LITURGY
Amidst all the antagonisms, exaggerations and discussions which have characterised this period of liturgical change, may a few reflections be outlined?
In view of the speed, rare in the Church, with which these changes have been carried out in all countries, it is difficult to avoid the fear that some measures may bring unforeseen and unhappy consequences. It is thus with devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to the Virgin Mary and the saints whose statues have been banished from many churches, regardless of the simplest pastoral teaching, and catechetics; the meet and proper ordering of the house of God which has become a house of men rather than a house of God; of the truly divine beauty of the Latin chants which are now banned and have not been replaced by other such melodies.
Must we, however, conclude from these considerations that all these things should have been kept unchanged? The Council with temperance and prudence has answered otherwise. Some reform and renewal was needed.
The Virgin Mary watches over the Magisterium and authority of her Roman and Catholic Church.
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE
Despite today's confusion of ideas, may we seek the light of the new dawn that the Council will bring to the world?
Such perspectives will doubtless be more easily discoverable in a few years. Is it not devoutly to be wished, however, that those who have lived through the Council should strive, in perfect submission to the Successor of Peter, so to bring them about as to arouse true and generous undertakings sprung from the purest tradition of the Church and born of the Spirit of God yet living in His Spouse.
The first part of the Mass, intended for the instruction of the Faithful and a a means of expressing their faith, clearly stood in need of a means of achieving these ends more plainly and, in some way, more intelligibly. In my humble opinion, two of the reforms proposed for this purpose appeared useful: first the rites of this part and some vernacular translations.
Let the priest draw near the faithful, communicate with them, pray and sing with them, stand at the lectern to give the readings from the Epistle and Gospel in their tongue, sing the Kyrie, the Gloria and the Credo with the faithful in the traditional divine melodies. All these are happy reforms restoring to this part of the Mass its true purpose. The arrangement of this teaching part of the rite should set, in the sung Masses of Sunday, the pattern to which other Masses should conform. These aspects of renewal seem excellent. Let us add, above all, guiding lines necessary for true, simple, and moving preaching, strong in faith and resolution. That is one of the most important ends to achieve in the liturgical renewal of this part of the Mass.
Where the Sacraments and sacramentals are concerned, the use of the language of the faithful in admonitions may be useful since these concern them more directly and personally, but this is not the case with exorcisms, prayers and benedictions.
The arguments for keeping Latin in those parts of the Mass which take place at the altar are, however, so strong that it is to be hoped that the days may shortly come when a limit will be set to the invasion of the vernacular tongue of this treasury of unity, of universality, a mystery that no human tongue can express or describe.
How deeply we must long that the souls of the faithful may be united in spirit and in person with Our Lord, present in the Eucharist, and with His divine spirit, so that all that might be prejudicial to this union, whether by an excess of vocal prayers and ceremonies, by lack of reverence for the Eucharist or by unseemly vulgarisation of the divine mysteries, must be totally prohibited. Any reform in this domain can be good only if it ensures more fully the essential ends of the divine mysteries established by Our Lord and brought down to us by Tradition.
Source: Lefebvre, Marcel. A Bishop Speaks: Writings and Addresses 1963-1975. Edinburgh, Scotland: Scottish Una Voce, n.d. pp. 37-38
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