CIEL colloquium on the Divine Office, 2006

CIEL speakers say Divine Office is another victim of liturgical revolution


Brian Mershon
October 3, 2006


From the October 5 issue of The Wanderer.

Oxford, UK — The prayers of the Church that every priest prays daily, the Divine Office, have been stripped of much of their theological content and ruined, according to several academics speaking at the CIEL 2006, the 11th International Colloquium of historical, canonical, and theological studies on the Roman Catholic liturgy. The colloquium was held at Merton College, Oxford, September 13-16.

Previous attendees and speakers have included the late Michael Davies, teacher, writer, and former president of International Federation of Una Voce (FIUV), Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, and Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos.

This key finding, little known to many Catholics, but mentioned repeatedly by the presenters, was but one of the academic highlights of this conference with more than 160 delegate attendees, of which 29 were priests, with nine religious, two deacons, and two Anglican clergyman. Ten countries outside of the UK were represented, with 24 participants from the United States.

Priests from the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Society of St. John Cantius Canons, Ignatian Social Justice, as well as diocesan priests and monsignors, were among the attendees.

Dr. László Dobszay teaches at Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest, Hungary. During his paper presentation "Music Proper to the Roman Liturgy," he gave his assessment of the Divine Liturgy. He is also the author of The Bugnini Liturgy and the Reform of the Reform.

"No one speaks of the ruination of the Divine Office," he said. "The Church knows that one of the keys to understanding Sacred Scripture is by reading the psalms every day. The psalms reflect on the orations [in the liturgy] and vice-versa; they are linked."

The Rev. Dr. Michael Lang is the author of Turning Towards the Lord, published by Ignatius Press. He resides at the London Oratory of St. Philip Neri, and he was ordained a priest in 2004.

Fr. Lang moderated many of the academic talks, and he echoed the results of Dr. Dobszay's research: "The destruction of the Roman breviary began with [the reforms] of Pope St. Pius X," he said. "It is no longer the Roman breviary."

Archbishop Ranjith, the secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, gave a presentation April 27, 2006 in Rome as an introductory presentation to Fr. Lang's "important study" Turning Towards the Lord. At this presentation, Archbishop Ranjith said, "In fact, in the foreword to this book, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI...affirms that 'to the ordinary churchgoer, the two most obvious effects of the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council seem to be the disappearance of Latin and the turning of the altars towards the people. Those who read the relevant texts will be astonished to learn that neither is in fact found in the decrees of the council'."

And in an impassioned, illuminating conclusion to the 12 academic papers delivered over the three and one-half day colloquium at Merton College, the Rev. Dr. Laurence Hemming of Heythrop College in London, said, "The breviary of 1911 is a truncated version" of the Roman breviary.

"Even the 1568 breviary was a truncation," indicating that significant modifications to the daily prayer book of the Church have been made over the past 400 years, of questionable spiritual value.

The Rev. Dr. Alcuin Reid, London, spoke on "Sacrosanctum Concilium and the Organic Development of the Liturgy." Dr. Reid is most known in academic circles in the Church as the author of The Organic Development of the Liturgy, published by St. Michael's Abbey Press.

The then-Cardinal Ratzinger wrote a long and glowing review of this book. In it, he said: "At the end of his book, the author enumerates some principles for proper reform: This should keep being open to development, and continuity with the Tradition, in a proper balance; it includes awareness of an objective liturgical tradition, and therefore takes care to ensure a substantial continuity."

Cardinal Ratzinger continued, "The author then agrees with the Catechism of the Catholic Church in emphasizing that 'even the supreme authority in the Church may not change the Liturgy arbitrarily, but only in the obedience of faith and with religious respect for the mystery of the Liturgy' (CCC, n. 1125)."

For instance, Dr. Reid said that a "juridical positivism" by Pope Paul VI gave us new eucharistic prayers. "The liturgical positivism concept was very important to the reformers," he said. He also explained how one of the council fathers in an interview said, "The liturgy is not to become a cut-and-paste plaything of pastors, liturgists, and other experts."

These three new eucharistic prayers drafted by the liturgical commission and approved by Pope Paul VI have since multiplied to at least 13 approved by the Holy See, at last count.

"Cuckoo eggs were placed in the middle of the Roman liturgy," he said. "Let me make it clear: they are valid, but that is not enough." Dr. Reid said.

The Rev. Dr. Hemming of Heythrop College in London, during his paper "Theological Perspectives on the Traditional Liturgy," affirmed this balanced understanding of the liturgy.

"How it is done matters! Every single action and word [of the priest] really matters!"

This blind obedience and understanding of the Holy Father as having supreme fiat over everything helped create this chaos as much as anything. Indeed, Fr. Lang repeated our current Pope's own words in a talk he gave prior to taking possession of St. John Lateran after his election. He quoted Pope Benedict XVI as saying, "The Pope is the humble servant of Tradition and nothing more."

In other words, theological, philosophical, and juridical positivism, especially when it comes to the sacred liturgy, is outside the scope of his jurisdiction. His vocation is to "hand on" what he has been given.

Caution Against Unjust Labels

In Dr. Reid's paper, he also cautioned Catholics against stereotyping and making unfair accusations about those attached to the Latin liturgical traditions.

"Traditionalists are often portrayed as unfaithful," Dr. Reid said. "It is time to abandon these uncritical assessments of such Catholics."

He did, however, set the boundaries of two perspectives he called untenable to faithful Catholics. "One is to claim that no further development from the 1962 missal or calendar is possible."

However, Dr. Reid did state that it was his personal opinion that the vast liturgical calendar changes such as the suppression of Septuagesima, ember days, and many other such innovations cannot be substantiated by the texts of Sacrosanctum Concilium, nor from the intentions of the council fathers.

While the uncountable and drastic changes to the liturgy from 1970 to the present are indeed a rupture with true organic development, many Catholics attached to the classical Roman rite (Traditional Latin rite) do not realize that Pope Pius XII and many of his Predecessors made selective, but noticeable, changes to the liturgy during their pontificates, Reid said.

For instance, the entire Holy Week underwent substantial reform during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII. While the Missal of 1962 and that of Pope St. Pius V remain, in essence, the same, there were still changes made.

"Two, to claim to accept Pope Paul VI's reforms uncritically" is also untenable to faithful Catholics. In other words, those Catholics who uncritically accept the entirety of reforms from Pope Paul VI and thereafter and call into question Catholics who are more critical, is not a reasonable and tenable position, according to Dr. Reid.

He went on to address a question of how and when he personally thought any future reforms of the 1962 missal would or should occur by stating that potential "developments" of the 1962 calendar are currently a severe pastoral concern.

"Lots of people are bruised, but I think it [the 1962 missal] needs to be left alone for a while. We certainly don't want to scandalize some people even more nor disrupt possible reconciliation with others," he said.

"The Roman rite has suffered severe damage and its urgent repair is required."

Keys To The Texts

Dr. Reid outlined what he considers to be the proper hermeneutics of interpreting Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy — the hermeneutical "keys" or lens from which we should adjust the resulting liturgical reform.

He noted that the first chapter's "General Principles" approved by the council fathers was the first starting point. From here, we go to paragraph numbers 14 through 19, especially the often misinterpreted, "Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the Liturgy."

Dr. Reid rightly points out that actuoso participatio, the Latin original, might be better translated as "actual participation" due to the fact that modern man views the word "active" to mean gestures, singing, or responding only, and often omits, silence, meditation, and contemplation, which, of course, are integral to Christian prayer, and are indeed "actual participation."

In fact, others who have dealt with this key terminology and its deeper spiritual and theological understanding say that "actual contemplative participation" in the sacred liturgy is perhaps an even higher spiritual goal than merely going through rote gestures without any idea or concept of the fundamental meaning behind them.

And Dr. Reid also explained the importance of paragraphs 15 through 19, which speak of the necessity for a renewed liturgical formation for all, especially the clergy. Without a true and thorough historical, theological, and philosophical education and formation of the clergy based upon sound liturgical theology, any true renewal is far in the future.

Dr. Hemming delved deeply into this education and formation of the clergy in his talk on the theological perspectives of the liturgy. Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 16, reads, "The study of Sacred Liturgy is to be ranked among the compulsory and major courses in seminaries and religious houses of studies; in theological faculties it is to rank among the principal courses. It is to be taught under its theological, historical, spiritual, pastoral, and juridical aspects."

In other words, since "The Eucharist is the 'source and summit of the Christian life'" (CCC, n. 1342) and "As does the whole of the Christian life, the moral life finds its source and summit in the Eucharistic Sacrifice" (CCC, n. 2031), all theological and pastoral disciplines should be ordered to, by, and from a proper liturgical theological foundation.

"You cannot have the liturgy as the linchpin of the Church, and then say that a deformed liturgical reform had no effect," Dr. Hemming said.

Sacrosanctum Concilium emphasizes this point again within paragraph n. 16. "Moreover, other professors, while striving to expound the mystery of Christ and the history of salvation from the angle proper to each of their own subjects, must nevertheless do so in a way which will clearly bring out the connection between their subjects and the liturgy, as also the unity which underlies all priestly training. This consideration is especially important for professors of dogmatic, spiritual, and pastoral theology and for those of Holy Scripture."

Liturgical Theology Is Foundation

Dr. Hemming said, "Liturgical theology means theology from which every other theological study takes its life and meaning; theology has no other home without its foundation in the sacred liturgy." Many Benedictines especially, and other monastics have known and taught this for years, and Dr. Hemming highlighted during his talk, "Sacred Scripture's true and proper place is within the home of the sacred liturgy."

Dr. Hemming referenced Fr. Aidan Nichols' book, Looking at the Liturgy: A Critical Look at its Contemporary Form (Ignatius Press, 1996) where the theologian sees an overemphasis on the reformers rationalizing the liturgy in an attempt to make it more understandable or more comprehensible, especially to modern man. Dr. Hemming identifies the primary philosophical flaw of this perhaps excessive rationalism of the sacred mysteries.

"This caused confusion," he said. "The confusion that arose was as to who was supposed to be the center of the liturgical reform — man or God?"

People will often complain about not being able to understand what is happening at Mass, Hemming said, which confirms the experience of many Catholics who attend both the modern and classical Roman rite. To some, it appears to be incomprehensible, he said.

"But we must remember that incomprehension is part of divine worship. The liturgy is the unfolding of intelligibility of what faith is made known by God."

In other words, it is a mystery. That is why they are called "the sacred mysteries." "Mysterium" is a Greek word equivalent to the Latin word sacramentum. By definition, a mystery, in theological terms, is something of which we can ponder and explore the depths, but can never completely comprehend nor fathom.

"In other words, this subject, the rationality and the mystery of the liturgy, has become the center of the question of the liturgy," Hemming said.

"God is the center of worship."

"More Inclusive"

Dr. Sheridan Gilley from Durham University presented a paper on "Roman Liturgy and Popular Piety." Dr. Gilley emphasized that prior to the liturgical revolution, the priest was obliged to celebrate Mass in a certain way, but the faithful were free to participate in the Mass in any way they liked; whereas nowadays the priest is free to choose how he wishes to celebrate, but the faithful are forced to participate in a very particular way.

"The old rite made for a more inclusive Church." According to Dr. Gilley, prior to the 1970 liturgical reforms, there was a book published called 30 Ways to Hear Mass, and there was only one way for the priest to say Mass. Now, there are a myriad number of ways for the priest to say Mass, but the lay faithful are all coerced into one way of hearing it.

Dr. Sheridan's research showed that the popular piety of Catholics, particularly in Ireland in the 1800s, included rosaries, pilgrimages, sodalities, exposition and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, jubilees, triduums, shrines, and retreats, often with organized spiritual direction given by their priests.

Catholicism was in the very fabric of their being, and this use of sacraments and devotions sprang from their rich liturgical life.

This parish-based sacramental system carried the faith and the liturgy into their daily lives. It was part of their very culture.

Fr. Joseph Santos of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Providence, R.I., gave a paper on the history of the Rite of Braga (Portugal), which showed one example of the multiple variations of the Roman rite that have flourished in the Church for centuries. The rite of Braga is almost 1,400 years old in its current state and it is almost exactly the same.

Pristas' Work Read By Curia

Dr. Lauren Pristas, Caldwell College, New Jersey, presented a paper entitled "The Development of the Roman Calendar." Fr. Lang introduced Pristas and said that a senior curial official called her work "a bombshell."

She is the author of The Collects of the Roman Missal: A Study of the Liturgical Reform. Her work has been published in Communio and other academic publications, and she systematically compares the changes in the wording and theology of the orations of the missal of 1970 with those of the 1962 missal from an academic historical perspective.

In her talk at the CIEL Colloquium, she explained the early history of the development of the liturgical calendar. She said research shows the development of the liturgical calendar began very early, before AD 325, and that the celebration of Christmas appears around AD 354.

"There is no such thing as history nor future for God or from the divine perspective," Pristas said. "Eternity is the ever-present now from a divine perspective."

Therefore, for human beings who are incarnate living in a material world, the cycle of the liturgical years assists us in living life more closely in union with God and His angels and His saints than mere daily living according to secular calendars, Dr. Pristas said.

"The liturgical year works through the participation in the sacred mystery itself, not principally through imitation, prayer, and meditation," Pristas said. "Even the non-baptized can imitate and meditate.

"These [methods of prayer] are helpful, but they are not the principal ways of appropriating Christ's mysteries." By living the liturgical calendar and participating as often as possible in the divine mysteries, we become more attuned to God and His will and plan for our lives and for the world.

"The spiritual participation in the mystery of salvation comes through the living out of the feast itself, not principally through imitation, meditation, nor even contemplation," Dr. Pristas said. We must live and appropriate the liturgical calendar. Spiritual reading and prayer and silence and devotions are helpful, but all must be tied back to the Church's liturgical year, in which we can most fully partake of the sacred mysteries.

Latin In The Liturgy

The Rev. Dr. Lang presented a paper entitled, "The Early Development of Christian Latin as a Liturgical Language." He traced the development of the use of Greek to Latin as the primary language in the early Church, and despite the popular historical revisionism within much of the U.S. Church, Fr. Lang said that vulgar Latin was never used in the liturgy. He said it was a much higher prose like British liturgical language found in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, for instance.

"Stylized Christian Latin was used, but not the vulgar tongue," Fr. Lang said. He also informed us that research points to the fact that the baptismal formula was solidified in Latin in the second century.

As examples of a richer prose being used, he said that even for the Homeric epics The Iliad and The Odyssey, a specific type of language was used for these stories when told orally. It was not the language of everyday use, he said.

Today, the words "Hosanna," "Alleluia," and "Amen" are preserved in their original language in order to maintain their solemn character, Fr. Lang said. They are more expressions of sentiments and exclamations than they are denotative in nature.

Fr. Lang said, that by using biblical terminology, in the very early Church, there was a controlled freedom in the content and style of the early anaphoras, or eucharistic prayers, within the bounds of orthodoxy, of course. However, as the rite developed and the Church spread, the formulation of the anaphoras and other prayers gradually became more fixed.

From AD 360 to 380, the transition from the use of Greek to Latin was almost complete, Fr. Lang said, primarily for the eucharistic prayer. The Kyrie, of course, was maintained in Greek.

After Constantine allowed freedom to Christianity, Christian feasts replaced pagan festivals, thereby becoming holy days or holidays, Fr. Lang concluded.

Brian Mershon is a commentator on cultural issues from a classical Catholic perspective. His trade is in media relations, and his vocation is as a husband to his beloved wife Tracey and father to his six living children. He attempts to assist his family and himself in attaining eternal salvation through frequent attendance at the Traditional Latin rite of Mass, homeschooling, and building Catholic culture in the buckle of the Bible Belt of Greenville, South Carolina.