Today, the Vatican Press Office published the text of a message that the Holy Father, Pope Francis sent to those who are participating in the Sacrosanctum Concilium Symposium, the focus of which is Gratitude and commitment to a great ecclesial movement which took place from February 18-20 at the Pontifical Lateran University. The meeting was organized by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in collaboration with the Lateran Athenian University, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy promulgated by Pope Paul VI.
Fifty years have now passed since the promulgation of the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, the first document to be promulgated by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, and this important anniversary is an occasion for sentiments of gratitude for the profound and widespread renewal of liturgical life, made possible by the Magesterium of the Council, for the glory of God and the edification of the Church, and at the same time, this occasion provides added impetus for us to revive our commitment to accept and implement the teachings of this Constitution in an ever fuller way.
The Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium and the other developments advanced by the Magisterium have allowed us to more fully understand the liturgy in the light of divine Revelation and the exercise of the priestly function of Jesus Christ through which all public worship is performed by the mystical body of Jesus Christ, that is by the head and all its members (SC, 7). Christ is revealed as the true protagonist of every celebration, and He always draws the Church ever closer to himself, his beloved spouse, who invokes him as its Lord and through him gives praise to the eternal Father (ibid). This action, which takes place through the power of the Holy Spirit, possesses a deeply creative force which is capable of attracting every human being to himself, in fact, all of creation.
To truly celebrate spiritual worship is to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God (Rom 12:1). A liturgy that is detached from spiritual worship would be empty, void of Christian originality in the generic sense of the sacred, almost magical, and empty of aestheticism. Through the action of Christ, the liturgy pushes us from within, inspiring us to clothe ourselves with the sentiments of Christ, and in this way, all of reality is transfigured. Our daily corporeal lives, experienced through the little things, should be inspired, perfumed, immersed in the divine reality; it should become an action in union with God. This does not mean that we should always be thinking about God, but that we should be truly penetrated by the reality of God, so that our entire lives ... are a liturgy, an act of adoration (Benedict XVI, Lectio divina at the Roman Seminary, February 15, 2012).
In order to give thanks to God for all that he makes possible, we must be united our renewed willingness to proceed along the path indicated by the Council Fathers, because there is still much to do before the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy is completely assimilated by the baptized and by the ecclesial community. I am thinking in particular of our commitment to a solid and well thought-out initiation and liturgical formation both for the lay faithful and for the clergy and for consecrated persons.
While I express my gratitude to all those who have encouraged and prepared this encounter, I also hope that it will bear the desired fruit. To this end, I invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and willingly impart the Apostolic Blessing upon you, Your Eminence, upon your Collaborators, the Relators and all the participants.
From the Vatican
February 18, 2014
Francis
Message of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
to his Venerable Brother
Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera
Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Liturgy
and the Discipline of the Sacraments
Fifty years have now passed since the promulgation of the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, the first document to be promulgated by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, and this important anniversary is an occasion for sentiments of gratitude for the profound and widespread renewal of liturgical life, made possible by the Magesterium of the Council, for the glory of God and the edification of the Church, and at the same time, this occasion provides added impetus for us to revive our commitment to accept and implement the teachings of this Constitution in an ever fuller way.
The Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium and the other developments advanced by the Magisterium have allowed us to more fully understand the liturgy in the light of divine Revelation and the exercise of the priestly function of Jesus Christ through which all public worship is performed by the mystical body of Jesus Christ, that is by the head and all its members (SC, 7). Christ is revealed as the true protagonist of every celebration, and He always draws the Church ever closer to himself, his beloved spouse, who invokes him as its Lord and through him gives praise to the eternal Father (ibid). This action, which takes place through the power of the Holy Spirit, possesses a deeply creative force which is capable of attracting every human being to himself, in fact, all of creation.
To truly celebrate spiritual worship is to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God (Rom 12:1). A liturgy that is detached from spiritual worship would be empty, void of Christian originality in the generic sense of the sacred, almost magical, and empty of aestheticism. Through the action of Christ, the liturgy pushes us from within, inspiring us to clothe ourselves with the sentiments of Christ, and in this way, all of reality is transfigured. Our daily corporeal lives, experienced through the little things, should be inspired, perfumed, immersed in the divine reality; it should become an action in union with God. This does not mean that we should always be thinking about God, but that we should be truly penetrated by the reality of God, so that our entire lives ... are a liturgy, an act of adoration (Benedict XVI, Lectio divina at the Roman Seminary, February 15, 2012).
In order to give thanks to God for all that he makes possible, we must be united our renewed willingness to proceed along the path indicated by the Council Fathers, because there is still much to do before the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy is completely assimilated by the baptized and by the ecclesial community. I am thinking in particular of our commitment to a solid and well thought-out initiation and liturgical formation both for the lay faithful and for the clergy and for consecrated persons.
While I express my gratitude to all those who have encouraged and prepared this encounter, I also hope that it will bear the desired fruit. To this end, I invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and willingly impart the Apostolic Blessing upon you, Your Eminence, upon your Collaborators, the Relators and all the participants.
From the Vatican
February 18, 2014
Francis
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