There is so much to be said about the immense and glorious heritage of the Sacred Liturgy, as it has been developed in the Eastern and Western Rites of the Church throughout the world. In each one of these Rites, and in each one of the Churches that has been founded through the preaching of the Apostles and their successors, there has been an organic growth in doctrine and liturgical worship that manifests a remarkable unity in the midst of great diversity. As mentioned in my first blog, the sacred music which has been an integral component of these Liturgies is a great treasure; we will return to explore this treasure in more depth in months to come, under the heading of “Holy Repertoire.”

For the time being, we need to stay closer to home, so as to examine the two authorized forms of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, namely 1.) the Mass of Paul VI, promulgated after the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) by Pope Paul VI; this is the form that has been the standard for most parishes and communities over the past 50 years; and 2.) the Tridentine Mass, a.k.a. the Traditional Latin Mass, which was in its essence the standard form from its promulgation by Pope Pius V in 1570 until its official replacement by the publication of the new Roman Missal of 1970. While the legitimacy of the continued use of the Tridentine Mass after the Council was widely called into question, Pope Benedict XVI made it clear in his 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum that this traditional form was indeed fully authorized, that it had never been juridically abrogated, and that both these forms (which he termed the “Ordinary” and “Extraordinary” forms, respectively) of the same Roman Rite must be allowed to exist side by side.

Most thoughtful people, it would seem, would not want to dismiss or pass lightly over the important issues that led to the post-Conciliar change in liturgical form and language, that have arisen from its implementation, and that continue to be debated between adherents of old and new forms. And so while the focus of these blogs and podcasts is on sacred liturgical music, I would like to take some time to address certain principles which underlie these issues, as they have such a great impact on our approach to the music of the Mass. I'll begin by looking more closely at the introductory letter which Pope Benedict wrote to the Roman Rite Bishops of the world, in issuing Summorum Pontificum. In this letter, he articulates some fundamental points which I think can serve as a reasonable guide for our reflection and a springboard for further discussion.

The Pope exhorts all the faithful to strive for a holy unity – a unity that flows from honoring our great liturgical traditions, acknowledging the governing authority of the Pope and Bishops, celebrating the new form with “great reverence”, and relating to one another with that magnanimity which is the fruit of authentic charity. While such holy unity is a reality to be affirmed in the present moment, it also implies a call to repentance to the extent that we have failed to do our part in cultivating it. Pope Benedict speaks of this affirmation and this call to conversion as an “interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church”. Let's look a bit more closely at each of the essential elements of unity listed above:

Honoring our great traditions

“In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture. What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place.” [i]

Such honor does not require everyone to participate in the TLM, but it does require all the faithful to recognize and revere something that transcends their personal feelings or preferences: namely, the great dignity of the Church's Liturgy as it has been celebrated for centuries. While this dignity might be at times obscured by problematic attitudes and behaviors of priests and/or laity, we are called to look beyond these to try to discover the inherent beauty of the traditional Liturgy itself.

As I've already mentioned, for priests and church musicians this authentic piety also calls us to discover, study, and honor the Church's great sacred music traditions. In our Roman Rite, Gregorian chant and classic polyphony are the preeminent forms to which Church teaching has pointed. But the same piety should also lead us to hold in honor the venerable musical traditions of the many other Rites and Churches, East and West, who also trace their development to the early Church.

Acknowledging the governing authority of the Pope and Bishops

“...there is the fear that the document detracts from the authority of the Second Vatican Council, one of whose essential decisions – the liturgical reform – is being called into question. This fear is unfounded. In this regard, it must first be said that the Missal published by Paul VI and then republished in two subsequent editions by John Paul II, obviously is and continues to be the normal Form – the 'Forma ordinaria'– of the Eucharistic Liturgy.” [ii]

Here Pope Benedict is strongly affirming the new form of the Liturgy, including the use of the vernacular as a liturgical language, on the basis of its being the fruit of an ecumenical council, and promulgated through the legitimate authority of two Popes. Elsewhere he strongly criticizes and condemns the rampant irreverence and resulting sense of rupture which accompanied the implementation of the Mass of Paul VI. But here he asserts that the way forward towards liturgical integrity lies not in blaming or abolishing the new form, but rather in recovering the profound reverence whose frequent absence in the new form has led to so many grievous ills.

Regarding sacred music, the Second Vatican Council calls upon church musicians and composers to do something new and beautiful, that is firmly rooted in our great traditions while also meeting present needs. As quoted in one of my previous blogs:

“Musicians will enter on this new work with the desire to continue that tradition which has furnished the Church, in her divine worship, with a truly abundant heritage. Let them examine the works of the past, their types and characteristics, but let them also pay careful attention to the new laws and requirements of the liturgy, so that "new forms may in some way grow organically from forms that already exist,"* and the new work will form a new part in the musical heritage of the Church, not unworthy of its past.” [iii]

Is such a call contrary to the sacred tradition of the Church, contrary to reason, or contrary to a well-formed conscience? Certainly not! It indeed presents musicians with a longer and more arduous task, one that can be expected to take many generations to reach its mature fulfillment: that of developing a broad range of new inspired repertoire, as a worthy continuation of the great sacred music treasures of the past.

But this new challenge, and the long hard road it represents, is made light and joyful by the fire of love which empowers our mission. Clearly we need to honor our great sacred music traditions and help others to re-discover their great beauty, as mentioned above. And some of us might well be called to make this the focus of our work, either in the TLM or the Mass of Paul VI. But most of us are also called to move forward to do something fresh, new, holy, and inspired, understanding that the task is by its nature an epic one. And there are several great precedents in Church history for such “new” liturgical adaptations. A few of the most prominent in the West have been: the original introduction of Latin as the Church's liturgical language, the development of Gregorian chant in the first millennium, and the development of sacred polyphony in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Pope Benedict is calling us to find a healthy equilibrium in our work as church musicians, that avoids the pitfalls of an insular traditionalism on the one hand and rootless innovation on the other. Just as flexibility is an important aspect of physical fitness, so it is also in the spiritual life and our approach to the Sacred Liturgy: we all need to “stretch” so as to discover and affirm the glory of our traditions. But we also need to stretch so as to discern and support new holy inspirations which in harmony with the old can draw us ever more deeply into the Mystery of the Mass, and into the life of grace.

What began as one blog has now become at least two and maybe more! Next week I will continue with Pope Benedict's teaching as our guide. We'll look more closely then at the meaning of reverence and magnanimity, and the crucial role they play in our holy pursuit of unity.

[i] Summorum Pontificum

[ii] Summorum Pontificum and accompanying letter.

[iii] Musicam Sacram, art. 59; *Constitution on the Liturgy, art. 23

Old Form, New Form