Pope Leo XIV has urged priests to respect the “norms of the liturgy” and not to make changes to the Mass “on their own initiative” in order to avoid confusing the faithful. Source: EWTN News.
“I encourage all priests to respect the texts and norms of the liturgy with openness, humility, trust in God’s greatness, and with sincere fidelity to ecclesial communion,” the Pope said during his General Audience in St Peterʼs Square yesterday.
The Second Vatican Council “affirmed that legitimate progress in the liturgy must also preserve sound tradition and that certain elements of the liturgy can never change because they are divinely instituted”, he said.
Leo’s catechesis yesterday continued his reflections on the magisterium of the Second Vatican Council, focusing on the constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, promulgated by St Paul VI on December 4, 1963.
It is one of the most important documents to emerge from the council, since it transformed the way Catholics celebrate the Mass.
The Pope offered a historical overview of the context in which Vatican II was convened, noting: “At that moment in history, there was a strong sense of the need for a renewal of the ritual forms through which, for centuries, the Church had glorified God and sanctified the Christian people.”
He also underscored that, thanks to the liturgical movement, the conviction had developed – later expressed by St John Paul II – that “‘a very close and organic bond exists between the renewal of the liturgy and the renewal of the whole life of the Church. The Church not only acts but also expresses herself in the liturgy, lives by the liturgy, and draws from the liturgy the strength for her life’”.
The pontiff reflected on Sacrosanctum Concilium, which he said sought “to encourage the access of the faithful to the richness of the gifts of grace dispensed by the sacred liturgy”. The Pope highlighted the formula adopted by the council fathers: “That sound tradition may be retained, and yet the way remain open to legitimate progress.”
In an appeal at the end of the audience, Leo expressed his concern over a recent intensification of the war in Ukraine. The Holy Father said he was entrusting everyone affected by war to the protection of Mary, Queen of Peace.
FULLS TORY
Pope urges priests to respect ‘norms of the liturgy’ to avoid confusion at Mass (By Victoria Cardiel, EWTN News)
