Pray Tell is running a series on the liturgical history of Collegeville. The sub-series “From the Archives” reprints some of the Liturgy Committee meeting minutes from 1963 to 1969. This sub-series is a behind-the-scenes look at liturgy in Collegeville during and immediately after the Second Vatican Council.
The next record from the Liturgy Committee:
Minutes of the Liturgy Committee
October 29, 1963
Present were Fathers John, Daniel, Michael, Gerard, Aelred, Wenceslaus, Leon, Fr. Adam, and Bro. Gerard.
Opening the meeting, Father John said that Father Abbot planned to hold a conference for the community on the liturgy on November 5, at which the changes proposed by the liturgy committee would be presented and questions would be answered in regard to them. The committee decided that for this conference a paper should be prepared on the primary and secondary elements which constitute the Eucharistic structure of the Mass. They thoroughly agreed with Father Vitus’ remarks to Fr. Adam after the last community conference on the liturgy, namely that papers on different aspects of the liturgy would be of great value because of their instructive character.
In conjunction with the last paper prepared by the committee (Father Aelred), Fr. Adam mentioned that one member of the community had offered the following criticism: that some persons felt that they were being talked down to, and that this paper reflected a change (in liturgical thinking?—Fr. Adam didn’t know) from 10 years ago. Father John said that they had had an exactly opposite reaction to the paper (on indirect participation), and Father Wenceslaus also asserted that the paper was excellent, especially for its documentation. Father Aelred mentioned that he had tried to be as succinct as possible in preparing the paper and that perhaps this was responsible for some of the adverse criticism. Father Michael added that perhaps we have changed our teaching from ten years ago, but wasn’t this to the good? On the whole, the committee thought that the majority of the members of the community were pleased with the paper.
Father Gerard pointed out an addition to be made to the minutes of the previous meeting (Oct. 17, 1963), namely the committee’s suggestion that when no hymn is sung at the beginning of conventual Mass the prayers at the foot of the altar nonetheless be recited quietly—to point out the private character of these prayers. He also mentioned that it has been reported that in the cathedral of St. Cloud all the people sing the “Pater Noster” with the celebrant at a sung Mass, and he proposed that we introduce this custom here. The committee felt, however, that it would be advisable for Father Abbot to ask the Bishop if he has given permission for this. Father Abbot could raise this question at some future meeting with the Bishop which would deal with St. John’s arrangement of the Sunday liturgy. The committee thought that such a meeting would have informative value, but that there should be no question of asking the Bishop for permission to apply the Instructio of 1958, which by its very nature grants us permission to make the changes that we have made thus far.
The committee also decided that the vestments for the conventual Mass, especially on Sundays, should be better chosen. It suggests that the celebrant should have some part in choosing the vestments as well as the chalice for conventual Mass; a suitable chalice should be put at the disposal of those who don’t have one of their own that’s nice.
Father Gerard asked whether the deacon should wear the dalmatic at the missa cum diacono. Fr. Adam answered that historically Solemnes did not use the dalmatic, whereas Bursfeld did. Hence it would seem that we have a choice in this matter.
An important point that the committee agreed to recommend to Father Abbot is that Sext and None be recited immediately before dinner on Sunday. In this way it will prevent Sext from being recited while people are leaving the church—which always involves a certain amount of noise; hence the prayer-character of Sext will be better respected. Further, this should not be an added burden on the community, for even though they must return to choir before dinner, this will save them coming to choir after dinner to recite None. Fr. Adam mentioned that he had sounded out the clerics on this question, since they constitute the greater part of the community on Sunday, and they were all in favor of reciting Sext and None before dinner.
Reserved for later discussion were the funeral rites and possibility of having Mass on Sunday at 10:30.
Below is the conference paper:
The Fundamental Structure of Eucharistic Celebration
In his First Apology (written c. 150) St. Justin describes the celebration of the Eucharist in two separate passages—first, in his account of the rites of Christian initiation (ch. 65), and second, in his account of the Sunday assembly (ch. 67). Together, the two accounts acquaint us with the following order of service:
- Scripture Lessons (“the memoirs of the Apostles and the writings of the Prophets are read as long as time permits”)
- Homily (“the president verbally instructs and exhorts us in the imitation of these excellent things”)
- Prayer of the Faithful (“we pray in common for ourselves…and for all others in every place…to be counted worthy now that we have learned the truth, by our works also to be found good citizens and keepers of the commandment…”)
- Kiss of Peace (“having ended our prayer, we salute one another with a kiss”)
- Presentation of the Gifts (“then is brought to the president of the brethren bread and a cup of water and wine”)
- Eucharistic Prayer (“and taking them, he gives praise and glory to the Father of all things through the name of his Son and of the Holy Spirit; and he offers thanks at length for our being counted worthy to receive these things at his hands…and those present assent by saying ‘Amen’”)
- Communion (“deacons give to each of those present a portion of the ‘eucharistized’ bread and wine and water, and to those who are absent they carry away a portion”)
We find this same order of service in St. Hippolytus’ Apostolic Tradition, composed some seventy years later. From incidental references in other authors we can conclude that it represents the form of Mass liturgy universal in the primitive Church.
The various Mass liturgies celebrated today are, of course, all of them, much more elaborate. However, if we consider only the elements common to all rites, we still have substantially the order of service found in St. Justin.
It is evident that the basic elements of this order of service represent the essential tradition of the Church concerning the sacrificial Meal of the New Covenant understood as an ultimate proclamation of God’s Word. They must be carefully distinguished, as such, from the accessory prayers and rites (entrance, offertory, preparation for Communion and thanksgiving, dismissal) which vary from one rite to another. The former are primarily constant, basically unchangeable; the latter are not.
The accessory rites are, by their very nature, variable. Their function is to facilitate intelligent, fruitful participation in the basic structural elements of the Eucharist; they should be adapted to the culture and psychology of a given people.
And they must be kept subordinate. Any over-development of these secondary elements tending to obscure the fundamental structure of the Eucharist or resulting in the abbreviation or suppression of the basic elements can only be regarded as symptomatic of liturgical decadence.
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