Many liturgical ad-libbers and revolutionaries invoke the ever-malleable "Spirit of Vatican Two" to justify editing the text of the Mass to suit their personal whims.
What do the actual texts of the Second Vatican Council say about ad-libbing the liturgy?
From The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum concilium):
III. The Reform of the Sacred Liturgy
[. . .]
A. General Norms
22.
1. Regulation of the sacred liturgy depends solely on the authority of
the Church, that is, on the Apostolic See and, as laws may determine, on the
bishop.
2. In virtue of power conceded by the law, the regulation of the liturgy
within certain defined limits belongs also to various kinds of competent
territorial bodies of bishops legitimately established.
3. Therefore no other person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority.
Therefore, no priest has the authority to ad-lib a liturgical text. The Fathers of the Council make no exceptions for "pastoral concerns" or "cultural adaptations."
Add.: One of the things I find interesting about the whole "Spirit of Vatican Two" excuse is that it seems that the Spirit inspired the Council Fathers to write X in the council documents but now inspires interpreters of those texts to believe that He really meant not-X.
___________________Add.: One of the things I find interesting about the whole "Spirit of Vatican Two" excuse is that it seems that the Spirit inspired the Council Fathers to write X in the council documents but now inspires interpreters of those texts to believe that He really meant not-X.
Follow HancAquam and visit the Kindle Wish List and the Books & Things Wish List
Click on St. Martin and donate to the Dominicans! ----->
I wonder does it never occur to anyone to adopt a smidgen of humility and realise how unlikely is it that they alone can improve on the spur of the moment what it has taken so many over such a long period of time to craft?
ReplyDeleteFr., every ad-libber I know believes that he is doing the Right Thing b/c he is giving his people a "better experience" at Mass. Most of these guys had the Permanent Liturgical Revolution propaganda beaten into them in seminary. In my studium, we took a class on how to invent liturgies. We never cracked the Missal in class, of course, but we learned all about DIY rituals. When you are being told over and over again that the Smartest People in the Smartest Places think that DIY Mass is the way to go. . .
DeleteYeah! This is a minor one, but I really dislike it when a priest says "Peace is with you" instead of "Peace be with you." Darn it, it has two different meetings. Don't try to make it more accessible; you're changing the meaning.
ReplyDeleteYea. "Peace is with you" is indicative. The correct version is imperative! I'll take the imperative any day.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteSr. M.C. (harharhar). . .I'll email you.
DeleteThis is a great post, Father. I'd like to take this text and post it in 30 point font at the back of my parish for a certain Father Hollywood. I don't want to turn this into personal liturgical grievance thread, but the one that always gets me is the talk show host style greeting at the beginning of Mass.
ReplyDeletePriest: "The Lord be with you."
People: "And with Your Spirit."
Priest: "Thanks very much, and let me welcome all of you to our liturgical celebration this morning. Before I introduce our worship team, let me ask if there are any birthdays today? Any visitors from out of town?"
Ugh. If it weren't illegal or immoral, I'd chuck a hymnal at him.
DeleteIsn't this why the Magisterium as per Benedict XVI (when head of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) have mandated last year a compliance to the true and faithful rendition of the thousands-year-old mass (of course in the vernacular).?
DeleteAnon., partly, yes. The best reason for the new translation is that the old translation wasn't a translation at all. . .it was a paraphrase and an ugly one at that.
DeleteThanks for looking up the relevant quote, Father.
ReplyDeleteA priest who thinks he'll give the congregation a "better experience" is probably thinking that Mass depends on him more than it does. It's foremost an action of God, not an entertainment starring the priest.
Also, little-known fact: the Spirit of Vatican Two has also starred as the emanations and penumbras in the U.S. Constitution.
The SVT seems to show wherever he's needed to get those who invoke him what they want.
Delete