My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
The continuing series on the Second Vatican Council on NET-TV this coming week will focus on the first Council document titled, “Sacrosanctum Concilium, The Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy,” which was issued in 1963. This document dealt with the revision of the Latin Rite liturgy and was perhaps the document that most characterized the Council for many Catholics. The document explained the most visible change that effected devotional life, as the Mass would be in English, or the vernacular depending on the country in which you lived. The monumental change clearly developed one of the important themes of the Council which focused on the place of the laity in the Church. The word “liturgy” means work. As, indeed, it was the work of the people and the priest. The Mass was not meant to be solely a spectator sport where the laity sat silently in the pews to pray and, many times, not engaged in the liturgy that was offered before them.
The liturgy has developed and changed throughout the centuries. Following the Council, there was the specific call to full active conscious participation of the laity. To achieve that end, the readings, the lessons at Mass, were read in English, and the people participated in responding to prayers that the priest offered.
Some attribute the decline in Mass attendance to the changes introduced by the Second Vatican Council. While it is true that generally back then there was almost a 65 percent participation in Mass by Catholics on a weekly basis, and now it is much closer to 25 percent, there were many reasons besides the introduction of the vernacular in the liturgy that fostered this dramatic change. During each of my pastoral visits to the parishes of the Diocese here in Brooklyn and Queens, I truly take note of how the liturgy is celebrated. I am happy to report that, for the most part, I see vibrant and well-celebrated liturgies with great participation on the part of the people.
One of the other changes that the Second Vatican Council brought about was the participation by the laity in various liturgical roles. The introduction of extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion and lectors were necessary in order that the Word of God be proclaimed accurately by those most capable of announcing God’s Word. Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion also became a necessity with greater numbers of people attending Mass who received Holy Communion.
Although at times our nostalgia for the beauty of the Latin liturgy when it was well celebrated sometimes affects us, the overall good of the vernacular liturgy has been a blessing to the Church. We cannot forget in our own Diocese that Mass is not celebrated solely in English. Rather, Mass is celebrated in Brooklyn and Queens in 29 different languages each Sunday. This is a great consolation to the new immigrants in our Diocese that they can participate in the liturgy in their own native tongues.
When we think back to the time before the Second Vatican Council, especially during Lent, we had a culture of observance second to none. For example, Lent was truly a time of fast and abstinence. It was not just Fridays of Lent that were days of fast and abstinence, but Wednesdays and other special days during the week. Remember those whole and half fishes on the Catholic calendar? In many ways, it was the culture that sustained us on Meatless Fridays that was the mark of being a Catholic. The penance of eating fish has been lost in a society where fish costs more than meat. Our penances must not merely be external but truly internal. There are many ways that we can do penance, many ways that we can give up what we like most or accept. In a more passive way, the penance is imposed upon us by a life that is not of our liking or not one which we seek.
Perhaps some of the things that I miss most that were frequent before the Council were the many popular devotions that were characteristic of Catholic life. The reasons for their decline are many, one being that the liturgy, the source and summit of our life, has taken its place front and center, and it should. The novenas, benedictions, public recitation of the Rosary, many things that sustained our popular devotions, were not as frequently celebrated as they were in the past. There are new ways of accomplishing this today.
Most recently, we have reinstituted the First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart with a 7:30 p.m. Mass at the Visitation Monastery in Bay Ridge with the thought that we can encourage devotion to the Sacred Heart and the enthronement of the Sacred Heart in our families.
The great changes of the Second Vatican Council, especially in regard to the liturgy, pushed the Church far out into the deep. For some, it was too far, and certain things were lost. After 50 years, however, I believe that we all can recognize that it was the right path. But it is a path that we must constantly watch so that we will truly appreciate well-celebrated liturgies that inspire faith.