Understanding our Faith

The Mass and Vatican II

Well, what did Vatican II get up to in regard to the liturgy? For most Catholics, the changes in the celebration of Mass were the most obvious part of the changes which Vatican II introduced. Those changes were like the top of an iceberg above the waters, that is they were the result of and evidence of principles of change which were afoot in the whole life of the Church. 

As with all the work of Vatican II, there were two movements at work in renewing the liturgy. The first was a more thorough study of, and appreciation of, the long tradition of the Church. This was facilitated by the discovery of many ancient documents concerning the history of the Church, particularly during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These discoveries gave a deeper and much more accurate understanding of the whole historical range of our tradition.

The other movement was a serious consideration of the contemporary situation and the Church’s effectiveness within it. This found explicit expression in the document on the Church in the Contemporary World but was at work throughout the Council’s deliberations. Was the Church proclaiming the gospel in a way that found a launching pad in the contemporary world?

One of the most significant elements that came out of this consideration of our past, and the contemporary situation, was the role of the People of God at the Eucharist. What had come down to us – for several historical reasons – was an understanding of the Mass as the work of the priest, to which the people attended. There had come about an imbalance between the role of the people and that of the priest.

What the documents of Vatican II did was re-emphasise that the Mass was the work of the People of God in which the priest had a unique part of play. So, the document on the liturgy insists that the prime consideration of liturgical reform and renewal was the participation of the people.

At the beginning of our present Missal, there is a brief description of the Mass which expresses this recovered attitude very well but which has not yet penetrated all of the celebrations of the Mass. This description reads as follows: “At Mass or the Lord’s Supper the People of God is called together, with a priest presiding and acting in the person of Christ, to celebrate the memorial of the Lord or the Eucharistic Sacrifice.” (General Introduction to the Roman Missal, no.27).

This brief description makes it clear that the Mass is the action of the whole People of God within which the priest plays his specific part.

By Fr Frank O’Loughlin