Liturgical Books of the Old Roman Catholic Church
Question: What did the priest mean when he spoke of "the
liturgical books"? Which books are "liturgical"? (DPF, Surinam)
Answer: Translated more or less
literally, the word "liturgy" refers to the "work of God." This work is, of course,
the work of prayer and sacramental sanctification. The
"liturgical books" are simply those used by the Church in
worshipping God. The more important liturgical books are
reviewed below:
Missale Romanum
-- The Roman Missal
In the early Church, most celebrations of the Mass were
offered in the midst of a congregation that would sing the parts
proper to them. The earliest liturgical books were, therefore,
specific to the person who would be using them. Printing did not
exist, and copying was expensive and laborious. The priest had a
book containing the parts proper to his office, called a
"sacramentary"; the deacon and subdeacon had one or two more
containing the Epistle and Gospel, a "lectionary" or, perhaps a
separate "epistolary" and "evangelary" (gospel book); the
singers had another containing the music that distinguished one
Mass from another, an "antiphonar" or "gradual." The calendar of
what feast days were to be observed, and the "ordo," explaining
how these feasts were to be observed, might have constituted an
additional book.
In the Western Church, prior to the Council of Trent (1544-
1563), there was relatively little liturgical standardization.
The Canon of the Mass, edited by Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-
604), and in use with relatively little modification ever since,
formed the core of most Latin Rite sacramentaries. Yet, most
dioceses and religious orders enshrined the Canon within their
own particular variation of the Mass.
In the era of flourishing spirituality that we call the
"middle ages," the Church had adequate time and freedom to
evaluate Its practices. With reflection, priests came to
appreciate the infinite value of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,
which they could renew on a daily basis. With Holy Mass being
offered more regularly, and often without the benefit of singers
and a large congregation, the recited Mass came into vogue. The
priest would simply read the parts assigned to him and his lesser
ministers, while the server or the congregation would respond
with the less difficult parts assigned to the choir. This
emphasis on multiple daily Masses offered by a small number of
people brought about the development of what we know as the"missal."
The first missals were simply sacramentaries to which had
been added appendices containing the readings and chants that the
priest would have to supply. Over the years the missal became a
more integrated volume, presenting all of the texts for each
feast on the same page in their proper order. Where true missals
were produced, they were, at first, the work of diocesan bishops
and superiors of religious orders attempting to achieve a measure
of uniformity.
In trying to address the doctrinal confusion brought about
by the Protestant Reformation, the Council of Trent determined
that a standard missal, breviary (more below), and catechism was
needed for the Western Church. The Mass offered at Rome since
the time of Saint Gregory the Great was standardized (with fixed
preparatory, offertory, and Communion prayers; blessing and last
Gospel), simplified (by eliminating many of the poetic sequences
and proper prefaces), the traditional rubrics were reduced to
writing, and the calendar brought into line with the new
breviary. The revised missal was issued by the Holy See and
promulgated by Pope Saint Pius V on 14 July 1570 with the bull
Quo primum tempore.
It became obligatory for all Western Rite
churches and orders not having a rite of their own for at least
two centuries at that time. Since 1570, minor revisions of the
Roman Missal have occurred periodically, introducing new feasts
and Mass texts, and refining the rubrics.
The introduction to the Missal contains copies of the papal
bulls authorizing it, a section on the calendar and the rubrics
of the Mass, the defects that may occur in a particular Mass and
how they are to be remedied, and the prayers of preparation and
thanksgiving for Mass. The body of the Missal includes the
"proper of time," those Masses which are placed in the calendar
in relationship to Christmas and Easter; the ordinary of the
Mass and the Canon; the "proper of saints," those feasts which
fall on fixed days in the civil calendar; the "common of
saints," the texts to be used for saints' feasts that have no
proper Mass; "votive" masses and prayers which may be offered
according to the day of the week (e.g. Saint Joseph on Wednesday)
or for some pressing necessity (e.g. for peace); and Masses and
prayers for the dead. An appendix often contains prayers
connected with the Mass and excerpts from the Pontifical; Masses
proper to a particular nation; and some additional Gregorian
chant notations for the parts of the Mass sung by the priest.
Breviarum Romanum
-- The Roman Breviary
Apart from the Mass, the official public prayer of the
Church is offered in the Divine Office. The Office, in turn, has
its roots in the Psalms chanted by the earliest monks in deserts
and monasteries. The modern Office contains hymns, prayers, and
readings for the various days of the liturgical year. Over the
centuries, the various books containing these elements were
combined in what is called the Breviary. Like the Missal, there
was a great deal of variation in the Breviary until its
standardization following the Council of Trent. In 1568, the
Breviary of Pope Saint Pius V was imposed on those not having one
then at least two hundred years old. The Pian Breviary has been
revised several time to include new feasts, to refine the
arrangement of the Psalter, and to include the 1945 re-
translation of the Psalms.
The Office is divided into eight "hours" which are
distributed throughout the day: Matins during the night, Lauds
at dawn, Prime at 6 AM, Terce at 9, Sext at noon, None at 3 PM,
Vespers at sunset, and Compline at bed time. Apart from the
monastic environment or cathedral chapter, the exact times are
not critical, and Matins may be prayed during the previous
afternoon or evening. The recitation of the Office is of
obligation for the clergy in major Orders, and for those
religious committed to it by the rule of their order. Each of
the hours consists of a few Psalms, a hymn, a short scripture
reading, and the collect of the day. Matins contains some longer
readings and ends with the Ambrosian hymn, "Te Deum." Lauds
always contains the canticle of Zachary, "Benedictus," and
Vespers always includes the "Magnificat," or canticle of the
Blessed Virgin Mary.
In order to make it of manageable size, the Breviary is
normally printed in three or four volumes, corresponding to the
liturgical or solar seasons. Like the Missal, it contains a
section for calendar and rubrics, a "proper of time," "proper of
saints," and "common of saints." There is an "ordinary" which
details the basic organization of each hour. The core of the
Breviary is the "Psalter," which contains the 150 Psalms,
organized by the "hours" of the day in such a way that they will
be recited during the course of the week.
Rituale Romanum
-- The Roman Ritual
The Roman Ritual contains the rites and rubrics for the
Sacraments that can be administered by a simple priest, the rites
associated with death and burial, processions, exorcisms, several
hymns, creeds, and litanies, and blessings for all sorts of
things. In addition to dealing with the higher things, the
Ritual brings God's influence into normal life with its blessings
for beer, bread, fruit, seeds, cheese, wine, railroads,
typewriters, ambulances, cattle, cars, telegraph stations, and
flying machines.
The Roman Ritual was promulgated by Pope Paul V with the
Apostolic Constitution "Apostolicae Sedi" on 17 June 1614. It
has been revised periodically to provide for new developments in
human life (like the aforementioned typewriters and flying
machines).
Pontificale Romanum -- The Roman Pontifical
The Sacraments and ceremonies proper to bishops are detailed
in the Roman Pontifical. These include Confirmation, Tonsure,
Holy Orders; the blessing of Abbots and Abbesses, and the
Consecration of Virgins; the blessing of cornerstones, the
consecration of churches, altars, chalices, and patens; the
blessing of bells, crucifixes, knightly armor, and banners of
war; the expulsion and the reception of penitents and converts
and apostates, the degradation of wayward clergy; and the
coronation of kings, queens, and emperors. There is even a
section for the "Itineration of Prelates," which requires a horse
for the prelate to be "itinerated" upon -- _not_ coming soon to
your parish church.
The modern Pontifical comes to us largely through the
efforts of Pope Benedict XIV, who also formulated the regulations
for the canonization of saints, and who contributed greatly to
the Church's procedures for the discernment of spirits. In his
Apostolic Letter, "Quam ardenti," (25 March 1752) Pope Benedict
cites the efforts of his predecessors, Popes Paul V, Clement
VIII, Innocent X, and Benedict XIII.
Other Liturgical Books
At least three other liturgical books are worthy of mention:
The Ceremonial of Bishops goes back to 1600 and Pope Clement
VIII. It deals with the ceremonies that are to be carried out in
cathedrals and other major churches of the diocese. It serves as
a guide for knowing the mind of the Church in interpreting the
rubrics of the Mass and the Office.
Memoriale Rituum is a guide to the observance of Holy
Week in smaller churches where the full magnificence of the
liturgy cannot be observed. It owes its authorship to Pope
Benedict XIII, while bishop of Benevento. As Pope, he later
prescribed it for Rome in 1725. Pope Saint Pius X declared it an
official liturgical book in 1911.
The Clementine Instruction is based on the work of Saint
Charles Boromeo in establishing the Forty Hours devotion. The
saint's work was confirmed by Pope Clement IX in 1705. It is the
standard of instruction for the exposition of the Blessed
Sacrament in the Western Church.
