2. • The Second Vatican Council is the
21st ecumenical council of the
Roman Catholic Church.
• Announced by Pope John XIII, on
January 25, 1959.
• Means towards spiritual renewal
for the Church and as an occasion
for Christian separated from Rome.
3. • The constitution on Sacred
Liturgy, encourages the
faithful to participate in new
ways with new possibilities
granted for music and
singing,
4. • The fact that, the Second Vatican Council
ranges
• from liturgy to laity,
• ecumenism to missionary work and
• to manifest the missionary nature of the
Church, that leads to the understanding of
Liturgy as the summit to which the fount of
power over flows in the Church.
5. In many ways, the Constitution on
Sacred Liturgy is the most
fundamental document of the
Council.
Its basic principle is that the liturgy
calls for the full conscious and active
participation.
6. Eucharistic Mystery
Active participation of the faithful is
one way of striving themselves to
become holy.
For such participation is the right
and duty of every Christian by virtue
of Baptism.
That is why the greatest effect of the
Vatican II reform is the recovery of
the liturgical role of the congregation
at Mass and the restoration to the
people of the responses songs,
acclamations and prayers
appropriate to them.
7. Therefore, the document of sacred liturgy emphasizes the
importance of liturgical ministers: lectors, cantors, acolyte- led by the
priest may able to make the Mass clearly seen as an ordered act of
praise and thanksgiving to God in which each one plays their part.
In part of the priest role, homily is essential for by means of it the
mysteries of the faith and the guiding principles of the Christian life
are expounded from the sacred text during the course of the liturgical
year.
Thus, homily is highly esteemed as part of the liturgy itself.
The use of vernacular languages rather than latin has also been
permitted by the council given for the Mass and the audible praying of
the Eucharistic prayer, so that the congregation could immediately
relate to what for centuries, has been concealed and the people of
God may have voice once again.
8. The Scrosanctum Concilium outlines
three purposes of Sacraments that
are:
To sanctify human beings
To build up the body of Christ
To give worship to God
Sacraments presupposes faith and
nourish, strengthen and express it.
The sacraments indeed impart graces, but in addition, the very true
of celebrating them most effectively disposes the faithful manner, to
worship God duly and to practice charity.
9. Truly one of the great gems
of the Second Vatican
Council is the revised
Liturgy of the Hours known
as the Divine Office.
In the life of parish pastors, Divine
Office offers a way to deepen the
liturgical life of their parish
fulfilling the goal of the conciliar
reform that is to restore its
authenticity to its proper place as
a liturgical celebration of the
Christian faithful.
10. The Divine Office is the
prayer of the Mystical
Body of Jesus Christ,
offered to God in the
name and on behalf of all
Christians.
The Pian Commission suggests two kinds of obligations
regarding the Hours:
First for the contemplative religious
Second for priests with pastoral duties
11. One aim of the revision is to return the Hours
to their rightful place as a public celebration.
Pastors of souls must see to it that the chief
hours, especially Vespers are celebrated in
common on (Church) on Sundays and the
more solemn feasts.
The laity too are encouraged to recite the
divine office, either with priest among
themselves or even individually.
Whenever possible, other groups of the
faithful should celebrate the liturgy of the
hours communally in Church.
Cardinal Giacomo Lercaro of
Bologna during the liturgical
conference in Assisi said that Lauds
and Vespers are part of Lay
spirituality.
12. Thus, The Council’s constitution on the liturgy, Sacrosanctum
Concilium (SC), concerning about the Divine Office in the lives of
priests and religious, who are once again said to be “deputed” to pray
the Office as the “voice of the Church encourages also the laity to
pray the Hours.
For the fact that, the Second Vatican Council marks an advance
relationship between the laity and the Liturgy of the Hours, especially
when it emphasizes on the full and active participation by all the
people is meant to apply “with special force to the celebration of the
Mass,” but it must also apply to other liturgies as well, including the
Divine Office.
13. Liturgical Year
• Understanding liturgical year, the term
often heard is the term season. Each
season has its particular feel, its own
custom and activities that associates with
it.
• People wear different clothes, play
different sports, and even eat different
foods. They even associate colors with
different seasons.
• This means that life journey too can be
viewed using the image of seasons
experiencing seasons in physical, social,
emotional and spiritual aspect of life.
14. A calendar year incorporates the seasons in twelve months and
fifty-two weeks which include holidays, commemorative days that we
could term as ordinary.
It provides particular occasions and whole seasons to ritualize
the significant movements in our Christian life. It is through this cyclical
process that the Church renews itself again and again. For the fact that
the Holy Mother Church believes that it is for her to celebrate the
saving work of her divine spouse in a sacred commemoration on
certain days throughout the course of the years.
15. • In the liturgical year every season or
feast day has its own unique symbols
and color which helps to explore and be
involved in the mystery of the
incarnation, birth, life, death and
resurrection of Jesus.
• Marks by special seasons: Advent,
Christmas, Lent, The Paschal Triduum or
Three Days, Easter, and Ordinary Time.
• The liturgical year begins on the first
Sunday of Advent, which usually occurs
around the beginning of December or
the end of November, and ends on the
feast of Christ the King.
16. The purpose of the liturgical year calendar is to celebrate
and understand more fully the entire mystery of Jesus Christ, from
his incarnation and birth until his ascension, the day of Pentecost,
and the expectation of his return in glory.
Liturgical year calendar communicates what readings the
Church has to be used for each day. It articulates the special feasts
and commemorations celebrated during each season. It also
communicates the color of the vestments to be worn by the priest
during each celebration or the liturgy. Lastly, the liturgical cycle
covers on three year period in which Year A focuses predominantly
on Matthew’s Gospel, Year B on Mark’s Gospel and Year C on Luke’s
Gospel. John’s Gospel is interspersed throughout the years,
particularly during Easter
17. Sacred Music
• GFHG,
Paragraph 112
The musical tradition of the Universal Church is a treasure of
inestimable value, greater that that of any other art like Da Vinci’s Last
Supper or the Pieta for instance, and even all the Church architecture and
art paintings and sculpture in the Vatican Museum, and throughout the
world could not compare the value of sacred music in the life of the
Church.
For a sacred song united to the words forms a necessary or integral
part of the solemn liturgy.
The council says that when the Mass itself is set to music, that’s
what ennobles music which itself enhances the Mass and that what makes
the musical tradition the most tradition of the Church.
18. Sacred Art
In the Second Vatican Council, the constitution
on the sacred liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium
chapter 7 states that fine arts are rightly classed
among the noblest activities of man’s genius,
especially to religious arts or what is called sacred
art. In other words fine arts are the expression in
some way to the immeasurable beauty of God in the
works of human hands. Their dedication to increase
of God’s praise and of his glory is more complete,
the more exclusively they are devoted to turning
men’s minds devoutly towards God.
19. • Sacred arts on its pastoral aspect have been
understood as a sacramental image of heaven
which gives a preview of the heavenly liturgy.
• It manifest the signs and symbols of the heavenly
realities, in and through the medium of the arts
such as architecture, painting, statues and stained
glass which affords the faithful the opportunity to
catch a sacramental glimpse of heaven where the
heavenly liturgy is taking place.
• In other words by art it is easy for the faithful to
understand and capture the reality of their faith.
For the fact that sacred art with its pastoral
perspective supports the mission of the Church,
the sanctification of man and the glorification of
God and this is done through the earthly liturgy as
mentioned, which is a sacramental presentation of
the heavenly liturgy.
20. Henceforth, the overall understanding of the
Constitution on Sacred Liturgy is to lead the
faithful to that full conscious, and active
participation in liturgical celebration which fills
them with the paschal sacraments to be one in
holiness to where they are called to.
