Posted on 10/15/2004 10:54:13 AM PDT by Stubborn
Prominent in a list of 'suggestions' released yesterday by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments is more prayer and singing in Latin, particularly Gregorian chant.
Catholic News Agency reports that the document, titled The Year of the Eucharist: Suggestions and Proposals, encourages "familiarity of Latin, indicating its necessity, especially in housed of formation and in seminaries, for prayer and singing in Latin, particularly Gregorian chant".
Prominent in a list of 'suggestions' released yesterday by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments is more prayer and singing in Latin, particularly Gregorian chant.
Catholic News Agency reports that the document, titled The Year of the Eucharist: Suggestions and Proposals, encourages "familiarity of Latin, indicating its necessity, especially in housed of formation and in seminaries, for prayer and singing in Latin, particularly Gregorian chant".
The document, which has been put together by the Vatican congregation with the purpose of giving guidelines towards making the Year of the Eucharist as success, also asks that the tabernacle be conveniently located in a place conducive to private prayer.
Pointing out that the Holy Father asked particular dioceses to come up with pastoral initiatives, the document says it "does not pretend to be exhaustive, but rather limits itself to give, with a simple style, some working suggestions."
The Congregation "suggestions and proposals" include:
• Preparation of documents promoting the Year of the Eucharist, and reflection by priests and faithful local doctrinal and pastoral problems such as the lack of priests, low Sunday Mass attendance, and abandonment of Eucharistic adoration. • Promoting national Eucharistic congresses. • Encouraging knowledge of the saints. • Increasing perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. • Eucharistic adoration for young people around Palm Sunday. • Dedicating space to the theme of the Eucharist in diocesan magazines, internet sites, and local media. • Teaching the faithful to behave "properly" when entering a Church.
I love the idea of Gregorian Chant. Personally, I don't like singing during distribution of the Eucharist because it makes it very difficult to meditate. Now, Gregorian Chant...that is a different story.
The Congregation has got to realize that in the short term, a return to more Latin will result in a further dip in attendance. In the long term, it might be a wise idea however.
Most of the people who love Latin left a long time ago or died already, we are 35 years post-latin at this point in time.
Most of the people in attendance now either don't like Latin or are too young to remember it. Some of those folks will definitely be alienated, and I doubt if the Latin-philes out there will even know about it.
Catholic ping!
Much of the content of Mane Nobiscum Domine reflects the pope’s April 2003 encyclical on the Eucharist, Ecclesia da Eucaristia. In the apostolic letter, however, the pope adds some specific suggestions for observance of the eucharistic year, always cautioning that it is not his intention to disrupt pastoral programs already in place.
John Paul said the year will accomplish its purposes if two things happen: a revitalization of the Sunday liturgy, and a recovery of eucharistic adoration outside the Mass.
At an Oct. 8 press conference, Archbishop Piero Marini, the pope’s chief liturgist, summed up the various ways the pope calls the church to an examination of conscience about how the Eucharist is celebrated:
• Is the Sunday Mass a celebration of the entire parochial community (including all movements and sub-groups)?
• Is the proclamation of the Word of God, and especially the homily, truly effective in opening up the Scriptures? (The pope makes a special point of calling for care in the preparation and delivery of homilies).
• Are the reformed liturgical texts, and especially the Roman Missal, being applied in their integrity?
• Are the tone of voice, the gestures, the movements, the sense of respect, the moments of silence, the whole constellation of modes of acting consistent with the dignity of the Eucharist?
• Are people being educated in prayer, especially in the Liturgy of the Hours?
• Are communities engaging in genuine Christian witness outside the liturgy, acting upon the commission at the end of the Mass?
Not a bad check-up list, perhaps, for a parish community.
* * *
On Thursday, Oct. 14, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments released a document titled “Year of the Eucharist: Suggestions and Proposals.” It is intended to offer guidelines for reflection, along with concrete suggestions for pastoral action.
In building a spirituality of the Eucharist, the document treats the following themes:
• Hearing the Word
• Conversion
• Memory
• Sacrifice
• Thanksgiving
• Presence of Christ
• Communion and charity
• Silence
• Adoration
• Joy
• Mission
It’s striking that the document avoids reductionist tendencies of both the traditionalist and avante garde sort, insisting on uniting the communal and sacrificial elements of the Eucharist.
Under the heading of pastoral suggestions, the document calls upon bishops’ conferences to put out their own documents presenting the Eucharistic Year, addressing specific local problems (examples given: “lack of priests, weariness among priests regarding the importance of daily Mass, disaffection with Sunday Mass, abandonment of eucharistic adoration”). It also asks bishops to review the Masses broadcast on television or radio in their countries, ensuring that “questionable practices” aren’t being transmitted and that there isn’t an “excessive emphasis on show business.” It also suggests that bishops promote national Eucharistic congresses.
Parishes are encouraged to give particular attention to places where the Eucharist is reserved, meaning tabernacles and Blessed Sacrament chapels. Liturgy committees should be revived or expanded, with special attention to music. Special catechesis should be offered on what it means to be in church, including basics like genuflecting before the Blessed Sacrament (rather than generically in the direction of the altar). Communities should also educate their people about their own parish, reflecting on the art in the parish, the design of the ambo and tabernacle and sanctuary, the look of liturgical books, and other “visible signs that lead to the invisible.” Finally, parishes are asked to promote eucharistic adoration.
shameless plug:
All Catholic members of the iPod Party are strongly suggested to download, listen, and follow along in anticipation of an actual implementation. :-)
Having been unfortunate enough to see some of Marini's broadway shows, er. . . liturgies, I can say that he is either not using the word "dignity" in the way most people understand it or he is suffering from multiple personality syndrome.
He and JPII have combined for some of the worst Masses that I have ever heard of [note: not the worst I have heard of, unfortunately, but pretty bad]
Very nice! I sent it along to my sister, who is a church musician (who has to work in an Episcopal church because the Catholic churches here don't want a classically trained musician...).
I really hope there is some chance of this. I just got back from six weeks in Spain, making the pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago, and I can tell you that northern Spain is poised and ready to go back to Latin as soon as some authority gives the nod. The priests use a lot of Latin in the NO liturgies there, and there are an increasing number of new monastic foundations where the office is sung in Latin.
The Tridentine movement is less developed in Spain than it is here, partly because most of Spain never had the level of liturgical abuse that the US did, so while the NO liturgy is dull, it's not generally flagrantly heretical. In addition, the Spanish translations were much more faithful to the Latin original than the ICEL translations.
However, there is increasing interest in the devotional and musical traditions of the pre-VatII church, and I think there may be more development of the Tridentine rite (or possibly the Visigothic rite, which was the pre-Tridentine rite used in Spain, and is rather similar to the Byzantine rite).
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.
Sacrosanctum Concilium, #54
The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.
Sacrosanctum Concilium #116.
Tomas Luis de Victoria: the most complete library of TLdV scores on the Internet, with rehearsal MIDIs. 100% more economical than your church hymnal (i.e., free).
I cannot agree when there is abundant evidence to the contrary. The church population was moving forward and growing and the faith was much stronger prior to the changes 35+ years ago. Once the changes were introduced, thats when people started losing the faith and leaving in droves - and continue leaving to this day.
The magisterium is facing an unpresidented problem with the shrinking catholic population throughout the whole world that has been evident since the changes and I think they are hoping, with good reason, that returning to the Church's traditional practices will revive the Church population.
Thats about the size of it. It is sad that our confidence in the magisterium to do the right thing has gotten so low.
Personally, I hope these suggestions actually get put into practice this time. It is a small step - but at least it is in the right direction.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
The worldwide Catholic population in 1966 was approximately 600 million; it is now over 1 billion. In the United States, the Catholic population was 46 million; it is now 62 million.
Neither of those statistics reflect a shrinking population.
A reality check for you and your buddy, the good Cardinal Fanfani....
The Catholic population in these United States, if it has risen at all, is not in the numbers of pew sitters, but in the number of bodies identifying themselves as Catholics. Much of the "increase" is due to massive illegal immigration. Thank you.
In Europe, while many might identify themselves as Catholics for statistical surveys, they are not Catholic in belief or morality. And certainly not in church attendance. In many areas, the churches are merely functional religious museums, as sparsely attended (or worse) then those in the US.
We all know too well about the horrid decline in mass attendance in this country overall, in the last 40 years.
There is growth, worldwide, in the numbers of those who would identify themselves as Catholics. But not in those who would darken the door of the parish church.
The key top identifying church membership is to count active, real, regular participants.
The post Conciliar church is imploding upon itself, particularly in the West. And in the Third World, we have them phenominal rise of Islam, in what once were fertile fields for Christianity.
While I do not agree with you 100%, you do make a good point.
There are many older people who do not like Latin. This is largely a spiritual problem - not one of linguistics. I can attend a Byzantine Easter Mass, in a language quite foreign to me, and see the beauty and spirituality of it. Understand what is important in it, as I personally understand what the mass is.
But there are many who do not - either becuase they do not know (the case with the young), or because they have forgotten (the older ones).
I am not totally dismissing your idea, just taking it from a different perspective.
I would predict more of a loss of the older folks then the younger. Youth want to learn and explore. Those who would really want to go to mass, might be curious as to "what this is all about". They would want to see and experience it, as they want to see and experience amy things in life.
But, as in many things, it would be a test of faith. Are you going to mass for personal, feel good, ego renewal? Or for the right reasons: to witness the sacrifice of Calvary reenacted in an unbloody manner.
To participate in the high court ceremonial of heaven, where the perfect sacrifice - the perfect and spotless victim is offered?
As it has been in past ages, it may be again: that many will walk away from Christ because they do not truly know Him.
But Christ never predicted that all would accept and follow him. He offered a narrow gate by which to enter heaven. Not a multiple choice menu.
What you fail to note is the decline in active participation in religious worship, in every denomination and synagogue, worldwide. Catholics are not immune to larger societal forces.
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