Benedict XVI’s liturgical celebrations
An interview with the Pope’s Master of Ceremonies
Monsignor Guido Marini
by Włodzimierz Rędzioch in "Inside the Vatican" magazine
Monsignor Guido Marini
by Włodzimierz Rędzioch in "Inside the Vatican" magazine
Włodzimierz Rędzioch
-
In what terms is your collaboration with the Holy
Father defined? Does he make all decisions?
Monsignor Guido
Marini
- It is my duty to point out first of all that the
celebrations presided over by the Pope are to be taken as a reference point for
the whole Church. The Pope is the Supreme Pontiff, the great officiator of the
Church, the person who, even through his celebrations, gives a highly
authoritative liturgical teaching which everybody must refer to. Bearing this
in mind, it is easier to understand what style the Master of Ceremonies must
adopt in his collaboration with the Holy Father. His task is to make the
liturgy an authentic expression of the Pope’s liturgical guidelines. From this
point of view the real Master of Ceremonies is the one who becomes a humble and
faithful servant of the Church’s liturgy. It is in these terms that I defined
my work at the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme
Pontiff.
- Believers notice the liturgical changes introduced by
Benedict XVI. How would you sum up these changes?
- These changes could be summed up as follows: they are,
first of all, introduced as a development of the past. There is therefore no
contrast with or departure from the work of previous popes; second, the changes
introduced are aimed at the promotion of the liturgy’s authentic spirit, as suggested
by Vatican Council II, which maintains that: “The subject of the liturgy’s
intrinsic beauty is Christ himself, risen from the dead and glorified in the
Holy Spirit, who includes the Church in His action.”
- The officiator’s being turned to the crucifix and turning
his back on the congregation, the faithful’ s taking the communion on their
tongue and on their knees, the moments of silence are all liturgical changes
introduced by Benedict XVI which many people see as a return to the past,
without understanding their historical or theological meaning. Could you please
illustrate the meaning of these changes in a few words?
- Actually, our office receives declarations from many
people who receive the above changes with favour and see them in line with an authentic
renewal of the liturgy. As for the meaning of some of these changes, the
following remarks could be made. The priest’s being turned to the cross is
meant to emphasize the correct direction of liturgical prayer, which is
addressed to the Lord; when praying, the faithful are supposed not to
look at
each other, but all together, towards the Saviour. The faithful’ s taking the
communion on their knees is meant to rediscover the aspect of Eucharistic
adoration, both as an essential part of the celebration and as an attitude
towards the mystery of the Lord’s real presence in the Eucharist. The moments
of silence are intended to remind the faithful that during the liturgical
celebration prayer can be expressed in many ways: through words, song,
gestures, music ... Among the ways of expressing prayer, however, there is also
silence, which has the power to foster authentic religious participation in the
celebration, hence to animate all other forms of prayer from within.
- The Holy Father attaches great importance to vestments. Is
it mere decoration?
- In this connection a passage from the apostolic
exhortation Sacramentum
caritatis throws light on the meaning of beauty as an essential part
of the liturgical celebration in the Pope’s vision: “This relationship between
creed and worship is evidenced in a particular way by the rich theological and
liturgical category of beauty. Like the rest of Christian Revelation, the
liturgy is inherently linked to beauty: it is veritatis splendor ...
This is not mere aestheticism, but the way in which the truth of God’s love in
Christ encounters us, attracts and delights us enabling us to emerge from
ourselves and drawing us towards our true vocation, which is love ... the true
beauty of the love of God, who definitely revealed himself to us in the paschal
mystery. The beauty of the liturgy is part of this mystery, it is a sublime expression
of God’s glory and, in a way, a glimpse of heaven on earth ... Beauty then is
not mere decoration, but rather an essential element of liturgical action,
being an attribute of God himself and His revelation.
- Benedict XVI has changed his pastoral staff: it is
now in the shape of a cross. What’s the reason for this change?
- It is worth remembering that popes did not use the
pastoral staff until the pontificate of Paul VI. During more solemn
celebrations they used the ferula. Under Paul VI, on the contrary, the use of
the pastoral cross with the crucifix became normal. Benedict XVI, who continued
to use it until Whit Sunday 2008, decided to restore the use of the ferula,
i.e. the cross without the crucifix, as this more suited to the tradition
of the papal liturgy.
- Why is it so important for the Church to preserve the use
of Latin?
- Even Vatican Council II, though introducing the use of the
national language of each country, advised the preservation of Latin in the
liturgy. In my opinion, there are two reasons for preserving the use of Latin.
The first is that there is an invaluable cultural heritage in Latin; just think
of Gregorian chant and polyphony, as well as venerable prayer books on which
generations of Christians have prayed. The second is that, even nowadays, Latin
is able to show the universality of the Catholic Church. Can you help
experiencing this universality inside Saint Peter’s basilica or in any
other place of worship where people from all over the world, who speak different
languages meet, pray and sing in the same language? Who does not feel the warm
welcome of a common home when, entering a church in a foreign country, he can
joy, at least in part, his brethren in Christ thanks to the use of the
same language?
- Definitely. Since the liturgy is the celebration of the
mystery of Christ in present of history, the priest is called on to express his
faith in two ways. First, by going beyond the visible to touch the invisible
i.e. the Lord’s presence and action. This is the origin of ars celebrandi,
through which the faithful realize that the liturgy is not mere performance,
but a living relation to and total assimilation in the mystery of God. Second,
be being renewed at the end of the Eucharistic celeb ration and be ready to
imitate the rite he has celebrated, i.e. to turn his life into a celebration of
the mystery of Christ.
- An the Pope’s care for liturgical celebration set an
example for other bishops and priests?
- It is absolutely desirable.
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