THE REFORM OF THE SACRED LITURGY:
WHAT DID THE COUNCIL ACTUALLY ASK TO BE CHANGED
Today we continue our journey through Sacrosanctum Concilium with Day Three: The Reform of the Sacred Liturgy – What Did the Council Actually Ask to be Changed?
This is an important day in our study. For many Catholics, few subjects connected with Vatican II evoke stronger opinions than the changes that followed the Council. We remember what disappeared, what appeared, what our parents or grandparents experienced, and what we have been told Vatican II required.
But before we decide what Vatican II did – or did not – intend, we need to do something very simple: Read what the Council actually said.
In Sections 21-46, the Council begins speaking explicitly about the reform of the sacred liturgy. And as we read, some of its language may surprise us.
The Council speaks about reform and restoration – but also about sound tradition. It permits legitimate progress – but says that new forms should grow organically from forms already existing. It allows greater use of the vernacular – but also says that Latin is to be preserved in the Latin rites. It calls for active participation – but also explicitly calls for sacred silence. And perhaps most strikingly, it declares that no one, not even a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority.
So Day Three asks us to begin making a distinction that will be essential throughout the rest of our study:
- What did the Council actually command?
- What did legitimate Church authority introduce afterward?
- And what eventually came to be done in the name of Vatican II?
Those are not necessarily the same thing. We are not beginning with the conclusion that everything before the Council was perfect, nor with the conclusion that everything afterward was an improvement. We are trying to do something harder: follow the evidence wherever it leads.
Please take your time with Day Three. It is longer than our previous reading, but these sections establish principles that will become increasingly important as we eventually examine the reform that followed the Council and the liturgy that emerged from it.
As always, we encourage you to read prayerfully, thoughtfully, and without fear of asking difficult questions.
May the Holy Spirit give us the humility to receive what is true, the courage to examine what is difficult, and above all, a deeper love for Christ and His Church.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
God bless you as we continue.
