A Leaven In The World . . . Seeking The Kingdom Requires Both “The New And The Old”
By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK
“Every scribe trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (Matt. 13:52).
Recent comments by Pope Francis about the new liturgy of Pope Paul VI, though well intentioned no doubt, left some in confusion because they lacked an age-old Catholic nuance that leads to greater balance in consideration of the Catholic faith and all that comes with it. When speaking of faith and Catholic teaching it is always best to use “both, and” phrasing rather than “either, or.”
Our faith teaches “both Bible and Church” and “both faith and works” rather than positing a false dichotomy between the gifts that come through Christ and His Church. Just as the Church is identified by Christ with Himself, as His own Body on earth, so we profess that we need both the Church and Christ in order to be saved.
Just as the Bible came from the Church, which predated its full composition, so we profess our need for both the Bible and the Church in order to be truly faithful to the Lord.
Pope Francis is reported to have said we can “never go back” and that we must “always go forward.” In a certain sense it is always true to say this, but his comments were in reference to the movement for greater use of the vernacular in the liturgy as promoted by the Second Vatican Council.
Whenever we speak about the liturgy, no matter in what language it is prayed, we are always talking about going back in memory as Christ Himself commanded, “Do this in memory of me,” when He instituted what we today call the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on the first Holy Thursday.
The vernacular in some form has been used in some connection with the liturgy for many years, whether a translation available in book form as with the missal for the laity or in the proclamation of the Scriptures and the homily in the vernacular which has always been the practice from the time the Church spoke Aramaic and Greek.
The only real change ushered in by Vatican II was that the set prayers of the liturgy, such as the Roman Canon, now can be prayed by priest and congregation also in the vernacular. This is not as revolutionary as some would like to claim. What the vernacular truly brought into play was a nearly endless variety of prayers, including a number of eucharistic prayers, which left many people as confused as ever.
A lack of stability in one’s mode of worship because one is subjected to a multiplicity of words can be as inimical to a deeper life of prayer as the Latin language that at least doesn’t constantly change.
My program of liturgical catechesis in the parish welcomes and enables the prayer of our youngest members by using the First Eucharistic Prayer, or Roman Canon, consistently, as well as other options like the Kyrie in combination with the Confiteor, as is the norm. Using stable texts for prayer enables even our youngest Catholics to find worship a comforting and familiar environment in which to grow in prayerfulness. Appropriating the liturgy as they grow is frustrated by changing the texts even in English too frequently.
Catholic identity has always been nurtured best by what is unique to Catholicism. Latin is the language unique to our faith experience and will always be superior to the vernacular for that reason. Particularly in a Protestant culture where there are so many imitations of the Church, it is Latin and not the vernacular that best helps our faithful identify with the source of grace always found through the Church in Christ. Whether said in the vernacular or in Latin, however, the ancient prayer of the Roman Canon is a magnificent source for catechesis in salvation history, the Church, and the saints.
Catholic life and liturgy have always provided variety as the Church has always included the vernacular in some way in liturgies, along with Latin so this is not new with Vatican II. Vatican II required that Latin remain in liturgy as the fathers taught in Sacrosanctum Concilium. If there can be said to be a “spirit of Vatican II” that helps to give meaning to the letter of the council’s teaching it would be the evidence that the fathers of the council intended that the canon remain and in Latin, thus holding to the teaching that the wise scribe takes from both what is “old” as well as what is “new” in order to seek and lead others in Christ to the Kingdom of God.
The next time someone tells you that Latin is “old” and the vernacular is “new,” you can tell them: Not necessarily — but even if that is true, Matt. 13:52 as well as the constant practice of the Church, which includes both the vernacular and Latin, gets the final word on the matter.
Thank you for reading and “praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever.”
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(Follow Father on Facebook at Reverendo Padre-Kevin Michael Cusick and on Twitter @MCITLFrAphorism. Father blogs occasionally at mcitl.blogspot.com and ApriestLife.blogspot.com. You can email him at mcitl.blogspot.com.)
