Perspectives on an Organic Development of the Liturgy

Abstract

Perspectives on an Organic Development of the Liturgy László Dobszay With Pope Benedict XVI’s 2007 apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum, issued motu proprio, the coexistence of two rites – or, in official terms, two forms of the same Roman Rite – has begun. As it turns out, the widespread apprehension that some kind of schism would follow and compromise the unity of the Church was unjustified. While the traditional Roman liturgy (as celebrated according to the liturgical books in force in 1962), now termed the “extraordinary form,” has gained greater freedom, the worthy celebration of the novus ordo of Pope Paul VI (the “ordinary form”) has also received guidelines in papal encyclicals, directives, and statements. The long-lasting debate has finally abated. I am of the opinion, however, that this mode of coexistence is satisfactory only for the present and immediate future. It has been left to the more-distant future to resolve the anomalies that remain in the Roman liturgy, and it is not at all premature to start thinking about the possible solutions. Summorum Pontificum itself seems to This essay was delivered as a paper at the international conference “Pope Benedict XVI and the Sacred Liturgy,” hosted by the St. Augustine Liturgical Atelier of Hungary at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary, 21-24 August 2008. It appears in Antiphon by the kind permission of the conference committee and without prejudice to the copyright. Benedict XVI, Apostolic Letter Summorum pontificum, 7 July 2007, Acta Apostolicae Sedis [henceforth AAS] 99 (2007) 779: “Art. 1. Missale RomanumaPauloVIpromulgatumordinariaexpressio‘Legisorandi’Ecclesiæ catholicæ ritus Latini est. Missale autem Romanum a S. Pio V promulgatum et a beato Ioanne XXIII denuo editum habeatur uti extraordinaria expressio eiusdem ‘Legis orandi’ Ecclesiæ et ob venerabilem et antiquum eius usum debito gaudeat honore. Hæ duæ expressiones ‘legis orandi’ Ecclesiæ, minime vero inducent in divisionem ‘legis credendi’ Ecclesiæ; sunt enim duo usus unici rutus romani.” Also Benedict XVI, Letter (Epistula) Con grande fiducia accompanying the Apostolic Letter Summorum pontificum, 7 July 2007, AAS 99 (2007) 795: “Non è appropriato parlare di queste due stesure del Messale Romano come se fossero ‘due Riti’. Si tratta, piuttosto, di un uso duplice dell’unico e medesimo Rito.” Antiphon 13.1 (2009): 18-27 19 Perspectives on an Organic Development of the Liturgy allude to this eventuality, suggesting that this has not been the final word on the matter. What anomalies are we talking about? On the one hand, a part of the criticism regarding the ordinary form touches upon the way it is celebrated in many places¸ but this really is only one part of the problem. Even if the instructions of the Pope shall correct many failures and abuses (for which there is no guarantee without some disciplinary steps), the break in the liturgy remains palpable in its actual contents. On the other hand, even though the liberalization of the usus antiquior of the Latin Mass has undoubtedly brought many blessings and joy to its supporters, in its present state it will not be able to effect the life of the whole Church as deeply as many hope. The extraordinary form remains extraordinary, reserved to relatively small and isolated groups; in a good case, perhaps, to one among fifty churches in a given area. If you visit the Mass of an average town or village church, you will perceive immediately the unfeasibility of superimposing the extraordinary form of Mass upon the community or its priest; they want to adhere to the true or supposed advantages of the ordinary form. One may be enthusiastic about majestic liturgies accurately performed with a fine schola, well-trained assistants, and properly instructed congregation; but in the present state of the Church is it realistic to suppose that the same can be accomplished also in smaller churches? Even if the Mass of 1962 were introduced (or reintroduced) in every church (although I expect it shall not be), it is not this splendid liturgical form that would become the typical experience, but rather its most simplified mode of celebration, that is, what we may call a private Low Mass open to the public. Surely, we can find examples in the history of the Church when...