Vocation: Sister Disciples Of The Divine Master

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A Pauline Centenary Pastoral Tool

ALBERIONE AND THE LITURGICAL MOVEMENT, n. 6

A Doctoral Thesis Presented at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute *****

THE PAULINE FAMILY'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE LITURGICAL MOVEMENT: Part VI

INTRODUCTION

The expression, "Liturgical Movement", was used for the first time in 1851 by Prosper Gueranger, in the third volume of the Institutions liturgiques, to describe the revival of liturgical studies and general interest in understanding and improving liturgical practices. In the past there were various historical periods characterized by a strong attachment to liturgy which, with its highly charged spiritual character, have contributed to new liturgical forms to the point of conditioning the liturgical attitudes of entire epochs. Nonetheless, the "Liturgical Movement" understood as a current or movement at work in a vast range of milieus, in view of the spiritual renewal of people's lives through the power of the liturgy and/or the renewal of the liturgy itself on the basis of a deeper understanding of it and the laws governing it, is a historical-cultural phenomenon proper to our own time.

Our Founder, Blessed James Alberione, was shaped and imbued with the liturgical spirit. The natural and inevitable consequence of the liturgical spirit upon him was the liturgical apostolate. Indeed he had done much for the Liturgical Movement in Italy. Today, we can no longer ignore the hidden, but vital, contribution he gave in the fields of the liturgical apostolate and pastoral liturgy.

I. BLESSED ALBERIONE'S APOSTOLATE OF THE PRESS AND THE POPULARIZATION OF THE LITURGICAL MOVEMENT

A. Pauline Edition of the Roman Missal (cf. below - Archives n. 1)

B. Evangelario Festivo (cf. below - Archives n. 1)

C. Bollettino Parrochiale Liturgico (cf. below - Archives n. 1)

D. La Vita in Cristo e nella Chiesa (cf. below--Archives n. 2)

E. Other Pauline Liturgical Publications (cf. below--Archives n. 2)

II. THE PIOUS DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER (cf. below--Archives n. 3)

III. SACRED MUSIC (cf. below--Archives n. 4)

IV. THE BUILDING OF CHURCHES (cf. below--Archives n. 5)

V. BLESSED ALBERIONE AMONG THE COUNCIL FATHERS

Blessed James Alberione was among the superior generals called to participate in the Second Vatican Council and this enabled him to contribute, though in a humble and indirect way, in the Vatican II liturgical renewal. He was the only living religious founder who participated in that ecumenical council. In a letter dated, "Rome, August 24, 1959", the Founder of the Pauline Family sent the proposals requested by the ante-preparatory commission. His specific proposals in the liturgical field were centered upon the Eucharist and directed towards a greater and more fruitful participation of the faithful in the Holy Mass. His suggestions, reported below, were accepted and/or assimilated into the conciliar liturgical renewal:

• The liturgical reform of the Mass, above all, of the Sunday Mass, especially in its variable parts, so that the faithful can follow better the course of the liturgical year, and that it can better present the teachings to be imparted to the people and prepare souls for the spiritual graces sought

• The use of vernacular language to help Christians share more fruitfully in sacred actions

• To consider the participation at Masses transmitted through audiovisual means, in specific well-defined circumstances, for example, for prisoners, etc. as valid for the satisfaction of the holiday of obligation precepts.

The proposal to have the Mass in honor of Jesus Master be extended to the universal Church is still waiting for its realization.

Blessed Alberione's liturgico-pastoral spirit and his great love for the liturgy could be verified, moreover, in his proposals regarding theological-dogmatic matters. Among his suggestions were: to give greater importance to the practical and pastoral aspects of theological studies, with special care for newly ordained priests; to make the catechism for Christian people more suitable to our times and to include in it, a more amplified treatment of the liturgy and the Church's missionary activity; to oblige all priests during the Mass of holydays of obligation to give a homily in the vernacular and catechetical form and to provide directives regarding this; to stimulate the people to read the Bible, providing them with texts containing dogmatic, moral, and liturgical notes.

After submitting the official proposals in Latin on August 24, 1959, four days later, Blessed Alberione sent an addendum in Italian: "Concerning liturgical matter, it would be good to have a Liturgical Code where all the prescribed liturgical rubrics are compiled and set in order, such that they can be consulted easily by any priest." The proposal of a Liturgical Code looks elementary, but the wisdom of his suggestion could be substantiated by the fact that this first level of knowledge is important for entering later on in to the true meaning and deeper contents of realities. Indeed, the study of rites is a means for a deeper understanding of the liturgical spirit.

Blessed Alberione's participation in the Vatican II Ecumenical Council was silent and prayerful, and at the same time, diligent and attentive. He never made any vocal intervention in the conciliar discussions. His time-tested proclivity to act, rather than to theorize, as some had suggested, might not be the only reason Blessed Alberione did not intervene in the conciliar debates. Nearing his "eighties", Blessed Alberione, by then--for the first time in his life--lacked the physical ability to express himself and the strain of following a lengthy discussion that would enable him to intervene in such a solemn assembly must have weighed upon him.

On December 4, 1963, on the very same day that Vatican II promulgated the decree Inter Mirifica dealing with the instruments of social communications, Blessed Alberione signed the constitutions on the liturgy, the Sacrosanctum Concilium. It was a great and momentous event for him, who had dedicated his life to the apostolate of the press and the modern means of social communications, as well as to the Liturgical Movement in the Church. Recalling this happy day to the Paulines, he wrote in 1964:

At the conclusion of the second session of the Ecumenical Council (December 4, 1963), the Holy Father and the conciliar fathers approved and promulgated the decree on the instruments of social communications: the press, cinema, radio, television and other such instruments (which include records). The decree is a confirmation of the eternal vitality and youthfulness of the Church, which is not estranged from the world, but rather expresses her continual concern for the good of mankind, promoting studies and discoveries and providing morally secure norms to animate the marvelous inventions of human genius with Christian spirit.

Blessed Alberione continued to explain that, in the same gathering, the Supreme Pontiff approved and promulgated the constitution on the sacred liturgy. And he cited Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 2: "For it is through the liturgy through which, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, the work of our redemption is accomplished, and it is through the liturgy, especially that the faithful are enabled to express in their lives and manifest to others the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church. The Church is essentially both human and divine, visible but endowed with invisible realities, zealous in action and dedicated to contemplation, present in the world, but as a pilgrim."

The conciliar decress, Inter Mirifica and Sacrosanctum Concilium are valid confirmations of the intuitions of Blessed Alberione, the person who had harnessed the tremendous apostolic power of the modern means of social communications and transformed the liturgical spirit into an apostolate, - into a concrete service in Christ and in the Church, for the glory of God and the salvation of humankind.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

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