History of the Mass: Part Four

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Bishops gathering during the Second Vatican Council

The history of the Roman Catholic Mass: Part IV

Guest Columnist

Father Wilmer Todd

(This is the final installment of a series of articles on the history of the Roman Catholic Mass.)

The 19th Ecumenical Council of Trent assembled in the city of Trent in Northern Italy for 25 sessions between 1545 and 1563. The Council issued key statements on the church’s doctrinal teachings, Scripture, sacred tradition, original sin, justification, salvation, the sacraments, the Mass, and the veneration of saints. The Council also reformed the inner life of the church by addressing the abuses that had developed in it. In 1565, Pope Pius IV issued the Tridentine Creed, clarifications on church doctrine. Pope Pius V issued the Roman Catechism in 1566 and revisions to the Breviary in 1568.

In 1570, Pope Pius V promulgated the Tridentine Mass that remained the church’s only form of the Mass for the next 400 years. It replaced about 200 different forms of the Mass that sprung up during the middle ages. The Missal of Pope St. Pius V was developed from the Gregorian Sacramentary. Copies of all the ancient manuscripts of the Mass that we have today were not available to scholars at that time. The Pope Pius V Missal contains the Ordinary (texts that remain the same for each Mass) and the Proper (texts that change for different liturgical feasts).

Two forms of Masses existed: The Solemn High Mass and the Low Mass. The High Mass was sung by a choir and was celebrated by a priest, deacon and sub-deacon. The priest celebrated the Low Mass in a low spoken voice and was assisted by altar servers. As Protestant services began to use the vernacular, Catholic liturgies remained in Latin to maintain Catholic identity.

The celebration of the Eucharist emphasized the sacrificial element: The sacrifice that Jesus Christ offered once for all on the Cross is made present in the Mass. Outward signs like the use of bells, incense, and kneeling when receiving holy Communion became common practice.

In 1914, Pope St. Pius X issued the document that encouraged the faithful’s active participation in the liturgy by frequent reception of holy Communion and congregational singing. He also encouraged the earlier reception of holy Communion given at the age of reason. He gave priority to Sunday Masses over the feast day of the Saints and published a revised Missal. In 1955, Pope Pius XII revised the rites for Holy Week to its present form today.

The church’s 21st Ecumenical Council was called the 2nd Vatican Council because they held it in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The Council formally opened under the pontificate of Pope John XXIII on Oct. 11, 1962, and closed under Pope Paul VI on Dec. 8, 1965. The liturgy was revised with the intention that the people would be active a

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participants in the Mass, be fully aware of what they are doing, be actively engaged in the rite, and be enriched by its effects.

In the mid-1960s, the Mass began to be celebrated in vernacular languages. Latin remained the official liturgical language. A three-year Lectionary was introduced increasing the amount of Scripture read during the Mass. The celebrant faced the congregation and contemporary liturgical music was sung during the Mass. Lay people were commissioned to be lectors and extraordinary ministers of holy Communion. The ancient custom of the Precious Body received on the hand was restored. The church also permitted females to become altar servers.

In 1964, the Prayers of the Faithful were restored, and the Our Father was said by all; in 1965, the concelebration by priests was restored. In 1968, three new Eucharistic Prayers were introduced. In 1970, the Novus Ordo or the “Mass of Pope Paul VI” was published. The number of Prefaces was increased, and the Sign of Peace was restored to all the faithful. Lay people were allowed to receive both the Precious Body and the Precious Blood in the form of bread and wine.

Hopefully this brief history of the Mass will help you enter more fully into the celebrations. (Father Wilmer Todd is a retired priest of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.) BC

LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC In the mid-1960s, lay people were commissioned to be lectors and extraordinary ministers of holy Communion.

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