The Pope’s new Encyclical Letter
On the Holy Eucharist
Comments by Father Aulagnier (May 7th,
2003)
Pope John Paul II, on the feast of
Holy Thursday (April 17, 2003), gave the Church his 14th Encyclical Letter on
the Eucharist: Ecclesia de Eucharistia.
This Encyclical Letter is very important. It may even be a historical
event.
It is a call from the pope to the
faithful so that they recover a true Eucharistic devotion.
“From it the Church draws her
life. From this “living bread” she draws her nourishment. How could I not feel
the need to urge everyone to experience it ever anew” (n7).
However, it is not the only
purpose of the Encyclical Letter.
It is also a doctrinal reminder on
the Holy Eucharist.
It is my hope, says the Pope, that
the present Encyclical Letter will effectively help to banish the dark clouds
of unacceptable doctrine and practice, so that the Eucharist will continue to
shine forth in all its radiant mystery. (n10)
Yet it is more than that.
It constitutes above all a
doctrinal reminder aimed at correcting the notorious insufficiencies of the
liturgical reform deriving from the Second Vatican Council and at rectifying
the ambiguities of “Institutio Generalis,” a text published by the apostolic
constitution “Missale Romanum” and signed by Pope Paul VI on April 3rd 1969.
As a matter of fact, the pope
himself declares that he intends to correct the “abuses [that] have occurred,
leading to confusion with regard to sound faith and Catholic doctrine
concerning this wonderful sacrament ” (n10) and, without hesitation, he adds:
“It must be lamented that, especially in the years following the post-conciliar
liturgical reform, [...] a number of abuses have been a source of suffering for
many” (n52).
In order to do that, the Pope
simply returns, in his Encyclical Letter, to all the theological and pastoral
critical comments which Cardinal Ottaviani, at the very beginning of the
“totalitarian” imposition of this reform, presented to the Supreme Pontiff in
office, Pope Paul VI, when he addressed to him the “Brief Critical Examination”
(“Bref Examen Critique”).
A- About the Eucharistic sacrifice.
We indeed know that the “Brief
Examination” criticizes the ambiguities of the new “Ordo Missae” on the notion
of sacrifice and particularly on that of the propitiatory sacrifice.
This is the subject of the second and third
chapter.
The pope acknowledges this. He
pays great attention to this point in his Letter as he asserts the Catholic
doctrine on this subject. He devotes the first four numbers of Chapter I to it:
“The mass, he says, actualizes the
sacrifice of the cross”, “The Eucharist is a sacrifice in the proper sense,”
etc.
B- About the Real Presence.
The “Brief Critical Examination” also pointed
out the ambiguities of the reform about the notion of the real presence of Our
Lord in the Eucharist.
The real presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist
is a “true, real, substantial” presence which occurs through the substantial
conversion from bread into the body of Christ, and from wine into his blood.
The Church names this transformation by the very appropriate word of
“transubstantiation.” Contrary to what certain texts or rubrics of the
liturgical reform implied, it is by no means a spiritual or subjective
presence.
On this matter, the pope puts forwards a very
substantial reminder in several places in his document and particularly in
Chapter I (numbers 15 to 20) as well as in the splendid Chapter V entitled “The
Dignity of the Eucharistic Celebration.” “In the mass, the sacramental
representation of Christ’s sacrifice implies a very special presence which is
termed “real” and “substantial” and wherein, Christ, God-man, is wholly
present.” On the matter, the pope cited the Council of Trent in its 13th
session, Chapter IV.
C-
About the Ministerial Priesthood.
The “Brief Critical Examination” also remarked
that the liturgical reform was treating the question of the true minister of
the altar in an equivocal way as it was confusing, and almost identifying, the
priesthood of the priest with that of the faithful. (BCE chap. 5 and 6)
Here again, the pope takes note of this
criticism and devotes to it the whole of Chapter III, which is entitled “The
Apostolicity of the Eucharist and of the Church.”
There is no doubt -- and this is what is
particularly interesting in this text -- that the wish of Cardinal Ottaviani in
his letter to Paul VI at last finds an echo in the pope’s heart. In his “Brief
Critical Examination,” he was writing:
“We rest assured that these considerations
directly inspired from what we hear in the vibrant voice of the pastors and
their flock will always find its echo in His Holiness’s fatherly heart, who is
always so profoundly concerned about the spiritual needs of his children of the
Church.”
It
is now done today.
We
had to wait for almost 40 years.
Never
mind -- let us give thanks to God who takes care of his Church.
It
is in this respect that this Encyclical Letter, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, could very well be historical.
It could also be so in another perspective:
The pope announces in Chapter V the
forthcoming publication of another document whose objective will be a reminder,
to the priests and the faithful, of the respect owed to the “liturgical norms”
in the celebration of the mass. He entrusts certain offices of the Roman Curia
with this charge. (n52).
There is no doubt that Cardinal Ratzinger will
be the kingpin of this forthcoming document, and that he will seize the
opportunity to establish the reform of the reform, which is dear to his heart.
This new text will indeed be a good opportunity to bring about the necessary
rectification on the liturgical reform, which, as the pope himself asserts it
in his Letter, truly needs it. We really cannot see how this new text could
wander from the pope’s profound desire, that is to correct abuses and to
“banish the dark clouds of unacceptable doctrine and practice” of the
liturgical reform (n10).
.
This
is what Jean Madiran wishes.
This
is what Archbishop Lefebvre wanted.
“I believe that Vatican II is susceptible of a
pia interpretatio (as Saint Thomas did with certain Fathers). I am not opposed
to the idea that the pope -- through some documents -- could rectify the
ambiguities of the council. Neither am I opposed to the idea of a reform of a
reform if, in the reform, there is rectification” (interview with Father de
Tanouarn Certitudes n11).
This upcoming text will be the realization of
such a reform. Let us hope, for the Church’s good, that it will be a good and
definitive realization, and that it will be respected.
Finally, this document is or will be
historical in that it prepares the minds to accept liturgical pluralism within
the Church. The legitimacy of Saint Pius V’s mass is close to being recognized
in the Church. All the writings and acts of the present Roman hierarchy prove
it:
1-
The creation of Bishop Rifan’s personal apostolic administration with the
exclusive right to celebrate Tridentine mass.
2-
The celebration of the Tridentine mass by Cardinal Hoyos in Rome in Saint
Mary’s Basilica, the 24th of May 2003.
3-
The celebration of the Tridentine mass by Bishop Léonard in Belgium the 24th of
May 2003.
4-
The numerous writings of Cardinal Ratzinger and Cardinal Stickler in favour of
Saint Pius V’s mass and their criticism on the liturgical reform.
5-
Today’s recognized possibility for the bishops to create personal churches for
the faithful attached to that rite.
6-
The multiple efforts in order to find a solution regarding Society Saint Pius
X’s freedom to celebrate Saint Pius V’s rite.
7-
Finally, this very Encyclical Letter and its number 49.
“This led progressively to the development of a particular form of regulating the
Eucharistic liturgy, with due respect for the various legitimately
constituted ecclesial traditions”
Such are some aspects of this important
document, which may be historical.
To have more information about this Encyclical
Letter, please see Father Aulagnier’s detailed comment in the rubric Actualités
religieuses.
Father Aulagnier
Translated into English by Jean-François Roy