By DON FIER
In considering where the liturgy is celebrated, we saw last week that “the worship ‘in spirit and in truth’ (John 4:24) of the New Covenant is not tied exclusively to any place because Christ is the true temple of God” (Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCCC], n. 244).
It is through Him that the People of God are enabled to become “the temple of the living God” (2 Cor. 6:16) by the action of the Holy Spirit — that they become “like living stones…built into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5), with Christ as the cornerstone.
At the same time, however, in our earthly condition, the faithful have need of sacred places where they can gather together in community to celebrate the liturgy and worship the living God.
“Since God has become man and comes to us in visible, human ways,” explains Dr. Alan Schreck, “the church recognizes that its worship is not purely spiritual but is expressed in tangible ways” (The Essential Catholic Catechism [ECC], p. 203).
Thus the need for churches, houses of prayer that are suited not only for private devotion and celebrating the Mass, but where the Eucharistic Lord can be reserved for adoration.
“It is in these churches that the Church celebrates public worship to the glory of the Holy Trinity,” teaches the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). “[She] hears the word of God and sings his praise, lifts up her prayer, and offers the sacrifice of Christ sacramentally present in the midst of the assembly” (n. 1199).
Within the walls of these sacred buildings are contained a host of privileged places, furnishings, and objects. As enumerated by the Compendium, they include: “the altar, the tabernacle, the place where the sacred Chrism and other holy oils are kept, the chair of the bishop (cathedra) or the chair of the priest, the ambo [lectern], the baptismal font, and the confessional” (CCCC, n. 246).
Furthermore, “following the ‘incarnational principle,’. . . the presence of Christ and his saints may be represented by holy images (statues or icons)” (ECC, p. 204). Moreover, it may be said that “our visible churches…are images of the holy city, the heavenly Jerusalem, toward which we are making our way on pilgrimage” (CCC, n. 1198).
Prior to embarking on a detailed treatment of each of the seven sacraments, the Catechism concludes its exposition on the liturgy in general with a short seven-paragraph section on the significance of diversity in the liturgical rites of the Church. While clearly stating that “the mystery celebrated in the liturgy is one” (CCC, n. 1200), the Catechism also affirms that “the mystery of Christ is so unfathomably rich that it cannot be exhausted by its expression in any single liturgical tradition” (CCC, n. 1201).
Just as the celebration of the liturgy cannot be confined to a single space, so too, it cannot be confined to a single cultural expression.
Liturgical diversity, likewise, plays a significant role in the Church’s missionary call to evangelization. In his 1975 apostolic exhortation On Evangelization in the Modern World, Blessed Paul VI stressed the importance of accounting for the cultural heritage of the people being evangelized:
“Evangelization loses much of its force and effectiveness if it does not take into consideration the actual people to whom it is addressed, if it does not use their language, their signs and symbols, if it does not answer the questions they ask, and if it does not have an impact on their concrete life,” wrote the Holy Father.
“On the other hand,” he sagely continued, “evangelization risks losing its power and disappearing altogether if one empties or adulterates its content under the pretext of translating it” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 63 § 3).
How, then, is a proper balance attained? Dr. Peter Kreeft recalls a fundamental rule that applies for all things in the Church which can be summarized by a threefold formula: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, diversity; in all things, charity” (Catholic Christianity [CC], p. 283).
With regard to “unity in essentials” in the liturgy, Pope St. John Paul II explains what is meant in his 1988 apostolic letter Vicesimus Quintus Annus (VQA):
“In the Liturgy, and notably that of the sacraments, there is a part which is unchangeable, because it is of divine institution, and of which the Church is the guardian” (n. 16). In other words, the substance of the liturgy is not diverse and changeable — in the words of Dr. Kreeft, “It is as hard and resistant and sharp as the Cross” (CC, p. 283). The truth that comes from God Himself is immutable.
What about “diversity in non-essentials” in the liturgy? St. John Paul explains that “there are also parts open to change, which the Church has the power and on occasion also the duty to adapt to the cultures of recently evangelized peoples” (VQA, n. 16). As accentuated by the Catechism, “The Church is catholic [universal], capable of integrating into her unity, while purifying them, all the authentic riches of cultures. . . . The celebration of the liturgy, therefore, should correspond to the genius and culture of the different peoples” (CCC, nn. 1202, 1204).
However, prudence is required: “Adaptations are for the sake of better propagating the unchangeable essence of the liturgy, not for the sake of change itself” (CC, p. 284).
Citing another apostolic exhortation by St. John Paul II (Catechesi Tradendae [CT], which was promulgated in 1979), the Catechism further emphasizes the importance of maintaining unity while embracing authentic diversity: “In order that the mystery of Christ be ‘made known to all the nations…to bring about the obedience of faith’ (Romans 16:26), it must be proclaimed, celebrated, and lived in all cultures in such a way that they themselves are not abolished by it, but redeemed and fulfilled (cf. CT, n. 53)” (CCC, n. 1204).
The varied liturgical traditions or rites now in use in the Church were not only explicitly recognized, but welcomed by the Second Vatican Council: “The sacred Council declares that holy Mother Church holds all lawfully acknowledged rites to be of equal right and dignity; that she wishes to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 4). As noted by Christoph Cardinal Schönborn in Living the Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Sacraments (LC-S), the Catechism mentions the most important liturgical “families”:
“The most widespread is the Roman rite, that is to say, the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church; next comes the Byzantine rite, which is celebrated not only by the Orthodox Churches but also by the ‘Greek Catholic’ Church; finally, there are the smaller families of the Coptic, Syrian, Armenian, Maronite, and Chaldean rites (see CCC, n. 1203)” (p. 53).
Cardinal Schönborn goes on to say that this diversity manifested itself historically from the Church’s earliest times. Churches were founded wherever the Gospel was preached — resultant interrelationships were formed between the Good News and culture, between the missionary Church and new believers, a process referred to as inculturation.
As the cardinal explains, “The different liturgical rites are the fruit of such ‘inculturation.’ They are ‘particular expressions’ on which the culture has left its mark, of the one mystery of Christ” (LC-S, p. 54).
Conversion Of Heart
What about “charity in all things” with regard to authentic diversity in the liturgy? St. John Paul II states:
“Liturgical diversity can be a source of enrichment, but it can also provoke tensions, mutual misunderstandings, and even divisions. In this field, it is clear that diversity must not damage unity. It can only gain expression in fidelity to the common Faith, to the sacramental signs that the Church has received from Christ, and to hierarchical communion. Cultural adaptation also requires conversion of heart and even, where necessary, a breaking with ancestral customs incompatible with the Catholic faith” (VQA, n. 16; as cited in CCC, n. 1206).
Charity must always be grounded in fidelity to the Truth. Thus, as examples given by Dr. Kreeft demonstrate, such practices as suttee in India or voodoo in Haiti must, in charity, be rejected as legitimate expressions of the liturgy (cf. CC, p. 184). Such ancestral customs are contrary to and incompatible with the Catholic faith as handed down from apostolic times.
As affirmed by Pope Francis in his 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (EG), “Whenever a community receives the message of salvation, the Holy Spirit enriches its culture with the transforming power of the Gospel. . . . In the diversity of peoples who experience the gift of God, each in accordance with its own culture, the Church expresses her genuine catholicity and shows forth ‘the beauty of her varied face’ (John Paul II, Novo Millennio Ineunte [January 6, 2001], n. 40 § 3)” (n. 116).
Indeed, as the Vicar of Christ subsequently states, “When properly understood, cultural diversity is not a threat to Church unity” (EG, n. 117).
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(Don Fier serves on the board of directors for The Catholic Servant, a Minneapolis-based monthly publication. He and his wife are the parents of seven children. Fier is a 2009 graduate of Ave Maria University’s Institute for Pastoral Theology. He is doing research for writing a definitive biography of Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)
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