Adoremus Bulletin - September 2023

Adoremus Bulletin

For the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy

News & Views

Pope Francis: Recover Eucharistic Adoration in the Church

By Diego Lopez Marina

CNA—From Lisbon, Portugal, Pope

Francis reflected on the urgency of taking up again “the prayer of adoration” before the tabernacle to recover “the taste and passion for evangelization” in a message addressed on August 2 to bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated women religious, and seminarians.

“I would like to ask a question here, but each one should answer it interiorly. How do I pray? Like a parrot—blah blah blah blah blah? Or taking a nap in front of the tabernacle because I don’t know how to talk to the Lord? I pray? How do I pray? Only in adoration, only before the Lord can the taste and passion for evangelization be recovered,” the pontiff said during his August 2 homily for vespers at the Jerónimos Monastery.

After noting that “to trust every day in the Lord and in his word, words are not enough” but rather “a lot of prayer is needed,” he pointed out to the approximately 1,100 attendees that the Church has abandoned prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

“Curiously, the prayer of adoration—we have lost it. We have lost it, and everyone—priests, bishops, consecrated men and women, laypeople—have to recover it. It’s to be in silence, before the Lord,” Pope Francis urged.

In this context, the pope invited his listeners to follow the example of St. Teresa of Calcutta, who, despite

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Special Report: The State of Latinity in the Roman Liturgy

Liturgical and Latin Experts See Small but Growing Interest in Reintegrating Latin in the Mass

By Paul Senz Adoremus Correspondent

The history of Catholic liturgical practices is long and complex, ranging the world over, across many cultures, languages, historical eras, and countless other complicating factors. Perhaps because of its complexity, the Church’s liturgical history raises many questions for Catholics. For the Church in the West, one of the most controversial liturgical questions today is whether and how much Latin should be used

in the liturgy. As we near the 60th anniversary of the promulgation of the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, it is a good time to take a look back at what the Council had to say. Liturgical and Latin experts agree that it is high time to revisit this important conciliar text to better understand the value of using Latin in the celebration of the liturgy and its role in preserving the Church’s unity.

Sacrosanctum Concilium

So, what did the Second Vatican

Latin Plus!

Yes, more Latin in the Liturgy seems to be a going thing among a small but growing number of Catholics—and correspondent Paul Senz has all the details in a special report for Adoremus 1

The Angel Angle Find the reason—a host and multitude of reasons—why the Church teaches that saints and angels celebrate the heavenly liturgy in this reprint by Jesuit theologian Jean Daniélou 3 Visiting Hours Eucharistic adoration is time well spent in front of the Lord, true enough; but according to Roland Millare, this hallowed practice of the Church is also an extension of the liturgy 6

Council say about the use of vernacular in the liturgy, and its proper place along with Latin? Here we will be focusing on the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC)) 54: “In Masses which are celebrated with the people, a suitable place may be allotted to their mother tongue. This is to apply in the first place to the readings and ‘the common prayer,’ but also, as local conditions may warrant, to those parts which pertain to the people, according to the norm laid down in Art. 36 of this Constitution. Nevertheless steps should

Please see LATIN on page 4

Parish Counsel

The Eucharistic Revival is in full swing and Adam Bartlett examines four invitations it’s offering to parishes—with some concrete and absolutely doable ways for us respond 8

The Rite Way

Joseph Tuttle reviews Louis Bouyer’s Rite and Man: The Sense of the Sacred and Christian Liturgy, and finds it showing the “rite” way to understand the liturgy—Incarnationally

What did the Second Vatican Council say about the use of vernacular in the liturgy, and its proper place along with Latin? In brief: “In Masses which are celebrated with the people, a suitable place may be allotted to their mother tongue…. Nevertheless steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them.”

being “involved in so many things in life, never gave up adoration even at times when her faith wavered and she wondered if it was all true or not.”

“So, in prayer the temptation to carry out a pastoral ministry of nostalgia and complaining is overcome,” he added.

To further exemplify the need to redirect our gaze to Eucharistic adoration, the pontiff recalled the anecdote of a nun who “complained about everything” in her convent.

“In a convent there was a nun who, I don’t know what her name was, but they changed her name and called her ‘Sister Lamentela’ [the whiner]. How many times do we transform our inabilities, our disappointment, into ‘lamentela’ [being whiners]? And leaving behind these ‘lamentelas,’ one gets the strength to sail out to sea, without ideologies, without worldliness. The spiritual worldliness that gets into us and which engenders clericalism not only in priests; clericalized laymen are worse than priests,” he explained.

Pope Francis stressed that clericalism is “one of the most serious evils that can happen to the Church” and, consequently, ruin it.

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

Cardinal Sarah: No Synod Can Invent ‘Female Priesthood’

By Ana Paula Morales

CNA—Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, stressed that “the priesthood is unique” and warned that “no council, no synod” can “invent a female priesthood.”

In his conference on the priesthood, titled Joyful Servants of the Gospel and given July 3 at the Conciliar Seminary in Mexico City, the cardinal assured that no one “has the power to transform this divine gift to adapt it and reduce its transcendent value to the cultural and environmental field.”

“No council, no synod, no ecclesiastical authority has the power to invent a female priesthood…without seriously damaging the perennial physiognomy of the priest, his sacramental identity, within the renewed ecclesiological vision of the Church, mystery, communion, and mission,” he emphasized.

Cardinal Sarah stressed that “the Catholic faith professes that the sacrament of Holy Orders, instituted by Christ the Lord, is one, it is identical for the universal Church. For Jesus, there is no African, German, Amazonia, or European priesthood. The priesthood is unique, it is identical for the universal Church.”

In his conference, the prefect emeritus also reflected on “being a priest” and stressed that “the priesthood is a great, great mystery, so great a gift that it would be a sin to waste it.”

“It’s a divine gift that must be received, understood, and lived, and the Church has always sought to understand and enter deeper into the real and proper being of the priest, as a baptized man, called to be an alter Christus, another Christ, even more so an ipse Christus, Christ himself, to represent him, to conform to him, to be configured and mediated in Christ with priestly ordination,” he explained.

For the Guinean prelate, “the priest is a man of God who is day and night in the presence of God to glorify him, to adore him. The priest is a man immolated in sacrifice to prolong the sacrifice of Christ for the salvation of the world.”

The cardinal said that the “first task” of priests “is to pray, because the priest is a man of prayer: He begins his day with the Office of Readings and ends his day with the Office.”

“A priest who does not pray is about to die. A Church that does not pray is a dead Church,” he warned.

Regarding the lack of priestly vocations, he encouraged the faithful to pray because “it’s not that we are few.”

“Christ ordained 12 for the whole world. How many of us are priests today? There are close to 400,000 of us priests in the world. There are too many of us,” he said, citing the same observation made by Pope Gregory the Great in the seventh century.

“Many have accepted the priesthood, but they’re not doing the work of the priest,” Sarah explained.

“So in response, we must pray. Ask him to send workers to his harvest, pray. And show that we priests are happy, because if young men see that we are sad, we

won’t attract anyone.” he urged. “We have to be happy, even if we’re suffering.”

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

Fra Angelico’s Rare Crucifixion Painting Auctioned at Record Price

By Lucien de Guise

CNA—The most publicized painting of the summer sale season is from the Italian Renaissance—and it’s unrepentantly religious—Fra Angelico’s Crucifixion just sold July 6 at Christie’s for over £5 million (about $6.4 million) to an unknown buyer, setting a new auction record for the artist.

Just as the sensation of 2017 was “Christ as Salvator Mundi,” by Leonardo da Vinci, the latest is Christ as part of a Calvary scene. Fra Angelico died around the time that Leonardo was born, in the mid-15th century, and had been revered throughout Italy. For a major painting to come on the market by this artist is exceptional.

Christie’s is the same auction house that sold Leonardo’s work six years ago—it was the most expensive painting ever sold—$450 million, and the buyer was probably the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. It was an unlikely choice for the Guardian of the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina, but for those with the means, the message is less important than the maker.

The Catholic identity of Fra Angelico goes deeper than Leonardo’s. “Fra” is a shortened form of the Italian word for brother, which is what he was within the Dominican order. Originally named Guido di Piero, the friar-artist’s gentle nature led to the nickname “Angelico.”

All his known paintings are religious; many of them are in the convent of San Marco in Florence. He

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lived there for much of his life, painting for San Marco and other Catholic institutions. The settings present a problem for collectors, as Fra Angelico’s paintings are mostly still attached to the walls. The cells and common areas of his friary are covered with them.

During Fra Angelico’s lifetime, his fame spread far and wide. Two successive popes were so impressed, they summoned the painter-friar to work on frescoes at the Vatican on different occasions. It was in Rome that he died before his 60th year. He was buried there, despite his strong attachment to Tuscany.

The importance of Fra Angelico’s work was closely tied to his character. It seems that Fra Angelico led a blameless life and used painting as a form of worship. He felt himself to have been divinely inspired and few viewers would disagree. He reportedly wept whenever he painted the Crucifixion.

Even in a secular age, the power of his devotion is apparent. The glistening gold ground of the painted panel at Christie’s has an otherworldly glow. There is plenty of symbolism, too, although some of this is lost amid the spellbinding colors and composition of this 25-inch-tall painting. A notable detail is almost invisible in the face of the grieving woman at the bottom of the painting. And above Christ’s head is a tiny Pelican in Her Piety, a well-known symbol of Christ’s sacrifice, chest bloodied from pecking in order to feed her young.

The atmosphere in the Christie’s viewing room for Part 1 of the Old Masters sale took on a heightened sense of the sacred with the Fra Angelico; there was a hushed awe that matched the subject matter. (In the same space three months previous to the July auction there was another painting of the crucifixion that also transformed the highly commercial space into a haven of contemplation. Craigie Aitchison is one of the few 20thcentury artists to have made a name by painting Christ’s passion.)

Fra Angelico was not always as well-known as he is now. For centuries, his fame was eclipsed but then rose again in the 19th century, along with a revival of interest in deeply spiritual early Renaissance art.

Art historians such as Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford, championed what was often called “Catholic art” and Fra Angelico was one of his favorites. John Ruskin was another supporter, despite reservations about Catholicism. Most enthusiastic of all was that rare thing, an art writer who happened to be a Catholic cardinal. Nicholas Wiseman, the first Catholic archbishop of Westminster, likened Fra Angelico’s “perfection in virtue” to “perfection in Christian art.”

In that 19th-century explosion of enthusiasm for Italian “Primitives,” many collectors in the U.K. and the U.S. acquired works that will seldom be seen again for sale. Still operating in London and New York, Colnaghi is the oldest commercial gallery in the world and has a longtime interest in Fra Angelico. Jeremy Howard of Colnaghi is a preeminent authority on the subject.

Before the auction Howard told CNA that “paintings by Fra Angelico on the market are rare—there have only been three sales this century—and rediscoveries are even rarer.”

“The present Crucifixion was identified in 1996,” he continued. “It was probably acquired in the early Victorian period by Lord Ashburton at a time of fervent religious revivalism…. But you don’t need to be religious to appreciate the beauty and the raw emotional appeal of this very early work by one of the great pioneers of the Italian Renaissance.”

The last word should perhaps go to Pope John Paul II, who beatified Fra Angelico in 1982. The pope’s motu proprio was prefaced with a quote from Giorgio Vasari, the definitive art writer of the Renaissance. He described “Beato” Angelico (which is how he has always been known in Italy): “the one who does the work of Christ.”

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The Rev. Jerry Pokorsky

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Fra Angelico’s Crucifixion, pictured above, recently sold at Christie’s auction house for $6.4 million.

A Devotion to Harmony and Balance

By Christopher Carstens, Editor

By September, kids are back in school. The year ahead of them—we hope and expect—will provide a well-rounded education in many disciplines: from math and science, to language and literature, to physical and social health. In short, parents and society desire that the educational system, whether public or private, produce mature, healthy, and competent citizens—and of course in the case of Catholic schools, this means forming citizens for the Heavenly Jerusalem (i.e., saints).

For those of us whose school days are long past, the late summer can still teach us a thing or two, especially about education and formation in prayer. Many (myself included) may feel like mere adolescents in the spiritual life—indeed, many struggle to mature in the life of prayer. Despite the lack of space in this editorial slot, as well as my own ineptitude (or is it “ineptness”?), let us consider two primary courses in maturing in the prayer life and becoming blessed citizens of the Heavenly Jerusalem: liturgical prayer and devotional (or private) prayer.

These two principal prayer forms have long been at odds with each other—at least on the surface. Pastors of a century ago lamented that popular devotions were so, well, “popular” that a majority of the praying faithful preferred them over participation in the liturgy. In a presentation to fellow clergy in 1929, one priest (who admittedly “exaggerated a little to bring out [his] point”) described various moments of prayer at Mass:

“After the Offertory we turn to the people and ask them, ‘Orate, fratres, ut meum ac vestrum sacrificium, etc.’ (Pray Brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God). But the ‘brethren’ without looking up continue in their May devotions. After Consecration we say: ‘Unde…nos servi tui sed et plebs tua sancta offerimus’ (Wherefore, O Lord, we Thy servants, and likewise Thy holy people…offer). But the ‘holy people’ is busily engaged in another Novena to the Little Flower. At the same time the choir in the loft is trying to sing: ‘Mother dear, O pray for me’” (in “The Liturgical Movement,” The Liturgical Press, 1930, p. 8).

While not downplaying the place of devotions in a Catholic’s prayer life, this priest was urging a return to a proper balance between devotional and liturgical prayer. When “the treasures of Christ’s redemption are opened” in the liturgy of the sacraments, he goes on to say, why are we limiting ourselves to lesser forms of prayer?

The Second Vatican Council sought this same balance. Early in Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC), the Council Fathers say, “Popular devotions of the Christian people are to be highly commended…. But these devotions should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some fashion derived from it, and lead the people to it, since, in fact, the liturgy by its very nature far surpasses any of them” (13).

The interpretation and implementation of this directive, though, was not always faithful.

The Angels at Mass

By Jean Daniélou

Editor’s note: Jean Daniélou was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1938 and went on to be ordained bishop. After serving as a peritus (expert) during the Second Vatican Council, he was named cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1969. Daniélou’s interests were principally in Patristic theology, studying under Henri de Lubac. Adoremus reprints an excerpt from his 1953 book, The Angels and Their Mission: According to the Fathers of the Church, as the Church looks forward to celebrating the feast of the archangel-saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, on September 29, followed by the memorial of the Guardian Angels on October 2. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1138) reminds us that these heavenly powers celebrate the sacred liturgy around the throne of the Lamb at all times—and it is into this eternal worship that we participate in the sacramental liturgy. The angels and archangels, then, are substantially present at our liturgy, as this excerpt from Jean Daniélou demonstrates.

Devotions and devotional prayer seemed to be quickly discouraged and abandoned in the name of an exclusively liturgical spirituality. In many cases, the Mass—now apparently purified of unnecessary duplications and restored to its pristine form of the Fathers (SC, 50)—nevertheless took on a “devotional spirituality,” where its words, music, architecture, and ministerial style sought to respond to the sentiments of postconciliar Mass-goers.

In short: these two prayer forms—the liturgical and devotional—continued to remain at practical odds well after the Council, with neither form fully actualized, and neither functioning according to its own nature.

What, then, is the nature of liturgical prayer and of devotional prayer? And why are both necessary for a mature Catholic prayer life?

First, liturgical prayer (and liturgical spirituality) originates from the heart of the Trinity and descends toward man. And while the divine life and its condescension in the Incarnation adapts itself to our human nature, liturgical prayer emphasizes the objective, universal, and transcendent nature of God. Romano Guardini describes the liturgy’s style this way, writing in 1918: “The fortuitous element—determined by place and time, with its significance restricted to certain specific people—is superseded by that which is essentially, or at least more essentially, intended for many times, places, and people. The particular is to a great degree absorbed by the universal and ideal” (The Spirit of the Liturgy. Ignatius Press: San Francisco, 2018. 306). The universal and objective character of liturgical prayer allows all individuals—young and old, East and West, clergy and laity—to participate fully in its mystery.

Second, devotional prayer (popular piety, private prayer, or devotional spirituality) originates as it were from the ground up. While seeking and terminating in the one God, its inspiration is the individual—be it a single person, a particular culture, or a unique circumstance. An individual’s prayer ought to be as unique as he is. A 52-year-old father of eight, living in Wisconsin, editing a liturgical journal has spiritual requirements that are different from those of a 24-yearold Carmelite nun in late 19th century northern

As the angels preside over baptism, so they are equally present at every Christian assembly.

“On the question of the angels the following is a necessary conclusion: If the angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear Him, and shall deliver them; and if what Jacob says is true not only in his own case but also in the case of all those who are dedicated to the omniscient God, when he speaks of the angel that delivereth me from all evils: then it is probable that, when many are assembled legitimately for the glory of Christ, the angel of each encamps round each of them that fear God, and that he stands at the side of the man whose protection and guidance has been entrusted to him. Thus, when the saints are assembled together, there is a twofold Church present, that of men and that of angels.1

The synaxis [i.e., the celebration of the assembly] includes readings and a homily. The angels assist at the first half, drawn, Origen tells us, by the reading of the Scripture which they delight in hearing.2 He who delivers the homily should not forget that they are listening and judging it. “I have no doubt that there are angels in

France—even if both of us participate in essentially the same celebration of the Mass.

Both liturgical and devotional prayer are necessary features of a fully formed spiritual life. Guardini summarizes their relationship in The Spirit of the Liturgy, when each prayer form was in practice ignorant of the other, with devotional prayer winning the hearts of believers. “Both methods of prayer must co-operate,” he says. “They stand together in a vital and reciprocal relationship. The one derives its light and fruitfulness from the other. In the liturgy the soul learns to move about the wider and more spacious spiritual world. It assimilates…that freedom and dignified restraint which in human intercourse is acquired by the man who frequents good society, and who limits his self-indulgence by the discipline of timehonored social usage; the soul expands and develops in that width of feeling and clearness of form which together constitute the liturgy…. On the other hand, as the Church herself reminds us…, side by side with the liturgy there must continue to exist that private devotion which provides for the personal requirements of the individual, and to which the soul surrenders itself according to its particular circumstances. From the latter liturgical prayer in its turn derives warmth and local color” (315).

That both liturgical prayer and devotion prayer are essential for an integral spiritual life should not surprise us. Did not Christ himself embody a similar harmony and balance in his incarnate life: the divine element hypostatically united to our human nature in a single person? And, if we desire to grow into his likeness, ought not our own prayer life rest firmly on the divine nature of the liturgy as well as the human elements expressed in private and devotional prayer?

So, as our kids and grandkids head back to school and mature into adulthood, let us take a closer look at the Church’s own “school of prayer” and how her perennial wisdom conforms us to Christ by forming us into saints. Let us not deform ourselves—being only partial images of Christ—by neglecting one prayer form over the other. Rather, let us “be transformed by the renewal of our minds, that we may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

the midst of our assembly too, not only the Church in general, but each church individually—those of whom it is said that ‘their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.’ Thus we have here a twofold Church, one of men, the other of angels. If what we say is in conformity with both reason and the meaning of Scripture, the angels rejoice and pray together with us. And since there are angels present in Church—that is, in the Church which deserves them, being of Christ— women when they pray are ordered to have a covering upon their heads because of those angels. They assist the saints and rejoice in the Church. We indeed do not see them because our eyes are grown dim with the stains of sin; but the Apostles see them, as they were promised: ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened and the angels of God going up and coming down upon the Son of Man.’ And if I had this grace which the Apostles had, I would see the multitude of angels that Eliseus saw, when Giezi, standing

By September, kids are back in school. For those of us whose school days are long past, the late summer can still teach us a thing or two, especially about education and formation in prayer.

AB/JOE SHLABOTNIK

Continued from LATIN, page 1 be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them. And wherever a more extended use of the mother tongue within the Mass appears desirable, the regulation laid down in Art. 40 of this Constitution is to be observed.”

Article 36, as referenced above, says: “1. Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites. 2. But since the use of the mother tongue, whether in the Mass, the administration of the sacraments, or other parts of the liturgy, frequently may be of advantage to the people, the limits of its employment may be extended. This will apply in the first place to the readings and directives, and to some of the prayers and chants, according to the regulations on this matter to be laid down separately in subsequent chapters. 3. These norms being observed, it is for the competent territorial ecclesiastical authority mentioned in Art. 22, 2, to decide whether, and to what extent, the vernacular language is to be used; their decrees are to be approved, that is, confirmed, by the Apostolic See. And, whenever it seems to be called for, this authority is to consult with bishops of neighboring regions which have the same language. 4. Translations from the Latin text into the mother tongue intended for use in the liturgy must be approved by the competent territorial ecclesiastical authority mentioned above.”

And Article 40 gives guidelines which are to be followed when “an even more radical adaptation of the liturgy is needed, and this entails greater difficulties.”

was where the vernacular was needed for the people— because you couldn’t expect them to understand the readings in Latin, for example—I did the vernacular. The unchanging parts, the Ordinary, I did in Latin.”

Since Father Fessio has never served as a pastor of a parish, he said that it was easy for him to implement this in his celebration of the Mass. But according to the Jesuit, the best place to begin implementing this reform of the reform in a parish is by praying the Greek Kyrie, followed by the Latin Sanctus and Agnus Dei, then the Gloria, and finally the Creed.

This is the principle articulated thoroughly in then-Cardinal Ratzinger’s The Spirit of the Liturgy (Ignatius Press, 2000), and repeated during his papacy. One example of this can be found in his Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis: “I wish to endorse the proposal made by the Synod of Bishops, in harmony with the directives of the Second Vatican Council, that, with the exception of the readings, the homily and the prayer of the faithful, it is fitting that such liturgies be celebrated in Latin” (62). The liturgies Pope Benedict is referring to are large, international gatherings, but this is fully in continuity with what the Council Fathers said.

Father Jerry Pokorsky is the pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Great Falls, VA, in the Diocese of Arlington. Ordained in 1990 for the Arlington diocese, he is co-founder of CREDO, a society of priests committed to promoting a faithful translation of the liturgy. He is also co-founder of the Adoremus Society

is translating Et cum spiritu tuo as “And also with you” rather than “And with your spirit,” as the current translation accurately reflects.

While Latin is the official language of the Church and emphasizes her Catholicity, Father Pokorsky said, there are certain pastoral reasons for Masses in the vernacular. “In America, it is prudent to celebrate Spanish and Vietnamese Masses (for example) where needed,” he said, but added that pastoral concern is often confused with political fervor—to the detriment of the Church. “Unfortunately, invoking a rigid ‘multiculturalism’ rather than polite pastoral sensitivity and accommodation accentuates our differences rather than our unity in Jesus.”

Parish life

At this point, is it possible to implement these principles in practice at the parish?

Father Dylan Schrader currently serves as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Westphalia, MO, and St. Anthony Parish in Folk, MO; he also serves as the diocesan Latinist for the Diocese of Jefferson City, MO, for which he was ordained a priest in 2010. “Since the

There are points here that are certainly open to interpretation, and the Church has seen a wide array of interpretations of the particulars in these texts over the last 60 years, and as a reflection of this ambiguity, even the implementation was gradual and somewhat inconsistent. The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy was promulgated on December 4, 1963, which led to a missal a year later that was a version of the 1962 missal with the people’s parts in English. A Sacramentary was produced in 1966 which allowed nearly all texts in the vernacular; two years later, the entire Mass could be said in English, but this was still a version of the missal of 1962. In 1970, the Novus Ordo Roman Missal appeared in Latin, and this was finally approved in its English-language form in 1974, 11 years after Sacrosanctum Concilium. Updated editions would follow over the next few decades, with the third and most recent edition being implemented in English at the end of 2011.

The text of Sacrosanctum Concilium in no way mandates that all celebrations of the liturgy must be entirely in the vernacular, nor that the form of the Mass must be substantially changed. In fact, as we have seen, the Council Fathers explicitly state that the faithful should know their responses in Latin, and that Latin remains the normative language of the Latin Church and should be preserved. Considering these two points, it seems that the reform of the liturgy drifted outside its lane a bit, to say the least.

Reform of the Reform?

Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio is the founder and editor of Ignatius Press, and a co-founder of Adoremus Society. After hearing a talk by Father Brian Harrison in 1995 entitled “On the Reform of the Reform of the Liturgy,” Father Fessio became convinced that the implementation of the Council had been skewed, and that what was needed was to take another look at the Council’s directives and the pre-conciliar Mass, and reform the reforms that had already taken place. What did that effort look like in practice?

“For me, what that meant was that I took all the options in the Novus Ordo, and wherever there was an option that was closest to the Mass before the Council, that’s the option I would use,” Father Fessio told Adoremus. “It is permitted to say the entire Novus Ordo in Latin, but my understanding of the Council

Pope Benedict XVI spoke clearly about the use of Latin in the liturgy in his 2007 apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis: “In order to express more clearly the unity and universality of the Church, I wish to endorse the proposal made by the Synod of Bishops, in harmony with the directives of the Second Vatican Council, that, with the exception of the readings, the homily and the prayer of the faithful, it is fitting that such liturgies be celebrated in Latin. Similarly, the better-known prayers of the Church's tradition should be recited in Latin and, if possible, selections of Gregorian chant should be sung. Speaking more generally, I ask that future priests, from their time in the seminary, receive the preparation needed to understand and to celebrate Mass in Latin, and also to use Latin texts and execute Gregorian chant; nor should we forget that the faithful can be taught to recite the more common prayers in Latin, and also to sing parts of the liturgy to Gregorian chant” (62).

(along with Father Fessio and the late Helen Hull Hitchcock), and remains on the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors for Adoremus.

CREDO focused its efforts on the translation of the Mass into English, promoting faithful and accurate translations untainted by political correctness or agenda. Adoremus came along after that, and it “not only encouraged the accurate translation of the liturgy into the vernacular, but the organization also promoted the ‘reform of the reform’ of the liturgy according to the norms of Sacrosanctum Concilium and the vision of Joseph Ratzinger in his book, The Spirit of the Liturgy,” Father Pokorsky said in an interview with Adoremus.

It is important to remember that “the Council didn’t mandate the vernacular; the Council permitted the vernacular,” Father Pokorsky said. And even in the production of vernacular texts, there were mistranslations. “The dumbed down mistranslations neglected the ‘sacral vocabulary’ (words like ‘merit,’ ‘beseech,’ ‘spirit,’ ‘holy,’ etc.).” One example, he said,

liturgy is the prayer of the Church and not private devotion, obedience to the Church’s vision for the liturgy ought to be sufficient motivation” for the faithful to know the Latin responses, Father Schrader told Adoremus.

Additionally, knowing the Latin responses helps unite Catholics around the world. “Especially in today’s global, multi-lingual society,” Father Schrader noted, “there is a great value in Catholics from a variety of language groups to be able to pray together in a common language that does not favor one group over the others.”

But, he added, Latin doesn’t just happen to be one among many other languages to choose from for the liturgy. “Latin remains the normative, traditional language of the Roman liturgy,” he explained, “and Catholics ought to be familiar with it, just as they should with other parts of their heritage and identity.”

As a parish priest, Father Schrader has seen the challenges of implementing Sacrosanctum Concilium’s directives concerning Latin in the liturgy (SC, 54)

“Latin remains the normative, traditional language of the Roman liturgy and Catholics ought to be familiar with it, just as they should with other parts of their heritage and identity.”

“ The Council Fathers explicitly state that the faithful should know their responses in Latin.”

firsthand. There are typically four levels of acceptance among parishioners, he said: “In my experience, a small number of parishioners are highly resistant to introducing Latin; the majority are slightly resistant; a very small minority favors it; and another small group—mostly young people—is at least open to it.” According to Father Schrader, many people in the pews associate Latin with “going backwards” to preVatican II days, so there is at least some resistance from most in the pews. But, he added, the small but significant interest and desire to see Latin reintegrated into the liturgy can—and should—be encouraged and developed.

There are challenges, of course. Priests are responsible for the liturgy in their parishes, but Father Schrader said that a certain strategic—and prudent— approach is necessary.

“ The Council didn’t mandate the vernacular; the Council permitted the vernacular.”

“A priest cannot effectively introduce Latin into a parish on his own by simply putting his foot down,” Father Schrader said. “A more helpful approach may be to educate people on the nature of the Mass and the liturgy in general and to build up other elements of Romanitas [the Roman character of the liturgy] and a sense of the transcendent.” Father Schrader, along with Father Fessio, recommends teaching the responses piecemeal, perhaps starting with the sung Greek Kyrie, followed by the Sanctus, the Agnus Dei, and so forth. Both acknowledge that the simple chants are easy to learn, easy to sing, and easy to remember—and before long the assembly will be proficient.

It is important to clarify the context in which one may implement these changes in the language of the Mass or other liturgical activities. A pastor must understand “why things are the way they are in a given parish,” Father Schrader said. “What is the history? Have the parishioners lived through a series of traumatic liturgical changes? Are they afraid of more changes? Worn out? Angry? A good parish pastoral council can be invaluable. If a pastor is able to have honest conversations about what he would like to do and why, while also listening genuinely to the perspectives of the parishioners, everything will go much better.”

Msgr. Andrew Wadsworth is a priest of the Oratorian Community of St. Philip Neri, and is Executive Director of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL), a role he assumed in July 2009, and which he will continue to hold until November 1, 2023. He told Adoremus that there have been improvements over the years in the implementation of Sacrosanctum Concilium at the parish level. While the document mandates that the principal parts of the Mass must be known by the people in Latin, he said, this does not seem to be the experience of many Catholics, “although the use of the chants of the third edition of the Roman Missal, which are easily sung in Latin or the vernacular, has somewhat improved things in this respect.”

Beyond the action of the liturgy itself, the renewed use of Latin can be an apologetic opportunity, as well. “Because of the situation in the Church today, with so much of our tradition forgotten or never learned, we

Continued from NEWS & VIEWS, page 2

Vatican Confirms Three Liturgical Texts for Use in the US

From the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship Newsletter, May-June 2023

Over the course of the spring of 2023, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments confirmed three texts for liturgical use in the dioceses of the United States of America: the ritual book Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery outside Mass, an expanded Mass formulary for the Memorial of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, and proper texts in honor of Pope St. Paul VI and Our Lady of Loreto. Here are the specifics about the ritual text Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery outside Mass

By a decree issued March 7, 2023, and received by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

“Because of the situation in the Church today, with so much of our tradition forgotten or never learned, we often have to take the approach of teaching Catholics about their Catholic faith and heritage as if it were a matter of apologetics,” Father Dylan Schrader, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Westphalia, MO, and St. Anthony Parish in Folk, MO, said. “That’s where offering them good experiences of Latin can help, such as a Mass with some Latin chants beautifully sung by their children and grandchildren.”

often have to take the approach of teaching Catholics about their Catholic faith and heritage as if it were a matter of apologetics,” Father Schrader said. “That’s where offering them good experiences of Latin can help, such as a Mass with some Latin chants beautifully sung by their children and grandchildren.”

Paul Senz has an undergraduate degree from the University of Portland, OR, in music and theology and

earned a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from the same university. He has contributed to Catholic World Report, Catholics Answers Magazine, Our Sunday Visitor, The Priest Magazine, National Catholic Register, Catholic Herald, and other outlets, and is the author of Fatima: 100 Questions and Answers about the Marian Apparitions and Church Councils: 100 Questions and Answers (both out from Ignatius Press). Paul lives in Elk City, OK, with his wife and their five children.

(USCCB) the following month, the Dicastery confirmed the new English translation of Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery outside Mass. After completing its customary editorial review, the Secretariat of Divine Worship will recommend a timeline for implementation to Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, USCCB President, who will later issue a promulgation decree.

The Dicastery approved several U.S. adaptations to

the ritual edition, with most of them found in the Order of Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction in chapter III. The goal of the adaptations is to harmonize the book with existing customs for Eucharistic adoration in this country. For example, in no. 92, a rubric was added to officially permit the priest or deacon to wear a white cope for Exposition. For Exposition and Benediction, the lyrics of the traditional hymns O salutaris Hostia and Tantum ergo Sacramentum were added to nos. 93 and 97, both in Latin and a new official English translation, matching the version found in the hymns of the Liturgy of the Hours, Second Edition. (The provision for other Eucharistic hymns being permitted remains in force.)

In no. 96, new instructions have been provided for praying the Divine Office during Adoration; for example, if Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer are said but concluded a while before Benediction, the conclusion “May the Lord bless us…” will now be used, even by a priest or deacon.

“Down in Adoration Falling”—Our Grateful Response to the Eucharist

By Roland Millare

Objections to the practice of Eucharistic adoration have come to the fore once more in light of the concerted efforts for a Eucharistic revival in the United States.1 Recently, Eucharistic adoration has been described as passive in nature, yet I would argue that Eucharistic adoration is a form of devotion and piety that can assist in achieving the “aim to be considered above all else” set forth by the Second Vatican Council regarding the sacred liturgy: active participation.2

Adoration begins within the celebration of Mass, and Eucharistic devotion outside of Mass is always directed back towards the font of the sacred liturgy. Recent popes, including this past August, Pope Francis (see News & Views, page 1) have offered a consistent voice in favor of the renewal and promotion of the practice of varying forms of Eucharistic devotion beyond the sacred liturgy. Finally, the saints give witness to the way in which Eucharistic devotion compels the faithful to be directed towards the active mission of charity.

Adoration and Liturgy

Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament and the celebration of the most sacred liturgy are inseparable. The Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship emphasizes this unity: “for the presence of Christ, who is adored by the faithful in the Sacrament, derives from the sacrifice and is directed towards sacramental and spiritual Communion.”3 The Benedictine abbot of Mount Angel Abbey, Jeremy Driscoll, summarizes the relationship between love and adoration: “It is not possible to love Christ without adoring him.”4 The current Eucharistic Revival in the Church in the United States has directly contributed to the need for Eucharistic adoration and processions as an important part of its mission which is “To renew the Church by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.” There is nothing passive in nature about Eucharistic adoration.

The point is often raised that the practice of Eucharistic adoration is relatively new in the life of the Church. Often, critics write of Eucharistic devotion as a misunderstood form of medieval piety or a representation of a so-called pre-Vatican II theology from which we have moved on. After all, they argue, the end for which the Eucharist has been given to us by Our Lord is Holy Communion. In other words, critics of Eucharistic adoration contend that the Eucharist has not been made for us to look at, but to eat. Historically, it is the case that the practice of reservation of the Blessed Sacrament was for the sake of distributing Communion to the faithful who were unable to participate in the sacred liturgy. Yet, does this purpose of reservation of the Blessed Sacrament really preclude the development and practice of Eucharistic adoration?

One of the most robust responses to this question has been given by Pope Benedict XVI in Sacramentum Caritatis (SCar): “In the Eucharist, the Son of God comes to meet us and desires to become one with us; eucharistic adoration is simply the natural consequence of the eucharistic celebration, which is itself the Church’s supreme act of adoration. Receiving the Eucharist means adoring him whom we receive. Only in this way do we become one with him, and are given, as it were, a foretaste of the beauty of the heavenly liturgy. The act of adoration outside Mass prolongs and intensifies all that takes place during the liturgical celebration itself” (66, emphasis added).

Adoration begins within the sacred liturgy. Abbot Driscoll notes that this form of adoration is directed primarily towards God the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit, but he notes that there are distinct moments in the liturgy “where Christ himself is adored in the very elements of the Sacrament.”5 Properly understood, Eucharistic adoration becomes an extended form of thanksgiving that in the words of Pope Benedict “prolongs and intensifies” all that has unfolded in the celebration of the Mass.

In the Gospels, Christ healed ten lepers, but only one (a Samaritan) returned to thank him. Our Lord looked upon him and asked these questions: “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:17-19).

Eucharistic adoration can be likened to this act of the Samaritan leper. We return to the Lord in the Blessed

is itself the Church’s supreme act of adoration.”

Sacrament either in the tabernacle or exposed in the monstrance as a concrete act of thanksgiving for the continual healing and renewal that we experience from the celebration of the sacrament of charity.

While Eucharistic adoration, as we know it in its present form, may not have developed until the 11th or 12th centuries, adoration and thanksgiving began with recognition of Jesus Christ during his public ministry. In other words, to quote Abbot Driscoll once again: “It is not possible to love Christ without adoring him.” In the period after the Second Vatican Council, magisterial teaching has consistently laid the foundation for the active promotion of Eucharistic adoration as a normative practice for the Latin Church.

Papal Eucharistic Revival

Before the present Eucharistic Revival in the United States, we can hear the hope for an explicit revival of Eucharistic devotion for the universal Church in the teaching of Pope St. Paul VI. In his encyclical, Mysterium Fidei (MF), St. Paul VI commends the practice of making visits to the Blessed Sacrament during the course of the day as a “proof of gratitude” and a “pledge of love” (MF, 66).

At the beginning of the encyclical, Pope Paul VI expresses the hope that the implementation of the “restoration of the sacred liturgy” will lead to a

Pope Paul VI beautifully maintains the view that there is “nothing more efficacious for progress along the paths of holiness” than Eucharistic devotion (MF, 67), yet we have separated the sacred liturgy from Eucharistic devotion to our own spiritual peril within the Church.

flourishing of Eucharistic devotion, which makes ironic the above mentioned claim that these forms of Eucharistic piety are pre-Vatican II. In fact, Pope Paul VI explicitly contends that the Second Vatican Council has prepared the way for a “new wave of Eucharistic devotion” that “will sweep over the Church” (MF, 13).

Pope Paul VI exhorts the bishops of the universal Church with great clarity to preserve devotion to the Holy Eucharist for the faithful which he contends should be the “focal point and goal of all forms of devotion” (MF, 64). Unfortunately, it seems the exact opposite took place in the life the Church. Forty-hour devotions, the practice of perpetual adoration in religious communities, the availability of exposition and benediction, Eucharistic processions, etc. have declined. It somehow became the norm that the focus on the reformed liturgy precluded the practice of Eucharistic devotion and any form of popular piety.

After Pope St. Pius X (d.1914), Pope St. John Paul II may be truly one of the most “Eucharistic popes” for his repeated insistence upon the need for devotion to the Blessed Sacrament outside of Mass and other magisterial writings focused on the celebration of the liturgy and Eucharistic doctrine. In his final encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia (EE), St. John Paul II notes the tension within the practice of Eucharistic devotion in the Church. On the one hand, Eucharistic adoration has become “an important daily practice and becomes an inexhaustible source of holiness” (EE, 10). On the other hand, this bright light is contrasted with “shadows” within the Church whereby the practice of Eucharistic adoration is almost non-existent in some places.

In concert with Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II also emphasizes the promotion of the varying forms of Eucharistic devotion as “proofs of that authentic renewal which the [Second Vatican] council set itself as an aim and of which they are the central point” (Dominicae Cenae (DC), 3). In addition to the varying forms of Eucharistic piety mentioned above, Pope John Paul II also highlights Eucharistic congresses and he highlights the importance of the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). Pope John Paul II also affirms the inseparable link between Eucharistic adoration and the sacrifice of the Mass, and he exhorts all pastors to promote Eucharistic adoration and devotion by their personal witness (see EE, 25). He makes the need for Eucharistic adoration explicit: “The Church and the world have a great need of eucharistic worship. Jesus waits for us in this sacrament of love. Let us be generous with our time in going to meet Him in adoration and in contemplation that is full of faith and ready to make reparation for the great faults and crimes of the world. May our adoration never cease” (DC, 3). St. Paul VI and St. John Paul II make clear the need for Eucharistic devotion in the life of the Church as a fruit of the liturgical renewal intended by the Second Vatican Council.

“In the Eucharist,” writes Pope Benedict in Sacramentum Caritatis, “the Son of God comes to meet us and desires to become one with us; eucharistic adoration is simply the natural consequence of the eucharistic celebration, which

“Adoration begins within the celebration of Mass, and Eucharistic devotion outside of Mass is always directed back towards the font of the sacred liturgy.”

“In the period after the Second Vatican Council, magisterial teaching has consistently laid the foundation for the active promotion of Eucharistic adoration as a normative practice for the Latin Church.”

Pope Benedict XVI’s writings also recognize the growing appreciation of, and increase in, the practice of Eucharistic devotion in parts of the Church as part of the “liturgical renewal desired by the Second Vatican Council,” but he acknowledges that during the early part of the reform following the Council “the inherent relationship between Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was not always perceived with sufficient clarity” (SCar, 66). In both his pre-papal writings and papal writings, Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI argues for the inseparable unity between the celebration of the liturgy and Eucharistic adoration and the social mission that flows out of authentic Eucharistic devotion.

Joseph Ratzinger argues against the distinction between the so-called “thing-centered” view of the Eucharist in the Patristic period and the personalistic

bishops, consecrated men and women, need to recover it, this ability to be quiet in the Lord’s presence.”8 Eucharistic adoration has an inherent link to mission, evangelization, and charity. In varying contexts, Pope Francis urges the faithful to “waste time” before the Lord in Eucharistic adoration because it is a source of grace and fuel for our life of charity. Recent popes have explicitly and consistently supported the venerable practice of Eucharistic adoration as a means of renewal of faith and continuation of what has begun in the celebration of the sacred liturgy.

Adoration and Mission

The inherent connection between the celebration of the sacred liturgy and the practice of Eucharistic devotion has not been made explicit in catechesis and

The gift of the abiding Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist flows out of the liturgy, and adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament can strengthen one’s preparation in the Mass. Both individual and communal forms of Eucharistic devotion provide short or even extended periods of silence, which is essential for fruitful active participation in the sacred liturgy. Further, worship is not limited to what takes place explicitly within the Mass.

The new form of worship given to us by Jesus Christ includes the transformation of the faithful person. Consequently, Eucharistic adoration precludes any form of passivity when it comes to charity. Benedict XVI has made it clear that the Holy Eucharist is “intrinsically fragmented” without an explicit expression of charity for one’s neighbor (see Deus Caritas Est, 14). If people are passive or indifferent towards their neighbor despite the practice of Eucharistic devotion, then the conclusion to be drawn is not that Eucharistic adoration is inherently passive. These people are not fully worshiping Christ in spirit and truth because of the inseparable link between the Eucharist and mission.

Adoration precedes Holy Communion and brings communion to its logical fulfilment. Communion unifies an individual to both God and neighbor. We should encourage the practice of all forms of Eucharistic devotion during this period of Eucharistic revival and we need to do a better job in our catechesis, preaching, and teaching about the unity between the celebration of the Mass, Eucharistic devotion, and social action. In other words, we need to be clearer about the inherent nature of the Eucharist as a “sacrament of charity.” O Come, let us adore Him!

Eucharistic adoration can be likened to the acts of thanksgiving by the sick upon their healing by Christ. We return to the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament either in the tabernacle or exposed in the monstrance as a concrete act of thanksgiving for the continual healing and renewal that we experience from the celebration of the sacrament of charity.

view of the Eucharist in the post-medieval period. The development of Eucharistic adoration was not a misguided practice that arose from the “thingcentered” view. The practice of Eucharistic adoration was an important development from both the Franciscans and the Dominicans in Ratzinger’s view because this practice was “a new dimension of the

theology within the Church, yet papal teaching and the experience of members of the Church, particularly the saints, make this connection with great clarity. The regular practice of Eucharistic devotion in varying forms has been a vital source of charity in the lives of the saints. St. Damien of Molokai, St. Katherine Drexel, St. Teresa of Calcutta, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, St. Vincent de Paul, and countless members of the litany of saints made frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament for short and even extended periods of time. Adoration was never a passive practice for any of these saints. The social mission of the Church would never have been fruitful without their Eucharistic devotion. In the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta, they would have been “too poor to serve the poor.”

reality of Christianity” that was opened up “through the experience of the saints, supported and illuminated by the reflection of theologians.”6 The Holy Eucharist is the sacramental presence of Jesus Christ. The abiding presence of Christ reserved in the tabernacle or exposed in the monstrance on the altar for adoration is a fulfillment of what has been celebrated in the sacred liturgy.7

Building upon his own theological insights and reflections and the teaching of his predecessors, Pope Benedict XVI calls for the spread of the practice of Eucharistic devotion. He even explicitly calls for the promotion of chapels or oratories of perpetual Eucharistic adoration particularly in “densely populated cities” (SCar, 67). He also maintains the view that in new churches where Blessed Sacrament chapels cannot be located near the sanctuary, the tabernacle should located in the sanctuary in a “sufficiently elevated place, at the center of the apse area, or in another place where it will be equally conspicuous” (SCar 69).

Finally, Pope Francis exhorts all members of the Church to renew the practice of Eucharistic devotion. Recently during his trip to World Youth Day in Lisbon, he said, “Only in adoration, only in the presence of the Lord, do we truly rediscover our taste and passion for evangelization. Oddly enough, we have lost the prayer of adoration; and everyone, priests,

Roland Millare serves as vice president for curriculum and program director of Clergy Initiatives (continuing education and formation programs for priests and deacons) for the St. John Paul II Foundation, Houston, TX, and as an adjunct professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas School of Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary, Houston, TX, the University of Dallas, and the Diocese of Fort Worth. He earned a doctorate in sacred theology (STD) at the Liturgical Institute/ University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein, IL, and is the author of the book A Living Sacrifice: Liturgy and Eschatology in Joseph Ratzinger (Emmaus Academic).

1. On a thorough response to recent objections to the practice of Eucharistic adoration, see Tim O’Malley’s “On Eucharistic Adoration: Against Its Detractors” at https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/on-eucharisticadoration-against-its-detractors/.

2. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 14.

3 Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship, Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass, 20. See also 49: “When the faithful honor Christ present in the sacrament, they should remember that this presence is derived from the sacrifice and is directed toward sacramental and spiritual communion.”

4 Jeremy Driscoll, O.S.B., Theology at the Eucharistic Table (United Kingdom: Gracewing Publishing, 2005) 237

5 Driscoll, Theology at the Eucharist Table, 237

6. Joseph Ratzinger, Theology of the Liturgy: The Sacramental Foundation of Christian Existence, ed. Michael J. Miller, trans. John Saward, Kenneth Baker, S.J., Henry Taylor, et al., Collected Works 11 (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2014), 52.

7 Joseph Ratzinger, Theology of the Liturgy, 53 8 Pope Francis, Homily, 2 August 2023: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2023/documents/20230802-portogallo-omelia.html.

AB/WIKIART. CHRIST HEALING THE BLIND MAN , BY EUSTACHE LE SUEUR (1617-1655)

In his final encyclical as pope, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, St. John Paul II noted the tension within the practice of Eucharistic devotion in the Church. On the one hand, Eucharistic adoration has become “an important daily practice and becomes an inexhaustible source of holiness.” On the other hand, this bright light is contrasted with “shadows” within the Church whereby the practice of Eucharistic adoration is almost non-existent in some places.

“Eucharistic adoration has an inherent link to mission, evangelization, and charity.”

How to Maximize the Parish Year of the Eucharistic Revival in Your Parish

By Adam Bartlett

The Parish Year of the National Eucharistic Revival has just begun. It will lead us to the first National Eucharistic Congress in the United States in nearly 50 years. This moment in the life of the Church is a tremendous opportunity to kickstart the renewal of our parishes, beginning with and pointing back to Christ’s true presence and saving action in the Eucharist.

The National Eucharistic Revival has offered four invitations to parishes for this year. Here are some concrete ways to maximize them in your parish:

Invitation 1: Reinvigorate Worship through the Ars Celebrandi

Beginning with the source and summit of the Church’s life and mission, the first invitation is “reinvigorating worship” with a special attentiveness to the ars celebrandi (art of celebration) in the liturgy. The Church tells us that when the liturgy is celebrated beautifully and faithfully, each part of it is enabled to “shine forth with a noble simplicity” (“Ritus nobili simplicitate fulgeant,” see Sacrosanctum Concilium, 34), radiating the invisible spiritual realities of the liturgy more powerfully and attractively to all.

Pope Benedict XVI summarizes the essential connection between the Mass and mission, saying: “The love that we celebrate in the sacrament [of the Eucharist] is not something we can keep to ourselves. By its very nature it demands to be shared with all” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 84). During Lent, the parish might offer parishioners the opportunity to serve the poor at a soup kitchen, or to volunteer at a St. Vincent de Paul thrift store. Whatever the case, consider creating or finding events for your parishioners where they can practice giving back the gifts that they have received so freely.

Put simply, celebrating the liturgy beautifully, with faithful attention to liturgical norms, makes the Light of Christ shine more brightly in our celebrations of the Mass. And our parishioners, with the help of mystagogical catechesis, will be drawn more powerfully toward that light—toward Christ himself. Here are some ways that you can foster a renewed ars celebrandi in your parish this year:

Reread the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) as a parish staff. The GIRM not only tells us how to celebrate the liturgy rightly, but it also gives us the why. Be sure to discuss both. As Pope Benedict XVI reminded us, “the primary way to foster the participation of the People of God in the sacred rite is the proper celebration of the rite itself. The ars celebrandi is the best way to ensure their actuosa participatio (actual participation)” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 38).

Sing the Order of Mass. The Church teaches us that the liturgy is meant to be sung. Singing the Order of Mass—those unchanging parts from day to day, including the dialogues and responses—is the most important song of the liturgy, and it only requires the voice of the priest celebrant and a few people in the pews. The Order of Mass contains the simplest melodies in the sung liturgy that virtually anyone can sing easily and well. They are all contained in the Roman Missal, and numerous practice recordings can be found for each part online. When we sing the liturgy, “minds are more easily raised to heavenly things by the beauty of the sacred rites, and the whole celebration more clearly prefigures that heavenly liturgy which is enacted in the holy city of Jerusalem” (Musicam Sacram, 5). This is why the Church stresses that “pastors of souls will therefore do all they can to achieve [the sung] form of celebration” (ibid.).

Sing the Communion Antiphon. Beyond singing the Order of Mass, which constitutes the first degree of importance in the sung liturgy, the Church also encourages parishes to sing the parts of the Ordinary and the Proper of the Mass. To do so means that we are truly singing the liturgy itself and not merely singing songs from outside of the liturgy within the Mass. One of the easiest places to begin singing the Proper of the Mass (beyond the Responsorial Psalm and Alleluia) is with the Communion Antiphon. This proper antiphon changes from day to day, much like the readings and orations of the Mass. It contains a short passage of scripture that often quotes or references the Gospel of the day, or that otherwise penetrates the heart of the mystery being celebrated for each Mass. In between repetitions of

Beyond singing the Order of Mass, the Church also encourages parishes to sing the parts of the Ordinary and the Proper of the Mass. To do so means that we are truly singing the liturgy itself and not merely singing songs from outside of the liturgy within the Mass. One of the easiest places to begin singing the Proper of the Mass is with the Communion Antiphon, such as the above antiphon from the Solemnity of Christ the King.

the antiphon, verses from a psalm are sung by the cantor or choir. The GIRM tells us that the Communion Chant begins as soon as the priest receives the sacrament, and the antiphon can be sung by a cantor alone before a communion hymn, with or without verses, or it can be sung with several verses during the entire communion procession. Hundreds

many, and always with the help of ample catechesis. One effective way to do this is to choose a single Mass, or even to add one to the parish Mass schedule (such as a weekday evening candlelight Mass), and to focus on several aspects of the ars celebrandi there. What parishes often find is that these Masses, which are filled with beautiful sacred music, increased reverence, and attention to the solemn celebration of the liturgy, begin to fill up quickly with young and faithful families that are yearning for beauty and reverence in the liturgy. These smaller groups within the larger community become an agent for broader parish renewal as the fruits that pour forth from this microcosm begin to influence the parish culture as a whole.

Invitation 2: Personal Encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist Outside of Mass

of parishes already use Source and Summit’s online resource to find the right antiphon settings for their parish, whether they are simple settings for the congregation, tone-based settings, or more elaborate settings for more experienced choirs and cantors.

Singing the Communion Antiphon throughout the Parish Year of the Eucharistic Revival can help those in the pews to draw their minds and hearts closer to Jesus in the Eucharist as they sing the words the Church gives us to sing while they approach the altar to receive communion.

Choose (or add) one Mass to emphasize beauty.

A tried and true strategy for renewing the ars celebrandi on the parish level is to introduce enhancements to the liturgy without necessarily taking away what is already comfortable and familiar to

While the liturgy is the “summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed” and the “font from which all her power flows” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10), the Church also tells us that “the sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church” (ibid., 9). The Catechism of the Catholic Church stresses that the liturgy “must be preceded by evangelization, faith, and conversion. It can then produce its fruits in the lives of the faithful” (1072).

It follows that the second invitation of the Parish Year of the Eucharistic Revival is to help build Eucharistic faith and devotion in our parishioners through opportunities for personal encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist outside of the context of the Mass. Here are some suggestions for your parish:

Host monthly evenings of Eucharistic adoration with devotional music and spiritual reflections. Devotional music has the power to stir faith,

“A monthly evening of Eucharistic adoration might feature music for prayer that is not liturgical in nature, but that helps open hearts to Christ’s presence in the Eucharist.”

“ The National Eucharistic Revival has offered four invitations to parishes for this year.”

love, and devotion in our souls, and to prepare us well to participate more deeply in the sacred liturgy, which ultimately transcends the devotional realm. A monthly evening of Eucharistic adoration might feature music for prayer that is not liturgical in nature, but that helps open hearts to Christ’s presence in the Eucharist. Because of music’s personal nature, the faithful can become very personally attached to devotional music, but our task as parish leaders should be to help guide this faith and devotion toward its consummation in the Eucharistic liturgy.

Orient devotional events back toward the liturgy. One way to help transition our parishioners from a profound personal encounter with Christ in Eucharistic adoration to a deeper participation in the liturgy could be through the use of more solemn Eucharistic hymns and chants, such as the chant form of the O Salutaris Hostia and Tantum Ergo at the beginning and end of an adoration event. A parish schola might even sing some sacred polyphony during these evenings, alongside a procession of the monstrance through the church with ample incense, led by vested clergy and servers. The prayers of Benediction, including the Divine Praises, can be fully chanted as well. The Adoremus in aeternum could replace Holy God, We Praise Thy Name. All of these efforts can both emphasize the powerful elements of devotion while also pointing back to the sacred liturgy as the summit and goal of the devotional life.

Institute extended periods of silent Eucharistic adoration. Extended periods of adoration could also be offered each week, where there is no music outside of the chants for Exposition and Benediction. This might include a Forty Hours’ Devotion monthly or from time to time.

Invitation 3: Robust Faith Formation through Preaching and Small Groups

The Catechism says that liturgical catechesis “aims to initiate people into the mystery of Christ (It is ‘mystagogy.’) by proceeding from the visible to the invisible, from the sign to the thing signified, from the ‘sacraments’ to the ‘mysteries’” (1075). Mystagogical catechesis can take place within the liturgy, especially through preaching, but also outside of the liturgy where there is more space to expound upon the mysteries and to discuss and integrate them more deeply into our understanding. Here are some ways to offer robust faith formation on the Eucharist during the Parish Year:

Integrate mystagogical catechesis into homilies throughout the year. Rather than simply offering a didactic homily series on Eucharistic theology or doctrine over the course of a few weeks, a mystagogical approach to homiletics throughout the entire year could expound on different dimensions of the Eucharist, in light of the various events of salvation. Consider preaching on more than the Lectionary readings, also looking at the Entrance and Communion Antiphons, as well as the Collects for source material (as permitted by the GIRM). Pope Benedict XVI’s profound reflection on mystagogical catechesis (in Sacramentum Caritatis, 64) and Pope Francis’s reflections on liturgical formation (in Desiderio Desideravi) could serve as an inspiration and a guide.

Offer a series of teachings on Eucharistic theology and doctrine outside of the Mass, with or without the help of a study program, and guide participants in small group discussions. These might even be hosted at the homes of parishioners and followed by a meal, even as a part of an organized supper club.

Teach your parishioners a classic Eucharistic hymn and sing it often at parish events. Hymns have a rich history of putting sound doctrine on our lips and in our minds. The Divine Office hymns of Corpus Christi, composed by St. Thomas Aquinas, are an excellent source for catechesis. Consider selecting one and singing it throughout the Parish Year at non-liturgical events.

Invitation 4: Missionary Sending of the People in the Pews

Sacramentum Caritatis summarizes the essential connection between the Mass and mission, saying: “The love that we celebrate in the sacrament [of the Eucharist] is not something we can keep to ourselves. By its very nature it demands to be shared with all. What the world needs is God’s love; it needs to encounter Christ and to believe in him. The Eucharist is thus the source and summit not only of the

Church’s life, but also of her mission: ‘an authentically eucharistic Church is a missionary Church’” (84).

During the Parish Year, the U.S. Bishops through the Eucharistic Revival are calling on parishes to form missionary disciples—Eucharistic missionaries who have encountered Christ and who must share what they have seen with those around them in the world. Here are some practical suggestions for the fourth invitation:

Encourage parishioners to invite others to catechetical and devotional parish events. An instinct of Catholics often is to invite friends and family who may be far from the Church to “come back to Mass.” As sincere as this desire may be, it is likely that there is a need for evangelization, catechesis, and a personal encounter with Christ before our friends and loved

ones might be able to approach the liturgy. And so, encouraging parishioners to invite those far from the Church to a dinner and catechetical study, or even to an adoration event, might be a more successful effort. In time, of course, we should hope to lead them back to the summit, “for the aim and object of apostolic works is that all who are made sons of God by faith and baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of His Church, to take part in the sacrifice, and to eat the Lord’s supper” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10).

Host parish events that serve those on the margins. During Lent, the parish might offer parishioners the opportunity to serve the poor at a soup kitchen, or to volunteer at a St. Vincent de Paul thrift store. You might organize a Christmas caroling event prior to Christmas that makes its way through the residential roads within the parish boundaries, inviting those in the neighborhood to a parish event. Whatever the case, consider creating or finding events for your parishioners where they can practice giving back the gifts that they have received so freely. Recover the true and essential connection between the liturgy and social justice. In the Liturgical Movement of the early 20th century, liturgical renewal and social justice were seen as two sides of the same coin. In recent decades, the two have often been seen as being at odds with each other. In the parish year, we might take to heart Pope Francis’s call “to reach all the ‘peripheries’ in need of the light of the Gospel” (Evangelii Gaudium, 20), knowing that we can only give what we first receive in the sacred liturgy.

Resources to Assist Your Parish

Source & Summit is your partner for fostering authentic liturgical renewal as the source and summit of the new evangelization in your parish. You can request a sample copy of the Source & Summit Missal or sign up for a free 30-day trial of the Source & Summit Digital Platform today (sourceandsummit. com).

Adam Bartlett is the founder and CEO of Source & Summit. He is the composer and editor of Simple English Propers (CMAA, 2011), editor of the Lumen Christi series (Illuminare Publications, 2012-2016), and is the editor and publisher of the Source & Summit Missal and Digital Platform. He formerly served as a parish and cathedral music director, as a faculty member for the Liturgical Institute and Mundelein Seminary of the University of St. Mary of the Lake, as an adjunct faculty member for the Augustine Institute, and as a sacred music consultant for FOCUS. He lives in Grand Rapids, MI, with his wife and three children.

“ The primary way to foster the participation of the People of God in the sacred rite is the proper celebration of the rite itself.”

AB/SOURCE AND SUMMIT

Rather than simply offering a didactic homily series on Eucharistic theology or doctrine over the course of a few weeks, a mystagogical approach to homiletics throughout the entire year expounds on different dimensions of the Eucharist, in light of the various events of salvation. Homilists may consider preaching on more than the Lectionary readings, also looking at the Entrance and Communion Antiphons, as well as the Collects

for source material.

AB/WIKIMEDIA. THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI (1485-88), BY

“I have no doubt,” says third-century Origen of Alexandria, “that there are angels in the midst of our assembly too, not only the Church in general, but each church individually—those of whom it is said that ‘their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.’ Thus we have here a twofold Church, one of men, the other of angels."

Continued from ANGELS, page 3

right beside him, saw nothing.”3

But the angels are present especially at the Eucharistic sacrifice. The Mass is, actually, a sacramental participation in the liturgy of heaven, the cult officially rendered to the Trinity by the full host of the spiritual creation. The presence of the angels introduces the Eucharist into heaven itself. They help to surround it with a sacred mystery. “The angels surround the priest,” writes St. John Chrysostom. “The whole sanctuary and the space before the altar is filled with the heavenly Powers come to honor Him who is present upon the altar.”4 And elsewhere: “Think now of what kind of choir you are going to enter. Although vested with a body, you have been judged worthy to join the Powers of heaven in singing the praises of Him who is Lord of all.”5 “Behold the royal table. The angels serve at it. The Lord Himself is present.”6

Erik Peterson, in The Book of the Angels, has shown that the participation of the angels in the Christian cult made clear its official character. There is only one priestly activity, and that is Jesus Christ’s. By it the whole of creation glorifies the Trinity. This is the same activity that is offered by the angels in heaven and the saints on earth. This participation appears in the New Testament, where the liturgy of the Church is presented as a participation in that of the angels. Thus, in the Epistle to the Hebrews 12:22-24, we read: “But you have come to Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of angels, and to the Church of the first-born who are enrolled in the heavens, and to a sprinkling of blood which speaks better than Abel.” As for the Apocalypse, it is the vision of the Christian Sunday worship that the visionary sees as prolonged in the liturgy of heaven.

The angels are associated with the different parts of the sacrifice.7 Theodore of Mopsuestia shows them symbolized by the ministers who arrange the offerings upon the altar: “By means of the deacons who minister in what is being accomplished we can see in spirit the invisible Powers ministering as they assist in this ineffable liturgy.”8 Further on he adds: “You must realize that there is an image of the invisible Powers in this service that the deacons are charged with now, as they bear the offering for the oblation…. And when they have brought it in, it is placed upon the holy altar by the angels for the perfect fulfillment of the Passion. The deacons who spread the cloths upon the altar recall the burial linens; and those who, once the sacred Body has been produced, stand on either side and fan the air around it, represent the angels who remained by Christ all the while He was dead, to honor Him, until they had seen His Resurrection.”9

It is easy to see how the display of the liturgy of earth is a visible reflection, an efficacious symbol, of the heavenly liturgy of the angels. This unity of the two cults is expressed by the liturgy itself in the Preface, where it invites the community of the Church to unite with the Thrones and the Dominations, the Cherubim and the Seraphim, to sing the angelic hymn of praise, the Thrice-Holy: “Reflect upon whom it is that you are near and with whom you are about to invoke God—the Cherubim. Think of the choirs you are about to enter. Let no one have any thought of earth (sursum corda), but let him lose himself of every earthly thing and transport

himself whole and entire into heaven. Let him abide there beside the very throne of glory, hovering with the Seraphim, and singing the most holy song of the God of glory and majesty.”10 Elsewhere Chrysostom remarks that the Gloria in Excelsis is the chant of the lower angels. Even the catechumens are permitted to join in it. But the Sanctus is the chant of the Seraphim; it leads into the very sanctuary of the Trinity, and thus “it is reserved for the initiated, the baptized.”11

Theodore of Mopsuestia also stresses this participation in the angelic liturgy in the Trisagion [“Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us”]. This point is especially dear to the tradition of Antioch.

“The priest here mentions all the Seraphim who raise this song of praise toward God, the same song that blessed Isaias heard through a divine revelation and transmitted in Scripture. This is the praise which we all assemble together to sing at the top of our voices, so that we sing the same hymns as the invisible natures…. By this means we show the greatness of the mercy He has bestowed freely upon us. A religious fear fills our conscience, either before or after we have cried out, ‘Holy!’”12 This chant of the Seraphim expresses holy

shepherds glorify God; sing His praises with the angels; join the choirs of the archangels. Let this festive occasion join the powers of those in heaven and those on earth. For I am certain that they are rejoicing today and celebrating this feast together with us, since they are friends of God and man just as those whom David shows us rising with Christ after the Passion, going on ahead of Him and vying with each other to lift up the gates.”15

The last sentence is an allusion to Psalm 23, where tradition shows the Powers that ascend with Christ at His Ascension bidding the keepers of the gates of heaven lift their lintels to let the King of Glory enter. Just as they participated in His mysteries at the time of their historical accomplishment, the angels continue to be associated with their liturgical commemoration.

But it is Chrysostom who develops this idea to its greatest extent. He explains that, in order to lend greater splendor to the feast of the Ascension, he has invited the faithful to celebrate it in the Martyrium of Romanesia: “The angels are present here. Then angels and the martyrs meet today. If you wish to see the angels and the

The angels are present especially at the Eucharistic sacrifice. The Mass is, actually, a sacramental par

ticipation in the liturgy of heaven, the cult officially rendered to the Trinity by the full host of the spiritual creation. The presence of the angels introduces the Eucharist into heaven itself.

fear. It describes the awe felt by even the highest creatures in the presence of the infinite divine excellence. And this enables us to understand better the holiness of the Eucharist which leads us, with the Seraphim, into the presence of the All-Holy God, hidden only by the fragile species of bread and wine.

Finally, the presence of the angels in the Eucharist appears in the very act of offering the sacrifice. The Roman liturgy itself witnesses to this when it asks of God that “the offerings be borne by the hands of Thy Holy Angel unto Thy high Altar.”13 The Apocalypse already shows the angels, in their heavenly liturgy, offering “the prayers of the saints” under the appearance of “cups of gold filled with perfume” (5:8). This intercessory role appears in the prayer of all prayers, the central act of worship, the priestly activity of Christ. Thus Chrysostom can write: “It is not only men who raise this cry filled with holy awe, but the angels prostrate themselves before the Lord, the archangels pray to Him. Just as men cut palm branches and wave them before their kings to move them to think of love and mercy, so at this moment the angels present the very Body of their Lord as if it were a palm branch and they pray to Him for all humanity.”14

This participation of the angels extends to the whole liturgical life and especially to the celebration of the Christian feasts. The mysteries of Christ are celebrated by the heavenly powers at the same time as they are by the Church on earth. Thus Gregory Nazianzen writes, regarding the Feast of the Epiphany, “Together with the

martyrs, open the eyes of faith and look upon this sight. For if they very air is filled with angels, how much more so the Church! And if the Church is filled with angels, how much more is that true today when their Lord has risen into heaven! The whole air about us is filled with angels. Hear the Apostle teaching this, when he bids the women to cover their heads with a veil because of the presence of the angels.”16

And again, in regard to the Resurrection he writes: “It is not only earth, but heaven as well which has part in today’s feast…. The angels exult, the Archangels rejoice, the Cherubim and the Seraphim join us in the celebration of today’s feast…. What room is there for sadness?”17

1. Origen, De or., 31, 5 (ACW 19).

2. Hom. in Jos., 20, 1.

3. Hom. in Luc., 23.

4. De sac., 6, 4.

5. Adv. Anom., 4.

6. Hom. in Eph., 1, 3.

7. See Clement of Alexandria: “The angels of God serve the priests and deacons in the ministering of earthly affairs.” (Strom., 7, 1; Hom in Lev., 9, 8.)

8. Hom. Cat., 15, 24.

9. Hom. Cat., 25-27.

10. Chrysostom, Adv. Anom., 4.

11 Hom. in Col., 3, 8. On the Trisagion as the hymn of the angels in the liturgy of the Mass, see Chrysostom, Adv. Anom., 1, 6; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catech., 23, 6.

12. Hom. Cat., 16, 7-9.

13. See B. Botte, “L’ange du sacrifice,” Rech. Théol. Anc. Méd., 1929, pp. 285-308.

14 Adv. Anom., 3. For Hilary the Eucharist is distributed to the faithful by the ministry of the angels: “This service is no doubt performed through the heavens, that is, by the angels” (Tract. Ps. 67). See J. Duhr, Dict. Spirit., I, 591.

15. Or., 39, 17.

16. Serm. asc., 1.

17. Serm. res., PG 50, 436.

DOMENICO GHIRLANDAIO.

“But you have come to Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of angels, and to the Church of the firstborn who are enrolled in the heavens.” -Hebrews 12:22-23

Q: Christmas 2023 falls on Monday: what Masses ought a parish celebrate— and which Masses are the faithful obliged to attend—during the previous weekend?

A: After Sunday, the “primordial holy day of obligation” (Canon 1247), the Code of Canon Law lists 10 Holy Days of Obligation: “the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension, the Body and Blood of Christ, Holy Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, Saint Joseph, Saint Peter and Saint Paul the Apostles, and All Saints. Some of these may be suppressed by the local bishops’ conference (such as Sts. Peter and Paul in the United States); others can be transferred to Sunday (as is Corpus Christi in the U.S.); and still others can be added to the list (such as St. Patrick in Ireland).

Another exception allows for a bishops’ conference to lift the obligation to attend Mass on a Holy Day when it falls on a Saturday or Monday (such as Mary, Mother of God on Monday, January 1, 2024 in the United States). The obligation to attend Mass on Christmas, however, is never abrogated, regardless of the day of the week. Consequently, the faithful are obliged to attend Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Advent—which is also never abrogated—and for Christmas Day. One Mass does not fulfill two obligations (see Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy Newsletter, February 2017, 5-6, for more information).

But which Masses the faithful attend allows for some curious leeway. The Norms on the Liturgical Year and Calendar and its Table of Liturgical Days envisions a parish schedule of Masses this upcoming Christmas along these lines:

• Saturday, December 23: Evening Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

• Sunday, December 24: Morning Masses for the Fourth Sunday of Advent; Evening Masses for the Solemnity of Christmas

• Monday, December 25: Morning and Daytime Masses for the Solemnity of Christmas.

The Code of Canon Law, however, simply states, “A person who assists at a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself or in the evening of the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass” (Can. 1248 §1). In other words, the laity’s only obligation is to attend Mass twice, but not necessarily one Mass with readings and orations for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, and a second Mass using readings and prayers for the Solemnity of Christmas (although this would be ideal). For example, one could conceivably attend the first Mass on Sunday afternoon to fulfill the obligation for the Fourth Sunday of Advent (even though this Mass would celebrate the Vigil of Christmas) and attend Midnight Mass to fulfill the Christmas obligation.

In any case, parishes will follow the norms of the liturgical calendar, with Christmas Vigil beginning the evening of December 24, and parishioners will follow the requirements expresses in Canon 1248 of the Code of Canon Law. Hopefully, these two criteria will parallel each other closely for celebrations reflective of the heart of the birth of Christ.

—Answered by the Editors

Q: Can (or should) a priest celebrate the Sunday Mass on a Tuesday when, for example, he visits a nursing home?

A: It is a corporal work of mercy to visit the sick and many priests spend a significant amount of time visiting nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other care homes. While there, priests often celebrate Mass for the community. Questions arise as to what Mass to celebrate with the community since they often are unable to attend Sunday Mass and since the priest is only able to visit during the week. Should the priest use the daily Mass orations and Lectionary readings? Or may he use the Sunday prayers and readings (since often there are missalettes available that only contain Sunday readings)?

RITE

QUESTIONS

The rubrics of the Roman Missal do not foresee the possibility of celebrating a Sunday Mass (with Gloria, Creed, two readings before the Gospel, a Sunday Preface, etc.) during the week. There are some who have said that since the care home community cannot gather on Sunday, the Sunday Mass should be transferred to a weekday for the community since Sunday is the primordial holy day. After all, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) states, “The pastoral effectiveness of a celebration will be greatly increased if the texts of the readings, the prayers, and the liturgical chants correspond as aptly as possible to the needs, the preparation, and the culture of the participants” (352). On the other hand, this effectiveness can only be achieved by appropriate use of the many possibilities of choice described in the Roman Missal and not by adding to what is not foreseen.

Using the previous or following Sunday orations on weekdays of Ordinary Time is certainly within the rubrics since the rubrics allow any of the 34 Masses of Ordinary Time to be used, provided the pastoral needs of the faithful are taken into consideration. The Gloria and Creed would be omitted and a Common Preface, rather than a Sunday Preface, would be used. While the Gloria and Creed may be sung or said at particular celebrations of a more solemn character even if not usually prescribed (see GIRM, 53, 68), most Masses at care homes would not fall into this category. Since the weekdays of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter have proper Masses, their orations should be used rather than the previous or following Sunday. The GIRM explains that during these more important times of the year, provision has already been made for the spiritual nourishment of the faithful by means of the orations proper to these times of the year that exist for each weekday in the Missal (see GIRM, 363). Solemnities and Feasts have proper orations and should be celebrated as outlined in the Roman Missal. For Obligatory Memorials, the proper orations should be used. Nevertheless, in the case of Mass at a care home, when only a collect is provided, it might be more prudent to use the Prayer over the Offerings and the Prayer after Communion from the weekday of the current season (in Ordinary Time, any of the 34 formularies may be used) so that these prayers can be read in a missalette by those who are hard-of-hearing. A pastoral judgment should be made in determining whether or not to celebrate Optional Memorials but the same recommendation is made: apart from proper orations, it is recommended to use the temporal orations rather than those from the Commons if a missalette is being used.

Regarding the Lectionary readings, the GIRM notes that during weekdays in any season, the readings will in general be used on the days to which they are assigned, since readings are provided for each day of every week throughout the entire course of the year. Nevertheless, the GIRM permits the priest, in Masses for special groups, to choose texts more particularly suited to the particular celebration (see GIRM, 358). Thus, a priest could legitimately choose to use the Sunday readings during the week at Masses in care homes.

In planning Masses at nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and care home, the priest should remember that the salvation of souls is the supreme law in the Church and he should be more attentive to the common spiritual good of the People of God than to his own inclinations (GIRM, 352). Nonetheless, the Second Vatican Council clearly teaches that no other person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 22).

—Answered by Father Alan Guanella Diocese of La Crosse, WI

Q: Must Mass be said in a Church?

A: The Code of Canon Law (CIC) specifies that the “eucharistic celebration is to be carried out in a sacred place unless in a particular case necessity requires otherwise; in such a case the celebration must be done in a decent place” (932.1). At a certain level, this is a canonical requirement, pure and simple. Such “sacred places” are defined by the

CIC as churches (Can. 1214), oratories (Can. 1223), private chapels (Can. 1226), and Catholic cemeteries. Pretty straightforward. But what is a “decent place [loco honesto]” (Can. 932§1)? The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) attempts to shed some light here. In paragraph 288 the GIRM says that “if there is no church or if it is too small, then” Mass can be celebrated “in another respectable place [in alium locum honestum] that is nonetheless worthy of so great a mystery.” So, what other places are decent/honesto and “worthy of so great a mystery”? Such a determination is a prudential judgment, but looking at some judgments of what is not decent or worthy might be helpful.

The 1917 Code of Canon Law says that Mass may “never” be celebrated “in a bedroom” (Can. 822§4). In addition, the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship, in their 1970 letter Liturgicae Instaurationes wrote that if Mass is being said outside a sacred place, it should “not take place in a dining room or on a dining-room table” (9). Elsewhere it is laid down that the local ordinary may give permission to celebrate Mass in “the place of worship of some Church or ecclesial community” provided that “there is no scandal” (CIC, 933). Nevertheless, such leeway is not unlimited: it is “never lawful for a priest to celebrate Mass in a temple or sacred place of any non-Christian religion” (Redemptionis Sacramentum, 109). Offering Mass outdoors does not seem to fall under any prohibition in these various examples.

Whatever the judgment, these canonical obligations require, outside necessity, that the Holy Mass be celebrated in what is technically a “sacred place,” meaning that such a place has been dedicated or blessed to be such (see CIC 1205). Indeed, a plain cinderblock building with a drop ceiling could be blessed as a chapel…and there are buildings like that to which we ascribe the name of church or chapel. Nevertheless, such buildings would not “be signs and symbols of [the] heavenly realities” that they are supposed to represent, much less the other “respectable” places that should be “nonetheless worthy of so great a mystery” (GIRM, 288). The church building is a sacramental reality that—through its construction and dedication (or blessing)—resembles heavenly realities. The church building is to be a sign of the union of heaven and earth, divinity and humanity, Christ and his Church. Put simply, the place in which the Holy Mass is carried out should correspond as much as possible to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb (see Revelation 19). While Masses do not always have to be said in a sacred place, if our churches looked more like churches (places where heaven and earth overlap and interlock), then people would go out of their way to have Mass in sacred places.

—Answered by the Editors

MEMORIAL FOR Fr. Tim Church from Mr. Stanley Martin D’Ann Rittie from Robert Rittie Leyver Suchiapa from Ray and Christine Fernandez

Our daughter who died in the 5th month of pregnancy from Mr. and Mrs. John Hartmann

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Rite Time, Rite Place for the Sacred

By Joseph Tuttle

Rite and Man: The Sense of the Sacred and Christian Liturgy by Louis Bouyer. Providence, Rhode Island: Cluny Media, 2022. 230 pp. ISBN: 978-1685951344 $24.95 paperback.

In Rite and Man: The Sense of the Sacred and Christian Theology, newly republished by Cluny Media, Louis Bouyer shows how the Incarnation is at the heart of the liturgy. Bouyer, a noted theologian who is considered to be one of the major architects of the Second Vatican Council, begins by noting two differing views regarding the liturgy. He likens them to early Christological heresies. The first view on the liturgy he identifies with the Monophysites. He says that this view considers the liturgy as something completely divine and that it should “somehow escape humanity.” The heresy of Monophysitism essentially states that Jesus had only one divine nature. This, of course, is false since Jesus is one Person but has two natures: one divine and one human. Such a view of the liturgy is easily discredited when one observes that a priest (a man) is necessary for the celebration of the liturgy which cannot, therefore, be something purely divine.

The second view Bouyer likens to Nestorianism. The heresy of Nestorianism states that there are two separate persons in Christ: one divine and one human. He says that this view of the liturgy overemphasizes its human aspects to the point where the divine is at risk of fading away from it. Again, this view is easily discreditable since Catholics believe that when the priest consecrates the bread and wine they become the Body and Blood of Christ Who is God.

Bouyer’s solution to resolving this tension between a wholly abstract and wholly earthly liturgy is to propose an Incarnational view. As Bouyer sees it, the liturgy— like the incarnate Christ—is something that is both divine and human at the same time. Bouyer’s study then examines these aspects of the human and the divine for, as he writes, “It is by a more profound discovery of himself that man is able to discover, as in an impress, the divine visage and presence. Or perhaps it would be better to say, it is only by discovering God coming to him that man solves the puzzle of his own existence” (3). From here, Bouyer goes on a journey examining various aspects of comparative religions and primitive religions as well as using depth psychology in order to provide readers a better grasp of Christian rituals.

At the outset of Bouyer’s book, he notes the necessary relationship between actions (or rites) and words in religions: “Sacred words and sacred actions are as a matter of fact always found joined together” (56). Still, for Bouyer, sacred words must have a priority over sacred actions. Logically, this makes sense since actions flow from words, as is clearly seen in the sacraments. Without the form (words such as “I Baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”), the matter (water) would have no meaning.

Bouyer warns that the liturgy in the past has sometimes been seen as something entirely incomprehensible—“something at which the people assisted but in which they had no part...” (61). To overcome this barrier, Bouyer insists on a rediscovery of the true meaning of the sacred words in order to better understand and enter into the sacred actions or rituals: “The remedy must be sought…in a rediscovery of the original meaning and nature of the words and rites so that they are no longer blindly opposed to each other” (64).

Another issue raised by Bouyer is that of the nature of sacrifice. Bouyer argues that the usual explanation for the translation of the Latin sacrum facere as “to make holy” is not the true essence of a sacrifice. More than a “making,” sacrifice is a “doing.” He states that for the ancients, sacrifice was an act—specifically a sacred meal. For Bouyer, the full meaning of this view of sacrifice comes with Christianity: “In antiquity, the Eucharist was seen as the sacrifice of the Christians because it was the sacred meal of the Christian community” (86).

Pagan Mysteries and Christianity

One of the major topics that Bouyer treats in his exploration of pre-Christian rites is the “Mystery Religions” as compared to the Christian sacraments and rituals. He begins by discussing a number of these religions and their practices (such as that of Persephone and her mother, Demeter). His conclusion on the topic is that Christianity was not influenced by these Mystery Religions but was rather influenced by Judaism

because “the seed of anything essential in Christianity certainly cannot be found in [the mystery religions]. If we look for the sources of whatever resemblances there may be between Hermitism or NeoPlatonism and Christianity, they should be attributed to their common Jewish background, whenever directly Christian influences must be ruled out” (141).

Also in contrast to the Christian rites, Mystery Religions tried to keep their rituals secret, similar to Gnostic practices—as if they had some secret knowledge or wisdom to impart to their adherents. Bouyer points out that the Christian mystery “is a fact, an historical event, in which human history reaches its summit. It is a unique fact in which God Himself takes that history back into His hands while He Himself descends into it” (144)—and this design is no secret! Here again, the Incarnation is at the heart of the Christian mystery—at the heart of the Christian rites and liturgy. The Christian mystery is essentially that of the Incarnation: Jesus Christ. For Bouyer, the Christian mystery will “find in its turn a ritual expression. It will take up again and recast the ancient material of the natural rites that Judaism had already purified and transfigured. It will do this by bringing to fulfillment their ‘historization.’ It means that their primitive, cosmic meaning will have been absorbed into the final meaning of sacred history” (151).

Sacred Orientation

In Rite and Man, Bouyer then turns to discussing what he calls “Sacred Space,” beginning with early religious practices and then leading into Jewish and Christian uses. According to Bouyer, sacred space includes many dimensions, among them shape, orientation, location, etc. The author points to the Temple in Jerusalem, which is considered holy because of its location—Jerusalem is the city of David, God’s servant, which in turn is located in the Promised Land given to the Israelites. (In similar ways, Mecca and Medina are considered holy places by Islam specifically because of their location.) As for the importance of shape in sacred space, Bouyer notes that Church buildings with domes (tholos) signify devotion to a particular saint whereas rectangular ones are primarily places of worship similar to the Jerusalem Temple. There is a great variation and significance when it comes to churches and their architecture, but each points ultimately to the same vitality reserved for sacred space.

How, though, does orientation play a role in sacred space? Bouyer spends a good deal of time on this dimension, noting that Jewish synagogues were built in such a way that the rabbis and the people all face Jerusalem where the Temple was located. From here, the author then discusses a similar Christian orientation of sacred space as integral to liturgical celebrations. During Christian liturgies, the priests and people do not face Jerusalem. Rather, together, they faced toward the East (ad orientem): “The Christian church, like the Jewish synagogue, is carefully oriented. But it is no longer directed toward Jerusalem but toward the geographical east. This is so true that contrary to the synagogues, Christian churches to the east of the Holy City did not hesitate to turn their backs on it” (175).

Again, Bouyer explains the great significance and importance of this orientation by noting that Christians “had definitely substituted for the earthly Jerusalem the heavenly Jerusalem that is our mother, of which the Apostle speaks. And they were waiting to see it descend from heaven with Christ in His Parousia, which had become symbolized for them by the East, in accordance with the Gospel formulas” (175-176). The orientation of the Christians was no longer focused on this passing life but now had an eschatological dimension. It is an anticipation of the Second Coming of Christ.

The altar too, Bouyer says, should be properly oriented within sacred space. The idea that it should be facing the people (versus populum) is actually a misunderstanding. He offers a detailed look into

this subject and concludes that “the notion that the arrangement of the Roman basilica is ideal for a Christian church because it enables priests and faithful to face each other during the celebration of Mass is really a misconstruction. It is certainly the last thing which the early Christians would have considered, and is actually contrary to the way in which the sacred functions were carried out in connection with this arrangement” (180181).

Sacred Time

Another topic Bouyer addresses in his book is that of sacred time. For the ancient and pagan religions, the gods were seen as being above and unaffected by time, whereas man is born, lives, and dies within time and is subject to it. For this reason, there was a great divide between man and the gods. With Judaism, however, something different happens. God freely intervenes within time and yet is not bound by it. Because of this divine intervention, time takes on a new meaning. History is not merely history—it becomes sacred history or Salvation History. In fact, the Scriptures, which are the authoritative chronicle of Sacred History, record God’s continuing intervention in time. For Bouyer, one of the most important parts of Salvation History is the Pasch of Israel which, he writes, “was the eternal reminder of a decisive act of God through which He had once and for all taken in hand the cause of His people” (204). The greatest event in this history is the Incarnation, the Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ. The God of the Jews and Christians is no longer distant but close and personal.

Three Takeaways

In his conclusion, Bouyer states that he hopes his book will highlight three major concepts for the Liturgical Movement. The first is to stress the importance of the word in worship. Bouyer states that the word and worship must go hand in hand and must not be separated: “No Christian event or Christian rite can become an object of faith independently of the divine Word which gives it meaning” (219). Bouyer notes the sacramental connection between word and worship as well: sacraments are composed of matter and form (words)—both are necessary for, without one or the other, there is no sacrament.

The second concept Bouyer hopes to impart through his book is regarding adaptations in the liturgy. Bouyer warns against two extremes when it comes to adaptations. The first is rationalism which Bouyer says “is the temptation that must be resisted in the adaptation of the liturgy to our contemporaries. Such an approach would readily dissolve whatever is mysterious under the pretext of explaining it...” (224). As for the second extreme, Bouyer warns that “one must guard against the temptation of absorbing the originality of the Christian mystery into pre-Christian mythologies” (224): while assuming many of man’s natural, ritual antecedents, Christianity remains unique and cannot be reduced to its precursors.

The final concept Bouyer hopes the Liturgical Movement embraces by reading his book is the proper place of Christian worship—i.e., the church building. Here again, Bouyer reiterates the proper orientation of the church and the assembly. He states that the whole point of this orientation is not about people but about God: “It is rather a divine gathering, where the divine Word invites us to proceed together toward the Eucharistic banquet, which in turn has no end itself, but should orientate us towards the final uprooting of the parousia” (227).

Rite and Man was originally published the same year as the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, and is an invaluable resource for liturgical theology. It provides a good introduction to Bouyer, one of the great thinkers of the Liturgical Movement in the time immediately before and during the Second Vatican Council. Cluny Media has done the Church a great favor in reprinting it.

Joseph Tuttle is a Catholic freelance writer and author. His work has appeared in or is forthcoming from Word on Fire Blog, The St. Austin Review, New Oxford Review, The University Bookman, and Aleteia among others. He is the author of An Hour with Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (Liguori, 2021) and a contributing author/editor of Tolkien and Faith: Essays on Christian Truth in Middle Earth (Voyage Comics, 2021). He graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Theology from Benedictine College.