The liturgy: collaborating with the congregation

There was a time when the liturgy was something arranged, planned and lived almost exclusively by Catholic religious. While the liturgy is any act of public worship, it largely excluded the laity.

. “After Vatican II, when the liturgy was explained as the public worship of the Church, the people of God together with their priest, celebrated the liturgy.”

But since Vatican II, getting the laity involved in the liturgy is not only allowed but also encouraged to be part of the Mass, from the very basic of services of the Mass to the inculturation of the liturgy to draw from a region’s rich heritage.

Mariannhill Father Casimir Paulsen from St Emmanuel parish in Landsend, Mthatha, says that the laity simply did not have a role in the liturgy prior to Vatican II. “They were passive observers. They did their thing and the priest did his thing. Only the readings were in English,” said Fr Paulsen, adding that often people did not understand what was happening in the Mass.

From baptisms to confirmation services, ordinations and parish bands — the laity are now called to embrace the spirit of Vatican II: the Church coming together and worshipping in common.

Fr Paulsen says in his parish, the laity are trained to do things a priest might not have time to do.

He recalls one of his parishioners saying: “A word is said, and I help say it; a deed is done and I help do it; that word touches the very heart of God and that deed redeems the world!” Fr Paulsen believes it is thinking and acting in this way that not only enhances the involvement of the laity in the Mass but also its meaning. “I think that she was an excellent theologian.”

Chris Busschau, a member of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s executive committee for the liturgy, recalls the preconciliar Mass. “You learnt what certain things meant, but for the most part, many people did not understand Latin and were clueless about what was going on.”

Vatican II made the Mass accessible to the Church’s people, says Fr Paulsen. “After Vatican II, when the liturgy was explained as the public worship of the Church, the people of God together with their priest, celebrated the liturgy.” The priest turned to look at his congregation, he spoke in a language they understood and “the Lay people were invited and encouraged to take up the various ministries so as to fully participate in the Eucharistic celebration”.

Mr Busschau says this opened the door to everyone to get involved directly in the Mass. From ushers, floral arrangers, choir members and readers to extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion and girl altar servers.

Fr Paulsen puts it like this: “The idea was to give the laity the full opportunity to participate in the liturgy, not as spectators, but as participants in a sacrificial, familial offering together with the priest, with Christ at the centre.”

Today, any active involvement surrounding the Mass is considered part of the worship. “Even cleaning, joining the offertory precession and ushering contributes to part of the worship and is therefore a valued part of the Mass,” Mr Busschau says.

“There is no Mass if there is no congregation and there needs to be collaboration with them.” he says. The Council Fathers at Vatican II wanted Mass to be as it was in the early Church, with a direct involvement from congregants.

Not everybody saw this as a good thing. For many, the transition of the old Mass in the Tridentine rite represented a profound loss of the solemnity that is at the heart of the celebration of the Eucharist. With most of the world’s bishops declining permission for the regular celebration of Mass in the Tridentine rite, many turned to the Masses offered by the Society of St Pius X, which was founded by excommunicated Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

In 2009, Pope Benedict made the Mass in the Tridentine rite according to the 1962 missal more widely available with his decree Summorum Pontificum. But the pope stressed that the post-Vatican II Mass would be the Church’s predominant form of worship.

Fr Victor Phalana of Pretoria’s cathedral of the Sacred Heart says that through liturgy we enter the action of Christ, “we glorify God and we in turn are sanctified. Liturgy is a celebration of the Paschal Mystery. Through the liturgy, the mystery of salvation is remembered and actualised. Liturgy is worship, with a rite, a celebration of a community in and through the Church”.

Liturgy therefore has the capacity to absorb local cultural expressions. Inculturation is an attempt to bring the Roman liturgy closer to the cultural experiences of African believers, Fr Phalana says.

Vatican II encouraged involvement in the Mass and the Mass represents the people, allowing African culture to assimilate into the traditional Mass is an obvious progression, the vicar-general of Pretoria archdiocese says.

“Some of the elements of a Roman liturgy are sobriety, directness, brevity, simplicity and practical sense. We need to assimilate in a creative way some elements found in African worship which include spontaneity, freedom, spending time in the joyful celebration of life, death, and the afterlife. We honour the rich Christian heritage found specifically in the liturgy while at the same time acknowledging that liturgy must embody the riches of different nations,” Fr Phalana explains, adding that this conforms with the spirit of Vatican II and the African Synods.

Margaret Blackie of St Michael’s parish in Rondebosch, Cape Town, heads the liturgy portfolio on the parish pastoral council where there is a strong lay involvement in the Mass.

The parish has two choirs; one traditional and one a contemporary band, named Genesis. “The music ministry is totally lay driven. There are about 50 people involved in the music ministry,” says Dr Blackie. The music groups have specific directives.

“An important element of the Genesis band and choir is a persistent focus on the purpose of the band being at the service of worship rather than musical perfection,” an important attribute to make note of, Dr Blackie says—and one that can be tricky with many talented musicians. But, she adds, it’s important to remain focused and keep in mind what it is they are doing: worshipping. “There are some very good musicians in the group, but anyone is welcome to participate.”

Rondebosch sees an active contribution of more than 100 lay people on a regular basis. “St Michael’s is a good, active, vibrant parish that welcomes participation. The fact that there is so much going on at any given time encourages further involvement,” Dr Blackie says.

She believes there are particular reasons for that. While Vatican II made way for the average layperson to get involved in the Mass, it is the Church leadership that can enhance this. Dr Blackie says that in Rondebosch when something can be be lay-led, it is. The responsibility and lack of micro-management often has very positive results and gives their parish priest time to deal with any more pressing matters, she says. “The liturgy is well done, but is carried out in a spirit of care, and not of fear of getting it wrong.”

The Mass is for the people so it makes sense to use the people to deliver the message. The liturgy is enhanced through lay involvement. “Getting involved is not seen as the only way to serve, or indeed as the most important way to serve,” says Dr Blackie.

Similarly, the way the African Church celebrates Mass must involve African culture. Fr Phalana points out that certain traditional African practices are incompatible with the Christian message and are not used. However, he adds, it is important to be critical of the form of Christianity Africa received which is closely linked to Western culture.

“The western paradigm neglected and marginalised the African paradigm. The process of inculturation entails free discourse, deconstruction and reconstruction of new, contextual theologies; critical questioning and creative interaction,” he says.

Pope John Paul II in his apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Africa in 1995 said: “An inculturation wisely carried out purifies and elevates the cultures of the various peoples.” Fr Phalana believes we should be critical and lead the way for the transformation and inculturation of Christianity.

The liturgy should be lived out by the people of the Church and in doing this the liturgy can take on various forms. Whatever language or formula the liturgy takes, the Eucharist is the pinnacle of Catholic worship and theology.

This is unity in diversity: Catholics, regardless of their cultural traditions, are able to comfortably celebrate one faith in diversity — a faith that they can truly serve and one that truly represents them.