"Feasts reach them all": The Role of the Liturgical Year in Advancing the United States Liturgical Movement, 1926–1959

Abstract

During the era commonly referred to as the liturgical movement (ca. 1926– 1959), the liturgical year provided a unique forum for theological formation of the lay faithful, tying together the faithful's active participation in ritual experiences with a renewed appreciation of the unfolding of salvation history. Among proponents of the liturgical movement, the liturgical year emerged as a primary method for advancing liturgical renewal, inspiring the first resources accessible for the lay faithful, and significantly shaping the content of the seminal journal of liturgical renewal in the United States, Orate Fratres (later, Worship). The liturgical year provided a key structure for catechesis in multiple arenas of Catholic life, including parochial schools, parishes, and families. Such reliance upon the liturgical year for developing catechesis and promoting prayer practices sharply contrasted with previously existing nineteenth- and twentieth-century catechetical resources and devotional materials, and demanded textual and ritual engagement on the part of the Catholic faithful. Ultimately, liturgical movement advocates' invitation for the faithful to participate in liturgical worship more holistically through focus on the liturgical year anticipated both the earliest ritual revisions, such as the restored Holy Week and Easter Vigil, and post-conciliar liturgical renewal.