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UNITED STATES CARDINALS AT VATICAN COUNCIL II are Square. They are, left to right: Cardinals Ritter, McIntyre, Spei-
here shown as they emerged from a sesson into St. Peter's lman, Cushing and Meyer.
passion, death, and resurrect
ion of Christ, the fount from
which all sacraments and sac-
ramentals draw their power.
There is hardly any proper use
of material things which can
not thus be directed toward the
sanctification of men and the
praise of God.
62. With the passage of time,
however .there have crept into
the rites of the sacraments anc
sacramentals certain features
which have rendered their na
ture and purpose far from cl
ear to the people of today: hen
ce some changes have become
necessary to adapt them to the
needs of our own times. For this
reason the sacred Council de
crees as follows concerning
their revision.
63 Because the use of the mo
ther tongue in the administra
tion of the sacraments and sa
cramentals can often be of con
siderable help to the people,
this use is to be extended ac
cording to the following norms:
a) The vernacular language
may be used in administering
the sacraments and sacra
mentals, according to the norm
of Art. 36.
b) In harmony with the new
edition of the Roman Ritual, pa
rticular rituals shall be prep
ared without delay by the com
petent terriorial ecclesiasti
cal authority mentioned in Art.
22, %2, of this Constitution. Th
ese rituals, which are to be ad
apted, also as regards the la
nguage employed, to the needs
of the different regions, are to
be reviewed by the Apostolic
See and then introduced into the
regions for which they have
been prepared. But in drawing
up these rituals or particular
collections of rites, the instru
ctions prefixed to the individual
rites in the Roman Ritual, whe
ther they be pastor and rubri
cal or whether they have spec
ial social import, shall not be
omitted.
64. The catechumenate for
adults, comprising several dis
tinct steps, is to be restored
and to be taken into use at the
discretion of the local ordin
ary. By this means the time of
the catechumenate, which is in
tended as a period of suitable
instruction, may be sanctified
by sacred rites to be celebra
ted at successive intervals of
time.
65. In mission lands it is
found that some of the peoples
already make use of initation
rites. Elements from these,
when capable of being adapted
to Christian ritual, may be ad
mitted along with those already
found in Christian tradition, ac
cording to the norm laid down
in Art. 37-40. of this Consti
tution.
66. Both of the rites for the
baptism of adults are to be re
vised: not only the simpler rite,
but also the more solemn one,
which must take into account
the restored catechumenate. A
special Mass “for the confer
ring of baptism” is to be ins
erted into the Roman Missal.
67. The rite for the baptism
of infants is to be revised, and
it should be adapted to the cir
cumstance that those to be ba
ptized are, in fact, infants. The
roles of parents and godpare
nts, and also their duties, sho
uld be brought out more clear,
rly in the rite itself.
68. The baptismal rite should
contain variants, to be used at
the discretion of the local or
dinary, for occasions when a
very large number are to be
baptized together. Moreover, a
shorter rite is to be drawn up,
especially for mission lands, to
be used by catechists, but also
by the faithful in general when
there is danger of death, and ne
ither priest nor deacon is avai
lable.
69. In place of the rite call
ed the "Order of supplying what
was omitted in the baptism of
an infant,” a new rite is to be
drawn up. This should manifest
more fittingly and clearly that
the infant, baptized by the short
rite, has already been receiv
ed into the Church.
And a new rite is to be dr
awn up for converts who have
already been validly baptized; it
should indicate that they are
now admitted to communion
with the Church.
70. Except during Eastertide,
baptismal water may be bless
ed within the rite of baptism it
self by an approved shorter for
mula.
71. The rite of confirmation
is to be revised and the inti
mate connection which this sac
rament has with the whole of
Christian initiation is to be
more clearly set forth; for this
reason it is fitting for candida
tes to renew their baptismal
promises just before they are
confirmed.
Confirmation may be given
within the Mass when conven
ient; when it is given outside the
Mass, the rite that is used sh
ould be introduced by a formula
to be drawn up for this pur
pose.
72. The rite and formulas
for sacrament of penance are to
be revised so that they more
clearly express both the nature
and effect of the sacrament.
73. "Extreme unction,”
which may also and more fit
tingly be called "anointing of
the sick,” is not a sacrament
for those only who are at the.
point of death. Hence, as soon
as any one of the faithful begins
to be in danger of death from
sickness or old age, the fitting
time for him to receive his
sacrament has certainly al
ready arrived,
74. In addition to the separ
ate rites for anointing of the
sick and for viaticum, a cont-
inous rite shall be prepared ac
cording to which the sick man
is anointed after he has made
his confession and before he re
ceives viaticum.
75. The number of the anoi
ntings is to be adapted to the
occasion, and the prayers which
belong to the rite of anointing
are to be revised so as to
correspond with the varying
conditions of the sick who re
ceive the sacrament.
76. Both the ceremonies and
texts of the ordination rites are
to be revised. The address
given by the bishop at the beg
inning of each ordination or
consecration may be in the mo
ther tongue.
When a bishop is consecrat
ed, the laying of hands may be
done by all the bishops pre
sent.
77. The marriage rite now
found in the Roman Ritual is to
be revised and enriched in such
a way that the grace of the
sacrament is more clearly si
gnified and the duties of the spo
uses are taught.
"If any regions are wont to
use other praiseworthy cus
toms and ceremonies when ce
lebrating the sacrament of mat
rimony, the sacred Synod ear
nestly desires that these by all
means be retained" (41).
Moreover the competent ter
ritorial ecclesiastical auth
ority mentioned in Art. 22, %2,
of this Constitution is free to
draw up its own rite suited to
the usages of place and people,
according to the provision of
Art. 63. But the rite must al
ways conform to the law that
the priest assisting at the mar
riage must ask for and ob
tain the consent of the contra
cting parties.
78. Matrimony is normally to
be celebrated within the Mass,
after the reading of the gospel
and the homily, and before "the
prayer of the faithful.” The
prayer for the bride, duly
amended to remind both spous
es of their equal obligation to
remain faithful to each other,
may be said in the mother ton
gue.
But if the sacrament of mat
rimony is celebrated apart fr
om Mass, the epistle and gos
pel from the nuptial Mass are
to be read at the beginning of
the rite, and the blessing sh
ould always be given to the sp
ouses.
79. The sacramentals are to
undergo a revision which takes
into account the primary princ
iple of enabling the faithful to
participate intelligently, activ
ely, and easily; the circumst
ances of our own days must
also be considered. When ritu
als are revised, as laid down
in Art. 63, new sacramentals
may also be added as the need
for these becomes apparent.
Reserved blessings shall be
very few; reservations shall be
in favor only of bishops or or
dinaries.
Let provision be made that
some sacramentals, at least in
special circumstances and at
the discretion of the ordinary,
may be administered by quali
fied lay persons.
80. The rite for the consec
ration of virgins at present fo
und in the Roman Pontifical is
to be revised.
Moreover, a rite of religious
profession and renewal of vows
shall be drawn up in order to
achieve greater unity, sobriety,
and dignity. Apart from except
ions in particular law, this rite
should be adopted by those who
make their profession or rene
wal of vows within the Mass.
Religious profession should
preferably be made within the
Mass.
81. The rite for the burial of
the dead should express more
clearly the paschal character of
Christian death, and should
correspond more closely to the
circumstances and traditions
found in various regions. This
holds good also for the liturg
ical color to be used.
82. The rite for the burial of
infants is to be revised, and a
special Mass for te occasion
should be provided.
CHAPTER IV
THE DIVINE OFFICE
83. Christ Jesus, high priest
of the new and eternal conve-
nant, taking human nature, in
troduced into this earthly exile
that hymn which is sung thr
oughout all ages in the halls of
heaven. He joins the entire co
mmunity of mankind to Himself,
associating it with His own sin
ging of this canticle of divine
praise.
For He continues His pries
tly work through the agency of
His Church, which is ceasele
ssly engaged in praising the
Lord and interceding for the
salvation of the whole world.
She does this, not only by cel
ebrating the eucharist, but also
in other ways, especially by
praying the divine office.
84. By tradition going back
to early Christian times, the
divine office is devised so that
the whole course of the day and
night is made holy by the pra
ises of God. Therefore, when
this wonderful song of praise
is rightly performed by priests
and others who are deputed for
this purpose by the Church's
ordinance, or by the faithful
praying together with the priest
in the approved form, then it is
truly the voice of the bride-
addressed to her bridegroom; it
is the very prayer which Christ
Himself, together with His
body, address to the Father.
85. Hence all who render this
service are not only fulfilling a
duty of the Church, but also are
sharing in the greatest honor of
Christ’s spouse, for by offering
these praises to God they are
standing before God’s throne in
the name of the Church their
Mother.
86. Priests who are engaged
in the sacred pastoral ministry
will offer the praises of the ho-
ours with greater fervor the
more vividly they realize tat
they must heed St. Paul’s exh
ortation; "Pray without cea
sing (1 Thess, 5:17), For the
work in which they labor will
effect nothing and bring forth
no fruit except by the power
of the Lord who said: "With
out me you can do nothing” (Jo
hn 15:5) . That is why the ap
ostles, instituting deacons,
said: "We will devote oursel
ves to prayer and to the minis
try of the word" (Acts 6:4).
87. In order that the divine
office may be better and more
perfectly prayed in existing
circumstances, whether by
priests or by other members of
the Church, the sacred Coun
cil, carrying further the res
toration already so happily be
gun by the Apostolic See, has
seen fit to decree as follows
concerning the office of the Ro
man rite.
88. Because the purpose of
the office is to sanctify the
day, the traditonal sequence of
the hours is to be restored so
that once again they may be
genuienly related to the time of
the day when they are prayed,
as far as this may be possi
ble. Mokeover, it will be nec
essary to take into account the
modern conditions in which da
ily life has to be lived, espec
ially by those who are called to
labor in apostolic works.
89. Therefore, when the of
fice is revised, these norms are
to be observed:
a) By the venerable tradi
tion of the universal Church,
Lauds as morning prayer and
Vespers as evening prayer are
the two hinges on which the
daily office turns; hence they
are to be considered as the-
chief hours and are to be ce
lebrated as such.
b) Compline is to be drawn
up so that it will be a suita
ble prayer for the end of the
day.
c) The hour known as Mat
ins, although it should retain the
character of nocturnal praise
when celebrated in choir, shall
be adapted so that it may be
recited at any hour of the day;
it shall be made up of fewer
psalms and longer readings.
d) The hour of Prime is to
be suppressed.
e) In choir the minor ho
urs of Terce, Sext, and None
are to be observed. But out
side choir it will be lawful to
select any one of these three
according to the respective
time of the day.
90. The divine office, becau
se it is the public prayer of
the Church, is a source of piety
and nourishment for personal
prayer. And therefore priests
and all others who take part
in the divine office are earne
stly exhorted in the Lord to at
tune their minds to their voic
es when praying it. The better
to achieve this, let them take
steps to improve their underst
anding of the liturgy and of
the bible, especially of the
psalms.
In revising the Roman office,
its ancient and venerable treas
ures are to be so adapted that
all those to whom they are han
ded on may more extensively
and easily draw profit from
them.
91. So that it may really be
possible in practice to obser
ve the course of the hours pro
posed in Art. 89, the psalms
are no longer to be distributed
throughout one week, but thro
ugh some longer period of time.
The work of revising the ps
alter, already happily begun, is
to be finished as soon as pos
sible, and is to take into acc
ount the style of Christian La
tin, the liturgical use of psa
lms, also when sung, and the en
tire tradition of the Latin Ch
urch,
92. As regards the readings,
the following shall be observed:
a) Readings from sacred
scripture shall be arranged so
that the riches of God's word
may be easily accessible in
more abundant measure,
b) Readings excerpted
from the works of the fathers,
doctors, and ecclesiastical wr
iters shall be better selected.
c) The accounts of marty
rdom or the lives of the sa
ints are to accord with the fa
cts of history.
93. To whatever extent may
seem desirable, the hymns are
to be restored to their origi
nal form, and whatever smacks
of mythology or ill accords with
Christian piety is to be remo
ved or changed. Also, as occas
ion may arise, let other selec
tions from the treasury of hym
ns be incorporated.
94. That the day may be tru
ly sanctified, and that the hours
themselves may be recited with
spiritual advantage, it is best
that each of them be prayed at
responds with its true canonical
time.
95. Communities obliged to
choral office are bound to cel
ebrate the office in choir every
day in addition to the conventual
Mass, In particular:
a) Orders of canons, of
monks and of nuns, and of ot
her regulars bound by law or
constitutions to choral of
fice must celebrate the entire
office.
b) Cathedral or collegiate
chapters are bound to recite
those parts of the office im
posed on them by general or pa
rticular law.
c) All members of the ab
ove communities who are in
major orders or who are sole
mnly professed, except for lay
brothers, are bound to recite
individually those canonical
hours which they do not pray in
choir.
96. Clerics not bound to of
fice in choir, if they are inma-
major orders, are bound to pray
the entire office every day, ei
ther in common or individually,
as laid down in Art. 89.
97. Appropriate instances
are to be defined by the rub
rics in which a liturgical ser
vice may be substituted for the
divine office.
In particular cases, and fora
Just reason, ordinaries can dis
pense their subjects wholly or
in part from the obligation of
reciting the divine office, or
may commute the obligation.
98. Members of any institu
te dedicated to acquiring per
fection who, according to their
constitutions, are to recite any
parts of the divine office are
thereby performing the public
prayer of the Church.
They too perform the public
prayer of die Church who, in
virtue of their constitutions,
recite any short office, provi
ded this is drawn up after the
pattern of the divine office and
is dully approved,
99. Since the divine office is
the voice of the Church, that is,
of the whole mystical body pub
licly praising God, those cle
rics who together or who as
semble for any purpose, are ur
ged to pray at least some part
of the divine office in common.
All who pray the divine office,
whether in choir or in com
mon, should fulfil the task entr
usted to them as perfectly as
possible: this refers not only
to the internal devotion of their
minds but also to their external
manner of celebration.
It is, moreover, fitting that
the office, both i n choir and in
common, be sung when pos
sible.
100. Pastors of souls should
see to it that the chief hours,
especially Vespers, are cele
brated in common in church on
Sundays and the more solemn
feasts. And the laity, too, are
encouraged to recite the divine
office, either with the priests,
or among themselves, or even
individually.
101. a) In accordance with
the centuries-old traditon of the
Latin rite, the Latin language
is to be retalne by clerics in
the divine office. But in indi
vidual cases the ordinary has
the power of granting the use of
a vernacular translation to
those clerics for whom the use
of Latin constitutes a grave ob
stacle to their praying of the of
fice properly. The vernacular
version, however, must be one
of the office properly. The ver
nacular version, however, must
be one that is drawn up acc
ording to the provision of art.
36.
b) The competent supe
rior has the power to grant the
use of the vernacular in the ce
lebration of the divine office,
even in choir, to nuns and to
members of institutes dedicat
ed to acquiring perfection, both
men who are not clerics and
women. The version, howe
ver, must be one that is appro
ved,
c) Any cleric bound to the
divine office fulfils his obligat
ion if he prays the office in
the vernacular together with a
group of the faithful or with th
ose mentioned in %2 above,
provided that the text of the tra
nslation is approved.
CHAPTER V
THE LITURGICAL YEAR
102. Holy Mother Church is
conscious that she must celeb
rate the saving work of her di
vine Spouse by devoutly re
calling it on certain days thro
ughout the course of the year.
Every week, on the day which
she has called the Lord’s day,
she keeps the memory of the
Lord’s resurrection, which she
also celebrates once in the
year, together with His blessed
passion, in the most solemn
festival of Easter,
Within the cycle of a year,
moreover, she unfolds the
whole mystery of Christ, from
the incarnation and birth until
the ascension, the day of Pent
ecost, and the expectation of
blessed hope and of the coming
of the Lord,
Recalling thus the mysteries
of the Church opens to the fa
ithful the riches of her Lord's
powers and merits, so that
these are in some way made
present for all time, and the
faithful are enabled to lay hold
upon them and become filled
with saving grace,
103. In celebrating this an
nual cycle of Christ’s myster
ies, holy Church honors with
especial love the Blessed Mary,
Mother of God, who is Joined
by an inseparable bond to the
saving work of her Son. In her
the Church holds up and ad
mires the most excellent fruit
of the redemption, and joyfully
contemplates, as in a faultless
image, that which she herself
desires and hopes wholly to be.
104, The Church has also in
cluded in the annual cycle days
devoted to the memory of the
martyrs and the other saints.
Raised up to perfection by the
manifold grace of God, and al
ready in possession of eternal
salvation, they sing God's per
fect praise in heaven and offer
prayers for us. By celebrating
the passage of these saints from
earth to heaven the Church pro
claims the paschal mystery ac
hieved in the saints who have
suffered and been glorified with
Christ; she proposes them to
the faithful as examples draw
ing ail the Father throu-
ugh Christ, and through their
merits she pleads for God's
favors,
105. Finally, in the various
seasons of the year and acco
rding to her traditional disci
pline, the Church completes the
formation of the faithful by
means of pious practices for
soul and body, by instruction,
prayer, and works of penance
and of mercy.
Accordingly the sacred Co
uncil has seen fit to decree as
follows.
106, By a tradition handed do
wn from the apostles which took
its origin from the very day of
Christ’s resurrection, the Ch
urch celebrates the paschal
mystery every eight day; with
good reason this, then, bears
the name of the Lord's day or
Sunday. For on this day Christ's
faithful should come together
into one place so that, by hear
ing the word of God and taking
part in the eucharist, they may
call to mind the passion, the re-
surerction, and the glorificat
ion of the Lord Jesus, and may
thank God who "has begotten
them again, through the resurr
ection of Jesus Christ from the
dead, unto a living hope" (1
Pet. 1:3). Hence the Lord’s day
is the original feast day, and it
should be proposed to the piety
of the faithful and taught to
them so that it may become in
fact a day of joy and of free
dom from work. Other celebra
tions, unless they be truly of
greatest Importance, shall not
have precedence over the Sun
day which is the foundation
and kernel of the whole liturgi
cal year.
107. The liturgical year is
to be revised so that the tra
ditional customs and discipline
of the sacred seasons shall be
preserved or restored to suit
the conditions of modern times;
their specific character is to be
retained, so that they duly nou
rish the piety of the faithful
who celebrate the mysteries of
Christian redemption, and ab
ove al 1 the paschal mystery.
If certain adaptations are
considered necessary on ac
count of local conditions, they
are to be made in accordance
with the provisions of Art, 39
and 40.
108. The minds of the faith
ful must be directed primarily
toward the feasts of the Lord
whereby the mysteries of sal
vation are celebrated in the
course of the year. Therefore,
the proper of the time shall
be given the preference which is
its due over the feasts of the
saints, so that the entire cycle
of the mysteries of salvation
may be suitably recalled.
109, The season of Lent has
a twofold character: primarily
by recalling or preparing for
baptism and by penance, it dis
poses the faithful, who more
diligently hear the word of God
and devote themsleves to pray
er, to celebrate the paschal my
stery, This twofold character is
to be brought into greater pro
minence both in the liturgy and
by liturgical catechesis. Hence:
a) More use is to be made
of the baptismal features pro
per to the Lenten liturgy; some
of them, which used to flourish
in bygone days, are to be re
stored as may seem good,
b) The same is to apply
to the penitential elements. As
regards Instruction it is im
portant to Impress on the minds
of the faithful not only the soc
ial consequences of sin but al
so that essence of the virtue of
penance which leads to the det
estation of sin as an offence
against God; the role of the Ch
urch in penitential practices is
not to be passed over, and the
people must be exhorted to pray
for sinners,
110, During Lent penance sh
ould not be only Internal and
individual, but also external and
social. The practice of penance
should be fostered in ways that
are possible in our own times
and in different regions, and ac
cording to the circumstances of
the faithful; it should be en
couraged by the authorities me
ntioned in Art. 22,
Nevertheless, let the paschal
fast be kept sacred, Let it be
celebrated everyehere on Good
Friday and, where possible,
urday, so that the joys ol me
Sunday of the resurrection may
be attained with uplifted and
clear mind,
111, The saints have been
traditionally honored in the Ch
urch and their authentic relics
and images held in veneration.
For the leas? s cf
proclaim the wonder, di
of Christ in His servants and
display to the faithful fitting ex
amples for their Imitation.
Lest the feasts of the saints
should take precedence over the
feasts which commermorate
the very mysteries of salvat
ion, many of them should be left
to be celebrated by a partlcul
ar Church or nation or family
of religious; only those should
be extended to the universal
Church which commemorate
saints who are truly of univer
sal importance,
CHAPTER VI
SACRED MUSIC
112, The musical tradition of
the universal Church is a tre
asure of inestimable value ,
greater even than that of any
other art. The main reason for
this preeminence is that, as
sacred song united to the words,
it forms a necessary or integ
ral part of the solemn liturgy.
Holy Scripture, indeed, has
bestowed: praise upon sacred
song (42), and the same may be
said of the fathers of the Church
and of the Roman pontiffs who
in recent times, led by St. Pi
us X, have explained more pre
cisely the ministerial function
supplied by sacred music in the
service of the Lord.
Therefore sacred music is to
be considered the more holy in
proportion as it is more clos-
ely connected with the litur
gical action, whether it adds de
light to prayer, fosters unity of
minds, or confers greater sole
mnity upon the sacred rites.
But the Church approves of all
forms of true art having the
needed qualities, and admits
them into divine worship.
Accordingly, the sacred Cou
ncil, keeping to the norms and
precepts of ecclesiastical trad
iton and discipline, and having
regard to the purpose of sac
red music, which is the glory
of God and the sanctification of
the faithful, decrees as follows.
113, Liturgical worship is
given a more noble form when
the divine offices are celebra
ted solemnly in song, with the
assistance of sacred ministers
and the active participation of
the people.
As regards the language to
be used, the provisions of Art.
36 are to be observed; for the
Mass, Art, 54; for the sacra
ments, Art, 63; for the divine
office, Art. 101.
114, The treasure of sacred
music is to be preserved and
fostered with great care. Choi
rs must be diligently prom
oted, especially in cathe
dral churches; but bishops and
other pastors of souls must be
at pains to ensure that, when
ever the sacred action is to be
celebrated with song, the whole
body of the faithful may be able
to contribute that active par
ticipation which is rightly
theirs as laid down in Art. 28
and 30,
115, Great Importance is to
be attached to the teaching and
practice of music in seminar
ies, in the novitiates and hous
es of study of religious of l>oth
sexes, and also in other Catho
lic institutions and schools. To
impart this instruction, tea
chers are to be carefully tra
ined and put in charge of the
teaching of sacred music.
It is desirable also to found
higher institutes of sacred mu
sic whenever this can be done.
Composers and singers, esp
ecially boys, must also be giv
en a genuine liturgical training.
116, The Church acknowled
ges Gregorian chant as speci
ally suited to the Roman liturgy;
therefore other things.t*lng eq
ual, it should be given pride of
place in liturgical services,
But other kinds of sacred mu
sic, especially poloyphony, are
by no means excluded from lit
urgical celebrations, so long as
they accord with the spirit of
the liturgical action, as laid do
wn in Art, 30.
117, The typical edition of the
books of Gregorian chant is to
be completed; and amor© crit
ical edition is to be prepared
of those books already publis
hed since the restoration by St.
Pius X.
It is desirable also that an ed-
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