{"id":10152,"date":"2011-06-19T23:57:34","date_gmt":"2011-06-20T04:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=10152"},"modified":"2018-12-18T16:31:32","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T22:31:32","slug":"marini-2011-book-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2011\/06\/19\/marini-2011-book-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Liturgical Reflections of a Papal Master of Ceremonies<\/em> by Guido Marini"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is a rare treat for one experienced Master of Ceremonies to receive a glimpse of the motivating logic of another experienced Master of Ceremonies, even one from another ecclesial tradition. Such a treat was to be had in reading Liturgical Reflections of a Papal Master of Ceremonies<\/em> by the Rev. Msgr. Guido Marini, Master of Apostolic Ceremonies and Head of the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.<\/p>\n

This volume consists of a number of brief essays, some of which first appeared on the website of the Holy See, as translated by Father Nicholas L. Gregoris and edited together by Father Peter M. J. Stravinskas for publication by Newman House Press, of which Fr. Stravinskas is director. In addition to the \u201cPublisher\u2019s Preface\u201d and author\u2019s Foreword (\u201cEntering the Liturgical Mysteries through Rites and Prayers,\u201d originally an address to a liturgy conference at Mileto in 2010), nine essasys comprise the bulk of this collection.<\/p>\n

The topics of the essays include: Holy Communion received on the tongue by kneeling communicants; the Pallium; the Pastoral Staff; placement of the Crucifix at the center of the altar; chanting the gospel in Greek during major Papal liturgies; observance of Silence within the eucharistic liturgy; conservation and use of the Latin language in the Latin Rite; Beauty in liturgy; use of the pontifical Dalmatic and Cardinal Deacons. Each essay, five to seven pages in length, discloses the theological and historical rationale underlying present liturgical practice in the Papal Liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church; that is, the essays serve above all as apologiae<\/em> for the distinct liturgical practices that have marked the papacy of Benedict XVI. The essays are easily accessible by the average reader: direct in tone; didactic, but free from academic jargon.<\/p>\n

For each of the topics on liturgical practices, Msgr. Marini adopts an irenic tone in laying out his theological position and reading of history regarding the practice, then (where applicable) notes the occasion of its (re)introduction or alteration in the papal liturgy. Throughout the text, the author gracefully avoids the polemics that have appeared in some from some commentators on papal liturgical practice. This is a particularly welcome and refreshing feature of the book — regardless of whether or not one agrees with Msgr. Marini\u2019s interpretation of history or his particular choices in actual liturgical enactment.<\/p>\n

One would expect a \u201chermeneutic of continuity\u201d to run throughout the text: this is certainly the case, with historical examples serving to underscore that theme. But the presentation of that hermeneutic is understated. While some of the assertions made can be challenged based on the author\u2019s choice of historical sources — regarding the development of the dalmatic and the office of cardinal deacon, Msgr. Marini presents an uncritical dependence on the Liber Pontificalis<\/em> for data from before the fifth century (pp. 105-110) — most early evidence is presented with some acknowledgment of uncertainty. At times, the author\u2019s presupposition of continuity appears to make little room for the idea of historical accretion or distortion. Thus, when discussing changes in the style of papal pallium (pp. 53-57), while not maligning the use of the ancient-style pallium early in the papacy of Benedict XVI, Msgr. Marini speaks of the current, smaller version as \u201cunderscor[ing] better the continuous development that this liturgical vestment has known,\u201d without questioning whether or not such development truly serves the symbolic function of the vestment in the church\u2019s liturgy. Likewise, when speaking of the difference between the design of the (new) papal pallium and that worn by metropolitan archbishops, Msgr. Marini states that this difference \u201cmakes clear the diversity of jurisdiction signified by the pallium,\u201d without acknowledging that difference in style has not heretofore served such a symbolic distinction. Fortunately, lapses such as the latter are rare; unfortunately, lapses such as the former are common, undoubtedly due to the author\u2019s adopted irenicism (which does, over all, serve the volume quite well).<\/p>\n

The author\u2019s basic theology of liturgical worship is presented in large brushstrokes in the Foreword of the book. Msgr. Marini is clearly committed to the theological vision of Pope Benedict XVI, particularly as manifest in the latter’s writings as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. Above all, however, Msgr. Marini’s understanding of the liturgy as divinely-initiated revelatory event is clearly grounded in the logic of the Second Vatican Council and twentieth-century liturgical and sacramental theology; likewise, his sense of the eucharistic sacrifice is dependent on the Council, with its emphasis on the totality of the Paschal Mystery as including the resurrection. In short, his theological presuppositions are thoroughly contemporary.<\/p>\n

This volume will be welcome by all with an interest in the current papacy and its liturgy, especially by those committed to taking the current form of the papal liturgy as a model. For its documenting of this papacy\u2019s liturgical practices, as well as for certain (though by no means all) historical references — including a lengthy translated excerpt on the reading of the Greek and Latin Gospels from the 1904 Le Solenni Ceremonie della Messa Pontificale Celebrata dal Sommo Pontefice<\/em> of Giambattista Menghini — this book belongs especially in public and private collections of liturgical history. For Masters of Ceremonies who like to look over the shoulders of their colleagues, this volume will be an appreciated glimpse into the logic of one of the world’s most complex and impressive ceremonial systems.<\/p>\n

Guido Marini, Liturgical Reflections of a Papal Master of Ceremonies.<\/em> Pine Beach, NJ: Newman House Press, 2011. 111 pages.<\/p>\n

$10.00 \u2014 ISBN: 978-0-9778846-5-0
\nAvailable from Newman House Press<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A number of notable ceremonial changes have marked papal liturgy since the inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI. 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