An introductory extract fromTHE INSTRUCTION
CONCERNING WORSHIP OF THE EUCHARISTIC MYSTERY (INAESTIMABILE DONUM)
Prepared by the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship
Approved and Confirmed by His Holiness Pope John Paul II April 17, 1980
Following the letter that Pope John Paul II addressed on February 24, 1980, to the
bishops and, through them, to the priests, and in which he again considered the priceless
gift of the Holy Eucharist, the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship
is calling to the bishops' attention certain norms concerning worship of this great
mystery.
These indications are not a summary of everything already stated by the Holy See in the
documents concerning the Eucharist promulgated since the Second Vatican Council and still
in force, particularly in the Missale Romanum,[1] the Ritual De Sacra Communione et de
Cultu Mysterii Eucharistici Extra Missam,[2] and the Instructions Eucharisticum
Mysterium,[3] Memoriale Domini,[4] Immensae caritatis,[5] and Liturgicae
instaurationes.[6]
This Sacred Congregation notes with great joy the many positive results of the
liturgical reform: a more active and conscious participation by the faithful in the
liturgical mysteries, doctrinal and catechetical enrichment through the use of the
vernacular, and the wealth of readings from the Bible, a growth in the community sense of
liturgical life, and successful efforts to close the gap between life and worship, between
Liturgical piety and personal piety, and between Liturgy and popular piety.
But these encouraging and positive aspects cannot suppress concern at the varied and
frequent abuses being reported from different parts of the Catholic world: the confusion
of roles, especially regarding the priestly ministry and the role of the laity
(indiscriminate shared recitation of the Eucharistic Prayer, homilies given by lay people,
lay people distributing Communion while the priests refrain from doing so); an increasing
loss of the sense of the sacred (abandonment of liturgical vestments, the Eucharist
celebrated outside church without real need, lack of reverence and respect for the Blessed
Sacrament, etc.); misunderstanding of the ecclesial character of the Liturgy (the use of
private texts, the proliferation of unapproved Eucharistic Prayers, the manipulation of
the liturgical texts for social and political ends) . In these cases we are face to face
with a real falsification of the Catholic Liturgy: "One who offers worship to God on
the Church's behalf in a way contrary to that which is laid down by the Church with
God-given authority and which is customary in the Church is guilty of
falsification."[7]
None of these things can bring good results. The consequences are--and cannot fail to
be--the impairing of the unity of Faith and worship in the Church, doctrinal uncertainty,
scandal and bewilderment among the People of God, and the near inevitability of violent
reactions.
The faithful have a right to a true Liturgy, which means the Liturgy desired and laid
down by the Church, which has in fact indicated where adaptations may be made as called
for by pastoral requirements in different places or by different groups of people. Undue
experimentation, changes and creativity bewilder the faithful. The use of unauthorized
texts means a loss of the necessary connection between the lex orandi and the lex
credendi. The Second Vatican Council's admonition in this regard must be remembered:
"No person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove or change anything in the Liturgy
on his own authority."[8] And Paul VI of venerable memory stated that: "Anyone
who takes advantage of the reform to indulge in arbitrary experiments is wasting energy
and offending the ecclesial sense."[9]
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