Liturgical reforms of Pope Pius XII

Last updated

The liturgical reforms of Pope Pius XII took place mostly between 1947 and 1958.

Contents

Groundwork

On 20 November 1947, Pius XII issued the encyclical Mediator Dei . It included the statement: "the use of the mother tongue in connection with several of the rites may be of much advantage to the people", while reaffirming the normativity of Latin.

Eucharistic fast

Pius XII changed the requirements for fasting before receiving communion in two stages. In 1953, by the Apostolic constitution Christus Dominus, he continued to require not ingesting from midnight before receiving communion, but ruled that water did not break the fast. He also relaxed the fasting requirement for the sick and travelers, those engaged in exhausting physical labor, and for priests who celebrate several Masses on the same day. In 1957, with Sacram Communionem, he replaced the fast from midnight with a three-hour fast from solid food and alcohol and a one-hour fast from other liquids. Ordinary communicants would calculate the time until the moment they took communion; priests fasted based on the time they began saying Mass. [1] The new fasting rules opened the way to scheduling evening Masses, which the fast from midnight regime made all but impossible for those desiring to receive communion. [2]

Use of the vernacular

Permission for the use of the vernacular for parts of the Mass had been granted on occasion long before the papacy of Pius XII; including in 1906 by Pius X (parts of Yugoslavia), Benedict XV in 1920 (Croatian, Slovenian, and Czech), Pius XI in 1929 (Bavaria). [3]

Under Pius XII, the Sacred Congregation of Rites granted permission for the use of local languages in countries with expanding Catholic mission activities, including in Indonesia and Japan in 1941–2. In 1949 permission was granted for using Mandarin Chinese in Mass except for the Canon, and for the use of Hindi in India in 1950. Permission was also granted to use a French (1948) and German (1951) translation for rituals other than Mass. [3]

As a means of increasing the participation of the congregation in the celebration of Mass, recognizing that joining in chant is not possible at a Mass that is "read" rather than sung, in 1958 Pius approved the use of hymns in the vernacular at appropriate points in the service. [4] As a means to closer awareness by the congregation he also allowed the epistle and gospel to be read aloud by a layman while the celebrant read them quietly in Latin. [5]

Though insisting on the primacy of Latin in the liturgy of the Western Church (cf. Mediator Dei, par. 60), Pius XII approves the use of the vernacular in the Ritual for sacraments and other rites outside the Mass. All such permissions, however, were to be granted by the Holy See, and Pius XII strongly condemned the efforts of individual priests and communities to introduce the vernacular on their own authority. He allowed the use of the vernacular in other rites and sacraments outside the Mass, [6] in the service for Baptism and Extreme Unction. [7]

Liturgical propers and other directives

Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Pius XII instituted a number of new feasts and approved new propers. After defining the Dogma of the Assumption in 1950, a new mass formula (the mass Signum magnum) was introduced for the feast, which falls on August 15. [8] Pius XII also instituted the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which he established as a double of the second class and fixed to August 22, the octave day of the Assumption. [9] Other new feasts included the feast of the Queenship of Mary (May 31) and the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker (to coincide with the socialist holiday of May 1), which thus replaced the Feast of Saint Joseph Patron of the Universal Church, observed until then (from 1870) as a movable feast on the third Wednesday after Easter.

The Sacred Congregation of Rites had jurisdiction over the Rites and ceremonies of the Latin Church such as Holy Mass, sacred functions and divine worship. It issued the location of the blessed sacrament within the Church, to be always at the main altar in the centre of the Church. [10] The Church should display religious objects, but not be overloaded with secondary items or even Kitsch. Modern sacred art should be reverential and still reflect the spirit of our time. [11] Since 1942, priests are permitted to officiate marriages without Holy Mass. [12] They may also officiate confirmations in certain instances. [13]

Easter Vigil

In 1951 on an experimental basis, [14] and then permanently in 1956, [15] Pope Pius XII introduced the Easter Vigil, a celebration of Easter night based on restoration of ancient forms. [16] He shifted the hour of the celebration to after sunset and restructured the service. [17] The Paschal candle is the center of the service of new fire, rather than a three-branched candle of medieval origin that had existed only for use in this service; the congregation lights its own candles as well, a participatory innovation. The water is blessed in front of the congregation, not at the baptismal font. Among many detailed changes, only four of the traditional Old Testament readings were kept. Then followed only the first part of the Litany of the Saints and possible baptisms. A major innovation occurred with the incorporation of renewal of baptismal promises by the entire congregation, "a milestone" that introduced modern languages into the general Roman liturgy for the first time. [18]

His re-introduction of the Easter Vigil was generally popular, although it faced a cool reception from some prelates. Cardinal Spellman of New York considered asking for a dispensation from performing the new Easter Vigil rite, [19] [20] but relented. [21] Another assessment saw initial enthusiasm that lasted only a few years and concluded that only novelty had attracted attention in the first years. [22] Other Christian denominations adopted the popular Roman Catholic Easter ceremonies in later years, an ecumenical influence of Pius XII. [23]

Holy Week rites

In 1955, Pius XII promulgated new liturgies for Holy Week in the decree Maxima Redemptionis (November 19, 1955). In addition to the new Easter Vigil, modified on an experimental basis in 1951 and now made permanent, he promulgated the rites for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and Good Friday, the most important ceremonies in the Roman liturgy. The Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper was moved from morning to evening to replicate more closely the experience of the historical Last Supper and the Good Friday liturgy similarly moved to the afternoon. [24]

The new Good Friday liturgy modified the Good Friday prayer for the Jews in two ways. Pius had already, in 1949, made a public declaration that the Latin word "perfidus", which is applied to the Jewish people in this prayer, means "unbelieving", not "perfidious" or "treacherous". [25] The 1955 liturgy rendered the text in English as "the faithless Jews". It also called for the congregation to kneel for a moment of silent prayer during this petition just as the congregation did during the other nine petitions in this liturgy. [26]

Other

As the Liturgical Movement had long been exploring the history and form of concelebrating Mass, in 1956, Pius specified that all celebrants say the words of consecration aloud if they mean to participate fully, not just externally. [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Missal</span> Central book of the most widespread Catholic liturgical rite

The Roman Missal is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the most common liturgy and Mass of the Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass (liturgy)</span> Type of worship service within many Christian denominations

Mass is the main Eucharistic liturgical service in many forms of Western Christianity. The term Mass is commonly used in the Catholic Church, Western Rite Orthodoxy, Old Catholicism, and Independent Catholicism. The term is used in some Lutheran churches, as well as in some Anglican churches. The term is also used, on rare occasion, by other Protestant churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass of Paul VI</span> Type of liturgical rite in the Roman Catholic Church

The Mass of Paul VI, also known as the Ordinary Form or Novus Ordo, is the most commonly used liturgy in the Catholic Church. It was promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969 and published in 1970; it was then revised in 1975, further revised by Pope John Paul II in 2000, and published in a third edition in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tridentine Mass</span> Form of liturgy in the Roman Rite

The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or the Traditional Rite, is the liturgy in the Roman Missal of the Catholic Church published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almost exclusively in Ecclesiastical Latin, it was the most widely used Eucharistic liturgy in the world from its issuance in 1570 until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Divine Liturgy</span> Rite practiced in Eastern Christian traditions

Divine Liturgy or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox, the Greek Catholic Churches, and the Ukrainian Lutheran Church. Although the same term is sometimes applied in English to the Eucharistic service of Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, they use in their own language a term meaning "holy offering" or "holy sacrifice". Other churches also treat "Divine Liturgy" simply as one of many names that can be used, but it is not their normal term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Week</span> Calendar date

Holy Week is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. For all Christian traditions it is a moveable observance. In Eastern Christianity, which also calls it Great Week, it is the week following Great Lent and Lazarus Saturday, starting on the evening of Palm Sunday and concluding on the evening of Great Saturday. In Western Christianity, Holy Week is the sixth and last week of Lent, beginning with Palm Sunday and concluding on Holy Saturday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feast of Corpus Christi</span> Catholic feast day, public holiday in some countries

The Feast of Corpus Christi, also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is a Christian liturgical solemnity celebrating the Real Presence of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus in the elements of the Eucharist; it is observed by the Roman Catholic Church, in addition to certain Western Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican churches. Two months earlier, the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper is observed on Maundy Thursday in a sombre atmosphere leading to Good Friday. The liturgy on that day also commemorates Christ's washing of the disciples' feet, the institution of the priesthood, and the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paschal Triduum</span> Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday

The Paschal Triduum or Easter Triduum, Holy Triduum, or the Three Days, is the period of three days that begins with the liturgy on the evening of Maundy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday. It is a moveable observance recalling the Passion, Crucifixion, Death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus, as portrayed in the canonical Gospels.

Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a liturgy held in traditional Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this liturgy that people are baptized and that adult catechumens are received into full communion with the Church. It is held in the hours of darkness between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Day – most commonly in the evening of Holy Saturday or midnight – and is the first celebration of Easter, days traditionally being considered to begin at sunset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian worship</span> Act of attributing reverent honour and homage to God

In Christianity, worship is the act of attributing reverent honour and homage to God. In the New Testament, various words are used to refer to the term worship. One is proskuneo which means to bow down to God or kings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eucharistic discipline</span> Regulations and practices associated with the Eucharist

Eucharistic discipline is the term applied to the regulations and practices associated with an individual preparing for the reception of the Eucharist. Different Christian traditions require varying degrees of preparation, which may include a period of fasting, prayer, repentance, and confession.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrism Mass</span> Solemn Mass for blessings Holy Oils

The Chrism Mass is a religious service held in certain Christian denominations, such as Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism. It is usually celebrated each year on Maundy Thursday or on another day of Holy Week. During the ceremony, the holy oils used for sacraments and rituals are blessed or consecrated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Rite</span> Most widespread liturgical rite in the Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Rite is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the sui iuris particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs rites such as the Roman Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours as well as the manner in which sacraments and blessings are performed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altar bell</span> Small hand-held bell or set of bell

In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Methodism and Anglicanism, an altar bell is typically a small hand-held bell or set of bells. The primary reason for the use of such bells is to create a “joyful noise to the Lord” as a way to give thanks for the miracle taking place atop the altar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament</span>

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, also called Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament or the Rite of Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction, is a devotional ceremony, celebrated especially in the Roman Catholic Church, but also in some other Christian traditions such as Anglo-Catholicism, whereby a bishop, priest, or a deacon blesses the congregation with the Eucharist at the end of a period of adoration.

In the history of Christianity, the African Rite refers to a now defunct Christian, Latin liturgical rite, and is considered a development or possibly a local use of the primitive Roman Rite. Centered around the Archdiocese of Carthage in the Early African church, it used the Latin language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reserved sacrament</span>

During the Mass of the Faithful, the second part of the Mass, the elements of bread and wine are considered to have been changed into the veritable Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The manner in which this occurs is referred to by the term transubstantiation, a theory of St. Thomas Aquinas, in the Roman Catholic Church. Members of the Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran communions also believe that Jesus Christ is really and truly present in the bread and wine, but they believe that the way in which this occurs must forever remain a sacred mystery. In many Christian churches some portion of the consecrated elements is set aside and reserved after the reception of Communion and referred to as the reserved sacrament. The reserved sacrament is usually stored in a tabernacle, a locked cabinet made of precious materials and usually located on, above, or near the high altar. In Western Christianity usually only the Host, from Latin: hostia, meaning "victim", is reserved, except where wine might be kept for the sick who cannot consume a host.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass in the Catholic Church</span> Central liturgical ritual of the Catholic Church

The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass "the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross, is present and offered in an unbloody manner". The Church describes the Mass as the "source and summit of the Christian life", and teaches that the Mass is a sacrifice, in which the sacramental bread and wine, through consecration by an ordained priest, become the sacrificial body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ as the sacrifice on Calvary made truly present once again on the altar. The Catholic Church permits only baptised members in the state of grace to receive Christ in the Eucharist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass of the Lord's Supper</span> Beginning of the Paschal Triduum

The Mass of the Lord's Supper, also known as A Service of Worship for Maundy Thursday, is a Holy Week service celebrated on the evening of Maundy Thursday. It inaugurates the Easter Triduum, and commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, more explicitly than other celebrations of the Mass.

Mediator Dei is a papal encyclical issued by Pope Pius XII on 20 November 1947. It was the first encyclical devoted entirely to liturgy.

References

  1. ↑ Mitchell, Nathan (1990). Cult and Controversy: The Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass. Cellegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press. p. 237. ISBN   9780814660508 . Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  2. ↑ Coppa, Frank J. (2013). The Life and Pontificate of Pope Pius XII: Between History and Controversy. Catholic University of America Press. p. 229. ISBN   9780813220161 . Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  3. 1 2 Pecklers, Keith F. (2003). Dynamic Equivalence: The Living Language of Christian Worship. Liturgical Press. pp. 31ff. ISBN   9780814661918 . Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  4. ↑ Laurence, John D. (2012). The Sacrament of Eucharist. Liturgical Press. p. 96. ISBN   9780814635308 . Retrieved 4 September 2017. The document was De musica sacra et sacra liturgia (Sacred Music and Liturgy).
  5. ↑ Cummings, Owen F. (2013). Eucharist and Ecumenism: The Eucharist across the Ages and Traditions. Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications. p. 118. ISBN   9781620327593 . Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  6. ↑ D'Antonio, William V.; Dillon, Michele; Gautier, Mary L. (2013). American Catholics in Transition. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 17. ISBN   9781442219939 . Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  7. ↑ Cohalan, Florence D. (1999). A Popular History of the Archdiocese of New York. United States Catholic Historical Society. p. 311.
  8. ↑ AAS 1950, 795
  9. ↑ AAS 1944, 44
  10. ↑ AAS 1957, 425
  11. ↑ AAS 1952, 542-546
  12. ↑ 7 16, 1942, AAS, 1942
  13. ↑ AAS 1946, 349-354
  14. ↑ De solemni vigilia paschali instauranda, early March 1951
  15. ↑ "Maxima Redemptionis", November 16, 1955
  16. ↑ AAS 1956, 153; De Solemni Vigilia Paschali Instauranda. AAS 1951, 128-137
  17. ↑ Bradshaw, 162-163
  18. ↑ Regan, Patrick (2012). Advent to Pentecost: Comparing the Seasons in the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms of the Roman Rite. Liturgical Press. p. 211. ISBN   9780814662793 . Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  19. ↑ Prendergast, Michael R. (2004). Voices from the Council. Pastoral Press. p. 152.
  20. ↑ Ferrone, Rita (2007). Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium. Paulist Press. p. 112. ISBN   9780809144723 . Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  21. ↑ "St. Patrick's Will Conduct the Liturgical Services as Just Decreed by Pope" (PDF). New York Times. 15 April 1957. Retrieved 5 September 2017. Spellman's cathedral scheduled the Easter Vigil for 6 pm with Mass to follow at 7 pm.
  22. ↑ Reid, Alcuin (2005). The Organic Development of the Liturgy (2nd ed.). Ignatius Press. p. 233. ISBN   9781586171063 . Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  23. ↑ Bertoniere, 45
  24. ↑ Laughlin, Corinna; Seaman, Kristopher; Palanca, Stephen (2016). Guide for Celebrating Holy Week and the Triduum. Liturgy Training Publications. p. 9. ISBN   9781616712921 . Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  25. ↑ Mudge, Lewis S. (2012). "Chapter 18: Christian Ecumenism and the Abrahamic Faith". In Kireopoulos, Antonios; Mecera, Juliana (eds.). Ecumenical Directions in the United States Today: Churches on a Theological Journey. Paulist Press. ISBN   9780809147557 . Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  26. ↑ Fisher, Eugene J. (2005). "Catholic Teaching on Jews and Judaism: An Evolution in Process". In Boys, Mary C. (ed.). Seeing Judaism Anew: Christianity's Sacred Obligation. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 253. ISBN   9781461635956 . Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  27. ↑ Cabié, Robert (1986). The Eucharist. The Liturgical Press. p. 226. ISBN   9780814613641 . Retrieved 4 September 2017.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.