The Twentieth Century Reform of the Liturgy: Outcomes and Prospects

Pray Tell is happy to reprint John F. Baldovin’s piece “The Twentieth Century Reform of the LIturgy: Outcomes and Prospectives,” which was first presented at Valparaiso University’s Institute of Liturgical Studies.

Twentieth Century Reform of the Liturgy- Baldovin

The preaching of the Gospel presumes at least some openness to change, to acting differently and to thinking about things differently. This process has been repeated over and over again over the centuries. … All of the great reform movements in the past twenty centuries have been in response to both changing cultural and societal circumstances (like the adaptation of Christianity north of the Alps) and the failure of Christians individually and communally to live up to the demands of the Gospel. … Reform, renewal and revision have consistently been a liturgical task for the churches as well.

This piece was first published at ValpoScholar.