The Liturgical Movement and Mediator Dei

The ‘Liturgical movement’ was initiated in Germany and France in the twelfth century. A work of both the lay and the clergy, its aim was to draw the faithful closer to God through a more profound appreciation of, and engagement with, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and other ceremonies of the Church — so that “the majestic ceremonies of the sacrifice of the altar (become) better known, understood and appreciated” (paragraph 5 Mediator Dei). In essence it sought to reengage the laity spiritually with the Sacrifice of the altar and quell apathy.

Several centuries later, towards the end of the nineteenth century, “certain exaggerations and over-statements… not in agreement with the true teaching of the Church” (par 94) began to snake their way through the movement. This rotten element obsessed with experimentation continually gained increasing momentum.

Mindful of those who wished to denigrate the centrality of the Mass and consequently Catholicism, the Popes from Pius X to XII made a concerted effort to continue the healthy work of the movement. And this they did, notably through the publication of wonderful encyclicals of the like which could be never written today.

Pope Pius XII in particular contributed heavily to renewal of the Church’s liturgical and Sacramental life. In 1947 he published his influential encyclical Mediator Dei to ensure two things: first, to re-emphasise the focus of the liturgy in the lives of Catholics, and second, to prevent interest in the Liturgy from resulting in “excess[ive] or outright perversion” (par 7).

9 October 1958 saw the death of His Holiness Pope Pius XII and with it came the end of the Liturgical movement. What took over was a new movement, a ‘reform movement’, which sought to change the nature of Catholicism and consequently the Holy Liturgy. The desires of this (neo-pagan) movement strongly influenced the so-called reforms of the second Vatican council (1962–65) and related Liturgical reforms. These sometimes dubious or erroneous ‘reforms’ shape the mainstream Church we see today. Pius XII, in Mediator Dei, pre-empts these disasters which were to eventually strangle the Church. In effect, Mediator Dei attempted, and for some time succeeded, to guard the Mystical Body of Christ against so-called ‘reformers’. Amongst other things the ‘reformers’ introduced a new Order of Catholic Mass which embraced and enforced many of the changes that Protestants were proposing during the Reformation in the sixteenth century: adoption of Mass in the vernacular; introduction of an ‘altar table’; rewording of the Canon (Eucharistic Prayer) of the Mass to suppress any sense of Sacrifice; relegation of the priest’s role in the Mass; involvement of the lay in the liturgy to ‘keep them interested’. These changes were made even though they violated the infallible teachings of the Church: the rewording of the Eucharistic Prayer (referred to as the form of the Sacrament — ie the defining aspect) in fact changes the whole nature of the Catholic Mass; and consequently Catholicism. Martyrs who died for their faith, and hence the Mass in England and northern Europe 500 years ago, were suddenly declared mistaken in their efforts.

Because of this destruction many Catholic Truths have become clouded. Therefore in this discussion we shall revisit fleetingly three key themes central to our lives as ‘Traditional Catholics’ which Pius XII stresses in his thorough encyclical Mediator Dei: namely, the nature of the Priesthood; the Liturgy (Traditional Roman Rite); and worship.

The Church obediently aims to prolong “the priestly mission of Jesus Christ” (par 3) principally by having at her ceremonial centre the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, ensuring that the “sacrifice of His mortal body should continue without intermission down the ages” (par 2). Christ as the head of the Church provides for His Mystical body by consecrating men for the Priestly ministry through which He can gather all the faithful around His altar “feeding them with the Bread of angels to make them ever stronger” (par 22). The chief role of the priest is therefore in assisting the entrance of souls into heaven by recreating Calvary on our altars.

Many condemn the nature of the Catholic Priesthood, declaring that all those baptised in Christ are members of a ‘priesthood’, and that the Liturgy ought to be merely a ‘concelebration’ between the ‘baptised community’ and an appointed ‘president of the assembly’. As Pius XII clearly states “[t]he fact… that the faithful participate in the Eucharistic sacrifice does not mean that they also are endowed with priestly power” (par 82). Christ himself willed that his Church be supported by an earthly hierarchy “which resembles in some sort the heavenly hierarchy” (par 39). Only a select few are granted this power of the priesthood, just as Christ cautiously selected his chosen twelve. Through the imposition of Holy Orders the chosen men act as “ambassador(s) of the divine Redeemer” (par 40). Most importantly in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the priest acts in persona Christi, that is through the supernatural power entrusted to him he performs “actions in virtue of Christ’s very person” (par 69), and thus the Church offers up her sacrifice by the hands of the priest. As the priest ascends to the High altar he does so “inferior to Christ but superior to the people” (par 84).

Although the lay possess no sacerdotal power and rely upon the priest as mediator between them and God, they do assist the priest in offering up the Mass through their collected prayers for the Eucharistic sacrifice. This is evident when the priest turns to the people to ask for their prayers (“Orate Frates (brethren pray) ut meum ac vestrum sacrificium acceptabile fiat apud Deum Patrem Omnipotentem”) before he begins the Canon (Eucharistic Prayer). Even given the nature of the Christ’s priesthood, the faithful undoubtedly have a role to play in the sacrifice, but are not the centre of the Liturgy; the Liturgy is God-, and not, Man-centred.

Lay participation in the Mass was a central issue about which the 1960s reformers spoke. Participation was also an issue which concerned the Liturgical movement, and Pius XII praised those who sought to promote more engagement on the part of the laity with chant, dialogue responses, and use of missals. He also realised that “so varied and diverse are men’s talents and characters that it is impossible for all to be moved and attracted to the same extent by community prayers, hymns and liturgical services” (par 106), and so he goes on to recommend that some may adopt “some other method which proves easier for (them); for instance, they can lovingly meditate on the mysteries of Jesus Christ or perform other exercises of piety or recite prayers” (ibid). The reformers of the late twentieth century however introduced a rather different type of participation. They introduced an superficial ‘activism’ in which the lay are encouraged to participate, but in a purely external manner devoid of any devotional aspect — what is the spiritual benefit to the laity of standing, sitting, dialoguing, shaking and clapping hands, and parading in “offertory processions”? Roles such as ‘Eucharistic ministers’ or scriptural readers have introduced one thing alone, a lay hierarchy, which only results in a man-centred liturgy.

Pius XII did not seek these innovations since he knew the Holy Mass had no place for them. He uses his encyclical to document many misunderstandings and abuses that people were proposing for the Mass and strongly denounces the afore-mentioned modes of self-indulgenced participation by stating that the Sacrifice must not take on a “social character” (par 100). He condemned “the temerity and daring of those who introduce novel liturgical practices” (par 60).

The Holy Mass at which Christ is always present “under the Eucharistic species” (par 20), we are told by his Holiness is composed of four chief parts: the “breaking of bread”; the singing of “divine praises… psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles”; “Reading of the Law… the gospel and the apostolic epistles”; and the “sermon in which the official head of the congregation recalls and explains the practical bearing of the commandments of the divine Master” (par 21). So as to complement the Holy Mass, the Church also provides the Sacraments, the “channels through which men are made partakers in the supernatural life”, and also the divine office (“the daily tribute of her prayer of praise” (par 3)), so that “there is no state of human life that has not its part in the thanksgiving, praise, supplication and reparation of this common prayer of… His Church!” (par 3).

What Christ offered in hanging upon the cross for mankind, we recreate at Holy Mass, since He is again sacrificed on our altars. Regarding the actual act on Calvary and the recreation on our altars, Pius XII states “the appointed ends are the same. The first of these is to give glory to the Heavenly Father… The second end is duly to give thanks to God… The third… is that of expiation, propitiation and reconciliation… [and] the fourth end, finally, is that of impetration. Man, being the prodigal son, has made bad use of and dissipated the goods which he received from his heavenly Father… [hence Christ] is our mediator with God” (par 74). We see clearly that his Holiness is not advocating a Mass which is a man-centred social gathering in which a priest can entertain his ‘flocks’, but one which functions as a service to the soul through our deep contemplation of what we are witnessing before us.

Exterior as well as interior worship are expounded upon by his Holiness. Exterior worship, the outward sign of faith, is expressed by the rubrics of the ceremonies of the Church, and the aesthetics of our places of worship — hence the importance of our Churches’ decorations. This exterior aspect is of course vital in helping us deepen our faith by raising our hearts and minds to God, but “claim[s] no perfection or sanctity in [its] own right” (par 23). The principal component of divine worship must be interior. The exterior nature of the liturgy helps to kindle in us a strong interior faith and devotion.

A common problem nowadays is the lay’s lack of interest in ceremonies outside the Mass, such as benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, the divine office, and other devotional practices. An often subconscious mentality of the faithful which assaults the Church’s mystical traditions, and is certainly passed on by some churchmen, embraces a theory which Pius XII pre-warned us of in his encyclical — that of piety which is purely ‘objective’.

Theories involving ‘objective piety’ attempt to play down or reject the importance of personal (or subjective) piety. Some reformers state that only liturgical (ie objective) prayer was authentic Christian prayer. As a reproach His Holiness emphasises the importance of personal acts of piety, since he tell us “the work of redemption, which in itself is independent of our will, requires a serious interior effort on our part if we are to achieve eternal salvation” (par 31). However this is not to reject ‘objective’ piety since the Sacraments and the Holy Mass are, due to their nature, in themselves “capable in themselves of conveying and dispensing grace from the divine Head to the members of the Mystical Body” (ibid). However we must fuse both ‘objective’ and ‘subjective’ forms if the Sacraments and the Holy Mass “are to produce their proper effect” (ibid). Equally worthy of condemnation is rejecting the august Sacrifice of the altar and focussing alone upon personal devotional practices. In short, what His Holiness advocated was balance between emphasis on the “ex opere operato” (par 28) powers of the Sacraments and the objective aspect of worship on the one hand, and the subjective or personal, “opus operantis” aspect (par 36) on the other — this is what true (lay) participation is! This carries another important message, namely that devotion must not end after Sunday Mass to be revisited at the same time the following week; it must be a continual process.

Regarding personal modes of piety, the encyclical highlights and recommends, amongst the many devotional practices, meditation, examination of the conscience, ritual prayers, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, the Rosary and others “not strictly belonging to the sacred liturgy… (such as) novenas and triduums, stations of the cross and other similar practices” (par182).

Mediator Dei foresees the peril of stripping the Church of devotion and relegating the priest to nothing more than a arbitrary representative of the ‘community’. It firmly stresses the real presence of our Lord in the Mass, a Truth upon which Catholicism is built. We must pray that the innovations occurring in the modern / mainstream Church do not obscure these beautiful teachings which define our Faith, since the “Holy Eucharist… is the culmination and centre, as it were, of the Christian religion” (par 66).

Deo Gratias.

G G D'Oca

Reference

1 The Faith of Trent — Council of Trent ran from 1545 to 1563
2 See Pius XII’s encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi