a) SHORT ANWSWER QUESTIONS: these two questions should be answered in 2-3 sentences.What is the Liturgical Movement? What was its context? Identify and discuss the three principles of the Liturgical MovementSacrosanctum Concilium: What is this document? Where it comes from? What is it about? Why is it important for the Catholic Church and its Liturgy?b) ESSAY QUESTIONS: each one of these 2 questions should be answered in 1-2 pages ,What are the norms to be followed for the reform of the liturgy? What should the process of reform of the liturgy be? What does it entail?According to the lecture of Metropolitan Kallistos Ware (YouTube video) what is prayer? What are the characteristics of prayer? What is the “Jesus Prayer”? Does prayer have a place in the daily life of a Christian and if so, how can that be achieved? How do you (from the point of view of your own faith tradition/philosophy of life) reflect upon/react to Ware’s approach to prayer? I will attach a file that helps in the second question of the short answer you also might want to use the book ‘From Age to Age: How Christians Have Celebrated the Eucharist (Revised and Expanded Edition)’
sacrosanctum_concilium.pdf
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Sacrosanctum concilium
CONSTITUTION
ON THE SACRED LITURGY
SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM
SOLEMNLY PROMULGATED BY
HIS HOLINESS
POPE PAUL VI
ON DECEMBER 4, 1963
INTRODUCTION
1. This sacred Council has several aims in view: it desires to impart an ever increasing vigor to the Christian life of the faithful; to
adapt more suitably to the needs of our own times those institutions which are subject to change; to foster whatever can promote
union among all who believe in Christ; to strengthen whatever can help to call the whole of mankind into the household of the
Church. The Council therefore sees particularly cogent reasons for undertaking the reform and promotion of the liturgy.
2. For the liturgy, “through which the work of our redemption is accomplished,” [1] most of all in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist,
is the outstanding means whereby the faithful may express in their lives, and manifest to others, the mystery of Christ and the real
nature of the true Church. It is of the essence of the Church that she be both human and divine, visible and yet invisibly equipped,
eager to act and yet intent on contemplation, present in this world and yet not at home in it; and she is all these things in such wise
that in her the human is directed and subordinated to the divine, the visible likewise to the invisible, action to contemplation, and this
present world to that city yet to come, which we seek [2]. While the liturgy daily builds up those who are within into a holy temple of
the Lord, into a dwelling place for God in the Spirit [3], to the mature measure of the fullness of Christ [4], at the same time it
marvelously strengthens their power to preach Christ, and thus shows forth the Church to those who are outside as a sign lifted up
among the nations [5] under which the scattered children of God may be gathered together [6], until there is one sheepfold and one
shepherd [7].
3. Wherefore the sacred Council judges that the following principles concerning the promotion and reform of the liturgy should be
called to mind, and that practical norms should be established.
Among these principles and norms there are some which can and should be applied both to the Roman rite and also to all the other
rites. The practical norms which follow, however, should be taken as applying only to the Roman rite, except for those which, in the
very nature of things, affect other rites as well.
4. Lastly, in faithful obedience to tradition, the sacred Council declares that holy Mother Church holds all lawfully acknowledged rites
to be of equal right and dignity; that she wishes to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way. The Council also
desires that, where necessary, the rites be revised carefully in the light of sound tradition, and that they be given new vigor to meet
the circumstances and needs of modern times.
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR THE RESTORATION AND PROMOTION OF
THE SACRED LITURGY
1. The Nature of the Sacred Liturgy and Its Importance in the Church’s Life
5. God who “wills that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4), “who in many and various ways spoke
in times past to the fathers by the prophets” (Heb. 1:1), when the fullness of time had come sent His Son, the Word made flesh,
anointed by the Holy Spirit, to preach the the gospel to the poor, to heal the contrite of heart [8], to be a “bodily and spiritual
medicine” [9], the Mediator between God and man [10]. For His humanity, united with the person of the Word, was the instrument of
our salvation. Therefore in Christ “the perfect achievement of our reconciliation came forth, and the fullness of divine worship was
given to us” [11].
The wonderful works of God among the people of the Old Testament were but a prelude to the work of Christ the Lord in redeeming
mankind and giving perfect glory to God. He achieved His task principally by the paschal mystery of His blessed passion, resurrection
from the dead, and the glorious ascension, whereby “dying, he destroyed our death and, rising, he restored our life” [12]. For it was
from the side of Christ as He slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth “the wondrous sacrament of the whole
Church” [13].
6. Just as Christ was sent by the Father, so also He sent the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit. This He did that, by preaching the
gospel to every creature [14], they might proclaim that the Son of God, by His death and resurrection, had freed us from the power of
Satan [15] and from death, and brought us into the kingdom of His Father. His purpose also was that they might accomplish the work
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of salvation which they had proclaimed, by means of sacrifice and sacraments, around which the entire liturgical life revolves. Thus by
baptism men are plunged into the paschal mystery of Christ: they die with Him, are buried with Him, and rise with Him [16]; they
receive the spirit of adoption as sons “in which we cry: Abba, Father” ( Rom. 8 :15), and thus become true adorers whom the Father
seeks [17]. In like manner, as often as they eat the supper of the Lord they proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes [18]. For
that reason, on the very day of Pentecost, when the Church appeared before the world, “those who received the word” of Peter “were
baptized.” And “they continued steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles and in the communion of the breaking of bread and in
prayers . . . praising God and being in favor with all the people” (Acts 2:4147). From that time onwards the Church has never failed
to come together to celebrate the paschal mystery: reading those things “which were in all the scriptures concerning him” (Luke
24:27), celebrating the eucharist in which “the victory and triumph of his death are again made present” [19], and at the same time
giving thanks “to God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Cor. 9:15) in Christ Jesus, “in praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:12), through the power of
the Holy Spirit.
7. To accomplish so great a work, Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the
sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister, “the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly
offered himself on the cross” [20], but especially under the Eucharistic species. By His power He is present in the sacraments, so that
when a man baptizes it is really Christ Himself who baptizes [21]. He is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when
the holy scriptures are read in the Church. He is present, lastly, when the Church prays and sings, for He promised: “Where two or
three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20) .
Christ indeed always associates the Church with Himself in this great work wherein God is perfectly glorified and men are sanctified.
The Church is His beloved Bride who calls to her Lord, and through Him offers worship to the Eternal Father.
Rightly, then, the liturgy is considered as an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ. In the liturgy the sanctification of the man is
signified by signs perceptible to the senses, and is effected in a way which corresponds with each of these signs; in the liturgy the
whole public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and His members.
From this it follows that every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of His Body which is the Church, is
a sacred action surpassing all others; no other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree.
8. In the earthly liturgy we take part in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the holy city of Jerusalem toward
which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, a minister of the holies and of the true tabernacle [22];
we sing a hymn to the Lord’s glory with all the warriors of the heavenly army; venerating the memory of the saints, we hope for some
part and fellowship with them; we eagerly await the Saviour, Our Lord Jesus Christ, until He, our life, shall appear and we too will
appear with Him in glory [23].
9. The sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church. Before men can come to the liturgy they must be called to
faith and to conversion: “How then are they to call upon him in whom they have not yet believed? But how are they to believe him
whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear if no one preaches? And how are men to preach unless they be sent?” (Rom.
10:1415).
Therefore the Church announces the good tidings of salvation to those who do not believe, so that all men may know the true God
and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, and may be converted from their ways, doing penance [24]. To believers also the Church must
ever preach faith and penance, she must prepare them for the sacraments, teach them to observe all that Christ has commanded
[25], and invite them to all the works of charity, piety, and the apostolate. For all these works make it clear that Christ’s faithful,
though not of this world, are to be the light of the world and to glorify the Father before men.
10. Nevertheless the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from
which all her power flows. For the aim and object of apostolic works is that all who are made sons of God by faith and baptism should
come together to praise God in the midst of His Church, to take part in the sacrifice, and to eat the Lord’s supper.
The liturgy in its turn moves the faithful, filled with “the paschal sacraments,” to be “one in holiness” [26]; it prays that “they may
hold fast in their lives to what they have grasped by their faith” [27]; the renewal in the Eucharist of the covenant between the Lord
and man draws the faithful into the compelling love of Christ and sets them on fire. From the liturgy, therefore, and especially from
the Eucharist, as from a font, grace is poured forth upon us; and the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God, to
which all other activities of the Church are directed as toward their end, is achieved in the most efficacious possible way.
11. But in order that the liturgy may be able to produce its full effects, it is necessary that the faithful come to it with proper
dispositions, that their minds should be attuned to their voices, and that they should cooperate with divine grace lest they receive it in
vain [28] . Pastors of souls must therefore realize that, when the liturgy is celebrated, something more is required than the mere
observation of the laws governing valid and licit celebration; it is their duty also to ensure that the faithful take part fully aware of
what they are doing, actively engaged in the rite, and enriched by its effects.
12. The spiritual life, however, is not limited solely to participation in the liturgy. The Christian is indeed called to pray with his
brethren, but he must also enter into his chamber to pray to the Father, in secret [29]; yet more, according to the teaching of the
Apostle, he should pray without ceasing [30]. We learn from the same Apostle that we must always bear about in our body the dying
of Jesus, so that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodily frame [31]. This is why we ask the Lord in the sacrifice of
the Mass that, “receiving the offering of the spiritual victim,” he may fashion us for himself “as an eternal gift” [32].
13. Popular devotions of the Christian people are to be highly commended, provided they accord with the laws and norms of the
Church, above all when they are ordered by the Apostolic See.
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Devotions proper to individual Churches also have a special dignity if they are undertaken by mandate of the bishops according to
customs or books lawfully approved.
But these devotions should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some
fashion derived from it, and lead the people to it, since, in fact, the liturgy by its very nature far surpasses any of them.
II. The Promotion of Liturgical Instruction and Active Participation
14. Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical
celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy. Such participation by the Christian people as “a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people (1 Pet. 2:9; cf. 2:45), is their right and duty by reason of their baptism.
In the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy, this full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered
before all else; for it is the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit; and
therefore pastors of souls must zealously strive to achieve it, by means of the necessary instruction, in all their pastoral work.
Yet it would be futile to entertain any hopes of realizing this unless the pastors themselves, in the first place, become thoroughly
imbued with the spirit and power of the liturgy, and undertake to give instruction about it. A prime need, therefore, is that attention
be directed, first of all, to the liturgical instruction of the clergy. Wherefore the sacred Council has decided to enact as follows:
15. Professors who are appointed to teach liturgy in seminaries, religious houses of study, and theological faculties must be properly
trained for their work in institutes which specialize in this subject.
16. The study of sacred liturgy is to be ranked among the compulsory and major courses in seminaries and religious houses of
studies; in theological faculties it is to rank among the principal courses. It is to be taught under its theological, historical, spiritual,
pastoral, and juridical aspects. Moreover, other professors, while striving to expound the mystery of Christ and the history of salvation
from the angle proper to each of their own subjects, must nevertheless do so in a way which will clearly bring out the connection
between their subjects and the liturgy, as also the unity which underlies all priestly training. This consideration is especially important
for professors of dogmatic, spiritual, and pastoral theology and for those of holy scripture.
17. In seminaries and houses of religious, clerics shall be given a liturgical formation in their spiritual life. For this they will need
proper direction, so that they may be able to understand the sacred rites and take part in them wholeheartedly; and they will also
need personally to celebrate the sacred mysteries, as well as popular devotions which are imbued with the spirit of the liturgy. In
addition they must learn how to observe the liturgical laws, so that life in seminaries and houses of religious may be thoroughly
influenced by the spirit of the liturgy.
18. Priests, both secular and religious, who are already working in the Lord’s vineyard are to be helped by every suitable means to
understand ever more fully what it is that they are doing when they perform sacred rites; they are to be aided to live the liturgical life
and to share it with the faithful entrusted to their care.
19. With zeal and patience, pastors of souls must promote the liturgical instruction of the faithful, and also their active participation in
the liturgy both internally and externally, taking into account their age and condition, their way of life, and standard of religious
culture. By so doing, pastors will be fulfilling one of the chief duties of a faithful dispenser of the mysteries of God; and in this matter
they must lead their flock not only in word but also by example.
20. Transmissions of the sacred rites by radio and television shall be done with discretion and dignity, under the leadership and
direction of a suitable person appointed for this office by the bishops. This is especially important when the service to be broadcast is
the Mass.
III. The Reform of the Sacred Liturgy
21. In order that the Christian people may more certainly derive an abundance of graces from the sacred liturgy, holy Mother Church
desires to undertake with great care a general restoration of the liturgy itself. For the liturgy is made up of immutable elements
divinely instituted, and of elements subject to change. These not only may but ought to be changed with the passage of time if they
have suffered from the intrusion of anything out of harmony with the inner nature of the liturgy or have become unsuited to it.
In this restoration, both texts and rites should be drawn up so that they express more clearly the holy things which they signify; the
Christian people, so far as possible, should be enabled to understand them with ease and to take part in them fully, actively, and as
befits a community.
Wherefore the sacred Council establishes the following general norms:
A) General norms
22. 1. Regulation of the sacred liturgy depends solely on the authority of the Church, that is, on the Apostolic See and, as laws may
determine, on the bishop.
2. In virtue of power conceded by the law, the regulation of the liturgy within certain defined limits belongs also to various kinds of
competent territorial bodies of bishops legitimately established.
3. Therefore no other person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority.
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23. That sound tradition may be retained, and yet the way remain open to legitimate progress careful investigation is always to be
made into each part of the liturgy which is to be revised. This investigation should be theological, historical, and pastoral. Also the
general laws governing the structure and meaning of the liturgy must be studied in conjunction with the experience derived from
recent liturgical reforms and from the indults conceded to various places. Finally, there must be no innovations unless the good of the
Church genuinely and certainly requires them; and care must be taken that any new forms adopted should in some way grow
organically from forms already existing.
As far as possible, notable differences between the rites used in adjacent regions must be carefully avoided.
24. Sacred scripture is of the greatest importance in the celebration of the liturgy. For it is from scripture that lessons are read and
explained in the homily, and psalms are sung; the prayers, collects, and liturgical songs are scriptural in their inspiration and their
force, and it is from the scriptures that actions and signs derive their meaning. Thus to achieve the restoration, progress, and
adaptation of the sacred liturgy, it is essential to promote that warm and living love for scripture to which the venerable tradition of
both eastern and western rites gives testimony.
25. The liturgical books are to be revised as soon as possible; experts are to be employed on the task, and bishops are to be
consulted, from various parts of the world.
B) Norms drawn from the hierarchic and communal nature of the Liturgy
26. Liturgical services are not private functions, but are celebrations of the Church, which is the “sacrament of unity,” namely, the holy
people united and ordered under their bishops [33]
Therefore liturgical services pertain to the whole body of the Church; they manifest it and have effects upon it; but they concern the
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