|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
THE BISHOP'S VOICE: Reflections on the Roman Missal, Part 2
"In the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy, the full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of Vatican II, 14). This single, brief line from the fathers of Vatican II provided the rationale for the reform of the church’s liturgy in the years following the council. But what exactly does “full and active participation” mean?
For many Catholics this was — and still is — simply a call to all the faithful “to do more things” in the liturgy, especially at Mass.
Participation came to be understood as activity, usually the taking on of a liturgical role (reader, extraordinary ministry of Holy Communion, altar server, participating in the offertory procession, singing in the choir, greeting worshippers at the door of the church, etc.). Some of the faithful came to believe that if they remained in their pews, they were not actively participating in the Mass.
While all of the ministerial activities mentioned are noble roles for the laity, this is not the first and most important meaning of “full and active participation” in the liturgy. Full and active participation begins within the heart of each and every believer. Our common baptismal call is to be conformed to the One into whom we were baptized. The whole of the Christian life is always about becoming more like Christ.
What, then, is the first step toward our full, conscious and active participation in the Mass? It is the sincere attempt, with the help of God’s grace, to live each and every day our common priesthood: to embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ; to make him known by all that we say and do; to avoid sin and the occasion of sin — all of this that we might present ourselves as a worthy sacrifice to the Father.
The more proximate preparation for our participation in Mass takes place in those moments that we have to spend with the Lord in church before Mass begins. This is the time to reflect on the liturgical act in which we are about to participate. Everything about us should express the unique importance of the Mass: our silence, our demeanor, and — yes — even our clothing.
Then begins the solemn and holy action of the Mass. There we encounter the living Christ in his holy assembly, in the person of the priest, in the Lord’s word proclaimed for us, and most profoundly in the sacrament of his Body and Blood given for us to eat. Our full and active participation in the Mass consists in our prayerful listening to the Scriptures, praying and singing with the assembly and worthily receiving Holy Communion — and except for Communion, we never have to leave the pew.
Msgr. James Moroney, former executive director of the Committee on the Liturgy of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, notes in this regard that “[t]his is one boat, I fear, that the Church has too often missed. For while we have spent much time arranging furniture and books and telling people where to stand and what to do, we have not spent enough time or energy moving souls and hearts and people to be more like Christ, so that they might be joined with him in the great sacrifice of praise that is the Liturgy” (in The Mass Explained: An Introduction to the New Roman Missal, p. 120).
We must not forget that participation in the Mass does not end with the dismissal. Rather, the dismissal reminds us of the next phase of participation — bringing Christ to the world in which we live and work and play.
The new translation of the Roman Missal, due to be prayed for the first time on the First Sunday of Advent, is not merely the result of an exercise in semantics. The Missal has been retranslated so that we might pray better. Our entering into this prayer is our active, conscious and full participation. Pope Benedict XVI has told us that the new translation “is intended to enrich and deepen the sacrifice of praise offered to God by his people.”
The newly-translated Roman Missal is a great gift to all of us. This is a special moment in the life of the church in the United States. It is an invitation to participate fully and actively and consciously in the Mass. It is a moment to renew our understanding of and appreciation for the Mass, lest we take that great gift for granted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|