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Liturgy

c ist e r c ia nsoft hes t r icto bs e rv a nc e

!

roL. 6 NO. 3DECEMBER 1972

f''

t,

L I T U R G YVol ume 6, Number 3 I December 1972

EDITOR Is PAGE

1

ABOUT OUR OFFICE

AND THE 11 LOI-CADRE 11

AN

EXTRACT

FROM

A

LETTER

3

Grard A LETTER FROM CARDI NAL

DUBOIS TABERA

11

LITURGY MEETI NG OF THE

Cl aude

CANADIAN REGION, SEPTEMBER PERRON

1972

13

THE VALUES OF EUCHARISTI C CONCELEBRATION27Romai n SWAELEIRISH HYMNOLOGY47

Vi ncent 6 MAIDfN

THE LECTIONARY OF THE OFFICE : A SOURCE OF HOLINESS AND KNOW

Henry ASHWORTH PRAYING THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS

Chrysogonus WADDELL

HYMNS AND HYMN MAKI NG

Mother THOMAS MORE

[LEDGE OF GOD61

75

93

.LITURGY Bulletin serves to share with others whatever thoughts and experiences may contribute towards the development of a living lit urgy for religious communities today.

Manuscripts should be forwarded to: Fr. Chrysogonus

Gethsemani Abbey

Trappist, Kentucky 40073(U.S.A.)

Material for the next issue (March or April, 1973)should be received by early March, 1973.

1

E D I T 0 R I sp A G E

I'm finally back from Europe after a glorious but long trek which took me to canada for the September Regional Liturgy Ccmnission meet ing at Mistassini (which provided the report, pages 13 to 26 of the current issue), and ended with three happy weeks in Ireland, where I had gone chiefly for the November Liturgy Study Week held at Mount Mellerey (and from which I bore awey four of the articles mich also

appear in this issue -those by Fr . Vincent O Maidin of Mount .Melleray; by Dom Henry Ashworth , o.S.B., of Quarr Abbey; by Mother Thanas More, Canoness of St.Augustine, from Cambridge University, England; and by myself, from the knobs of Kentucky).My visits with oomnunities in France, England, and Ireland were a source of joy and enthusiasm for

1re; and the union of love proposed in our Oi:der's Charter of Charity

was eve:rywhere palpable and genuine.

But for this third and last issue of the 1972 spread of Liturgy, I want to share with you a single thought occasioned by tv.o separate, un related experiences connected with my recent trip.

When in Paris over a weekend, I usually take part in the principal Sunday Mass at St-Severin, which. is so well known as the center of an intensely Christian parish cx:mnunity. But one Sunday last October I changed my routine, and went instead to the no less celebrated church of St-Sulpice, which is serond to none in the zeal of its clergy and in the activity of the many parish ccmnittees. My notives, I readily con fess, were not of the purest.The legendary organist, Marcel Du.pr , had

died earlier last year, and I was anxious to hear his successor. I found that, so far, there is no official successor; and, further, a dispute is still raging over the propriety of continuing the organ tradition charac teristic of the past. The organist I heard was, at best, 1rediocre; and the organ itself was badly out of tune.The choir, whose only f\mction

wasto support the congregational singing, was al.nost as lethargic as the congregation. The substance of the celebration was, of course, the same as alweys -the Mystery of Christ, who was present and acting.But I can't sey that the texts sung and the music itself helped render the reality of Christ's presence and action nore accessible:jargon-cramred

2

texts of dubious quality, and tunes which were obvious, brash, cloying A few weeks later I was at Qu.arr Abbey, where I had the joy of being

once again with a monk loved by a number of our American a::mnunities which, years ago, profited by his instructions in gregorian chant.Dan "D." can

no longer teach, or even sing the chant he knew and loved so well.Speech is an incredibly slow, labored effort for him; and his partial paralysis leaves him a.lm:>st wholly imrobile. But his inability to sing matters next to nothing; because sanething of the truth, simplicity, inner unity, and beauty of the chant has passed into Dan Desrocquettes'deepest being, and radiates fran him nore intensely than in the days when he could share with others his love and enthusiasm for gregorian chant.

Perhaps IX:m "D." would now be the same even had he never heard a note of gregorian chant. But I think it rather nore correct to Sl.J3"gest that a nonastic liturgy such as Dan Desrocquettes knew and loved, was a major

factor in the slow, deep work of his growth and transfo:rmation in Christ. Constant exposure to texts and tunes a la St-SUlpice would probably have meant

a somewhat different kind of nonastic experience

In no way am I suggesting that there is no serious monastic life without gregorian chant!!!But what I am suggesting is this:That those of us nore directly responsible for the creation of texts and music should beccme in creasingly aware that our w:>rk will be u 1 t i m a t e 1 y meaningful and instrurrental in bringing our brethren into living and transfonning contact

with the word of God to the extent that it reflects sanething of the truth and beauty and goodness of God .We have to beccme better craftsmen, able to use the tools of our trade with understanding and to good effect, so as to turn out texts and music so true and so fine that they can stir up in the brethren sanething which is correspondingly true and fine. (This does n't, of course, rule out all carrpfire tunes, which are great -when sung around a carrpfire.)

Another great gregorianist, rx:m Luaovic Baron, o.s.B., sometimes used

to conclude his lectures on the chant (given in his CMn inimitable fran glish)with this remark: "When you will be in heaven you will sing.I don't say that it is the gregqrian chant you will sing there. But I kncM that it will be a music which will have integrity, propor tion and splendor forrnae : splendor of beauty, the splendor of the 1:3eauty of Christin that music." My own deep desire, then, is that the texts and music we provide for the brethren will nore and nore anticipate and radiate this trans fonning splendor of beauty, splendor of the Beauty of Christ.

f-. tf(,,J.:>

3

AN EXTRACT FROM A LETTER BY THE PR ESIDENT OF OUR LITURGY COMMISSION

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE LITURGY COMMISSION OF THE STRICT OBSERVANCE

A B 0 U T0 U R0 F F I C E

A N DT H E .11 L 0 I - C A D R E 11

Mont-des-Cats October 16 ,1972

Dear Brother ,

... With regard to the Divine Of fice , I should like to give a quick assessment of the state of the question -especially since it seems to me that the Consilium Generale (at their last session in 1972) was not cx:ro pletely aware of the real situation.

A. At the moment, we have a loi-cadre. It was obtained in 1969 for the whole Order; and, in 1971, it was renewed for a period of two years.

- It could well be that, when we f irst obtained the loi-cadre , it was the

mind of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Woi::ship that it be thought of in tent1S of a provisional measure.It was meant to enable us to experiment with a view to arriving at a rrore def initive, rrore detailed arrangerrent - much as was done for the Ranan Of f ice: earlier experimentation has ncM re sulted in a brevia:ry with its introductory General Instruction.

-. But in the mind of a large number of rronks and abbots (cf . the vote taken at the General Chapter of 1971: Vote 35 - 60 against 13) , the loi-cadre is, in practice, the def initive legislation, in the sense that the new arrange ment of the Of f ice in rrost rronasteries seems to be quite satisf actocy for

the various c:x:mmmities. There W'.)Uld seem to be no reason for having to change evecything again.And it seems necessacy to provide for a certain possibility for further evolution as regards the function of certain structures (see , for instance, the questions discussed at the 1971 meeting of the Franoophone Liturgy camti.ssion, at Belval; minutes in Liturgy 6/1 [1971] ) .

B. In 1971, the Benedictine Confederation asked for the renewal fo their loi-cadre. Fr. Bugnini told n:m Rembert Weakland (the Abbot Primate of

the Benedictines) ,that the renewal of the indult was granted for a year

4

only, and, that before the expiration of this year-long period, the Liturgy Corrmission of the Benedictine Confederation would have to prepare a single schema for the distribution of the psalms. (I don't believe that this response was ever made official.)

Our own request of May 1971, accorrpanied by the report printed in the Supplement to the Acts of the General Chapter of 1971, was given an affinna tive answer:our loi-ca.dre was given an extension, so that it expires only in May of 1973.

HCMeVer, in July, 1971, we received a letter frcm the Sacred Congregation

for Divine Worship, asking the _liturgy ccmnissions of the three branches of the Benedictine Family (O.S.B., O.Cist., o.c.s.o.) to collaborate with aview to arriving at, if possible, an agreement as regards the structure of the Office and its celebration. According to the indications given, there would

still be a certain possibility of making adaptations called for by the par ticular circumstances of a given ccmnunity. These indications were more flexible than in the reply given Dan Rembert Weakland .earlier in January

of the same year . It was suggested that we draw up three psalm-distribution schemata. (Dur own loi-cadre report had pointed out that it -v.ould be impossible for us to opt for only a single one of the three options allCMed :an arrange rrent based on that of the Ho Zy Ru Ze ; a new, more logical arrangement for a

two-'W'eek period, allCMing for the repetition of certain psalms; and a one-

week distribution of the 150 psalms, but without repetitions.)

c.When confronted with this sib.lation, there were some who suggested that we simply sit tight and do nothing.We would go on tranquilly, as we have

for the past several years; because we're quite satisfied with the loi-cadre as it is. (Cf.Minutes of the Consilium Generale for June, 1972.)

In point of fact, it seans to me that this attitude isn't very practical. Our loi-cadre expires in 1973. When, next May of 1973, we ask for the further renewal of this indult, the Sacred Congregation will ask us for the arrangement we were asked to prepare in collaboration with the other branches of the Bene dictine Family. What happened in the case of our calendar should show us clearly enough that no request emanating fran a monastic Order will be granted

unless it's presented by the ensenble of the various Orders: UNLESS -aria

About Our' Of'f ;:>2 and the "Loi-cadr>e..,5

this is only a pre-suprx>sition on my part (though a reasonable one, I think) - i tb e c o m e sq u it ec 1 e a rthat collaboration between our three Orderssi'.1lply aoesn 't work , and for valid reasons. (In the final analysis , the Letter of lTuly 8 asks the three comnissions "to unite our ef forts so as to f ind a com:non area of agreement." If we try but f ail, we could then go and give a rerx>rt to the Sacred Congregation: "We did as much as we could, but the collaboration you asked f ran us simply wasn ' t rx>ssible."I might remark , parentheti cally, that this is the real

meaning of what I was suprx>sed to have said according to the Minutes of the Consilium Generale meeting of last June, p. 28 of the French version.)All

this, havever, suprx>ses that we 've really made a sincere ef fort to collaborate.

D. In rx:>int of f act, we can see that there are really "b.o questions which, however , overlap:

drawing up an Ordo Liturgiae Horarum, which would annul the loi-cadre indult , ronsidered by the Sacred Congregation as merely an "experi mental" measure;

agreement with 1he :Benedictines and the other Cistercians with regard to this Ordo.

What we f irst of all have to decide is a list of those rx:>ints which, for pastoral reasons , we can't give up, even if it means having eventually to see our ef forts to implanent the request of the Sacred Congregation f ail.

1- As regards the Or>do Liturgiae Horarum itself :

From the standrx>int of procedure, it 'hUuld not be a question of pre paring a m::mastic "adaptation" of the Institutio Generalispublished for the Ranan Rite. (OUr fo:rmer Liturgy Carmission prepared just such an adapta tion, as it had also done f or a Cistercian adaptation of the RananInsti

tutio Generalis of the Ranan Missal; but our Cistercian Missal project tum.ea

out to be inacceptable to the Sacred Congregation -and, as a matter of fact, a sinple adapation of the Ranan text does present certain inconveniences.)

Hint of ref erence, and then present a series of points which 'hUuld diverge f ran the Ranan instruction, and Y."Ould be particular to us.

(This is what we actually did for our Missal. Admittedly , the results

were rninirna.l.The Sacred Congregation conceded only mere trif les.But the

6

situation with regard to the Liturgy of the Hours is different fran that of the Ordo Missae. The Sacred Congregation itself, in its letter of July 8, 1971, asks us not to align ouselves purely and simply on 'What the Holy See had provided for clergy entrusted with the care of souls. It's true

that a number of congregations or Benedictine and Ccmnon Observance Cister cian monasteries has pastoral oonmittments -U.S.A., Austria:this would be yet another reason for difficulty in our arriving at an inter-Order oon sensus which would be acceptable to everyone.)

These points or particular principles would be (at least, i n m y o - p i n i o n -it's precisely in this area that we 'll have to come to some kind of agreement):

The possibility of maintaining elements in keeping with the prescrip tions of the Holy Rule.

A maximum period of two weeks for the recitation of the psalter (this is already provided for in the letter of July 8, 1971).

A few schema-types or models (though these would allow of further adap tation at the local level).

It would doubtless be good to include a provision that those mona steries which, prior to the drawing up of this "Ordo", had already adopted its 0NI1 schema for the distribution of psalms, muld be able to retain it, provided that the psalms are not distr.ibuted over a period longer than two weeks. (Perhaps the further provision

would have to be made that such local schemata would be subject to examination by the Sacred Congregation or by the Order's Liturgy Ccmnission.) The alx>ve "t....ould p:rovide an answer to the often-ex pressed fear which is echoed in the Minutes of the Consilium Gene-

rale meeting of June, 1972:"Sane a::mm..mities have spent a great deal of time and effort in shaping up their liturgy. If all this effort were to be suddenly rendered pointless, we might well ex pect a serious crisis to result." See, too, the report presented to the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship in May, 1971, and included in the Acts of the General Chapter of 1971.

The choice of readings is left to the local corrmunity (sarre oonditions as those indicated in our present loi-cadre).For the reasons in support of this, see the report of May 197, referred to above, pp .58-59 of the French text.

The possibility of adapting to local oonditions the s u n gelerrents of the Office. This is needed in view of the fact that the musical fonn of the vernacular Office is not yet finalized. (This also involves a

About Our Office a;rzd the "Loi-cadre"7

plasticity as regards the literar.t fonn itself, particularly in the case of hy:ims .) See the sane above mentioned report, p.58 of the French text.

- The possibility of praying the Little Hours outs.:i.de choir (though in camrron) This principle of our present loi-cadre seems to be of pennanent value.

2- Pis regards a consensus with the other branches of the Benedictine Family (O.S.B., o.cist.):

I really don't believe that any of the others 'WOuld want anything m:::>re detailed than what I've outlined above (at least, at the level of the Bene dictine Confederation or of the whole Ccmnon Obse:rvance)). lmy difficulty occasioned by these principles would probably be in the inverse sense:too detailed and strict for sane.

It's rather when there's question of decidingwhichpsalm sdlema types to adopt that the real trouble begins.

In our a.vn Order, between 80 and 90 monasteries use as their basis

one of the three schemata which have been in circulation since 1967. {More over, these schemata were expressly approved by the ConsiUum ad exsequen dam Constitutionem de Sacra Liturgia, Decerriber 15, 1967, N 3394/67). If we have to have a series of schema-types, it's difficult to envisage schemata

different fran these being retained .The reason is less that of the intrinsic value of these schemata, than that of the pastoral order:we've already made an atterrpt in the direction of a certain degree of unification; why do we

have to begin again on the basis of nfM schemata which are, in the final ana lysis, intrinsically no more valid than what we already have -especially since such a procedure would result in serious crises (see above, p.6)?

For us, this pastoral reason is i m p e r a t i v e. Havever, it isn't similarly valid for the Benedictines, who prefer to base themselves on a different starting point:

- The first schema w:>uld be that of the Holy Rule, but with a re-distri bution of the psalms of Prime (several suggestions for the re-distri bution of these psalms have already been made)

8

- The schema for the one-week recitation of the psalter (without repe titions)would be the one prepared by Dom PB.glister. This schema has been printed, and is in wide use (in the O.S.B. survey made in 1971, 24 monasteries were already using, and 19 were getting ready

to do so). Our own Schema C also draws on the one by Dan Fa.glister,

but corrects it on several points.

- 'AB regards a two-week distribution of psalms, there are some who would like to adopt a modified version of the Ranan Office schana; by making the psalrnody of the Office of Readings more anple, it would be possible to provide a tv.o-week recitation of the psalter (rather than a four week one, as in the Ran.an Office).

'As one can see, the options are different. So far, there has been no official meeting of the inter-Order Sub-carrnission named in Noverrber , 1971. However, on the basis of reactions noted in the course of the Noverreb.P..r, 1971 meeting, as well as remarks made on the occasion of the Calendar Corrmission meeting in February of this year, it's rather clear that the Benedictines aren't particularly enthusiastic about our own schanata, and wouldn't want

to see them accepted as schema-types.'As for ourselves, we can hardly give up our CM1 point of view, for the pastoral reasons explained aboveSo?

The only possibility of our arriving at an agreement would. be for our own schemata to be put in a Supplement for the monasteries of our Order;

or else it could be stipulated, as I've already proposed above, that the mona steries can keep the sdternata in circulation before the difinitive OPdo is finally drawn up, but only on the above specified conditions (which are realized in the case of our three schemata -i.e., they've been approved by the Order's _ Liturgy Ccmnission, as well as by the Holy See). If this can't be agreed upon at the level of the inter-Order Ccmnission, the only thing left for us will be

to accept the fact that we can't care to a o::mron agreement, and make a report of this to the Holy See.

(It should be noted that, here, we1re not dealing with particularities of a "Cistercian Rite" or with our right to a certain amount of autonany . Our Office refonn isn't a restoration of practices from sane period in the past.Rather, it involves an adaptation 'Which, in order to prove helpful, departs from past practices on certainrtan_...t points. If we can't join forces with the Benedictines, this would be only for reasons of the pastoral

About Our Of ficeand the "L01:-cadre"9

order: the good of those rronasteries which have already cx:xnpleted their liturgical reform on the basis of the three schemata in use throughout the Order. One could doubtless add, as did the Consilium Generale in its com ment on the letter fran Cardinal Tabera, April 27, 1972, about the calendar (p.27 of the French text of the Minutes), questions touching on "openness

to the world".

In this sense, agreement with the Conmen Observance Cistercians will be no rrore easy than with the Penedictines. The first schemata circulated in the O.Cist.before they obtained the same lei-cadre as our av:n in 1969, were different from our schemata (Indult of December 19, 1968); rroreover, their General Chapter of 1969 asked that the rronasteries desiring to do so might

be able to adopt the new Roman Breviary, especially pastoral duties.)

those rronasteries with

E. The a:ming :rreeting of the inter-Order Office Sub-conmission (the date hasn't been set yet)will doubtless serve to clarify the situation.

If we don't find, before May, 1973, a solution which respects the de cisions of the General Chapter of 1971, we'11 have to explain our situation to the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship, and ask for a (ternJ,X>rary) extension of our lei-cadre. It's evident, of course, that in a matter of such i.mfortance, we can 't adopt the same procedure for urgent cases such

as was done for the calendar.There could be no question of proJ.X>sing any thing which would go counter to the General Chapter vote of 1971. If the situation warrants it, we'11 have to wait till the General Chapter of 1974.

In the meanti:rre, we'11 have to see hav the Sacred Congregation answers the letter sent recently by our Abbot General, after we had received the newly authorized General Monastic Calendar

Fraternally in the Lord, fr.G&ard(signed)

11

AL E T T E RF R 0 M

C A R D I N A LT A B E R A

In the final paragraph extracted from Fr. Gerard Dubois' letter about our Office and the "Zoi-cadre" induU, p. 9 above, reference is made to a letter CMaited from the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship.The letter has since been received, and is reproduced in extenso below.

Some readers may wish to have more information about the historical context which gave rise to this letter. Earlier in the year, the General Monastic Calendar, as approved by the Sacred Congregation, was forwarded to our Abbot General, Dom Ignace Gillet, along with a covering letter from Cardinal Ta bera, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship. On several poin ts, the covering letter evidenced an inadequate understanding of the na ture of our Order, and of our concrete situationAt its June meeting, the members of the ConsiZium Generale requesf;ed 'our Abbot General to write to the Sacred Congregation with a view to clarifying the situation, especially

as regards the prospec ts for continued collaboration with the liturgy commis sions of the Benedictine Confederation, and of the Cistercians of the Common Observance.Dom Ignace's letter, dated e: readings, psalrnody, prayer, and a

hymn. All these elements and those that can be disoovered by our creativi ty or inventiveness are always at the service of prayer, oonsequently of the dialogue that is to be established or maintained with God.

An initial level of creativeness is offered in the choice of those ele ments which are at the service of our prayer. And just this act of choosing is creative already. That is what we all do, for example, in choosing in the Missal sane one prayer rather than another, when a priest chooses one of the Eucharistic Prayers for a celebration. Perhaps the criteria for our choice do not sufficiently take into account the cx:mmrnity or the proper character of a given celebration; but we are already creative by the fact

of choosing, even if we ought to modify the tenn 11creative11 by the v.urd "mistakenly".

A second level of creativeness is quite close to the initial one:it ex ists in the oo-ordination most favorable to prayer of the various elements. This ordering of the elements we can call the ritual s c h e m a, i.e., the order which under ordinary circumstances seems most to favor that dialogue structure. The setting-up of a ritual schema is also a level of creativity. Onexperience, it seems to us :important to always work to elaborate new ritual schemata, so as to avoid having our prayer forever pouring into the same molds or fonnulas. Not merely to avoid routine, but also and :rnore in depth, to reply to God. in various ways and in answer to the aspirations of a greater proportion of the canmunity.

Before forecasting new- ritual schemata, we would need to speak of another, simpler level of creation, which consists in adapting an existing text or proposed schema. Merely changing one v.iord of a prayer may bring it about that a a:mrrunity really feels involved . The same goes for the proposed schema

18

which also might be subjected to an adaptation.Let me give some examples: The space allotted to prayers in our Of f ices of Lauds and Vespers is quite considerable: litany-prayer, the Our Father , and collect.Why not simplify it if the litany-prayer in particular has already taken care of the day's celebration?What can the collect add to that?The section of the word of God and the response to that word, even though it comes in the same place

in the over-all schema, can very well be lived out in a dif ferent way: read

ing - silence - responsorial psalmcan becamereading - response - silence,

\

or evenreading - silence - hanily - silence - h.yrrrrl.None of all this changes the thrust or rhythm of the prayer, but gives color to its outlines in keeping with the day or with the texts.It is for you to decide about them and to create them.

Whether or not existing texts have been chosen, or a set ritual schema has been f ixed upon, or a nurriber of schemata have been set up to be chosen f ran, the f act remains that we are all terrpted at one time or another to create new texts ourselves.Certain conditions would seem to be necessary. In the first place, a certain scriptural quality -poetry, let us say;

then , a certain theological knowledge.We should aim rather at saying what has been experienced, and give our attention to feeling (we all have feel ing!)I would pass judgmenton new texts according as their quality ref lects a Christian and universal character , according to their literary quality ,

and according to whether they confo:rm to their genre; e.g., a collect ought to be a collect, a hymn a hymn , a litany-prayer a litany-prayer.

Finally , given that such and such a procedure has been followed, that

the texts on hand are good ones, all wort-.hwhile in themselves, good as liter ary ccmpositions and as theology , we are still f ar f rom being sure that the celebration will be good.Perhaps the harogeneity or the co-ordination of the elements was lef t out of account.In a time of prayer in a:mron it seems to us that we must respect the various parts the spoken word can play.The word may be merely at the level of camnmication, or rather of infonnation.But that word, in itself always infonnative, may also drag in with it a series

of emotions; in that case I call it a poetic word.lastly, the word may keep silence and allow music, gesture , or even silence to bring out that ercotion.

Between the word as purely infonnative (as f ar as it is possible for a word to be that) and the gratuitous gesture, lies the whole gamut of our behavior

Liturgy Meeting of the Canadian Region19

in a prayer assembly , and this again raises the question of the over-all balance.The celebration as a whole posits a hanronious mingling of those various aspects.The sensitivity which is proper to each camrunity will help it f ind the right proportion , provided that no f inn stand has been taken never to pennit aninf onnative element to becane poetical, or vice versa.

If the goal of creativity is celebration, it is also in a concrete can munity that this creativity is always exercised; and it should precisely re spect that corrmunity 's proper character .

AS REGARDS THE COMMUNITY

Speak of carnmunity and you speak of the persons who make it up; and you see those persons in a double aspect : at times as actors , other times

as receivers.Any creative ef fort must f irst of all keep in mind the possi bility of the ccmnunity 's integration o:i:: acceptance.It is of no use to do

a thing well if the group is not going to understand it or accept it.This is a serious problem: whatever is new is not in f act looked on at f irst as a help to prayer, but of ten as a distraction.Those responsible for the liturgy are on the horns of a dilerrma: a simplif ication which v.uuld be of

advantage to allbut which for a time will be considered an added dif f iculty , as opposed to a status quo which has becane unbearable.The same goes for using new instruments in the liturgy.I remt.:..rnber hearing it said that the

very rreager sound f rom a f lute was too pc:rnpous for a monastery. This was the reaction of one for whan the wooden f lute was a distracting instrument, while he had no dif f iculty in accepting the sound of the organ in a prelude by Bach. There is certainly need to explain many elements to the cc:mnunity before put ting them into practice.On balance, other elements will only be seen to be advantageous for prayer af ter being in use for sane time.

If the corrmunity ought to endeavor to understand what saneone or other wants to do the better to pray , the one who works on that ought in turn to respect the comnunity.Ane point that seems hard to understand is that it is never one's personal prayer that is being cx:mposed, but that in f act it is the a:::mnunity that is creating.Q:'anted , it is not the whole carmn.mity that is voicing that creation, but it is the ccmnunity that creates.In fact, when a prayer is made and really lived in that comnunity, creativeness

20

becanes assured. Sane of them will accept a prayer-fonnula because it is sanevhat their CMn, and the rest of them will express what they feel and will live off fraternal ccmnunion.

Respect for the ccmnunity supposes that one is sensitive to the real life of the a::mnunity. I say "real", for it often happens that we work

for a a::mnunity that no longer exists, or for one that does not yet exist. Respect besides for the a::mnunity 's proper work-rhythms, rest-rhythms, and musical or artistic possibilities.

But if I say "real" comnunity, I also mean by that that I must keep

in mind the assanbly that prays. And more and more often in our ccmnunities, that praying assembly is not only the rronastic a::mnunity, but really those people who join with us to fonn a prayer-ccmnunity. Which brings up the problem of hospitality in prayer, a problem which we also touched on.

HOSPITALITY

It seems to us that we have two extreme positions on this question. Either the ccmnunity celebrates alone, and then in fact the celebrating ccmnunity is identified with the monastic cormrunity (it oould be the case in sane of our Offices, Vigils, for instance); or else we welcane to the full extent the people who cx:me to pray with us.

This does not seem to be the way the problem is fo:rmulated in the majori ty of our ccmnunities. One feels sure that we cannot accept people praying with us without granting them a certain participation; but while we wish to do that, we do not wish it to put us out. For many the mere fact of praying in a language that all can understand seems to suffice. And what shall we

say about those who still are of the opinion that all our visitors are in terested in is seeing us and hearing us pray?

Hospitality in prayer ought to include enough respect for the other man to go so far as to allav him a participation that shall be fairly total: fran just being physically present, to doing as the monks do.And that, not by suggesting one fonn or another of participation, but by pennitting all possible degrees betw'een these two extremes. This supposes a spatial arrangement that would make such a thing possible; but if one is only CX>Il vinced of the rightness of such a suggestion, one will not hesitate to fol lav through in a logical manner.

Liturgy Meeting of the Canadian Region21

Then and then only can it perhaps be said that he who presides at the Eucharist really presides over the praying assembly. The segregation which has becane traditional in our camrunities is no longer acceptable to the present-day mentality. But on the other hand, that is not the only reason why one should see to its transfo:rmation. A better understanding of the Eucharist, rnyste:r:y of oonmunion and unity, cannot, without really falsify ing its proper rreaning, tolerate that separation which we make . The sane

is true of the Liturgy of the Hours, which the Sacred Congregation for Di vine Worship, in its General Presentation to the Liturgy of the Hours, calls the prayer of the total Christian camu.mity:

The Church's praise should not be reserved for monks and clerics, neither by its origin nor by its very nature:it belongs to the whole Christian ccmnu.nity.

-N . 270

Certain canmunities have already found the rourage to react othe:r:wise, and to assume their responsibility, dictated by their faith in Jesus Christ cane dcMl on earth to save all men; and the sharing in prayer and in the Bread of Life is no longer subject to that segregation.

Our monasteries will only be houses of prayer for the faithful if we wish them to be . The fact of sharing our prayer with a brother who lives by the life of Christ cannot take us way from our a.vn prayer. Of rourse, we may have to be resigned to a less aesthetic perfonnance in the roncreteBut are we giving a roncert? or are we supposed to be praying together?

For the nanent, the most we wish is that our canmunities became ware of

.the question as stated:either we shut the doors of our churches or we open them. And if we open them, what can that mean? Reflection in commmity on the subject will perhaps pin dCMn. the problem and help to resolve it in the oon crete.

We mentioned creativity in view of celebration, as regards the celebrating carmunity; but very often that creativity cannot be made up as you go along; it calls for serious preparation. This I put down under the technical aspects of "making prayer".

22

"MAKING PRAYER"

Must we be reminded that technical preparation is necessary before

the celebration, necessary to the point where we should not even any longer think of it at the very nnnent of celebration? As a musician tunes his in strunent before playing, so we should tune ourselves up for what we are a bout to do. We do this by eliminating difficulties that can be foreseen, by making our mind disposed to enter into that celebration as deeply as possible, by thinking ahead of the least technical details -for instance, a microphone that works badly or not at all during a celebration can take c:May a good part of the spiritual profit that could have been derived from it. Yet more serious, the preparation on the part of the actors in that celebration. No one would undertake to give a lecture without preparation; and yet it scrnetimes happens that we do it in the liturgy.

It is also the time to contact the people whan we can prepare for the celebration; perhaps the time for the Presiding Celebrant of the Eucharistic gathering to greet the people who have oome; the time to hannonize the various elerren.ts. In brief, the rnanent of prayer begins for those who are responsible (and aren't we all to sane extent?) long before the exact manent when we

sing "O God, come to my assistance" or the processional chant.

This preparation is all the more necessary because in the ve:ry course of the celebration we shall have take departures that could not be foreseen. It is better to save up all our adaptability for those manents. A Presiding Celebrant who experiences no reaction at all, who cannot "feel out" the as sembly, cannot perceive what way such and such a m:ment is being lived out, does not feel his brothers ' silence is charged or empty; who never inte:rvenes, but relies entirely on his preliminary preparation -such a one does not truly preside. He is just an autanaton. Sanething always crops up in a celebration -if only a reader taking the wrong reading, or a child cry- ing More particularly, the one who presides whould daninate the situation, and it is his function to save the situation fran deteriorating. Sanetimes

it will be enough simply to see that it would be better not to have singing on a particular day, since no one is up to singing with real feeling; and sometimes a group that has just arrived will oblige him to change what he

had prepared, even if this is just one sentence in his hanily.

He is pre

siding at a meeting. He ought to be sensitive to that meeting.

Going a

Liturgy Meeting of the Canadian Region23

little farther, we can even say that it v.ould be quite no:r:mal if saneone on his CMl responsibility asked to be excused from presiding at a given m:ment, knCMing that, were he to preside at that time , he v.ould be unable to be of service to the community.

The only way to achieve such a sensitivity is to be willing to review the celebration with someone else. At the actual m:ment of celebrating we

must not be oonstantly haunted by the thought that saneone is going to notice what we are not doing well; but the only way to manage to correct onself is to be willing to look back on whathas been done.Going back over a cele- bration from time to time seems to be of great advantage for avoiding the perpetual repetition of faults that make eve:ryone suffer except the one who ccmnits them.

DISTRIBUTION AND USE OF NEW CREATIONS

Finally, we took up the question of whether it is wise to distribute elsewhere local creations, and whether it is possible for other conmunities to use them. French-speaking Canadians seem to suffer from a kind of bash fu1ness about publishing or passing on to others the texts they oorrpose.A monk will rarely speak of a project before having experimented with it; and even after having experienced it, he will ve:ry simply suggest it as sanething

unpretentious; he will never want to make of it something out of the ordinary.

Let us simplify the matter by saying that we are more for life itself than for elaborating systems for diffusing material created by ourselves.

Nevertheless, at this stage of our research, it seems needful to share with others our concrete realizations . And that is why, as regards texts, we thought of forming a small group to discuss the spiritual and literary v.orth of proposed texts. For the m::ment the group includes Father Jacques of Oka, Sister Marie of Saint-Ranuald, and myself (Father Claude Perron of Oka) The liaison-bulletin of our monasteries oould be the organ for dis seminating this material.

But it is important to know what way other comnunities could use these texts, especially if they have been OJmpOSed for a special occasion. We al ready have a good many books of prayers. The Missal offers a choice of many texts. And we knCM that several find it a nuisance to choose arrong many

24

texts, and a yet greater nuisance if a text must be adapted.We must aim at f eeling quite f ree as regards a proposed text -nothing is to be gained by speaking of celebration-aimed creativeness suitable to a a:mnunity , un

less saneone is capable of making the necessary adaptation when the occasion arises.This is the way you should react on seeing the new texts which may appear in your Canadian-region BuZZetin de liaison.

We tou'ched on many other points also which I do not want to include here, for they had rrostly to do with questions regarding the very notion of communi ty.What we understand by c::orrrnunity, by cornnunion, has a considerableinf lu ence on how we look upon prayer.It does not seem to be our place as a litur

gy carmission to investigate the problems of cornnunity lif e in general, but it must be admitted that the question came up at every meeting we have held. We ardently desire to see those questions taken up with all possible realism by the regional conferences and the General Chapter , lest we build f or too' long on a notion or cxmcept of the ccmnunity which would no longer correspond

with life as we really live it.Camrunion is transcultural, but the expression of that ccmnunionis always closely tied in with the contemporary culture.

If the expression that was valid at a given period in the past remains the sole possible one for today , basic communion will f orever be contaminated by a sort of un-truth .

This research in the region of ideas is what we were trying to live out those four days at Mistassini.Because of the ccmnunity 's great capa city for hospitality, we preferred to pray as of ten as possible with the

a::mrnmity.That hospitality was a source of great joy for all of us.First under the aspect of the concrete. we all prayed together in the choir-stalls (sisters as well as rronks) ; then , hospitality at the very level of research: the Of f ice of Vespers one day was prepared by the cornnision group, and pre sented and explained beforehand to the ccmnunity , which entered with great interest into the prayer, without the slightest sign of being disturbed by

it.Next day, while preparing for the following day 's Eucharist, we reviewed our Vespers celebration.We had a living experience of mutual respect on both sides.Our two Eucharistic celebrations as a small group were marked

by great simplicity: silence , only a f EM chants , exchange . .

Liturgy Meeting of the Canadian Region25

The meeting closed with the election of a president:Father Claude Perron of Oka; and of a secreta:cy: Sister Anne-Marie of Assumption. I take this occasion to thank Sister Laetitia of Saint-Rcmua.ld ver:y much for her work in the years just past.

The fact that two of our rronasteries were not represented at this meet ing made us rather sad. It was not for us to discuss the reasons for their absence, but it was a question that remained at the back of our minds all through the meeting.

Were I to want to sum up in a few words my personal impressions, I would say that this meeting made me rrore than ever aware that prayer in our canrnunities is not an easy thing, and yet remains sanething extremely serious and .important.

Translation by Frederic DALY Mistassini

Claude PERRON

Oka

27

THE VALUES OF EUCHARISTI C CONCELEBRATION

There are sane conferences which, for their not being put right or proper ly adjusted, recoil without further ado upon the author like a boanerang. I had a feeling that this is exactly what would, without fail, happento rne when the Comnittee of"Liturgie et Monasteres" entrusted me with the respon sibility of this paper on "The Values of Eucharistic Concelebration11 and in fonned me at the same time that Dern Eloi Dekkers would take charge of deter

mining its limitations. A difficult task,for in a liturgy which is not yet a heavenly one is it really valid to speak of the values of a rite like concele bration without at the sane time making certain reservations? And besides, what about making oneself the absolute proponent of its values while leaving

to saneone else the care of eliciting his criticism! Is it not running the risk of provoking "disputationes" or debates on this subject of concelebration, and thus lowering this sign par excellence of unity to the level of a :rrore or less scholarly exercise of "yes and no"? No, really I could not accept making myself the absolute supporter of concelebration.

"Then," they retorted cleverly, "this is just what will make you an intel ligent supporter." I was won over, or alrrost. I was allCMed another conces sion:Iuld caribine under a single title the twofold object of our discus sion on that day, namely "Values and Limitations of Concelebration". In con sideration of which I present myself to you under the auspices of Janus, the two-faced Janus, one of which, mine, will offer you a rather positive theolo gical balance-sheet. The Father Abbot of Steenbrugge will shoulder the re sponsibility, under the patronage of his namesake, St Eloi, of undertaking the delicate operation of a goldsmith which is called for in regard to ooncelebra tion. This golden theolcx;ical reality which is in great need of being minute ly refined and irrproved and perhaps of being, in certain cases, tried in the fire of criticism.

Inauthentic Values

As a theolcx;y of Eucharistic Concelebration still remains to be expounded, there can be no question for rne of dealing with this subject with the amplitude

that it would deserve.1In restoring the ancient rite of Concelebration, the

Constitution on Sacred Liturgy stated, not without sane kind of exaggeration, that it "has remained in use to this day in the Church, both in the East and

28

in the West" (#57). It is true that in the West, venerable and significant vestiges still subsisted on the occasion of an episcopal consecration, of the

ordination of priests or in the rite of Lyons. 2But in such cases the rite

was conducted in such an atrophied manner that its theological significance was in danger of being affected. We have to give the Church enough time to live such a revival or resurrection, before we can theologize about it. Let us therefore proceed cautiously on this ground which is still little knovm and

in full alteration, by dismissing right axvay sane insufficient and perhaps in

authentic reasons which might be put forward in favor of concelebration.

We might, for instance, admire all that Eucharistic concelebration adds of the solemn, grandiose, and ceraronious to the celebration of Holy Mass. To see a great number of priests perfonning all together the anticipated rites, to hear the words of the Canon being sung, to witness the unfolding of the varied riches of such an expressive rite, all this indeed is really sanething apt to enhance in a ranarkable way the prestige of the Eucharist and of those who make that celebration possible, sanething also :rrost conducive to stir up the piety and the devotion of the faithful in an unquestionable matter. Do I have to point out that such a viewpoint is dangerous, is in absolute contra diction with the enseuble of the tendencies which are most in hannony with the

liturgical movement of today? 3It is not the need of a "publicity-stunt" to

advertise the Eucharist that has provoked the restoration of the concelebra tion rite. As for the anphasis focussed upon the solemn and extraordinary character of the rite, how many of us could only feel sorry for it? "I vindi cate for myself the right to fast", cried out saneone who was being gutted

with too much rich food. Concelebration, which a far-seeing man like Dan Lam bert Beaudoin so ardently longed for, even though he meant it to be reserved for only rare and :rrore particularly significant occasions, ought in no way to abet the danger of solemnizing the liturgy, of highlighting the rites which, on the contrary, must always be a manifestation of simplicity.

Another reaction that cares to my mind: "Just like it was at the Last Sup per", cried out a Benedictine sister-ablate, after having been won Oller can pletely at the sight of such a spectacle. This naive reaction is, theologically speaking, more dangerous than the preceeding one. There is no point in pic turing the first Mass ever said, that of the Last supper, as a concelebration. If ever you happened to have had that kind of an idea, be sure that it was

Values of Eucharistic ConceZebration29

nothing but a dangerous way of conceiving the notion of sacerdotal ministry. For, after all, as long as the President of the Eucharistic table was still among us, what was for h:ira the need of sacramental representatives of his priesthood, of ministerial mediations of his visible presence? Inasmuch as a priest would like "to do just as at the Last Supper" he would do better to participate in the Eucharist in a non-structured manner, without performing any specific ritual function. He would thereby contribute to bringing out the fact that the one and only High Priest, the true Master of the banquet, is

Chr.l.st and he alone, in the exercise of his invisible presidency through the visible sacraxrental mediation of one of his ministers. But the recent "In struction on the Cult of the Eucharistic Mystery" does not favor offhand that

fo:rm of participation.5

Let us also point out an altogether pragmatic justification which has un doubtedly been brought forth alnost everywhere in our monastic circles, where reflection is certainly in honor, but always remains tiresorre.Concelebration!

What a wonderful opportunity to do away with "private .Masses", that ananaly

of monastic life where everything is in ccmron (Indeed!), where the Divine Of fice was concelebraterl while the sign par excellence of unity was broken up into a succession of Masses at full gallop, or, still worse, into a simultanei

ty of Masses read individually! Such a preoccupation, legitimate in itself,

is not yet a determining factor.6 As long as the right to individual celebra tion is retained, we cannot easily see in it an aberrant or deviating theo

logical reality. Let us take notice however of a definite evolution in the official documents which seem more and Il'Ore clearly to foster concelebration, even as an habitual practice, a fact which emerges logically fran article 27 of the Constitution on Sacred Liturgy. ?Even though the preoccupation of doing f of human cx::mnunication with others, the sign can be defined as "that which makes it possible to have a mutual manifestation of

persons with their reciprocal elaboration within the ccmnon element of a cul ture." 9The moment that a man intends to go out of himself, to manifest to

saneone else what is in his heart, and thus to suggest what is invisible and spiritual in him, then the order of signs enters into play. Language, demean or, culture: such is the world of signs; it is so inherent to the incarnate condition of man that Gerl himself, as far bat:k. as the Old Testament, has made it his CMn , as he prepared the sending of his Son to us. Jesus Christ is henceforth God signified and lived among us, the epiphany of God himself through the humanity of his Son. In language, attitudes, the miracles them selves, extraordinary but humanly perceptible, the sign of God manifested to the world is decipherable,because it reaches men in their full humanity. lO The Son of God , revealer of the Father, has introduced himself through his In carnation, into the world of signs, and through his Pasch, he manifests his

Values of Eucharistic Concelebration31

concern for prolonging this econany in the Church. For the ancient Fathers, the Church is the sacrament of Christ, as Christ is the sacrament of God.

What, in the last analysis, is a Sacrarrent? To understand it better one must imnerse himself in the great stream of the history of salvation that is

constantly stirred up and kept moving on by the Word of God .11Fran the be

ginning of the Old Testarrent , the Word of God marks out the Act of God addres sing hbnself to Israel to save her and make her his people, and call her to his ccmnunion of life. The biblical dabar signifies and exteriorizes what is in God 's heart, but also realizes it. For it is the very paver of the living

God, revealing his plan of salvation and accanplishing it in the happenings of

H.istory.

Whenever God

speaks,things beg-.in to cane i.nto exi.stence. 12

But,

every Word of God manifested in History is at once an event, the fruit of the unceasing creativeness and the grace of God , but it is also, habitually, a sible sign which renders visible the gift of salvation and points out the fi delity of God to his alliance:the Law, the Tanple, the sacrifices, the davidi cal kingship are so many signs of a love 'Which is no longer a mere passing or intermittent happening, but which takes shape and becanes little by little in carnate in an Institution, which nonnally secures the bond of love between the various interventions of God and the pennanent regeneration of the partner of the Alliance. But, for all that, it is necessary for Israel to respond, if

she is to take her place within this econany of salvation by living the life that God expects of her. It is by the obedience of faith within the History of Salvation, by adhesion to the Law of God and to the cultical mernoria which celebrates the saving interventions of the I.Drd of History, that Israel res...

ponds to her God.Thus are slavly delineated the various plans that will guar anteee sacramental mystery of the Nev Testarrent all its richness.

For, having spoken to us in a human language fran the most ancient tines,

God has finally told us his last word in and through his Son, Jesus Christ,

the Word of God under a human fonn, manifested as it is by a visible and tangi ble body. In him, the event is neither separable fran the Institution, nor the Word fran the Act , as both are an expression of Christ as he manifested him

self once and for all, and as he wishes to remain with us until the end of the world. Throughout his ministry, he hbnself is personally the divine Worn of

salvation, the Good News of grace brought to sinners. He also is, through his whole "agir-acting" 'Whose culminating point was the Passion, the Act of God in our reg-ard, indicating his definitive alliance, the veracity of his love, his

32

faithfulness to his promises. Finally, in Christ is foreshadowed the perfect response of man, offering himself in a pure oblation in the name of the ITR.llti

tudes, in conformity with the Scriptures which indicate the will of God .The last word of God, the last 'W'Ord of man, is the Passion in the course of which

the .imnolated W:>rd is surrmed up before the Father and in the name of all.13

It is here that we must situate the cultual act of the Eucharist institu ted at the Last Supper by Christ, on the .. eve of his death, as a memorial of

his Passion. In the course of this last meal with the patriarchs of the New Israel, Jesus predicts his approaching death by a pantanine after the fashion

of the ancient prophets.14These gestures symbolize and realize at the

same time the sacrifice of the Cross tavards which the Last Supper stands as a prophetic tending . W:>rd and Act cooperate in this plan, and the event will be embodied in an institution. Jesus ccmn.its himself to die on the Cross, and he expresses this ccmnitment by symbolic gestures. He breaks the bread; his body will be broken. He offers the cup whose meaning is his blood poured out. He already offers and sacrifices himself freely, for his creative word really has the divine paver to change the profound reality of bread and wine. The Last Supper involves the Cross, as the one and the other participate in the paschal dynamism of the passage accanplished by Jesus fran this 'W'Orld to his Father.

But Christ shares his body and blood, :rreaning that what he alone could do for us he does not do without us. In the first and decisive Christian Pasch, contrary to the ritual of the Jewish Passover, the true Lamb gives himself to be eaten before imrrolating himself on the Cross, thus inviting his Cllurch to join him in his sacrifice everytimethat she 'W'Ould renew the memorial of his

Passion. "Everytime, then you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he canes." 15 Defined as the announcement of his

death in the past, the memorial of the Lord is for every generation of believ ers its proper Pasch in the present, that is, the Lord passing by to deliver his Church, to associate her to his sacrifice and to maintain her in the expec tation of the future, the Parousia.

'Ihis, more than succinct recalling of the symbolical dimension of the Euch aristic sacrifice was necessary, we think, to understand the importance that the sacramental sign is to be given. In this single act that cannot be split without distorting the mystery that God means it to express, our attention can not be focussed on the sole consideration of the precise manent when the fo:rm

Value s of Euchari.stic Conce Zebration33

is applied to the matter. On the contrary, the sacramental activity is essen tially symbolical and signifying; it carprises a more or less extensive unfold ing of the meaning which qualifies the whole celebration.l ?The latter is en tirely and in all its context the pointing out in signs and symbols of all the ineffable blessings that God is offering us by the sacrament. It also con cerns us directly in our capacity of actingand feeling, as God is rousing

our errotions through the symbol to keep us moving tavards such and such a con crete action. "The symbol is an appeal to the affective and active being." 18

And yet!What an unfortunate sacramental sign!so badly neglected and sane times an object of suspicion during the preceding centuries, while the patris tic catechesis had made it the subject matter of its discourses to the Christ ian people and neophytes!"By means of these kinds of figures," wrote Theo dore of Mopsuestia in his second hau.ily on Mass, "under signs that are beyond verbal exprsssion, we believe that we are, here and ncM , in possession of these very realities we have even received in this ca:rmunion with the mysteries, the

first-fruits of the Holy Spirit" 19For too long a time has Catholic theo

logy left in the background the fact, still highly upheld by our great scholas ticism, that the sacrament belongs to the category of the The reasons for such non-recognition were many: loss of the dimension of the history of salvation in theology; polemic reaction against an allegorizing or subjective interpretation of the sign; atrophy of the sense of the liturgy where the theo logical reflection was more and more centered upon the definition of the neces

sary conditions for the validity of the celebrations, the essential core, to the exclusion of all the rest; individual faculties and conditions required for the efficacity of the ministerial action. If on this level the future Henr:y IV deemed Paris to be well worth a Mass, he would not have wavered be tween a private Mass or a solemn or concelebrated one! As long as the condi tions for validity are there, a Mass isa Mass.Period. But in such a case the

profound nature of the sacramental act as an act full of significance is missed and a notable part of the wealth of meaning ernbcxlied in the sacramental sign is neglected, that is, a sign, we might say, is the more efficacious for its being the rrore significant, the better honored and made rrore manifest since it is through the sign that the act is essentially constituted .

Let us note in passing that the rrore endCMed with a certain gratuitousness a spiritual reality is, the more preponderant the consideration of its meaning,

34

of its signification must be over the perspective of its usefulness, without prejudice, for all that, of its profound reality. Such is the case, for in stance of a work of art, full of meaning and reality, but so little adaptable to the categories of the useful that Babbit, the practice-practical hero of Sinclair Lewis could rightly ask himself of what use could be a Beethoven Sym phony since it is not even possible to mistle it softly to oneself while one is working ! And so also is the case of the rronastic mystery, a forenost sig nificant reality, even though it be legitimate to sanetines wish a certain ef ficacy for it

It is understandable what the rediscovery of the value of the sacramental sign requires on the level of the Eucharist. The latter should be nomially and habitually a celebration of the sign of the New Alliance in all its truth

and extent. OUr ambition should be to express by a single sign, fully unfurled, the oneness of the sacrifice of Christ that the Mass recalls to mind as the sacrarrental sacrifice of the Church. The measure here cannot be the private Mass:in spite of its being estimable and valid, it can never be anything but a"mini-sign," and perhaps even, in the measure in which a simultaneousness of Masses is celebrated, a counter-sign.

Concelebration, on the contrary, restores to the sacrarrental sign all its richness and truth. It makes it possible for each one to concelebrate accord ing to his rank, by cooperating to the realization of a single cultual signifi cant (signifying) act. The truth (genuineness) of the sign secures at the same time the truth of the ministry which produces it:that is, a priest does not

have to play deacon or sub-deacon (like boys play policemen or girls play house)

in a celebration:that would be sham and pretense - and there is no question in this of clerical concern, but "it is truth in things and spiritual ccrnportments themselves".20By restoring on this occasion a::mnunion under both species as a

nonnal thing, concelebration opens up new vistas on various liturgical a:mport rnents which allCM us to escape the stifling rubricism of past centuries, while fighting shy of individual excentricities. But we must not, for all that, fall back under the yoke of the Law, start judaizing again by re-introducing rubri

cism under a renovated fonn, or by ending up with a purely material juxtaposi tion of private Masses celebrated in a parallel manner.21Concelebration is

not that at all; it is a symphony of many parts which constitute a cdlerent whole, it is a collective act in which each one cooperates in a single celebra tion fully and significantly expressing the unity of the Church and that of the presbyterium. Tbis is what we presently intend to bring out into the light.

Values of Eucharistic Conce Zebration35

Let us bear in mind all that has been said above so as to better grasp at this point the .importance of the sign of concelebration on the level of a pro perly sacramental theolO]'.! of the Church. It is within the fully unfolded ce lebration of the Eucharistic sign that Christ makes himself present to his Church in his sacrifice, to accanplish the end of the sacrament. 'What, in the case of the Eucharist, is that end?

Theolcx;ical tradition answers this question in a unanimous and forceful way:the specific grace of the Eucharist is above all an ecclesial one. The saving scope of the ss is first a social one: it is a grace of gathering tcx;ether (such is the meaning of the Greek word - synaxis fran the ve:rb sunago), of a ccmnunion and intercaumunion of all in charity, a grace of the building

up of the Church . It is frcm this camrunal dimension, which stands first, Bl.at it is possible to deduce the different individual aspects of the fruitfulness of ccmnunion. But such a conviction is a reflection, an echo, of a ver:y an cient type of ecclesiolcx;y, one that has a great ecumenical richness, one also

, that our time is fortunately discovering, after having practically fallen into

oblivion during the last centuries. 22 According to the whole tradition, the word "camrunion" has never entailed an individual meaning, an attitude of pri vate devotion in which the soul would exclude all the rest in a private en counter with the IDrd. For, Ccmrnmion is the Church herself, in her most in timate essence.

To understand such a mystery, one must remind oneself that the roost pro found reality of the Church resides in her participation in the life of the Trinity. The Church is Church fran the Trinity - Eccle sia de Trinitate - as a great many ancient authors affinn "a people that draws its unity fran the

unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit", 23 so much so that the pri

IOOrdial mystery of the interpersonal cx:mnunion which exists in God also thra.vs light on the "ccmnunional" mystery of humanity recreated in the image of God, in the Church of Jesus Christ. The Trinitarian ccmnunion brings us to contem plate the mystery of the most canplete harmony between the absolute unity of the divine essence and the no less absolute plurality of Three Persons, every one of whan is a unique way of assuming the Whole, of giving the divine essence

which they possess in CXJ!IllTOil.The unique divine nature is entirely contained in each one of the Three Persons; each one of them is ccmpletely relative to

the others, and all Three concur to the unity. 24

36

On her level, which is that of the realization of the plan of salvation of God when he created the universe, the Church copies the Holy Trinity; she is united to Christ her Bridegrocm;.- the Camrunion between God and hurnanity. In this sacrament of the Body of Christ which prolongs here below the Trinitarian Ccmnunion, every believer realizes through the three sacraments of Christian initiation his insertion into Christ, and opens himself up, in him who is the source of ecclesial carmunion, to the love of all men, his brothers, to the life, one and varied, of the Church which is a multitude of persons in carmun ion with the same life. such, in fact, is the law of existence of the "catho lic" Church, a law of camrunion "in virtue of which the whole is present to

each one of the parts, while the parts themselves are related to the whole and

to one another." 25

In this realization of Camrunion, the Eucharist plays a very special role.

For it is the Church in act, the people of God realizing the unity which is its end, gathering together in one single Body in virtue of the Eucharistic bread given to all as nourishment. It is the Eucharist that raises an assan bly of Christians to the level of a Church, that edifies and literally builds up that Church. So much so that the Eucharistic dimension constitutes an es

sential ccmponent of the Church which is one through space and time (for Christ is one), but is also diverse in its existential aspect, for each local church gathered around its bishop, its nonnal president of the table, constitutes, like the epiphany, the manifesting sign of the one Church.

Thus the mystery of the Church catches up with that of the Trinity, one and diverse, since, as the Holy Trinity is the perfect camrunion of the Three Persons in the unique divine nature, so the local churchis not to be consi dered as a part of a whole that the universal Church would be, but rather as a unique way of camruning with the whole, of being in confonnity with her , of

opening itself up to the plural economy of the mystery of the universal Church whose custody belongs to the Mother-Church of all the churches, namely, Rane,

the "guardian of charity". 26In other words, the Church as an Event, without

ceasing to be fully Church, particularizes (individualizes) herself in this or that place, becoming in a given human space the Church of Jesus Christ. "The local church", says Rahner, " is not the result of a separate portion which

atanises the space of the universal Church, but of a concentration of the Church in the exerise of her proper faculty of realization." 27

Values of Euha;r>istic Concelebration37

Hence, on the level of the sacramental sign, the ecclesial institution is in the first place the local liturgical assanbly where, under the authority of a president of the table who sacramentally signifies Christ, Christians oon vene to learn fran God his project of unity and renew more closely their al liance with him.An ancient text cannands our attention here; it is the text of the Eucharistic prayer of the Didache: "as this bread, fonnerly scattered

over the mountains, has been gathered to fonn henceforth only one loaf, so do

you gather your Church fran the ends of the world into your kingdan." 28 After the example of Christ, who died to gather into one the dispersed children of

God (Jn. 11:52), the specific function of the Church consists in corning , gath ering to:Jether, so that what is dispersed throughout the world, may bec:x:me

one in the kingdan.

It isin this ecclesiological perspective that it is fitting to appraise the rite of the Eucharistic celebration; the latter really oonstitutes the epi phany of a local corrmunity centered upon that which is best in it, the charity of Christ. There the Church stands as a Cod;

No more be angcy with my soul ,

But wash it in thy precious Blood.

1-Io more be angcy with my soul,

But cleanse it by thy gracious might;

A hundred welcanes, Q:>d and Man,

Both nON and when death shall smite.

Gabh mo Clloimirce

This hymn, of which two verses in a new trans fo tion have al.ready been quoted, was taken down by Dr. Douglas Hyde from Padraig 6 DrJnaiU, Co. Mayo ,

and published in the New Ireland Review, June 1905.

Irish Hymnology53

May his body keep me safer; Holy Wafer, deep my sigh.

Cleanse me f ran the stains that stain rne,

Nor disdain me when I die. Lord, who enterest my members ,

Like the erri.lJers thou dost shine.

Take my soul f ran out my bosan,

Cleanse f ran stfil.n and make it thine.

Great Creator, Lord of graces, Thou whose f ace is as the sun, Grand Artificer of heaven,

Make my will and thine be one.-

a Creator , shav me mercy,

'l:hou whose f ace is as the sun, And the bcxly where thou lodgest Take to thee when all is done.

See! the Trinity is hidden

In the f lesh , we knav not ha-1;

Foul the f lesh the soul is sheathed in: Cleanse, o cleanse its foulness Thou.

MichaelAngel, high of Angels , Hear the prayerwe make thee nav;

Be our strength and bush of shelter, When our hands forsake the plough.

Agf agaol siil

This prayer , to be said when leaving the church, was collected in Co. Mayo , and published in the New Ireland Review, Feb . 1904.

Peannad1t leat, a Mhuire, Beannadlt leat, a Chr:i'.ost; Go geuinhdaL sibh m'anm

Go dtige me aris.

Farewell, o Macy,

o Christ, f arewell; l,'.nd keep thou my soul

Till I care again.

The following, published in the same issue as the foregoing, was taken down in Co. Galway .

Beannacht leat a theach D ,

Agus beannacht D inr dtimpeall, Nr sgara uainne grsa De

Go bhfillimid chun a theampoill.

Farewell to thee, o House of God, May not thy blessings wither,

And may God's grace not part from us Till we again come hither.

54

A D duilig, atat-teoch I Invoke Thee,0 Lord

This poem was written by Airbertach Mac Gosse Dobrainin 982. The Author was "fer leiginn",

i.e., chief professor, of Ross Ailithir, now Ross Carbery, Co. Cork. He tells us in a psal ter poem of his that he wrote this poem in 982. This translation is by Fr. Killian of Mount Melleray.

Creator God, I call on you

From whom true wisdom is relayed. Let not your face shine in my view Replete with judgment unbetrayed.

You are my King, your charter runs Throughout my body and my heart;

Your love, 0 Christ, be as the sun 's Heat in my soul till night depart.

And I may not that love conceal, Your royal way my life shall be; Your table shall supply my meal: 0 God, do not leave hold of me.

110 LabradPraise God

This is a 12th century poem of unknown authorship .

What. I say

I-1ay it praise you without flaw;

Be you the love of my heart;

O being, guide earth with heaven 's law.

hat Isay

May it praise more and more; Enable me, most pure lord,

To serve and each day adore.

What I say

May it praise you day be day; Kind Father, gentle, loving, Hear my songs and what I say.

:2vening Hymn

A poem by an

composed between the 9th and 11th unknown author.

centuries,

O Christ, Son of the living God,

May your holy angels Attend us while we sleep,

Round our bright bed ranging.

Irish Hymnology55

Wondrous sight of visions true ShON us in our sleeping,

Great Prince of all that is, IDrd of every secret.

No demons, frightning dreaIPs, No evil fran dark foes,

No injury disturb our resf,

OUr prarpt and swift repose.

Holy be our waking hour,

OUr work, the fruit we reap;

All good action be untramrrElled, Untroubled the time of sleep.

A Choimdiu bai'.:d Beloved I.Drd, Pity Me

The author is Maez fsu Ua Brofohan , monk of Armagh, who died in the monastery of Lismore in 1086.

The I.Drd of love And King of kings: His Father's mercy 'i'o us brings

May we sinless cane To the world beyond; No threat await,

No painful bond.

Trial to cleanse us Provide us here, God's Son, living, King without peer.

'lrial to rouse us Is wholesane gift; Prepare it, I.Drd, OUr lives to sift.

The demon, dark knave, Keep in his lair; Within us, without, Your sweetest care.

Naofa an abair ianra 00

To Speak of God a I-oly Work

Donncha dh Mor d Dcllaigh, died 1244, is the au- thor of this poem. He is one of the greatest of the Irish reZigir.us poets. It was thought that he was abbot of the Cistercian monastery of BoyZe, but this is not correct. He was buried in the abbey, and so was probably a patron of the monks.

56!

To speak of God is a holy 'WOrk,'

A full rroon, lighting up the murk; Holy to speak of him whose hand

Frees men from trial throughout the land.

Praise of God, divine procedure,

Wisdom's fount for the six free peoples; Bright his face:his 'WOrk to deliver

My soul with mercy, a flowing river .

Speak of him ever with love aflame, And pray to him whose sweetest name Is brother; ever let pure prayer

Be the habit your soul must wear.

World 's beginning, 'WOrld 's end, High King eternal, jewelled friend, Glorious lord of the house above,

And way that leads me there with love .

Lamb of God, the Virgin's Son, Flower-bright face, purest one,

You've heard our praise, and nobly given Friendship with the saints in heaven.

(I)By the same author .

Do ChriostTo Christ

My heart and breast desire your grace, 0 being of all creation;

If I may stand before your face,

cane to me, o Son of Mary.

Perfect God is my great Father, O Spirit ever ancient, one,

For men the grinding star to gather Safely all within his d"6n.

lord of beauty without flaw, True God of heaven holy,

Let me share your wisdom 's law, Joyous, splendid King of glory.

Free-born Son of the sixth line, Risen living from the grave,

Grant God 's peace for which we pine, Help us do the deeds that save.

Do Chr ostTo Christ

The author is Aonghus 0 DaZaigh, called Aonghus na Diadhachta (theologian), a member of the West Cork famiZy of the 0 DaZy's.

Avert my danger, Son of Mary ,

In giving thanks I may not tire; This the law by which we labor, Face all beauteous, cheek of fire.

Irish Hym .o Zo;-;,;57

O Jesus, ease my weariness, Royal Son of high reward;

Let grace transcend the fear in us, Visit us from heaven, o Lord.

O King with bod.y placed in bond, True peace to purchase for our race; Your truth and mercy shall respond

And save our heart from evil's trace.

o holy Lord, our rovering shield, Recall hCM close-knit is our kin,

Our sister's heir you stand revealed: Set loose my heart from chains of sin.

Craftsman who made the house on high, See me weighed dCMn by hardship 's load; All men receive your grace who sigh; You can with blesBing smooth my road.

Do DhiaTo God

Author as above .

My Lord the Virgin Mary 's Son,

To him the highest praise is due; His endless recompense supreme

My sins erases from his view.

His gifts descend without restraint;

Our thanksgiving must not tire

To the King who upholds our cause, 'Whose face glc:Ms wann like the fire.

Father and pure guiltless Son,

And Holy Spirit strong and bright,

Three in truth and one in Christ

'Who guides our feet on pathways right.

Dia lim fri each sniro Refuge in Time of Trouble

By an anonymous author of the 9th century.

In all trouble God be with me,

The three noble Persons who are one: In the unity of the Holy Spirit,

cane I FatherI with your Son.

King of the Sun, bright and holy, Beautiful beyond all human claim, Be a wondrous refuge for the lowly,

And Hell's dark demons tame.

Fran the rod of iron save me,

Fran the torments of men of cruel art; Graciously look down, Son of Mary, Shield with love my heart.

58

May all the blessings that are true, Every ladder stretched to heaven 's door, Every prayer that is pure, that is new, Keep me secure evennore.

God be ever present as my guard, He whcm countless angels surround;

May he find his corrmandment urnnarred When he oorres in glory crowned .

My King, be at hand to protect me , And oorre to my aid in my need, Your a.nn outstretched to direct me When evils about me breed.

N O T E S

1 Frank 0 Connor, Kings, Lords and CorrD'nons.

2 F.J. Byrne, Early Irish Poetry.

3Gerard Murphy, EaY'ly Irish Lyrics, Dublin

4Frank O Connor, op.cit.

Vincent 6 MAIDtN Mount Melleray

5Translation by F.O Connor of a poem by Dial:muid O Shea.

66 Conghaile and 6 Ri'.orc:Min, Dia na hUile, B.A.c.

7Jhid.

8By Aonghus 6 oalaigh; translated by Killian Walsh, o.c.s.o. I of Mount Melleray.

9Gerard Murphy, Early Irish Lyrics. Translation by Killian Walsh.

10 Dr.Douglas Hyde, Religious Songs of Connacht.

BIBLICGRAPHY

Poems are to be found scattered throughout Studies, The Irish Monthly,

and An Timire.

R. Atkinson and J.H.Bernard, The Irish Liber Hyrrrnorum , (Heru:y Bradshaw Society)London 1898.

Ta:na'.s 6 Brolchfill, Eigse SIA.adhis Seanchaidh, Dublin 1909.

Gerard Murphy, Ear ly Irish Lyrics, Dublin 1956.

6 Conghaile and 6 R.l.ordain, R{ na uHuile, Dublin 1964/66.

Una N.:C O:jrun, Danta De, Baila Atha Cliath 1927.

Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Maynooth 1911, 1914.

Irish Hymnology59

Tanas 6 Floinn, Athbheo , B.A.C. 1955.

AJhdhdnta, B.A.C. 1969.

New Ireland Review,Dublin 1895

Lambert McKenna, s.J., Dioghluim Dana, Dublin 1938.

Dan De, Dublin 1927.

Philip Bocht 6 hUighinn, Dublin 1931.

An Timire, Dublin 1911

Irish Monthly, Dublin 1927

Fiacra Ei:lgeach, Tailgh Gaelach cJ SUiUeabhain, B.A.c.1927.

Enri 6 Muir1osa, Dcf:nta Diadha Uladh, B.A.C. 1936.

Studies, Dublin.

Gaelic Journal, 1890, 1894. 0 Rahilly, Measgra Da:nta

An Sagart, 1958.

Robin Flower, The Church of Ireland, Oxford 1932.

The Irish Tradition, Oxford 1947.

61

THE LECTIONARY OF THE OFFICE

A SOURCE OF HOLINESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

Before the Second Vatican Council it had long been felt that the Lectionary of the Office, both in its biblical and patristic forms, was in need of a good overhaul. , As long ago as 1965, A.Hanman drew atten tion to the unrepresentative character and poor spiritual quality of niany

of the patristic texts of the old Roman Breviary .1A similar corrplaint

2

had been voiced a year earlier by Father Gy, O.P.

'Ihese were not the on

ly voices, they sinply made vocal what niany of us who were brought up en the old Ranan and rronastic Breviaries had felt for a long tine.

Since these corrplaints were made, both the biblical and patristic lectionaries of the Office for the Secular Clergy and the whole People of

Gcxl, have been revised, according to the norms contained in the Constitu on the Liturgy: Sacrosanctwn conciliilm 3 and the directives given to those

whose task it was to can:y out this revision.

Before att:errpting to reflect en the inplications of this revision for the Monastic Iectionary, I may be allaved to examine briefly the his torical background of the lectionary.

For sate years na.v enough information has been available for such a study in the publications of La Maison Dieu.'lhis material was used and

made easilyaccessible by Bishop Salmon in his L 'Of fice Divin 4 .More re

cently Dom Adalbert de vogiie, in his historical and critical Canrrentary on the Rule of St.Benedict, has provided the evidence which will alla.v

us to assess the liturgical renewal of St.Benedict himself and its inpor tance for the abject of this Study Week.5

Before passing to consider the main points of this paper, it may be helpful to give in rapid outline the history of the biblical and patris tic lectionaries.

1. 'Ihe Biblical Iectionary

In so far as the ancient sources will alla.v specific oonclusions to

62

be drawn , it would seem that b"le custan of reading the Scriptures in the liturgical asserrbly is a venerable one, reaching back to St. Paul himself .6

A survey of the material available, hcwever, leads to the ccnclusion that it was not until the middle of the seventh centw:y that an organised sys tem of reading the Scriptures at the Of f ice was elaborated.'Ihis oonclus icn is well illustrated by the material presented by Bishop Salmon, in the f ourth chapter of his L 'Office Divin. It is interesting to note that the earliest description of the Books of Scripture, read at the Of f ice is con

tained in a monastic Ordo used by the nonasteries attached to St. Peter's Basilica, at Rare. 7 '!his Ordo,, with Ordo xiiifonned the basis of the re

newed Biblical I..ectionary.

In his detailed study of this revised biblical lectionary of the Li turgia Horarum,, Canon Anare Rose appended to his paper a canparative ta

ble of the distribution of the Books of Scripture, according to the Ordi nes Romani,, the old Ranan Breviary , and the cycles of the new Liturgia

8

Horarum.

These Tables I have reproduced as an appendix to this paper,

because of the ti.rre limit involved.

Although it is not possible to make a detailed examination of the da ta supplied by these Tables, it will be suf ficient to rema.rk that their pattern and the intention of their authors is the sarre in each case.It is obvious that the over-riding consideration was , and is, to give to the People of God an adequate account of God's wcnderf ul work of salvation.

It is evident also, that the main defects of the system adopted both by the Ordines Romani and the Old Ranan Breviary, were their fragmentary nature and incanplete reading of certain inportant books of the Old Tes tament, and even their carplete absenoo f ran the Cursus Scripturarum.

These defects were rerredied in the Liturgia Horarum in two ways.In order to f ulfil the directives given in the Constitution on the Liturgy conceming the readings of the Scriptures, a two year cycle of lessens

was drawn up, even though in the event practical oonsiderations reduced

this to a printed one year cycle. 10A further nethod of placing the riches of the Word of God at the dispasal of the People of God, was the decision to read the Books of the Old 'Iestarrent in a chrcnological order admitted by most exegetes today.'!His soluticn allavs the People of God to see the develq:mant of religious thought of the Old Testarrent and its

Lectionary of the Of fice63

carpletion in the New.over a period of two years , the whole of the New Testarrent, with the exception of the Gospels, is read in its entirety. We may note also a further disposition of material in relation to the litur gical Seascns and Feasts.'Ihis dispcsition was not absent f ran the anci ent sources.Certain books were traditional f are at certain seasons of

the liturgical year. 11'lhis tradition was taken over and enriched in the

new Scriptural Cycles.

2. 'lhe Patristic I.ectionary

'Ihe Patristic I.ectionary: 'lhe earliest collections of patristic les sons f or use at 'the Of f ice date f rcm the sixth and seventh centuries. 12

'Ihe two main witnesses to such collections are Alain of Farf a ( d . 770) and

Paul the Deacon (c . ?90 ) .Fran the

-.

studies

of G. IDN ,13

and E. Hosp, 14

it is evident that these two collections embody much earlier material, and that they were the f oundations of the later patristic lectionary of the old Roman Breviary.

More recently this material has been collected and reassessed by Dan

R. Gregoire. 15He concludes that each rronastery , each Church had its avn.

patristic lectianary for use at the Of f ice.'!his evidence is irrportant for it points to a legitimate diversity within the unity of one tradition.

'Ihe subsequent history of the I.ectionary until modem tilres has been

adequately described by Mgr. Salmon ,16 and there is no need to repeat it here.It will be convenient, hcwever , to surrmarize, at this point, the basic principles which guided the revision of the Patristic I.ectionary of

the old Ranan Breviary 17When the present Archbishop of Turin, Mgr. Mic

ele Pellegrino was given the task of revising the patristic lectionary , he drew up a series of principles or guidelines by which the christian liter ature of over a thousand years could be sif ted for use in modem ti.Ires.

'Ihese principles were strictly adhered to by his successors in this task. 18

'lhese principles or guidelines \\ere both positive and negative.On the negative side texts which were polemical in character and expression were ruthlessly excluded.Treatises mainly concemed with theological controversies long since dead and buried were anitted, though saretilres

one could salvage a gem hidden in a good deal of dress.Anti-Jewish writ ings , excessive allegory , extreme moralization, biblical exegesis no lcnger

64

acceptable, were all abandoned.On the positive side, the e:rrphasis was placed on material which would provide f or the needs of the whole People of God.'Ihese needs may be expressed in the threefold pattern of a sin cere quest f or an authentic spirituality, true counsel in the things of the spirit, and strength and consolation amidst the trials of life.In

the selection of material irrportance was attached to the many :requests :re ceived suggesting the inclusion of the more pastoral passages of the docu IIEilts of Vatican II.Ef f orts were also made to find texts which would help the priest in his task of preaching the Word of God, of pranoting

the active participation of all the people of God in liturgical worship, of instructing them in its meaning and spirit. 19

3. 'Ihe Structure and General Plan of the Ranan Patristic Lectiona:ry.

A marked feature of the new Liturgia Horarum is its insistence on a daily :reading f ran the Bible and f ran the patristic tradition.NuUa die sine patribus was the guiding principle of its structure.'Ihe details of this structure are given in the Institutio GeneraZis.20'Ibey conceive of

a biblical lectionary structured on a two year cycle.As I remarked ear lier , in f act what is given us is a one year biblical cycle of :readings. It was, therefore, on this basic cycle of Scripture that the patristic lectionary was structured.

To appreciate the structure and general plan of this lectionary, it will be well for