our own day, but it has often, among the faithful of all ranks, been left in the background, even quite forgotten, especially since the growing dominance of an un-Christian individualism.

The doctrine of the Mystical Body was explained by Christ under the example of the vine and the branches and by St. Paul

or two examples of this truth. The sacrament of the Eucharist, holy Communion, is called by St. Thomas the sacrament of the unity of the Mystical Body of Christ.

When we receive Communion we may be inclined to think of it as Christ coming into our hearts and becoming our own exclusive possession, and we think with gratitude of the infinite Christ confining Himself within the limits of our small heart.

When twenty persons receive Communion at Mass and go back to their separate pews, this would almost imply that there were now twenty Christs extant among

we no longer belong to ourselves alone but above all to Christ and His cause. All our good actions and merits likewise, which we perform only through Christ, belong strictly to Christ for attaining the purpose of Christ. Thus all the merits of Christ, which exceed all human needs, and those of His members, form a common treasury of graces and merits, which are in turn applied to all the members according to their needs and their desert. This is the highest type of Christian solidarity—a supernatural living solidarity or fellowship—not only in theory but also in practice.

Prayer in Practice Similarly the liturgy of the Church not only makes and keeps us members of this fellowship, but it always puts the idea of fellowship in Christ into full practice. Just in so far as we participate in the liturgy after the mind of Christ do we also live and breathe this supernatural social unity of all members in Christ. This is why the liturgy is so truly the primary and indispensable source of the true Christian spirit: it not only teaches us what this spirit is but also has us live this spirit in all its enactments.

In the liturgy the teaching is inseparable from the putting into practice.

I shall have to content myself with one

the pews. We know, of course, that this is not the Catholic doctrine. When twenty or more individuals receive Communion they have all been intimately united to one and the same sacramental Christ. Christ is not divided or really multiplied among them after Communion; rather are they all contained in one and the same Christ, and thus united most closely into a single supernatural fellowship with Him. The early Christians understood this very well. And therefore they had no difficulty in transferring this intimate fellowship of love that was wrought among them in holy Communion into every action of their daily lives. They also understood that Communion was God’s answering gift to the offering they had made in an earlier part of the Mass. At the Offertory they all entered with full understanding and heart into the Offertory procession that was a universal custom of the Church for many centuries.

What was the real meaning of this Offertory procession?

First of all, everyone who assisted at Mass brought his own individual gift to God, something of his own, something he had raised or worked to acquire, something that he could have used for his own support and that therefore stood for himself. In bringing to the altar this gift, which was generally a portion of bread or wine, olive oil, or some such product, he was fully conscious of thereby dedicating his whole self to God, of giving body and soul, mind and heart to his Maker, and of doing so not only by internal intention but also by external action. Moreover no one brought his gift in isolation from his brethren. All joined together in the Offertory procession and together brought their gifts as one single common offering to God, each one offering not only himself and for himself but each one offering all and for all. It was thus a beautiful example as well as realization of true Christian solidarity and love.

Of the gifts offered, some bread and wine were laid on the altar to be the essential elements of the Sacrifice of Mass, and all the rest of the one common offering was laid aside on tables to be used for the poor and the needy. Thus the common offering made by them to God became at the same time a common act of love and charity to the poor and the needy, so that in one and the same collective but unitary action they worshiped God directly and served Him indirectly in their fellowmen.

Such was the sublime lesson of Christian solidarity that was brought home to the early Christians increasingly by their active participation in the liturgy. It was brought home to them not only as a truth learned, but as a principle put into regular practice, which by repetition formed a permanent attitude and habit of mind.

No wonder that they lived so true to this genuine Christian spirit in all the actions of their daily lives!

Please see REGENERATION, page 11

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Adoremus Bulletin, July 2020

Liturgical Institute’s Online Program Reaches and Teaches the World About Liturgy

By Joseph O’Brien, Managing Editor

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Online Explosion And flourish it has—especially in these otherwise dismal days of lockdowns and social distancing. Before

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nline learning continues to experience a major upswing—and there’s no reason learning about the liturgy can’t be a part of that trend.

For that reason, at least as far as it concerns the Liturgical Institute (LI) at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein, IL, the renewal of the sacred liturgy continues apace in real time and more recently online.

This past January, the Liturgical Institute launched its online Certificate Program, which consists of a series of online courses, each consisting of five, one-hour lectures on all things liturgical.

A recent report published by online learning trade publication Learning Worlds indicated that the market for online learning will continue to expand as forecasters predict it will become a $300 million market by 2025.

But as lucrative as online learning may be, LI director Jesse Weiler sees this latest endeavor not as a cash cow to milk but as part of a mission to accomplish: ensuring that liturgical renewal to which the Liturgical Institute is committed also finds a place to flourish online.

This past January, the Liturgical Institute launched its online Certificate Program, which consists of a series of online courses, each comprising five, one-hour lectures on all things liturgical.

“ We wanted to create a practical program for people to go online and be able to take courses whether they needed continuing education or professional growth, whether they worked in the parish or diocese.” the restrictions imposed by the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the number of subscribers to the online courses, Weiler said, hovered around 400—but after the stay-at-home mandates were issued in March around the country, those numbers more than tripled.

“We have 1,400 students, so we’re growing at a fast rate,” he said. “A lot of that is due to the fact that we recently released one of our courses entirely for free— our Introduction to Sacred Liturgy course with [Adoremus editor] Christopher Carstens. We had that course for a couple years, but when the virus started to spread, I realized that people were going to be locked up in their homes and not have much access to the things they normally would. So I thought it would be a good idea to release one of our courses for free so people could be prepared for when they went to Mass again publicly.”

This sort of liturgical formation is the goal of the online program, Weiler said.

“Our whole purpose here is to see a renewal in the sacred liturgy, and so we don’t want to leave any stone unturned in the process,” he said. “Whether it’s a certificate or degree program, a podcast, a short video series or a virtual conference we’ll be running this summer, we want to make sure people have access to this content to help in the process of this liturgical renewal.”

The overwhelming response verified for Weiler what he already suspected: that there was a place for the liturgical renewal in the media platforms of the online revolution.

“Currently we have 10 courses available, and we are releasing a brand new course every month,” he said.

“We have a working list of another 10–12 courses we want to record. I have no reason to believe we wouldn’t stop releasing a new course every month, or updating content, or going a little deeper with the content we already released.”

“The Liturgical Institute has always done a good job providing academic content for our audience in terms of liturgical catechesis and formation,” Weiler added.

“What we noticed was that there was a need for people to get access to this type of information, but these people weren’t necessarily looking for a master’s degree.

So we wanted to create a practical program for people to go online and be able to take courses whether they needed continuing education or professional growth, whether they worked in the parish or diocese.”

Once the courses are uploaded and students purchase them, Weiler explained, the students have access to the courses at any time.

“All courses are on demand,” he said, “and people have access in perpetuity.”

Professors of the online courses also provide certification for those students seeking professional or continuing education, Weiler said.

“If you wanted to receive a certificate of completion to prove professional growth or continuing education

units, there are quizzes you can take which, if you average 70 percent, after each lecture we send a certificate of completion for your records.”

According to Weiler, the online courses are attracting more than priests and those working for the Church on a parish or diocesan level.

The courses for the online program, which include such topics as sacred music, sacramental theology, and fundamental principles of the liturgy, are adapted versions of courses offered at LI, Weiler noted.

“The courses we released were cross-sections of our master-degree programs at LI,” he said. “I asked professors to take the courses they were teaching for LI and boil them down to the most basic principles and present that in five, one-hour lectures for us. That was the start of this whole thing.”

Marriage of True Minds One of the more popular courses in the online program, “Understanding the Sacrament of Marriage,” is taught by Dr. Perry Cahall, an adjunct professor at the Liturgical Institute. A professor of historical theology and academic dean of the School of Theology at the Ponitifical College Josephinum in Columbus, OH, Cahall has published two books on marriage: The Mystery of Marriage: A Theology of the Body and the Sacrament (Hillenbrand Books, 2016) and Living the Mystery of Marriage: Building Your Sacramental Life Together (Liturgical Training Publications, 2020).

According to the description of Cahall’s course at the online program’s website, the set of lectures “prepares those called to the vocation of marriage to live out this beautiful and challenging mystery by sharing the theology, spirituality, and morality of the Sacrament of Matrimony. It is ideal for both engaged and married couples as it will reveal the real nature and purpose of marriage as God has created it.”

Cahall is excited about the new online program in general because, he told Adoremus, it “is making ongoing enrichment and information available to people.”

“The value of this format and these modules available to people is filling in a gap,” he added. “If people want to know about a given topic in Catholic teaching—in my case, marriage—and want to learn something other than by reading a book, they find it engaging to be guided through the material with an online lecture.”

But the online lectures still try to capture the classroom dynamic, Cahall said, as all lectures are recorded before a live audience.

“Recording the lectures was interesting,” he said.

“There were students in the room so it was good to get feedback in terms of the looks on their faces. I was able to engage them in questions, so there’s some real live teaching there, and I received immediate reactions

from people in the room. I hope when people watch these lectures, they get the same kind of vibe.”

The value of an online course on marriage, Cahall said, is more than academic.

“I think this course on marriage is especially important in the day and age in which we live,” he said. “The Church is trying to do everything it can to get out orthodox teaching on marriage and God’s vision on marriage.”

“This particular topic has a wide appeal because most people are called to the vocation of marriage,” he added. “People are more curious about and want to know how to respond to the culture in which marriage is being redefined.”

There’s also a practical application to his courses, Cahall said, especially in this time of pandemic.

“During this time of quarantine and limited social interaction, a course like this could add some utility and value to someone going through marriage preparation,” he said. “There may be couples who can’t get together for Pre-Cana instruction in their parish, or face-to-face instruction on marriage. So a short course like this might be useful for marriage preparation.”

Where Learning and Liturgy Intersect Dr. James Pauley’s course, “Liturgy and Discipleship,” is also an offering in LI’s online program. A professor of theology and catechetics at Franciscan University, Steubenville, OH, Pauley is the author of Liturgical Catechesis in the 21st Century: A School of Discipleship (Liturgical Training Publications, 2017). He is also the editor of The Catechetical Review, published by Franciscan University.

In Pauley’s course, he addresses the disconnect between Catholics and the liturgy in today’s Church. As the course description notes, “increasing numbers of Catholics today choose to live apart from the Church’s corporate prayer. Many have not experienced the liturgy as a point of encounter, and many more are uncertain whether such an encounter with God is even possible.” In addressing this disconnect, Pauley’s course “places maximum emphasis on apprenticing people into an active and fruitful sacramental life in Christ.”

Pauley said that his course provides students with a basic framework by which they can understand how catechesis and liturgy intersect.

“After all, if the liturgy is the ‘source’ and ‘summit’ of the Christian life, then the utterly unique and transformative encounter with God which the liturgy makes present cannot be set to the side,” he told Adoremus.

“A deep and transformative liturgical life cannot be envisioned only for those who are mature in the Christian life. Rather, awakening people to the meaning and power of the liturgy—and preparing them to invest themselves into the Church’s corporate prayer—should be central to all our endeavors to help people come to know the Lord and follow him.”

His course, Pauley said, will benefit especially those in the Church who are either interested in or involved in liturgical planning and catechetical ministry.

Please see ONLINE on page 10

Adoremus Bulletin, July 2020

A New Digital Platform to Help Parishes Elevate the Liturgy

By Adam Bartlett Interdisciplinary work is hard.... The very project of a Catholic scholar is not something that the structure of a university, as presently constituted, would nourish because the university today rarely advances projects of intellectual synthesis.

–Francis Cardinal George, OMI A Godly Humanism

I

read these words one year after moving my family from Phoenix to Mundelein, IL, where I took up a post as the assistant director of a liturgical institute founded by the Cardinal Archbishop who wrote them, and to serve as an instructor in liturgical chant in his seminary. Although I had always admired him, I had only met Cardinal George personally a few times. He retired within months of my entrée into professional academia, where I was certain I would happily spend the next decades of my life—and, sadly, he passed away shortly after. But his book A Godly Humanism, which was published posthumously and which Cardinal George edited meticulously in the final weeks of his earthly life, became something of a signpost for me on my journey.

His own introduction to the book describes this collection of essays as an “exercise in integration” and he proceeds to use the word “integration” no fewer than seven times in just a few pages. Cardinal George helped me discover that the authentic liturgical renewal movement similarly was in need of a deeper integration with other disciplines and presently disparate parts of the Church’s life; he also showed me that this liturgical movement needed new methods, ardor, and expression in order to make the kind of impact that we desire and so often discuss.

Cardinal George’s book inspired me to undertake a project of integration that academia, despite its many merits, would never support or value: to found a liturgy and sacred music tech company that is able to put the riches of the sacred liturgy at the fingertips of our parishes, pastors, and parish musicians through innovative tools and with a vision for liturgical renewal that is inseparable from the Church’s mission to evangelize. The result is Source & Summit—a newly established effort in the liturgical apostolate that is launching an all-new liturgy and sacred music platform for parishes this summer.

(You can learn more at www.sourceandsummit.com.)

Source & Summit is a rebrand and expansion of Illuminare Publications, which I founded in 2011. While we will continue to publish the Lumen Christi Missal and Hymnal, and other new print liturgical and musical resources, our digital platform is expanding into the areas of liturgy and music preparation, training and formation, and guided implementation.

The platform itself, at its core, is built on a database that has effectively encoded the liturgical books. In its initial release, Source & Summit will contain the U.S. Lectionary for Sundays and Weekdays, and significant

portions of both the Roman Missal and the Graduale Romanum (Ordo Cantus Missae), all harmonized and interwoven in a single interface for parish liturgy preparation. It also is among the first liturgical resources, print or digital, to employ the newly promulgated Abbey Psalms and Canticles (which will also be used in the next version of the Liturgy of the Hours). This new edition of the Church’s sacred poems is paired with the Entrance, Offertory, and Communion Antiphons of the Missal and Gradual on the platform.

“ The liturgy is meant to be sung. And yet, the task of preparing a simple, fully sung liturgy on the parish level is a tremendously difficult task. The Source & Summit liturgy prep tool makes this process easy.”

Within the Source & Summit application, musical settings of varying degrees of difficulty can be applied to virtually any liturgical text. The liturgy, after all, is meant to be sung. The liturgical books provide melodies and models that in principle allow for it to be sung in any parish, despite its abilities and resources. And yet, the task of preparing a simple, fully sung liturgy on the parish level is a tremendously difficult task. The Source & Summit liturgy prep tool makes this process easy. Every musical setting is encoded and therefore can be paired with any compatible text. Antiphons can be automatically set to Psalm tones or through-composed melodies, readings and orations can be pointed or notated to their respective tones with a single click, simple and solemn tones can be selected and applied at will, and so on.

And not only this, the user can switch instantly between square note and modern notation, change keys, add or remove verses, change languages, add or remove accompaniments, point or notate Psalm verses, and listen to audio playback. All of this dynamic rendering happens instantly and on the fly, and the arrangement that is assembled for a particular liturgical celebration can be shared as a digital Ordo document with parish liturgy personnel, printed and distributed to liturgical musicians, or even laid out in a custom booklet that can be printed on demand.

The application also contains an ever-growing library of hymns that are suitable for liturgical use and that can be placed within Ordos, printed, or shared digitally. Since the text and music are encoded, keys can be changed, chant hymns in square-note notation can be automatically rendered in modern notation, verses can be added

Continued from NEWS & VIEWS, page 2

Pope Francis To Consecrated Virgins: Be ‘Women of Mercy’ VATICAN CITY (CNA)—Pope Francis sent a letter on June 1 to women living the vocation of consecrated virginity, exhorting them to be close to suffering people, and to lead them to Christ. His message was sent to mark the 50th anniversary of the Church’s revision of the Rite of Consecration of Virgins, published in 1970 with the approval of St. Paul VI. “Be women of mercy, experts in humanity,” the pope said in his June 1 message to consecrated virgins around the world.

“Let everything that is happening all around us disturb you: do not close your eyes to it and do not flee from it,” he continued. “Be present and sensitive to pain and suffering. Persevere in proclaiming the Gospel, which promises fullness of life for all.”

A consecrated virgin is a never-married woman who dedicates her perpetual virginity to God and is set aside as a sacred person who belongs to Christ in the Catholic Church. There are more than 5,000 consecrated virgins worldwide, according to estimates by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

In his message, Pope Francis encouraged the women to “weave a web of authentic relationships” to decrease

AB/PATTY CORDEL

By Hannah Brockhaus

loneliness and anonymity in cities, and to have “the wisdom, the resourcefulness, and the authority of charity, in order to stand up to arrogance and to prevent abuses of power.”

The pope expressed his regret that an international meeting of consecrated virgins, organized to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Rite by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life, had to be postponed.

“Nevertheless, I wish to join you in giving thanks for what Saint John Paul II, addressing you on the twenty-

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or removed, and even texts and tunes that share the same meter can be interchanged at will by the user. If a hymn or musical piece is not available on the platform, users can upload their own.

This dynamic liturgy and music library is not meant to replace print resources entirely—far from it. Instead, it is designed to integrate seamlessly with them—with the ritual books used in the sanctuary, and with hymnals and missals that may be used in the pews. While the application can be employed in a purely digital way (i.e., on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices), the importance and primacy of the printed word in the celebration of the liturgy is valued and upheld, and supported and complemented by the digital platform.

Beyond the realm of liturgy preparation and resourcing, Source & Summit also plans to provide formation and training resources to parish liturgy staff and volunteers in order to aid the implementation of parish liturgical and musical renewal. These resources will take the form of articles and short video courses that both instruct on the development of practical skills as well as on the meaning of the liturgy and its ritual elements.

At the time of this writing, the Source & Summit platform has been released for Alpha testing, and we anticipate a late summer stable release to parishes. Many of the features described above will be rolling out gradually in the coming months and beyond. We also are keenly aware of the challenges parishes are facing in light of COVID-19 restrictions, and intend to assist in any way that we can.

Source & Summit is an ambitious project of integration—as Cardinal George desired—in the liturgical apostolate. And while we are working principally to integrate the authentic liturgical renewal movement with the Church’s efforts in the new evangelization, as well as the ancient and timeless content of the liturgy with the best of innovative technologies, the ultimate integration that we hope to see in our times is the integration of humanity with the Divine Life of Jesus Christ who alone renews, reintegrates, and restores all things to the Father. Our troubled and fragmented times are crying out for this restoration and reintegration in Christ—and it all begins with the liturgy. I hope that Source & Summit might be a help to you and your parishes in your efforts to renew, restore, and elevate the liturgy to its proper place as the font from which all things flow and the goal toward which all things are directed.

Adam Bartlett is the Founder and CEO of Source & Summit / Illuminare Publications. He is composer and editor of Simple English Propers, Lumen Christi Missal, Lumen Christi Simple Gradual, and Lumen Christi Hymnal, and is the creator and Product Owner of the Source & Summit digital platform. He has served as Director of Sacred Music at SS. Simon and Jude Cathedral, Phoenix, as Assistant Director of the Liturgical Institute, Mundelein, Instructor in Liturgical Chant at Mundelein Seminary, and as an Adjunct Faculty Member at the Augustine Institute. He resides in Denver, CO, with his wife and children.

fifth anniversary, referred to as a ‘twofold gift of the Lord to his Church,’” he said.

According to the pope, the vocation of consecrated virginity “is a sign of the inexhaustible and manifold richness of the gifts of the Spirit of the Risen Lord, who makes all things new.”

He added that it is also a sign of hope and the faithfulness of God the Father, who inspires certain women with the desire for this vocation.

Francis also highlighted that it is a vocation lived out “in a concrete social and cultural setting, rooted in a particular Church, and expressed in a way of life that is ancient, yet modern and ever new.”

“You have been called, not because of your own merits, but by God’s mercy, to make your lives a reflection of the face of the Church, the Bride of Christ,” he said.

Your lives, he noted, reveal the eschatological tension of creation. He also encouraged meditating on the texts of the Rite of Consecration.

“You are called to experience yourselves, and then to testify to others, that God, in his Son, loved us first, that his love is for all, and that it has the power to change sinners into saints,” he said.

The pope closed by extending his blessing to all consecrated virgins, as well as those women who will be consecrated in the future.

“As signs of the Church as Bride, may you always be women of joy, following the example of Mary of Nazareth, woman of the Magnificat, Mother of the living Gospel,” he stated.

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Adoremus Bulletin, July 2020

THE RITE QUESTIONS : Does a televised or livestreamed Mass fulfill the

: When—and how— Q can a “Servant of God” Q or “Venerable” or “Blessed” be invoked in public A prayer?

A

: Public prayer is offered with and on behalf of the Church. St. Thomas distinguishes between common or public prayer and individual prayer (communis, et singularis). This common or public prayer is “that which is offered to God by the ministers of the Church representing the body of the faithful” (STh., II-II q.83 a.12 resp). The New Catholic Encyclopedia distills from the tradition three criteria for public prayer: “use of an approved formula, recitation in the name of the [Church]…, and legitimate delegation”1 (cf. Code of Canon Law 834, §2).

When the Church invokes a saint in the public prayer—for example, during the Litany of Saints at an ordination—a member of the saints is being asked to pray on behalf of the whole Church. In fact, this is a fundamental aspect of the rite of canonization: the praying of the Litany of the Saints with the inclusion of the one being canonized. The newly canonized is thus invoked in an approved formula, in the name of the Church, and through a legitimate delegation.

Blesseds “are usually venerated with celebrations on a local level in places where they were born, where they died, [or] where their relics are preserved” (Instruction Calendaria Particularia, Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship, 25). When one is declared a blessed, he may have shrines built in his name, churches placed under his patronage, and feast days established to honor what God has done in him. Nevertheless, the papal act of beatification “is permissive, not prescriptive, and is not infallible (although no beatification has ever been rescinded).”2 That said, the blessed is worthy of emulation and able to “enjoy a public cult of praise,” and also a “public cult of authentic relics.”3 “Venerable” is a title bestowed by the pope that recognizes the heroic virtue of the person or that the person died a martyr’s death as a result of odium fidei (hatred of the faith). While the Christian faithful may ask for the venerable’s intercession privately and even promote the cause for his canonization, the Church waits upon the Lord to confirm the person’s status through a miracle before invoking him or her in public prayer. So, while “panegyric speeches about Servants of God…are prohibited in Churches,” it would seem that such speeches may take place after the person is declared “venerable.”4 A person is given the title of “Servant of God” when the cause for canonization is begun. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints is very clear that “one must also refrain, even outside of Church, from any acts which could mislead the faithful into thinking that the inquiry conducted by the Bishop into the life of the Servant of God and his virtues or martyrdom carries with it the certitude that the Servant of God will be one day canonized.”5 The public cult of Saint Teresa of Calcutta has been “formally extended to the universal Church. The feast of Blessed Solanus Casey (July 30), on the other hand, may only be celebrated in the Archdiocese of Detroit, his religious community, and a few other dioceses where part of his pastoral work took place. The Venerable Augustus Tolton may not have a public cult directed to him, though he may be publicly lifted up as an example to emulate, and people may pray for his intercession and canonization privately. The cause for the canonization of the Servant of God, Dorothy Day, is still underway and so there is, as of yet, no declaration of her as “Venerable.” Therefore, while the Servant of God might be known for her holiness, the Church patiently waits for the process of inquiry to take its course.

— The Editors 1. K.J. Healy, “Prayer (Theology of),” in New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2nd ed., 14 vols. (Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2003), 11:600.

2. Dom Basil Watkins, ed., The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical Dictionary (New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark: An Imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016), 785.

3. P. Molinari and G.B. O’Donnell, “Canonization of Saints (History and Procedure),” in New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2nd ed., 14 vols. (Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2003), 3:61–66, at 65.

4. Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Norms to be Observed in Inquiries Made by Bishops in the Causes of Saints (07 February 1983), no. 36.

5. Ibid.

Sunday obligation during a pandemic?

: The short answer is, no, a broadcast Mass does not fulfill the Sunday obligation.

The Church responds to the Lord’s command to Moses and the Chosen People—“Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day”—and to Christ’s command to “Do this in memory of me” by celebrating the Mass and by refraining from unnecessary work on Sundays. The Code of Canon Law puts it this way in Canon 1247: “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass. Moreover, they are to abstain from those works and affairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and body.”

By “participation in the Mass,” the tradition understands that one be physically present and not “participate” remotely. To be sure, those who view and pray along with the Mass by some electronic means are engaging in the liturgical prayer of the Church in some way, but such remote participation is not what the Church envisions. (As an aside, the faithful can gain an indulgence for watching a broadcast Mass, but this indulgenced activity is not the same as being present at the Mass, nor does it transform the viewing or listening to the Mass into a physical participation. It is, rather, a matter of the reality of an indulgenced act and not the reality of the Mass which is in question.)

So, how does one who is unable to attend Mass during a pandemic fulfill the Sunday obligation? From one perspective, it is true to say that he does not in fact fulfill the obligation; from another, yet related, perspective, it is accurate to say that the Sunday obligation no longer binds the person, since it is, by all practical measures, impossible to fulfill. Neither God nor the Church places impossible requirements on their children. Put another way, where there is no opportunity, there is no obligation.

But even if one cannot attend Sunday Mass as a part of living the Lord’s Day, this does not mean that Sunday loses its sacred character nor that the faithful can do as they please on Sunday. As expressed in the Code, part of responding to the Lord’s Commands is to “abstain from those works and affairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and body” (Canon 1247). This precept must still be observed, regardless if one can attend Mass or not.

The Church also asks those who cannot attend Mass to find another way to offer prayer to God—even though such prayer is not a substitute for the Mass, nor will it fulfill the command to attend Mass. The Code of Canon Law continues: “If participation in the eucharistic celebration becomes impossible because of the absence of a sacred minister or for another grave cause [e.g., such as pandemic-related restrictions], it is strongly recommended that the faithful take part in a liturgy of the word if such a liturgy is celebrated in a parish church or other sacred place according to the prescripts of the diocesan bishop or that they devote themselves to prayer for a suitable time alone, as a family, or, as the occasion permits, in groups of families” (1248§2).

— The Editors

Q A

: What is a sacrarium?

: A sacrarium is “special sink used for the reverent disposal of sacred substances. This sink has a cover, a basin, and a special pipe and drain that empty directly into the earth, rather than into the sewer system” (USCCB, Built of Living Stones, 236).

Precious or sacred items are disposed of, when possible, by returning them to the ground. Sacred books or vessels, for example, are often buried on church grounds or in a Catholic cemetery. Other items, such as altar linens, are first burned and then the ashes are buried. Liquids, rather than pouring them into sewer or septic systems, find their way to the earth by direct pouring or through the sacrarium. The water used to rinse purificators, corporals, or vessels can be poured into the sacrarium. Baptismal water, and even old holy oils, can similarly be poured into the sacrarium. If cloths are used to clean a spill of the Precious Blood, these are rinsed above the sacrarium. The Precious Blood is never poured into the sacrarium, but must be consumed (see Built of Living Stones, 236-7).

J.B. O’Connell summarizes the history and legislation on the sacrarium (also called a piscina, literally, “fish pool”) in his helpful 1955 book, Church Building and Furnishing (University of Notre Dame Press). He writes: “The sacrarium is mentioned from about the 9th century for the disposal of the water which the celebrant of Mass has used to cleanse the chalice and his hands (Leo IV, about 850, directed that a sacrarium should be built near the altar). It was Innocent III (1216) who first ordered that two piscinae be used, one for the wine and water with which the chalice was cleansed, the other for the water the celebrant used to wash his hands. Later he ruled that the priest should drink the ablutions, but only gradually did this practice obtain, and it was not widespread until the 14th century…. In some of the medieval churches, [the sacrarium] was quite an architectural feature—encased with elaborate moldings, sometimes surmounted by a canopy.”

As for the brief legislation in 1955, O’Connell says that the sacrarium leads into a lead, copper, or earthenware pipe “which will conduct liquids or small solids directly into the earth (not into a drain used for other purposes), where a hole is made, filled with broken fragments of stone or brick, so that the water may soak into the ground.

The sacrarium itself (the basin) should have a lockable cover, and be labelled “Sacrarium” or “Piscina” to prevent it being used for profane purposes” (88-89).

— The Editors Continued from ONLINE, page 8

“ Students who could never afford to relocate to a particular campus in the United States have access to academic studies while remaining at home and, in many cases, without having to leave a job or use vacation time.”

“Forming people for intentional investment into liturgical prayer isn’t accomplished merely by telling people more about the liturgy,” he said. “Rather, what we communicate to others has to be done so in such a way that it might be heard, received, taken to heart. In this course, we think through the intricacies of how to fruitfully prepare people today for the liturgical encounter with God.” According to Pauley, the LI online program has allowed him to travel around the world with the message of hope that his course offers.

“One of my favorite surprises with teaching online is the broader reach that such a medium provides,” he told Adoremus. “Students who could never afford to relocate to a particular campus in the United States have access to academic studies while remaining at home and, in many cases, without having to leave a job or take vacation time.

I’ve had students from a wide variety of regions in North America, but also from New Zealand, Nigeria, Ireland,

Scotland, Singapore, and Lebanon.”

Pauley and his course are in many ways an exemplar of what an online program in the liturgy can provide to students. In fact, the online format is relatively old hat for Pauley.

“I’ve been creating and teaching online courses now for five years at Franciscan University of Steubenville,” he said. “At first, I was very hesitant to dip my toes into these waters as I am a bit of a technophobe, if truth be told. But it has grown on me, especially since I’ve received enthusiastic feedback from students who benefit from this mode of learning.”

All Adoremus readers can purchase any course for 50% off the retail price by going to www.liturgy.online and using the code ADOREMUS at checkout.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of the story appeared at Catholic-link.org.

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Adoremus Bulletin, July 2020 then says the following or other invocations with Kyrie, eleison (Lord, have mercy)” (Order of Mass, 6; italics added). b and d. “The vestment proper to the Deacon is the dalmatic, worn over the alb and stole; however, the dalmatic may be omitted out of necessity or on account of a lesser degree of solemnity” (GIRM, 338).

The bishop (including the Pope) may also wear a dalmatic at Mass. The GIRM directs, “At a Mass celebrated by the Bishop or at which he presides without celebrating the Eucharist, the norms found in the Caeremoniale Episcoporum (Ceremonial of Bishops) should be observed” (112). The Ceremonial of Bishops says “The vestments worn by the bishop at a liturgical celebration are the same as those worn by presbyters; but, in accordance with traditional usage, it is fitting that at a solemn celebration he wear under the chasuble a dalmatic (which may always be white). This applies particularly to the celebration of ordinations, the blessing of an abbot or abbess, and the dedication of a church and an altar” (56).

Each option is appropriate for the reader. The current legislation envisions two varieties of reader: the instituted reader is the normative minister who proclaims the word, and, in his absence, a non-instituted reader assumes many of the same roles. An instituted reader, along with the instituted acolyte, are permanent ministries, exercised by males only, and practically (but not exclusively) reserved for men in formation in holy orders. These instituted ministries, formerly called “minor orders,” have existed for centuries in the Church, and the most recent legislation about them was offered by Pope Paul VI in his 1972 motu proprio Ministeria Quaedam. The roles of the reader at Mass—instituted or not—are introduced by the GIRM: “The lector is instituted to proclaim the readings from Sacred Scripture, with the exception of the Gospel. He may also announce the intentions for the Universal Prayer and, in the absence of a psalmist, recite the Psalm between the readings” (99; see also 194-198). In addition, according to Ministeria Quaedam, the instituted reader “is to direct the singing and the participation by the faithful; he is to instruct the faithful for the worthy reception of the sacraments. He may also, insofar as may be necessary, take care of preparing other faithful who are appointed on a temporary basis to read the Scriptures in liturgical celebrations.”

Mostly true: On the reading of sacred scripture, for example, the Vatican’s Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism states, “The reading of Scripture during a Eucharistic celebration in the Catholic Church is to be done by members of that Church. On exceptional occasions and for a just cause, the Bishop of the diocese may permit a member of another Church or ecclesial Community to take on the task of reader” (133). Similarly, the Directory also states, “Upon request of the couple, the local Ordinary may permit the Catholic priest to invite the minister of the party of the other Church or ecclesial Community to participate in the celebration of the marriage, to read from the Scriptures, give a brief exhortation and bless the couple” (158). These exceptions aside, the Catholic liturgy is served by Catholic ministers and faithful. b. dignity and humility. The GIRM describes the priest’s ministry at the Mass in these words: “A Priest,

who possesses within the Church the sacred power of Orders to offer sacrifice in the person of Christ, presides by this fact over the faithful people gathered here and now, presides over their prayer, proclaims to them the message of salvation, associates the people with himself in the offering of sacrifice through Christ in the Holy Spirit to God the Father, and gives his brothers and sisters the Bread of eternal life and partakes of it with them. Therefore, when he celebrates the Eucharist, he must serve God and the people with dignity and humility, and by his bearing and by the way he pronounces the divine words he must convey to the faithful the living presence of Christ” (93).

10. “The lay Christian faithful called to give assistance at liturgical celebrations should be well instructed and must be those whose Christian life, morals and fidelity to the Church’s Magisterium recommend them. It is fitting that such a one should have received a liturgical formation in accordance with his or her age, condition, state of life, and religious culture. No one should be selected whose designation could cause consternation for the faithful” (Redemptionis Sacramentum, 46).

glory in the life without end. Amen.”

This, then, is the true Christian spirit and first and last the supreme lesson of the liturgy as the official worship and life of the Mystical Body of Christ. And this spirit must needs be the source of all further extension and application of the principles of solidarity and fellowship in our common life and civilization.

So it is pointed out by the Holy Father himself. For him this mutual supernatural relationship of men united in Christ is the model towards which all social regeneration must strive. Speaking of the proper economic relations between men he says, for instance: “Where this harmonious proportion is kept, man’s various economic activities combine and unite into one single organism and become as members of a common body, lending each other mutual help and service.”

Again: “Then only will it be possible to unite all in a harmonious striving for the common good, when all sections of society have the intimate conviction that they are members of a single family and children of the same heavenly Father, and further, that they are one body in Christ and everyone members one of another.”

you is admirably expressed in a quotation from one of the most active and inspiring as well as profound apostles of Catholic Action in our day, Christopher Dawson. “The Mystical Body,” he says, “is the link between the liturgy and sociology; and in proportion as men are brought to realize, through the liturgy, their position as members of that Body, will their actions in the social sphere be affected thereby…. A visible manifestation of incorporation into Christ, a visible united action on the part of the members, cannot fail to revive and foster in them a determination to carry their Christ-life into the social and economic sphere.”

In conclusion, I may summarize in what happens to take on the form of a logical syllogism: Pius X tells us that the liturgy is the indispensable source of the true Christian spirit; Pius XI says that the true Christian spirit is indispensable for social regeneration.

Hence the conclusion: The liturgy is the indispensable basis of Christian social regeneration.

AB/CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY

6.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal details the vesture and roles of the Mass’s many liturgical ministers, such as the emcee and deacons, pictured here.

Readers’ Quiz Answers:

7.

From Quiz on page 3

1. d . Catechist. All other ministries or ministerial functions, and more, are listed in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, numbers 98-106.

2. e. None of the above. The faithful are called to participate actively in the celebration of the Mass in a variety of ways, and chief among them is by offering Christ, the “unblemished sacrificial Victim,” and “also their very selves, and so day by day to be brought, through the mediation of Christ, into unity with God and with each other, so that God may at last be all in all” (GIRM, 79). Every liturgical ministry is meant to foster communion with God— whether through hearing the Word (with the aid of a lector), chanting the Mass’s dialogues (choir and cantor), or receiving communion (acolyte or extraordinary minister of Holy Communion). And while these roles may be for the one who carries them out a means to communion, the specific details of the ministry’s execution may, by the nature of such service, require the minister’s attention to focus on the means of encounter rather than the end of the encounter, union with Christ.

3. True. The GIRM directs, “In the Dioceses of the United States of America, acolytes, altar servers, readers, and other lay ministers may wear the alb or other appropriate and dignified clothing” (339). Accordingly, a cassock and surplice may be worn under the rubric of “other appropriate and dignified clothing.” The cassock, however, is historically a garment worn by the clergy, or at least those in formation for the clerical state, and for this reason should not be worn by girls or women who serve at the altar, as the alb—which is common to each of the baptized— might.

4. a. After the entrance procession has begun. According to the GIRM: “No one is ever to join a concelebration or to be admitted as a concelebrant once the Mass has already begun” (206). One may debate whether Mass “begins” with the entrance procession, the entrance chant, or the Sign of the Cross.

5. True. “The Priest, or a Deacon or another minister,

Continued from REGENERATION, page 7 Rites of Fellowship The liturgy is replete with instances of the actual working out of this Christian fellowship and solidarity, this mutual Christian love which cannot bear to see a member suffer without an attempt to aid him. We are all aware of the fact that no Mass is offered without an official commemoration of the poor souls in purgatory.

This is but another illustration of the general principle of Christian solidarity between the different divisions of the fellowship.

Sometimes we view the sacrament of Confession as a striking instance of God’s dealing solely with the individual. But here too we have another example of the same solidary Christian spirit. Here too the merits of the common treasury of all is drawn upon for the needs of the individual member. This is beautifully expressed in the official prayer recited by the priest after the sacramental absolution. In a most offhand way the good works of the individual in question and of all the saints and of Christ are mentioned together: “May the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the blessed Virgin Mary and of all the saints, whatever good thou mayest do and whatever evil thou mayest have to endure, profit thee unto the remission of sins, increase of grace, and

8.

9.

The True Missing Link The whole trend of ideas I have tried to bring before

MEMORIAL FOR William Cardinal Baum

On the Fifth Anniversary of His Death, July 23, 2015, from Rev. Msgr. Patrick Dempsey

Lisa Manning-Pratt from Mom D’Ann Rittie from Robert Rittie My dear mother who loved your Adoremus! from C.A. Scheetz

TO HONOR

Deacon Vincent J. Barreca, Jr.

On the Tenth Anniversary of His Ordination from Dr. and Mrs. Nicholas Barreca

Stephen M. Swetish from Frank Matous Raymond Cardinal Burke from Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Norton

IN THANKSGIVING Ordination - Fr. Albert Colpitts

Our Family - Joann and Fred Sanscrainte

OTHER

Pray for all Catholics suffering without the Eucharist. - Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Atwood

The above article appeared in 1935 in Orate Fratres (9:536-545) and is reprinted with the permission of The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN.

12

Adoremus Bulletin, July 2020

New Book Offers a Convergence of History and Theology on the Eucharist

By Aaron Sanders My Body Given for You: History and Theology of the Eucharist, by Helmut Hoping. San Francisco, Ignatius Press, 2019. 556 pp. ISBN: 978-1621641896. Paperback, $23.99.

A

t the dawn of the early modern era (15th century), an enterprising scholar may have boldly but not implausibly claimed to have read every book ever printed in a chosen theological field. The succeeding centuries have, for good or ill, witnessed such an accretion of academic output as to place that sort of comprehensive knowledge well beyond the imagination—let alone the reach—of most researchers.

Specialization, periodization, and the decline of Latin learning have all contributed to the fragmentation of academic discourse, and even those who have attained a certain mastery of a field during graduate studies may find it difficult to stay abreast of developments if they leave the university setting for pastoral ministry.

No single resource can alleviate all of these difficulties, yet, by providing an English edition of a recent scholarly work in German, Ignatius Press and translator Michael J. Miller have offered readers a useful status quaestionis for various lines of inquiry surrounding liturgical history, theology, and praxis. In this second, expanded edition of My Body Given for You: History and Theology of the Eucharist (Ignatius Press, 2019), Helmut Hoping, professor of theology at the University of Freiburg, proceeds from the standpoint that “the meaning and the liturgical form of the Eucharist cannot be separated [from each other] any more than liturgy and dogma or pastoral practice and doctrine can.”

Since “faith and worship belong together inseparably,” this book represents an attempt to bring together in one place “the systematic theological approach to the Eucharist of dogmatic theology with the perspective of liturgical studies” (13).

Hoping’s introductory chapter provides a concise overture of theological themes that are interwoven throughout the coming historical considerations, most notably Karl Rahner’s challenge to develop a notion of sacrifice that does equal justice to both the history of religions and the New Testament accounts (16–17).

The theology of gift to which he gestures at this point not only returns in the ultimate chapter to synthesize the book’s content, but it also informs Hoping’s historical analyses of both theological developments and shifts in liturgical practice across the centuries.

His interest in those practical shifts is not in the ritual developments, per se, but in their implications for the unfolding of the Church’s faith. The liturgy, after all, is both the event wherein the Church experiences “as nowhere else the presence of Christ and of the salvation founded upon Him” (20) as well as the primary supposition of the Church’s theological reflection (24).

Christ’s Eucharistic Presence Upon what, then, does Hoping choose to reflect? Many points within the development of the Roman Rite of Mass and its liturgical books receive brief mention in this broad 2000-year survey: whether the Didache relates a Eucharist or agape, monetization of Mass offerings, the introduction of the post-consecration elevations, and the ban on translations of the Roman Canon. Since it would be impossible to relate them all, it may be better to trace just one theme that receives sustained treatment across several historical periods: the proper understanding of Christ’s presence in the Eucharistic species. A spectrum of theologies on the manner of Christ’s presence in the Blessed Sacrament appears through sketches of patristic sources, but Hoping does not settle into systematic investigation until the Eucharistic controversy sparked between Paschasius Radbertus (c. 790–c. 860) and Ratramnus (d. 868) during the Carolingian period. The focused attention on this controversy is likely driven by the opportunity to mark philosophical shifts—from Neo-Platonism to Aristotelianism, and from a unified conception of image and reality to a conceptual framework that divorces the two (176–177)—that present marked difficulty for modern readers of early Christian texts. But one suspects that the fair-minded Hoping is also intrigued by the messiness of controversies whose victors, if you will, still fell somewhat short of the Church’s ultimate mark.

When Berengar (c. 1010–88) picked up Ratramnus’ non-realist conception of the Eucharistic species, multiple means to correct his teaching were employed.

While the second oath imposed upon Berengar was designed to correct the dangerously exaggerated real-

ism of the first (e.g., that the Eucharistic Body of Christ is “ground by the teeth of the faithful”), certain theological paradigms proffered by Berengar would prove to stand the test of time, including his brief definition of a sacrament as a “visible form of invisible grace” (197). Hoping does not, to be clear, suggest that these doctrinal determinations are entirely understood. Still, in relating the history he allows all thinkers to speak for themselves and is confident enough to point out error without the need to pile on in condemnation.

This historical chronicle of straining toward a better understanding of the manner of Christ’s presence in the Eucharistic species carries through the Reformation controversies. There the Reformers’ positions contradicted, in one way or another, the patristic views on Eucharistic Presence. Nevertheless, Catholic proposals also struggled to articulate a Real Presence that left room for Christ as principal celebrant of the Eucharistic sacrifice (248). Amid all this, Luther, though mistaken in rejecting transubstantiation, still held a sufficiently robust doctrine of Presence that remaining differences between transubstantiation and consubstantiation converge significantly in modern ecumenical discourse (395). Hoping’s generosity of interpretation extends also to modern Catholic attempts to replace transubstantiation with non-Aristotelian concepts such as transfinalization or transignification—these focused on the meaning of the Christ’s presence in the sensible elements rather than on describing the change that happens in the elements themselves. Paul VI did not condemn these theories outright; he merely asserted their insufficiency (see Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei, 11, 46). Thus, while explanations through a new end (“transfinalization”) or sign value (“transignifiation”) cannot replace transubstantiation, they can still enrich our understanding of the concept (427).

In support of this portrayal, Hoping cites Ratzinger’s view that, through conversion into Christ’s Body and Blood, the Eucharistic elements cease to be “things” with their own creaturely independence and “become pure signs of his presence” (427). This is hardly the first time Hoping resorts to Ratzingerian explanations to reconcile modern scholarship with more traditional articulations of the faith. Hoping’s openness to the best in all views bears such affinity to Ratzinger’s thought that it comes as no surprise to learn that Hoping, albeit only recently, has become a corresponding member of the Pope Emeritus’ “new Schülerkreis,” or distinguished alumni. The dynamic orthodoxy favored by this school has not, at least in Hoping’s case, settled into a stale outlook whose opinions can easily be predicted. In fact, when addressing another major topic of this book, liturgical reform, Hoping proves just as willing as Ratzinger to adopt an independent line.

enthusiasm for the destruction, despite retaining his appreciation for the continuity and good fruit that remain. While reading Summorum Pontificum’s unity of the two rites as a primarily legal instrument with more aspirational than objective import, he remains fully convinced that “anyone who participates in Holy Mass in grateful adoration can tell that there is no contradiction between the old form and the new form […]. For as much as there is a need for a ‘reform of the reform,’ it is nevertheless clear also that the liturgy cannot be frozen in the state in which it existed in 1962” (364).

By indicating that Benedict XVI, who certainly celebrated the modern rite in continuity with the past, initiated no concrete reform project beyond liturgical translations, Hoping simultaneously signals his understanding of the reform of the reform as requiring future textual or structural changes. Yet those who share his hope for such changes will be disappointed to see that his review of established scholarship does not venture further into modern lines of inquiry or even test his own assertions in the same comprehensive manner as earlier questions. For instance, Hoping concludes that the Roman Mass likely never included an Old Testament reading as a regular feature (137).

He also stresses that the catechetical dimension of the liturgy must never be elevated above its primary end of latria, or worship (290). Why then, not engage—even if only to disarm—modern concerns that the simultaneous adjustments in the quantity, selection, language, minister, and location of the scriptural readings have combined to obscure their latreutic character? If the Roman Canon likely never contained an epiclesis (148), why should the new Eucharistic Prayers, which Hoping welcomes, all have been constructed on a nonRoman epicletic model? Given ongoing debates about the methods and ministers of Holy Communion, why does the medieval withdrawal of the chalice from lay communicants receive no more than a passing mention in a single sentence? Surely this had greater theological repercussions than that single sentence acknowledges, regardless of whether one supports the current method of receiving the Precious Blood.

This is not to say that Hoping leaves reform of the reform perspectives entirely untouched. On the contrary, he defends the de jure post-conciliar presumption of ad orientem worship (355–358). It does mean, however, that the erstwhile revisionist (and now mainstream) lines he rightly adopts (against synagogal origins for the Liturgy of the Word [83], or for the Apostolic Tradition’s Syrian origins [123]), are responses to debates of the past rather than contributions to present-day reforms. And this is perfectly adequate to Hoping’s project, which if polemical at all is not designed to litigate the details of ritual reform but to carry forward the conciliar theology of liturgy as the priestly prayer of the whole Christ, Head and members. Medieval thought, he contends, failed to maintain an “awareness that the offering of the faithful and the Church’s prayer of thanksgiving are central” to the Mass (170). The past century, in contrast, has rightly seen both elements return to prominence.

Liturgical Reform “The reform of the Mass no doubt produced numerous good fruits, for example:” vernacular liturgy, the expanded cycle of readings, obligatory homilies, the Prayer of the Faithful, more Prefaces, the new Eucharistic Prayers, Communion of the faithful within Mass and under both species, and renewal of the ministries of lector and cantor (312). With such a list of perceived improvements, Hoping is clearly a supporter rather than detractor of today’s liturgy. Yet this support does not preclude an honest assessment that, with so many changes made to a Mass refined over multiple centuries, “there are doubts as to whether they complied with the principle of organic development of the liturgy. From the long perspective, a balance between preservation and renewal is not always discernible” (ibid.).

Some reconciliation between the eventual reform and the Second Vatican Council’s original intentions is thus in order.

Hoping understands Sacrosanctum Concilium to have called not for a reformatio of the Church’s liturgy but for an instauratio, a renewal to bring the liturgy more clearly in line with already existing principles and precedents (286). He also signals agreement with Joseph Gelineau (1920-2008) and Joseph Ratzinger that what happened instead was a complete replacement of the Roman Rite; the historical form was “demolished” (as Ratzinger put it) and a new one constructed. Siding with Ratzinger, now against Gelineau, Hoping makes this observation with no marked

A Eucharistic Theology of Gift Thus, in ending with a phenomenological account of the Eucharist as “gift of life,” “gift of presence,” and “gift of transformation,” Hoping steers his reader away from previous over-clericalized or transactional concepts of the Eucharistic sacrifice and toward an understanding that is selfless on all sides. Jesus, in dying for mankind, was not a “victim” of violence but a sacrifice offered of his own accord (418)—not as an act of destruction, but of total self-surrender to God (414). The true form of the Eucharist is an offering-in-thanksgiving for this selfless act. As God has given himself as a free and unmerited gift for all of humanity, so the baptized offer themselves with the Eucharistic elements as gifts from God and returning to him. In carrying out his liturgy among us, the Son transforms our bodily existence into a living sacrifice (419–421).

Though one might wish Hoping had said more about various subjects within his survey, one cannot accuse him of losing his way within that forest of liturgical detail. This guiding perspective of liturgy as self-offering unites his sections and scholarly opinions and provides valuable food for thought for all those who seek to advance the liturgical apostolate.

Aaron Sanders is Director of the Office for Worship in the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He holds a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame and lives in Grand Rapids with his wife and seven children.