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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- (CONTINUED NEXT PAGE)