The Lord's Day

December coincides with the anniversary of the promulgation of the Second Vatican Council constitution on the liturgy, "Sacrosanctum Concilium."

For the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, it is a month that sets the tone for the year ahead and allows for reflection on the year passed.

Cardinal Francis Arinze shared how some occasions organized by his Vatican dicastery have been recalling significant themes with the aim of continuous formation in liturgical matters.

Just last week the 74-year-old cardinal sponsored a study day held in Paul VI Hall which dealt with keeping Sundays sacred.

The Pope's considerations on the topic of Sunday Mass were central to the reflections of the international group. There was a special message from Benedict XVI as well as a presentation entitled "Sunday, a Feast of the Eucharist as Discovered Through the Writings of Cardinal Ratzinger."

Cardinal Arinze said the general message from the meeting was that "Sunday is not a day for wholesale shopping but a day to give more attention to God and should be emphasized as such."

"Again we individuated the factors that attempt to take the place of the celebration of the Sunday Eucharist," he added. "We want to clarify that Sunday is not merely a part of a weekend when we can do all those things we didn't get around to doing during the week, such as sleep longer, go to the mountains, go swimming, go to the seaside.

"There are others who go to watch or play sport, or have a 12-course lunch. … All these things are good, but they are not the point of the Lord's Day."

Throughout its round-table discussion and question time, the group aimed to underline ways to re-energize the sanctification experience Sunday Mass can offer.

"We recommend the faithful try some sacred readings following the Mass," said Cardinal Arinze. "Adoration time is good too, as is even meeting with other community members afterward. These actions can give more attention to God, thus contributing to the blessedness of this special day."

Cardinal Arinze said the main challenge facing his Vatican congregation is to encourage a spirit of prayer, which must grow out of faith. But he added that high-quality liturgies were the secret -- perhaps trying an occasional Latin hymn or prayer as a finishing touch.

In fact, "Language in the Roman Rite Liturgy -- Latin and the Vernacular" was the theme of a speech he gave recently at another study day, this time held in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, in the United States, from where he had just returned.

"Of course it's important to clarify," the cardinal began, "that originally it was really Greek that was used in Rome for the first two centuries. Latin gradually became the language of the Roman rite only in the third and fourth centuries."

Here, Cardinal Arinze recalled the many other rites within the Catholic Church which use different languages. But he returns to focus on why the Roman rite adopted Latin as its language.

"Latin gives a type of stability," the cardinal noted. "It doesn't change like other modern spoken languages; […] take the word 'propaganda' for instance."

The Church prefers to make concepts very clear, he continued. "It's a concise and noble language and, moreover, it's a universal language of the Church" that can cross cultural boundaries.

This is a theme close to home throughout these days as the Vox Clara Committee convenes in the offices of the Congregation for Divine Worship. The committee advises the Vatican's liturgical agency on English translations.

"Though the Second Vatican Council did not put Latin aside at all … the vernacular is here to stay," commented Cardinal Arinze. "And the Church doesn't regret the introduction of local languages at all."

It is crucial that the translations are well monitored by local bishops and that the texts are brought by the prelates to the Congregation for Divine Worship for the seal of approval in the name of the Pope.

No one should make his own translations because the liturgy is the whole Church praying with Christ at the head, the cardinal explained. "Nobody should smuggle in individual words or choices, let alone ideologies, and try to make them a part of the language of the Church."

Nevertheless, Cardinal Arinze believes it would be ideal for parish life if, from time to time, the faithful had a Mass in Latin. Or at least a few songs or chants.

"We can consider Gregorian music -- it's like half meditation, part love of God and part mystical absorption in God," he said, "But how can we think of it without Latin?"

His advice is for bigger churches in a diocese to include a few Latin songs throughout their liturgical celebration: "One of these could at least include the Gloria, Sanctus, or the Credo and then give the people the choice."

"That way," the cardinal continued, "we can guarantee that we're using those same words that were uttered by St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas or St. Teresa of Avila. The Church didn't begin yesterday and it's not an affair of one country or one village. We thank God we're in a universal Church and thank God for the gift of the liturgy and the option of using the Latin language during it."