Deacon Lawrence Toth
(First of a series)
With Fr. Tom’s permission, I am putting together a series of articles over the next couple of months. These articles will look at some of the teachings given by Pope Leo XIV in his Wednesday audiences this year, focusing (after this introductory article) on what the pontiff has said regarding the Church’s liturgy. I share these because they have helped me to refresh my knowledge of what the Church said in these Vatican II documents some sixty years ago, and to understand more deeply some of the changes that have occurred in the Church since then.
The first of these teachings introduced those that were to follow. In it, the pope expressed deep gratitude for the grace bestowed on the Church through the Council. He expressed a hope that the Church would “rediscover the beauty and the importance of this ecclesial event,” and “not let its prophecy fade.” In seeking to further implement Vatican II’s insights, he says that “it will be important to get to know it again closely, and to do so not through “hearsay” or interpretations that have been given, but by rereading its documents and reflecting on their content.”
Summarizing what happened at Vatican II, Pope Leo said that it “rediscovered the face of God as the Father who, in Christ, calls us to be his children; it looked at the Church in the light of Christ, light of nations, as a mystery of communion and sacrament of unity between God and his people; it initiated important liturgical reform, placing at its center the mystery of salvation and the active and conscious participation of the entire People of God. At the same time, it helped us to open up to the world and to embrace the changes and challenges of the modern age in dialogue and co-responsibility, as a Church that wishes to open her arms to humanity, to echo the hopes and anxieties of peoples, and to collaborate in building a more just and fraternal society.”
Let us explore Pope Leo’s teachings with the hope that understanding them will enhance our appreciation of our liturgy and draw us more deeply into the heart of the Church.
The full text can be found Here