|
NATIONAL CENTRE FOR LITURGY
St Patrick's College Maynooth Co. Kildare Ireland |
Welcome
Find out Who We Are
|
4 December 2013
4 December 1963 - Promulgation of Sacrosanctum Concilium, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy at the Second Vatican Council
For many, even those who are interested, the Second Vatican Council is a historic event that took place in the life of the Catholic Church, 11 October 1962 to 8 December 1965. Yet its discussions and documents have shaped Catholic life for the past fifty years. Its first document, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, was formally approved and promulgated by Pope Paul VI and the bishops of the Church on this day fifty years ago, 4 December 1963.
On that day, now at the end of its second term, the Council met in its usual way, beginning with Mass and the enthronement of the Book of the Gospels. Pope Paul intoned the Veni Creator Spiritus, the hymn seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit was sung by all gathered in St Peter’s. Archbishop Pericle Felici, the secretary general of the Council then read the beginning and end of each chapter of the document already finalised twelve days earlier but now the formal vote was to be taken. This took about twenty minutes. It is recorded that Pope Paul sat motionless in prayer while the Council Fathers sang the Salve Regina. When the results were tabulated, Archbishop Felici communicated them to the Pope and then announced: ‘Holy Father, the Constitution on the Liturgy is acceptable to two thousand one hundred forty-seven Fathers, with four against.’ The announcement was greeted with applause and Paul VI then read the formal approval and promulgation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.
Later that day the Pope would note that liturgy, the first topic to be discussed by the Council, was the first in order of intrinsic excellence and importance for the Church. In the events of this day, he saw a right order of values and duties: God in the first place, prayer our first duty, the liturgy the first school of spirituality.
The effects of this Constitution have been seen over the past fifty years, and almost immediately. The liturgy was celebrated in the vernacular, the altar was brought forward so that the priest and people could be seen in a powerful way as the assembly gathered to worship God, the Word of God would be seen as a integral part of every liturgy, lay people would be called on to be ministers of Word and Sacrament, song would be an expression of the assembly, now called to ‘full, active and conscious participation.’ More importantly it was stated: this was the right and duty of the people by reason of their baptism. These ideas and this understanding of the Church as God’s people, bringing the Gospel to the world and gathered in worship as the summit and source of their Christian activity, would permeate the other fifteen documents of the Council.
Liturgy was the first topic of the Council, enabled to be so because of the movement of renewal that has been present since Prosper Guéranger restored the monastery of Solesmes in the 1830s and placed worship as the vital source of spirituality for everyone, since Pope Pius X in 1903 echoed the call of the developing movement, calling for the active participation of the people in the liturgy, since Lambert Beauduin, a monk of Mont César in Louvain (now Leuven) in Belgium, speaking in 1909 of the giving back of the liturgy to the people, a democratisation of liturgy. The liturgy was, to recall the Greek words that give us the word, the work of the people, the work of service by God’s people, even better, it is the work of Jesus Christ the priest, a service that we share, ‘through him, and with him, and in him,’ because of our baptism. This renewed understanding of liturgy was central to the discussion at the Council and readily accepted. When the draft of the Constitution was first voted on after three weeks of debate on 12 November 1962, it was accepted by 97% of the Council Fathers.
Today, as we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of that memorable day, a movement of liturgical renewal is still called, a movement that will only end when our earthly worship joins that of the heavenly worship, as we, on earth, celebrate in our liturgy the work of the One come among us for our salvation, the Paschal Mystery, his life, death and resurrection.
This movement may not enjoy the support, reflected in the votes of the Council Fathers and the approach of people today. It is not the world or Church of 1963. So much has happened, so destructive of Christian life that there is no need here to elaborate. Yet, as St Paul advised his first European community of Christian believers at Philippi, in modern northern Greece, to hold fast to what we have attained –we know better what is loss and what is gain -and ‘let us go forward on the road that has brought us to where we are.’
4 December 1963 - Promulgation of Sacrosanctum Concilium, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy at the Second Vatican Council
For many, even those who are interested, the Second Vatican Council is a historic event that took place in the life of the Catholic Church, 11 October 1962 to 8 December 1965. Yet its discussions and documents have shaped Catholic life for the past fifty years. Its first document, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, was formally approved and promulgated by Pope Paul VI and the bishops of the Church on this day fifty years ago, 4 December 1963.
On that day, now at the end of its second term, the Council met in its usual way, beginning with Mass and the enthronement of the Book of the Gospels. Pope Paul intoned the Veni Creator Spiritus, the hymn seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit was sung by all gathered in St Peter’s. Archbishop Pericle Felici, the secretary general of the Council then read the beginning and end of each chapter of the document already finalised twelve days earlier but now the formal vote was to be taken. This took about twenty minutes. It is recorded that Pope Paul sat motionless in prayer while the Council Fathers sang the Salve Regina. When the results were tabulated, Archbishop Felici communicated them to the Pope and then announced: ‘Holy Father, the Constitution on the Liturgy is acceptable to two thousand one hundred forty-seven Fathers, with four against.’ The announcement was greeted with applause and Paul VI then read the formal approval and promulgation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.
Later that day the Pope would note that liturgy, the first topic to be discussed by the Council, was the first in order of intrinsic excellence and importance for the Church. In the events of this day, he saw a right order of values and duties: God in the first place, prayer our first duty, the liturgy the first school of spirituality.
The effects of this Constitution have been seen over the past fifty years, and almost immediately. The liturgy was celebrated in the vernacular, the altar was brought forward so that the priest and people could be seen in a powerful way as the assembly gathered to worship God, the Word of God would be seen as a integral part of every liturgy, lay people would be called on to be ministers of Word and Sacrament, song would be an expression of the assembly, now called to ‘full, active and conscious participation.’ More importantly it was stated: this was the right and duty of the people by reason of their baptism. These ideas and this understanding of the Church as God’s people, bringing the Gospel to the world and gathered in worship as the summit and source of their Christian activity, would permeate the other fifteen documents of the Council.
Liturgy was the first topic of the Council, enabled to be so because of the movement of renewal that has been present since Prosper Guéranger restored the monastery of Solesmes in the 1830s and placed worship as the vital source of spirituality for everyone, since Pope Pius X in 1903 echoed the call of the developing movement, calling for the active participation of the people in the liturgy, since Lambert Beauduin, a monk of Mont César in Louvain (now Leuven) in Belgium, speaking in 1909 of the giving back of the liturgy to the people, a democratisation of liturgy. The liturgy was, to recall the Greek words that give us the word, the work of the people, the work of service by God’s people, even better, it is the work of Jesus Christ the priest, a service that we share, ‘through him, and with him, and in him,’ because of our baptism. This renewed understanding of liturgy was central to the discussion at the Council and readily accepted. When the draft of the Constitution was first voted on after three weeks of debate on 12 November 1962, it was accepted by 97% of the Council Fathers.
Today, as we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of that memorable day, a movement of liturgical renewal is still called, a movement that will only end when our earthly worship joins that of the heavenly worship, as we, on earth, celebrate in our liturgy the work of the One come among us for our salvation, the Paschal Mystery, his life, death and resurrection.
This movement may not enjoy the support, reflected in the votes of the Council Fathers and the approach of people today. It is not the world or Church of 1963. So much has happened, so destructive of Christian life that there is no need here to elaborate. Yet, as St Paul advised his first European community of Christian believers at Philippi, in modern northern Greece, to hold fast to what we have attained –we know better what is loss and what is gain -and ‘let us go forward on the road that has brought us to where we are.’
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
As the 8th December, 2013 falls on the Second Sunday of Advent, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is transferred to Monday, 9 December and it is not a Holy Day of Obligation. (See page 2 of Liturgical Calendar for Ireland 2014)
As the 8th December, 2013 falls on the Second Sunday of Advent, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is transferred to Monday, 9 December and it is not a Holy Day of Obligation. (See page 2 of Liturgical Calendar for Ireland 2014)
Round Table Discussion
22-23 November 2013
Celebrating 50 Years of the Constitution on the Liturgy
The National Centre for Liturgy, in association with the Faculty of Theology, St Patrick's College, Maynooth, conducted a two day conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium at the Second Vatican Council.
The formal approval and promulgation of this Constitution, the first document of the Council took place on 4 December 1963. 22 November 1963 was also a historic occasion at the Council, though overshadowed by the assassination of President John F Kennedy. 22 November is the feast of St Cecilia, patron of music and 1963 marked the 60th anniversary of the document on church music of Pope Pius X, Tra le sollectudini, which included the first papal reference to the active participation of the people in the liturgy of the Church. At the Council it was the day when the final amendments of the Constitution on the Liutrgy were approved before the formal promulgation twelve days later.
The guest speaker for the conference was Fr J Michael Joncas, the liturgical scholar and composer from St Paul-Minneapolis.
The conference began with the welcome by Mgr Hugh Connolly, President of St Patrick's College, to a large attendance, including Archbishop Eamon Martin and people involved in liturgy from all parts of the country.
A round table discussion was held on Friday afternoon, with guest speakers,
- Bishop Harold Miller, Bishop of Down and Dromore, chair of the Church of Ireland Liturgical Advisory Committee,
- Sr Anne Codd, PBVM, resource person for the Council for Pastoral Renewal and Adult Faith Development,
- Fr Peter McVerry, SJ, champion of the homeless for over 30 years, and
- Dr Frank Lawrence, lecturer in early music history, UCD.
The afternoon concluded with the celebration of Evening Prayer in St Mary's Oratory.
On Friday evening, Fr J Michael Joncas, gave a public lecture, with a response from an Irish perspective by Julie Kavanagh, pastoral resource person in Kildare and Leighlin. The event was streamed live by ICatholic. The evening concluded with the celebration of Compline and a reception.
On Saturday, Fr Joncas conducted a day workshop on music in and after Sacrosanctum Concilium. Renehan Hall was packed as he spoke on Chapter VI of the Constitution and as hymnody and psalmody, composed by the guest speaker and from Irish composers, illustrated the music we use in worship today. The workshop included a Service of the Word, which included the closing of the Year of Faith on the vigil of the feast of Christ the King.
Celebrating 50 Years of the Constitution on the Liturgy
The National Centre for Liturgy, in association with the Faculty of Theology, St Patrick's College, Maynooth, conducted a two day conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium at the Second Vatican Council.
The formal approval and promulgation of this Constitution, the first document of the Council took place on 4 December 1963. 22 November 1963 was also a historic occasion at the Council, though overshadowed by the assassination of President John F Kennedy. 22 November is the feast of St Cecilia, patron of music and 1963 marked the 60th anniversary of the document on church music of Pope Pius X, Tra le sollectudini, which included the first papal reference to the active participation of the people in the liturgy of the Church. At the Council it was the day when the final amendments of the Constitution on the Liutrgy were approved before the formal promulgation twelve days later.
The guest speaker for the conference was Fr J Michael Joncas, the liturgical scholar and composer from St Paul-Minneapolis.
The conference began with the welcome by Mgr Hugh Connolly, President of St Patrick's College, to a large attendance, including Archbishop Eamon Martin and people involved in liturgy from all parts of the country.
A round table discussion was held on Friday afternoon, with guest speakers,
- Bishop Harold Miller, Bishop of Down and Dromore, chair of the Church of Ireland Liturgical Advisory Committee,
- Sr Anne Codd, PBVM, resource person for the Council for Pastoral Renewal and Adult Faith Development,
- Fr Peter McVerry, SJ, champion of the homeless for over 30 years, and
- Dr Frank Lawrence, lecturer in early music history, UCD.
The afternoon concluded with the celebration of Evening Prayer in St Mary's Oratory.
On Friday evening, Fr J Michael Joncas, gave a public lecture, with a response from an Irish perspective by Julie Kavanagh, pastoral resource person in Kildare and Leighlin. The event was streamed live by ICatholic. The evening concluded with the celebration of Compline and a reception.
On Saturday, Fr Joncas conducted a day workshop on music in and after Sacrosanctum Concilium. Renehan Hall was packed as he spoke on Chapter VI of the Constitution and as hymnody and psalmody, composed by the guest speaker and from Irish composers, illustrated the music we use in worship today. The workshop included a Service of the Word, which included the closing of the Year of Faith on the vigil of the feast of Christ the King.
Liturgical Calendar 2014
The Liturgical Calendar for Ireland is now available at Veritas Publications. It is prepared by the Secretariat for Liturgy of the Irish Episcopal Conference.
The Liturgical Calendar is also available in poster version prepared by Rita Scannell, teacher and liturgical artist in Cork.
Click here for further information
The Liturgical Calendar is also available in poster version prepared by Rita Scannell, teacher and liturgical artist in Cork.
Click here for further information
St Joseph in the Eucharistic Prayers
The name of St Joseph , Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary was added to Eucharistic Prayers II, III, and IV by decree of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
Click here for full version of Missal insert
Click here for Book Mark version
Click here for full version of Missal insert
Click here for Book Mark version
Advisory Committee on Church Music College Chapel, Maynooth
Courses and Certificates in Liturgical Organ Playing The Advisory Committee on Church Music have revised the syllabus for the courses in liturgical organ playing. These courses are provided by request on a regional basis. Click here for further information 
|
Study Liturgy at the
|
