Ask any Catholic about Vatican II and most often than not, the likely observer will hear the same answer and not much else; that Mass could now be celebrated in English. While this is true, many Catholics lack a true understanding and thus, appreciation, of how the Second Vatican Council sought to enhance and make accessible to the faithful of the Church the richness and beauty of her Tradition. During this Year of Faith, the Diocese of Corpus Christi is hoping to change that.
The Department of Evangelization and Catechesis hosted the first of a two-part symposium on the documents of the Second Vatican Council on Dec. 1 at St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles parish with the goal to introduce a greater understanding and appreciation of the Council and its documents, which remain providentially relevant today.
Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey, in his introductory remarks, spoke of the external changes promulgated by Vatican II as a way of drawing Catholics into a greater understanding of the Church’s unchanging truths amidst a relativistic society.
“When we just look at the externals of anything, we miss the interior meaning of what it’s all about and how it applies to us. This is the only Council in the Church that did not come out to combat a heresy. It was a Pastoral Council to help us understand who we are,” Bishop Mulvey said.
Dr. Geri Telepak, professor at St. Mary’s Seminary, began the first talk of the symposium with a presentation on Lumen Gentium, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. She said that one of the hopes of the Council was to give the faithful a better experience of the Church with the desire of inspiring them to participate more fully in the life of the Church and to grow into a deeper relationship with Christ.
The Second Vatican Council accomplished its mission through a more elaborate use of language. Dr. Telepak said Lumen Gentium speaks of the Church as sacrament, a visible society, but also a spiritual community, and of how the Church is a vessel of Christ’s seven sacraments, visible signs that brings about the internal grace they represent. It is through this grace that all the faithful are called to participate in Christ’s priestly ministry.
“We are called to be holy people. We believe that the Holy Spirit exists within us. When I receive the sacraments, I receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The more I receive the Eucharist, the more I receive reconciliation, the more grace builds in me,” Dr. Telepak said.
It is through this grace, first received at baptism, that the faithful are anointed and sent forth to serve in Christ’s ministerial priesthood. The most notable way of doing this is through teaching others the faith or through service in the parish.
“We are called to take care of the sick. We are called to take Communion to those home bound. We are called to teach others the faith. Therefore, learn it and study it. You can’t give away what you don’t have,” she said.
The Council’s elaborate use of language clarified the Church’s teachings on the entire people of God. To some degree people of all faiths belong to the Church. For example, non-Catholic Christians do not need to be baptized again upon entering the Church through the RCIA process. Non-Christians of virtue have access to heaven if they live life accordingly.
“The Council had to discover by way of dialogue with the world around it, dialogue with the members of the Church, dialogue with those not members of the Church, how to speak the Word of Christ in such a way that it could be received and be a source of hope,” Father Kenneth Hammond said in his talk later that afternoon.
Along with the greater focus on the active participation of the lay faithful in the Church, the Second Vatican Council more clearly defined the nature of the Church’s bishops through establishing a College of Bishops by region to implement and practice the work of the Council in each bishop’s respective diocese in union with the pope. The Council also called for a restoration of the permanent diaconate by a more active participation in assisting the priest at liturgies.
Father Hammond, a professor at the Oblate School of Theology, explained Sacrosanctum Concilium, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, He spoke in greater detail about the liturgical reforms of Vatican II, noting that the need for reform was discerned upon a deeper study of the teachings of the Fathers of the Church and scripture on proper worship. This was possible, unlike previous Church Councils, because media communication had advanced enough that these teachings were easily accessible to those who participated in the Second Vatican Council.
Through this study, the Council concluded that the life of the Church celebrated in the liturgy is a living reality that is in constant development and must always strive to serve the latest generation of the faithful so they can understand it.
“People want to understand the meaning of the signs they make, particularly the signs of sanctification,” Father Hammond said.
The Council called for liturgy to be of a more “noble simplicity” so as to not distract from its central action, the celebration of Christ’s Paschal Mystery. For example, while the Council encouraged beautiful, artful statues, the tabernacle and Crucifix must always be centrally located within the sanctuary. Secondly, the liturgical calendar must always keep central the celebration of Christ’s Paschal Mystery.
The Sunday celebration of Christ’s Resurrection would now trump the celebration of a saint’s feast day that may fall on a particular Sunday, except for solemnities. Finally, Mass could be celebrated in the vernacular with the use of cultural adaptations compatible with the Church’s proper celebration of the liturgy.
These adaptations gave rise to the numerous rites in the Church. One celebrating Mass in a different rite can easily see the cultural differences, but can, at the same time, recognize the universality of the Church’s celebration of the Eucharist.
“This was an effort to refine our focus so as to really look into the important things first most deeply. These principles had to do with as much as everything in providing greater access for all of the faithful to these realities of our salvation,” Father Hammond said.
The second part of the Vatican II Symposium will be held on March 9, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Corpus Christi Cathedral. Father Donald Nesti will speak on Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, and Father Thomas Norris will speak on Dei Verbum, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation.
Admission is free and lunch will be provided. To sign up or for more information, call (361) 882-6191, ext. 631 by Feb. 27, 2013.