Catholic Sensibility

Traditional revisionists are at work trying to convince us that "full, conscious, and active" participation is wrong. What the Latin really means is "actual," not active. Right. Let's check out what Vatican II actually says (and it says it fourteen times), and the context of its teaching on "active participation." All references are from Sacrosanctum Concilium. 11. Pastors of souls must therefore realize that, when the liturgy is celebrated, something more is required than the mere observation of the laws governing valid and licit celebration; it is their duty also to ensure that the faithful take part fully aware of what they are doing, actively engaged in the rite, and enriched by its effects. One of bugaboos of the movement to turn back the liturgical clock is that the overemphasis on "active" participation clouds the possibilities for interior prayer. If this were true, I might agree. The first mention of "active" in SC is as an adverb in the context of the pastor's responsibility for good liturgy. Note the first importance placed on lay awareness in the liturgy. People should know what's going on. SC speaks that knowledge is not enough, but that the rites should "engage" people, and I would interpret that fully: exterior and interior. That good liturgy should bear fruit in the lives of people keeps us from an undue emphasis on both the sins of overactive rubricism, and that the liturgy is itself its own goal. II. The Promotion of Liturgical Instruction and Active Participation 14. Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy. Participation has two adjectives, a compound "fully conscious" as well as "active." "Active" also gets a heading in this section, a clue that the council bishops found it central to the teaching here. I would interpret that a fully conscious person is engaged on all levels of being: the body moves, the senses see, hear, touch, etc., the voice communicates, the mind reflects, the heart feels. When the rubrics say, "the people respond ..." they mean it. They don't give the impression that in general, singing, speaking, moving, keeping silence, etc. are options. 14. In the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy, this full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else; for it is the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit; and therefore pastors of souls must zealously strive to achieve it, by means of the necessary instruction, in all their pastoral work. "Full" again, covering the whole person. "Active" again, in the sense of "functional," namely that participation is more than just a theoretical ideal, but that on the level of the parish community, it accomplishes something, or it bears fruit. My Webster's gives seven definitions for "active," one giving the synonym "functioning, working." Liturgy is often described as "the work of the people," and for liturgy to reach its full potential, something must be working. 19. With zeal and patience, pastors of souls must promote the liturgical instruction of the faithful, and also their active participation in the liturgy both internally and externally, taking into account their age and condition, their way of life, and standard of religious culture. By so doing, pastors will be fulfilling one of the chief duties of a faithful dispenser of the mysteries of God; and in this matter they must lead their flock not only in word but also by example. This paragraph is explicit, covering both exterior and interior expressions of participation. Nobody can argue with this. 21. In this restoration, both texts and rites should be drawn up so that they express more clearly the holy things which they signify; the Christian people, so far as possible, should be enabled to understand them with ease and to take part in them fully, actively, and as befits a community. The communal nature of liturgy come out here. What "befits" a community? Several hundred individuals each praying (or doing other things) on their own preferred levels, in their own preferred ways? There are appropriate times and places for reflection and contemplation, and the liturgy provides these. What paragraph 21 suggests is in connection with the texts and rites of liturgy, and the presumption that people as a community should be on the same page, as it were, and expressing a "befitting" unity as the people of God. 27. It is to be stressed that whenever rites, according to their specific nature, make provision for communal celebration involving the presence and active participation of the faithful, this way of celebrating them is to be preferred, so far as possible, to a celebration that is individual and quasi-private. This applies with especial force to the celebration of Mass and the administration of the sacraments, even though every Mass has of itself a public and social nature. The revisionists might grind their teeth over this, but here it is again: Mass is a public event. And this paragraph and others like it addressed the inherent problems with the Tridentine observance, problems which permitted individual and quasi-private expressions that were out of place. 30. To promote active participation, the people should be encouraged to take part by means of acclamations, responses, psalmody, antiphons, and songs, as well as by actions, gestures, and bodily attitudes. And at the proper times all should observe a reverent silence. Emphasis on singing here. Nice mention of "bodily attitudes" from guys who likely didn't have adolescent children. Silence has a "proper time." 41. Therefore all should hold in great esteem the liturgical life of the diocese centered around the bishop, especially in his cathedral church; they must be convinced that the pre-eminent manifestation of the Church consists in the full active participation of all God's holy people in these liturgical celebrations, especially in the same eucharist, in a single prayer, at one altar, at which there presides the bishop surrounded by his college of priests and by his ministers (Cf. St. Ignatius of Antioch, To the Smyrnians, 8; To the Magnesians, 7; To the Philadelphians, 4.). The bishop's church is to be the prime example. 50. The rite of the Mass is to be revised in such a way that the intrinsic nature and purpose of its several parts, as also the connection between them, may be more clearly manifested, and that devout and active participation by the faithful may be more easily achieved. The bishops acknowledge the Tridentine Rite was not a total obstacle, but that some aspects of it should be reformed so as to make "devout" (new adjective) and "active" participation easier. 79. The sacramentals are to undergo a revision which takes into account the primary principle of enabling the faithful to participate intelligently, actively, and easily; the circumstances of our own days must also be considered. What holds for the sacramental rites should also be in force for other forms of public prayer. 113. Liturgical worship is given a more noble form when the divine offices are celebrated solemnly in song, with the assistance of sacred ministers and the active participation of the people. Liturgy of the Hours. Yes. The more noble form does not consist of a choral setting to the exclusion of the people. 114. Choirs must be diligently promoted, especially in cathedral churches; but bishops and other pastors of souls must be at pains to ensure that, whenever the sacred action is to be celebrated with song, the whole body of the faithful may be able to contribute that active participation which is rightly theirs, as laid down in Art. 28 and 30. Choirs are not to usurp the role of the people. 121. Composers, filled with the Christian spirit, should feel that their vocation is to cultivate sacred music and increase its store of treasures. Let them produce compositions which have the qualities proper to genuine sacred music, not confining themselves to works which can be sung only by large choirs, but providing also for the needs of small choirs and for the active participation of the entire assembly of the faithful. Composers must attend to the new emphasis on the role of the people. 124. And when churches are to be built, let great care be taken that they be suitable for the celebration of liturgical services and for the active participation of the faithful. The architecture of new and renovated churches must "carefully" accommodate active participation. I think the revisionists are barking up the wrong tree. They have the right idea: promoting silence and contemplation. These ideas have already been promoted by many progressive liturgists, so there's no new ground being forgotten or covered here. If anything, the active/actual debate is moot. Sacrosanctum Concilium already recognizes and respects the need for silence and the cultivation of the interior lives of worshippers. The context of "active" is at times clear and supplemental to the "interior." Other times it is carefully interpreted with the notion of "full" participation, which seems to cover both the exterior and interior aspects. The Catechism (1348) reiterates this in underscoring the "active part" of the "whole people" gathered at Mass. Let's also be sensible about things. Do I think people who are silently praying in their seats are a liturgical abuse? Of course not. Adults have good reasons for opting out of active participation in given circumstances: illness, dry throat, confinement to a wheelchair, or even an emotional experience that renders them speechless. Sometimes it is the fault of liturgical leadership: hymns unknown or pitched too high, lack of proper lighting, confusing cues, etc.. The pastor is responsible to see that these problems on his side are attended to. And most conscientious adults are capable of making proper judgments, then entering into liturgy more fully when they are able. Adolescents and children are another matter. Young people see the example of their elders and follow. Adults leave church early. Adults refuse to open a hymnal and sing even when they have the voice. Adults don't discuss the readings or homily after Mass. Adults treat the Communion procession with a degree of disinterest. The young learn from the old in public rituals. What parents wouldn't teach their child the meaning of "the Wave," or the seventh inning stretch, or a good tailgating party? Is full and active participation in sporting rituals achieved when people don't cheer, don't stand for the anthem or song, or disengage in similar ways? Being active does not mean being in constant motion, as one definition has it. The "active" participation called for in the rites means that people will be engaged and transformed by the liturgy, if the liturgy is doing its job.