“The Mediator between God and Men.” That is the opening line of the next document in our series and where we get the title Mediator Dei (Mediator of God). Written in 1947 by Pope Pius XII, this document addresses the Sacred Liturgy. The “Sacred Liturgy” refers not only to Mass, but to all of the public, formal acts of worship performed by the Church. This includes the other 6 sacraments as well as the many blessings and rituals that populate our tradition of prayer and worship. As the Mystical Body of Christ, these formal acts of the Church are also the acts of Jesus Christ. Pope Pius begins the encyclical by summarizing the mission of Jesus Christ as reconciling sinful humanity with God, hence his title as “mediator.” The way Jesus reconciled us to God was through his death and resurrection. Although this one-time event is enough to save all humanity, the actual process of applying that salvation is ongoing.
Pope Pius XII writes that Jesus “willed it that… the supplication and sacrifice of His mortal body should continue without intermission down the ages in His Mystical Body which is the Church. That is why He established a visible priesthood… which would enable men from East to West, freed from the shackles of sin, to offer God that unconstrained and voluntary homage which their conscience dictates… The Church prolongs the priestly mission of Jesus Christ mainly by means of the sacred liturgy.” In other words, the liturgy is not just a bunch of man-made rituals without purpose. It is a direct continuation of Jesus’ work to redeem us from sin. Notice that the pope talks about offering “voluntary homage” that our “conscience dictates.” The point of this is that human beings want to worship something. Ultimately, we have a natural desire to worship God, though we often twist that into worshipping idols or ourselves. By the grace of Christ’s sacrifice, we can be set free from sin which leads us to false worship. This in turn allows us to offer the real worship we desire deep down. This in turn allows us to rise up to the one thing that makes us truly happy: love. Specifically, receiving the love of God and loving him back through perfect worship. The practical methods of making all this happen are seen in the liturgy.
This is why the pope writes this letter about renewing a deeper understanding of the liturgy. By this point in history, a number of scholars had started calling for a reform of the liturgy to better capture it’s primary value and objective. Drawing on a deep study of the liturgy of the past, they fostered a movement to help the Church better understand and implement the liturgy. Pope Pius XII acknowledges the valuable contribution of these scholars but then reminds everyone that the Church has a responsibility to properly guide such efforts. He wants to make sure this “revival” (the pope himself puts it in quotes) does not become excessive or perverse.
Right away, Pius XII makes it clear that freeform experimentation and novelty are not the right way to go about this revival. “Doctrine and prudence” require such reformers to avoid quickly changing or adding things since this too easily leads to a false understanding of worship and of the faith itself. Precisely because the liturgy is an extension of Christ’s own work on the Cross and beyond, we are not free to do whatever we want. At the same time, “as circumstances and the needs of Christians warrant, public worship is organized, developed and enriched by new rites, ceremonies and regulation.” This means that change and adaptation can and should happen, only that when it does, it must be done under the careful guidance of the magisterium rather than according to the whims and opinions of this or that scholar or pastor.
Closely connected to this point is the fact that “it is an error… to think of the sacred liturgy as merely the outward or visible part of divine worship or as an ornamental ceremonial.” “The chief element of divine worship must be interior.” Because of this, the primary goal of any reform or revival should be fostering true interior worship, not creative expression or cultural “relevance” in the exact forms used. At the same time, because Jesus entrusted real power to his apostles, the external forms and words are themselves channels of grace that cannot be neglected. Pope Pius XII sums up this point by saying “no conflict exists between public prayer and prayers in private, between morality and contemplation, between the ascetical life and devotion to the liturgy… there is no opposition between the jurisdiction and teaching office of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and the specifically priestly power exercised in the sacred ministry.” Having reiterated the role of the Church in guiding any and all reform and revival in the liturgy, we’ll pick up next week with where that guidance leads.