Roman Catholics: Revolution in Worship

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"Liturgy" derives from Greek words meaning work of the people, but in Roman Catholicism it often seems to be exclusively a job for priests. Compared with most Protestant denominations, in which congregations participate in the service with hymns and responses, Catholicism at prayer is a church of silence. Enter almost any Roman Catholic church in Manhattan or Mantua or Manila: the priest at Mass will be standing at the altar, his back to the congregation, mumbling almost inaudibly in Latin, while the laymen in the pews silently finger rosaries or flip through the pages of their missals to find out what prayer the celebrant has reached.

A Growing Reformation. This one sided form of corporate worship disturbs some Roman Catholics as much as it puzzles Protestants — and Catholics are doing something about it. Roman Catholicism is in the midst of a growing liturgical reformation that seeks to gain for the church what Protestantism gained four centuries ago — active congregational participation in worship.

Only a few years ago, many bishops looked upon liturgical reformers as troublemakers; today, the liturgical movement is supported by a majority of the prelates who will be attending the second session of the Vatican Council and by Pope Paul VI.

Last week in Philadelphia, about 13,000 "litniks," as liturgical reformers are sometimes called, gathered for the 24th annual North American Liturgical Week. There they honored Minnesota's Benedictine Father Godfrey Diekmann, 55, a pioneer promoter of liturgical reform during his 25 years as editor of the monthly journal Worship. The most compelling problem confronting the conferees was one that indicated the growing importance of liturgical reform in the Roman Catholic Church: how to educate parishes to the changes in worship that are certain to be ordered by the council.

Toward Greater Meaning. The principal act of Roman Catholic worship is the Mass—a re-enactment of Calvary in which the congregation joins with Christ in offering anew the sacrifice of his body and blood under the form of bread and wine. The ritual evolved over many centuries. The "Mass" of the early Christians was a simple commemorative meal, at which worshipers ate bread and drank wine over which a priest had repeated Jesus' words at the Last Supper. Each local church developed its own customs and ceremonies to surround these acts, but in the Middle Ages the rite performed in Rome became the model for the entire Western church. Gradually the Mass became a mysterious rite, celebrated in a language not understood by the congregation. Prayers once recited by the congregation were reserved to the priest and his assistants.