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SACRED MUSIC Volume 114, Number 4(Winter) 1987

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PARTICIPATIONWith the c ons t i t u t i on on the l i t u r gy , Sacrosanctum Concilium, i ssued in 1965 by

the Se c ond V a t i c a n Counc i l , e ve r yone be c a m e ve r y c onsc ious o f pe r sona l pa r t i c ipa -t i on i n t he sa c r e d l i t u r gy , pa r t i c u l a r ly i n t he M a ss .

But a c t i ve pa r t i c ipa t ion in the li t u r gy w a s no t a c onc e p t c r e a t e d by the Se c ondV a t i c a n Co unc i l . I nde e d , e ve n the ve r y w o r ds actuosa participatio c a n be f ound inthe w r i t i ngs o f t he po pe s f o r t he pa s t on e hun dr e d ye a r s . Pop e P ius X c a l l e d fo r i t i nh is motu proprio, Tra le sollecitudini, publ i she d in 1903 , w he n he sa id t ha t " thef a it h f u l a s se m b le to d r a w tha t sp i r i t f r om i t s p r i m a r y a n d ind i spe nsa b le sour c e , t ha tis , f r om a c t ive pa r t i c ip a t ion in t he sa c r e d m ys t e r i e s a nd in t he pub l i c a nd so l e m npr a ye r o f t he Chur c h . "

Pope P ius X I i n h i s a pos to l i c c ons t i t u t i on , Divini cultus, w r ote i n 1928 , t ha t t her e s to r a t i on o f G r e gor i a n c ha n t f o r t he use o f t he pe op le w ould p r ov ide t he m e a nsw he r e by " the f a i t h f u l m a y pa r t i c ipa t e i n d iv ine w or sh ip m or e a c t i ve ly . " Suc h pa r t i c i -pa t ion w a s t o be a c h i e ve d bo th by s ing ing a nd by a n a ppr e c i a t i on o f t he be a u ty o fthe l i t u r gy w hic h s t i r s t he he a r t o f t he w or sh ipe r , w ho the r e by e n t e r s i n to t he sa c r e dm ys te r i e s .In his encyc l ica ls , Mystici corporis i n 1943 , a nd Mediator Dei i n 1947 , Pope P iusX I I use d the t e r m bu t c a r e f u l ly i ns i s t e d t ha t t r ue pa r t i c ipa t ion w a s no t m e r e ly e x t e r -na l bu t c ons i s t ed i n a ba p t i sm a l un i on w i th Chr i s t i n H i s M y s t i c a l Body , t he Ch ur c h .

I n 1958 , t he Sa c r e d Congr e ga t ion o f R i t e s i s sue d the i ns t r uc t ion , De musica sacra,w hic h d i s t i ngu i she d se ve r a l qua l i t i e s o f pa r t i c ipa t ion :

The Mass of its nature requires that all those present participate in it, in the fashionproper to each.This part icipation must pr imarily be interior (i.e., union with Christ the Priest;offering with and through Him).b) But the participation of those present becomes fuller (plenior) if to internal atten-tion is joined external participation, expressed, that is to say, by external actions such as

the position of the body (genuflecting, standing, sitting), ceremonial gestures, or, inparticular, the responses, prayers and singing. . .It is this harmonious form of participation that is referred to in pontifical documentswhen they speak of active participation (participatio actuosa), the principal example ofwhich is found in the celebrating priest and his ministers who, with due interior devo-tion and exact observance of the rubrics and ceremonies, minister at the altar.c) Perfect participatio actuosa of the faithful, finally, is obtained when there is addedsacramental participation (by communion).d) Deliberate participatio actuosa of the faithful is not possible without their ade-quate instruction.

I t i s m a d e c l e a r t ha t i t i s t he ba p t i s m a l c ha r a c t e r t ha t f o r m s the f oun da t i on o fa c t i v e p a r t i c i p a t i o n .

Vat ican I I int roduced no radica l a l te ra t ion in the concept of participatio actuosa a sf os t e r ed b y the pope s f o r t he pa s t de c a d e s . T he ge ne r a l p r inc ip l e i s c on ta ine d inA r t i c l e 14 o f t he c ons t i t u t i on on the sa c r e d l i t u r gy :

Mo ther C hurch earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that full, consciousand active participation in the ceremonies which is demanded by the very nature of theliturgy.

Such participation by the Christian people as a "chosen race, a royal priesthood, aholy nation, a redeemed people" (I Pet. 2:9; 2: 4-5) is their right and duty by reason oftheir baptism.In the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy this full and active participa-tion by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else; for it is the primary and

indis pen sable source from wh ich the faithful are to derive the true spirit of Ch rist. . . PARTICIPATION

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T he w or d " f u l l " (plena) r e f e r s t o t he i n t e gr a l l y hum a n f a sh ion in w hic h the ba p t i z e df a i th f u l t a k e pa r t i n t he l i t u rgy , i . e . , i n t e r na l ly a n d e x t e r na l ly . T h e w or d " c on sc ious"(conscia) de m a n ds a kn ow le d ge o f w ha t one is do in g on the pa r t of t he f a i th f u l ,e xc lud ing a ny supe r s t i t i on o r f a l se p i e ty . Bu t t he w or d " a c t ive " (actuosa) r e qu i r e ss o m e g r e a t e r e x a m i n a t i o n .

A t r ue g r a sp o f t he m e a n ing o f pa r t i c ipa t ion in t he l i t u r gy de m a nds a c l e a runde r s t a nd ing o f t he na tu r e o f t he Chur c h a nd a bove a l l o f Chr i s t Himself. A t t h eba s i s o f so m uc h o f t oda y ' s p r ob le m s in l i t u r gy l i e s a f a l se no t ion o f Chr i s to logy a nde c c l e s io logy . Chr i s t , t he i nc a r na t e Wor d o f G od , t r ue G od a nd t r ue M a n , l i ve s on inth i s w o r ld no w . " I w i l l be w i th y ou a l l da ys un t i l t he e nd o f t he w o r ld . " E ve n th ou ghH e ha s a r i se n a n d a sc e nd e d in to he a ve n , H e li ve s w i th us . T h e Chu r c h i s H i s m y s t i c a lBody , i nde e d H i s m ys t i c a l Pe r son . We a r e t he m e m be r s o f t ha t Body . I t s a c t i v i t y , t hea c t iv i t y o f t he Chu r c h , is t he a c t i v i t y o f Ch r i s t , i ts H e a d . T h e h i e r a r c h i c a l p r i e s tho odf unc t ion s i n t he ve r y pe r so n of Chr i s t , do ing H i s w or k o f t e a c h ing , r u l i ng a ndsa nc t i f y ing . T hus t he M a ss a nd the sa c r a m e nt s a r e Chr i s t ' s a c t i ons b r ing ing to a l l t hem e m b e r s o f H i s Body , t he Ch ur c h , t h e ve r y l if e t ha t i s i n i t s H e a d . Pa r t i c ip a t ion intha t l i f e de m a nds t ha t e ve r y m e m be r o f t he Body t a ke pa r t i n t ha t a c t i on , w hic h i sp r im a r i l y t he l i t u r g i c a l a c t i v i t y o f t he Chur c h . T he l i t u r gy i s t he p r im a r y sour c e o ftha t divine l i fe , and thus a l l must be joined to i t in an ac t ive way. Bapt ism is the keytha t op e ns t he do or a nd p e r m i t s on e to be c om e pa r t o f t he l i v ing Bo dy o f Ch r i s t . T heba p t i z e d C hr i s t i a n ha s no t on ly a r i gh t t o pa r t i c ipa t ion in t he Ch ur c h ' s l if e bu t a du tya s w e l l . I t i s o n l y t h e b a p t i z e d p e r s o n w h o c a n p a r t i c i p a t e .

T he d i f f e r e nc e be tw e e n pa r t i c ipa t ion in t he l i t u r gy tha t c a n be c a l l e d activa a n dpa r t i c ipa t ion tha t c a n be l a be l l e d actuosa res ts in the presence in the soul of theba p t i sm a l c ha r a c t e r , t he se a l t ha t g r a n t s one t he r i gh t to pa r t i c ipa t e . W i th ou t t h eba p t i sm a l m a r k , a l l t he a c t i ons of s i ng ing , w a lk ing , kn e e l ing o r a ny th in g e lse c a n bet e r m e d " a c t ive ," bu t t he y do no t c ons t i t u t e participatio actuosa. O n l y t h e b a p t i s m a lc ha r a c t e r c a n m a ke a ny a c t i ons t r u ly pa r t i c ipa to r y . L e t us use a n e xa m ple . L e t us sa ytha t a p ious H indu a t t e nds M a ss , t a ke s pa r t i n t he s ing ing a nd e ve n w a lks i n apr oc e s s ion w i th g r e a t p i e ty . I n t he sa m e c hur c h i s a l so a Ca tho l i c w h o i s b l i nd a n dde a f a nd w ho i s un a b le t o l e a ve h i s c ha i r ; he c a n ne i the r s ing no r he a r t he r e a d ing sn o r w a l k i n t h e p r o c e s s i o n . W h i c h o n e h a s t r u l y p a r t i c i p a t e d , t h e o n e w h o i s v e r ya c t ive , o r t he one w h o ha s c onf ine d h im se l f so l e ly t o h i s t ho ug h t s o f a do r a t i o n?O b viou s ly , i t i s t he ba p t i z e d C a tho l i c w h o ha s exe r c i sed participatio actuosa de sp i t eh i s l a c k of e x t e rn a l , p h y s i c a l m o v e m e n t . T h e H i n d u e v e n w i t h h i s m a n y a c t i o n s h a sno t be e n c a pa b le o f i t , s i nc e he l a c ks t he ba p t i sm a l c ha r a c t e r .

G r a n t in g the n th e a bs o lu t e ne c e ss i t y o f ba p t i s m , i t s t i ll i s im p e r a t iv e fo r t heChr i s t i a n t o t a ke pa r t i n t he l i t u r gy a c t i ve ly by a va r i e ty o f a c t i ons . T h i s m e a ns t ha tt he i n t e r na l actuosa participatio, w h i c h t h e b a p t i s m a l m a r k e m p o w e r s , m u s t b ea ide d by those e x t e r na l a c t i ons t ha t he is c a p a b le o f. H e sho u ld do th ose t h ings t ha tt he Chur c h se t s ou t f o r h im a c c or d ing to h i s r o l e i n t he l i t u r gy a nd the va r iousc o n d i t i o n s t h a t a g e , s o c i al p o s i t i o n a n d c u l t u r a l b a c k g r o u n d d i c t a t e . H e m u s t j o i nparticipatio activa to his participatio actuosa w hic h he e xe r c i se s a s a ba p t i z e d pe r -s o n .

Wha t a r e t hose a c t i ons t ha t m a ke f o r t r ue a c t i ve pa r t i c ipa t ion in t he l i t u r gy?T he se m us t be bo th i n t e r na l a nd e x t e r na l i n qua l i t y , s i nc e m a n i s a r a t i o na l c r e a tu r ew i th body a nd sou l . T he e x t e r na l a c t i ons m us t be i n t e l l i ge n t a nd unde r s tood , s i nc e r ea n d p i o u s i n t e r n a l l y . T h e C h u r c h p r o p o s e s m a n y b o d i l y p o s i t i o n s : k n e e l i n g , s t a n d -ing , w a lk ing , s i t t i ng , e t c . I t l i ke w i se p r opose s m a ny hum a n a c t ions : s i ng ing , spe a k-ing , l i s t e n ing a nd a b ove a ll e l se , t he r e c e p t ion o f t he H o ly E uc ha r i s t . T h e y de m a n din t e r na l a t t e n t ion a s w e l l a s e x t e r na l e xe c u t ion .

PARTICIPATION O n e of th e m os t ac t iv e an d de m an di ng of h u m a n ac t io ns i s th a t of l i s tenin g. I t

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requires strict attention and sum mo ns up in a person his total concentrative effort. Itis possible, for example, to walk without really knowing that one is walking oradvert to where one is going. It is possible even to sing, especially a very familiartune, and not be conscious of actually singing. But one cannot truly listen withoutattention. Especially in our day of constant radio and TV broadcasting, we are ableto tune out almost every sound we wish. To listen attentively demands full humanconcentration. Listening can be the most active form of participation, demandingeffort and attention. Truly, as the scriptures tell us, faith demands hearing, fides exauditu.With that in mind, surely the baptized Christian who listens with care to theproclamation of the gospel or the singing of the preface at Mass truly has achievedpart icipation, both activa and actuosa.The Church does not have the entire congregation proclaim the gospel text, butrather the deacon or the priest does it. It is the duty of all to listen. The canon of theMass is not to be recited by everyone but all are to hear it. Listening is a mostimportant form of active participation.

There is a variety of roles to be observed in the public celebration of the liturgy.There is the role of priest, deacon, reader, cantor, choir and congregation, amongmany others. Because each office has his own purpose and its own manner of actingwe have the basic reason for a distinction of roles. If the reader or the cantor is toread and sing, certainly the role of the others is to listen. If the choir is to sing,someone must listen and in so-doing participate actively in the liturgy, even if duringthe period of listening he is relatively inactive in a physical way.

Every age has participated in the liturgy through baptism, as members of theChurch and part of the mystical Body of Christ. All ages have shared in the right andduty of actuosa participatio. If, as Pius X insists, the liturgy is the pri m ary source ofthe Christian life, everyone must take part in it to achieve salvation. Active partici-pation is not an invention of our day; the Church throughout the ages constantlyshared the life of Christ with its members in the Mass and the sacraments, the veryactions of Christ Himself working through His Church and His priesthood. For eachage the activities deemed by it to be useful in promoting that participation havevaried according to the needs and ideas of the period. One cannot say that becausethe medieval period developed a chant that was largely the possession of monasticchoirs, the congregations who listened were not actively participating. Perhaps notaccording to post-Vatican II standards, but one must carefully avoid the error ofjudging the past by the present and applying to former times criteria that seemvaluable in our own times. Because Palestrina's polyphonic Masses require the sing-ing of trained choirs, can one assume that non-choir members in the renaissanceperiod were deprived of an active participation in the liturgy? No age could permitsuch a thing to happen and thus be deprived of the primary source of the spirituallife. The sixteenth-century baptized Roman did participate through listening alongwith other activities, as no doubt an eighteenth-century Austrian did when he hearda Mozart Mass performed by a choir and orchestra.

We must then carefully consider the roles of each individual, and we must con-sider the cultural and personal conditions of each one who must find in the liturgythe primary source of his spiritual life. A variety of opportunities for liturgicalactivity is needed, and good pastoral direction will supply the need. The Churchherself does so by the very rubrics of the liturgical books, directing what is to bedone. The Vatican Council taught the need of various functions and various roles tocarry out completely the liturgical actions.Surely the spoken an d sung responses and acclam ations in the liturgy are the right

and the duty of all present. But the practice of calling the Sanctus an ac cl am at io n is PARTICIPATION

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without foundation; it is a hymn, found in the Old Testament and sung by theangels. It is not the exclusive perogative of the congregation as it might be tho ught tobe if it is labelled an acclamation. As a hymn it can be given to a trained group andsung in a more elaborate setting. The same is true of the parts called the ordinary ofthe Mass, including the Credo, which may be listened to and consented to with greatfaith without having to be spoken by the congregation. The proper parts of theMass , because of the great variety of texts and settings, fall of necessity to trainedand practiced groups. One may, of course, never exclude the congregation totallyfrom participation by singing, but the variety of methods allows for many possibili-ties for participation by singing or by listening to singing. The possibilities of partici-pation are almost infinite.

Important too for any participation in the liturgy is the elevation of the spirit ofthe worshiper. Ultimately, liturgy is prayer, the supreme prayer of ador ation , than ks-giving, petition and reparation. Prayer is the raising of the heart and the mind toGo d as Creator, Redeemer a nd Sanctifier. T he me ans to achieve such elevation of thespirit in prayer involve all the activities of the human person, both spirit and body.Such means produce true actuosa participatio. Thus beauty, whether it appeals tothe sight, the ear, the imagination or any of the senses, is an important element inachieving participation. The architectural splendor of a great church or the sound ofgreat music, or the solemnity of ceremonial movement by ministers clothed in pre-cious vestments, or the beauty of the proclaimed wordall can effect a true andsalutary participation in one who himself has not sung a note or taken a step. But heis not a m ere silent spectator as some wo uld say; he is actively participating becauseof his baptismal character and the grace stirred up in him by what he is seeing andhearing, thinking and praying.

The Church has always promoted Gregorian chant. Especially during this pastcentury, the popes have fostered the music of the renaissance polyphonists. PopeJohn Paul II celebrated Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica with the Vienna orchestra andsingers doing Mo zart 's Coronation Mass. Any one who was present on that m emora-ble occasion in that great church experienced true participation.

Thus to limit participation to singing impoverishes seriously the opportunity ofthe Christian to take part in the most essential means for his salvation. One does nothave to sing to save his soul. But one must be active (actuosa participatio) in theliturgy, through baptism and other actions according to his ability, state, culture anddisposition, in order to enter into the mystery of the redemption wrought by Christ,outside of which there is no salvation.We can conclude with this definition of participatio actuosa:(It is) that form of devout involvement in the liturgical action which, in the presentconditions of the Church, best promotes the exercise of the common priesthood of thebaptized: that is, their power to offer the sacrifice of the M ass with C hrist and to receivethe sacramen ts. It is clear that, concretely, this requires that the faithful understand theliturgical ceremonial; that they take part in it by bodily movements, standing, kneelingor sitting as the occasion may demand; that they join vocally in the parts which areintended for them. It also requires that they listen to, and unders tand, the liturgy of theword. It requires, too, that there be moments of silence when the import of the wholeceremonial may be absorbed and deeply personalized. (Colman E. O'Neill, "The Theo-logical Meaning of Actuosa Participatio in the Liturgy," in Sacred Music and LiturgyReform after Vatican II. Consociatio Internationalis Musicae Sacrae, Rome, 1969. p.105.)

MONSIGNOR RICHARD J . SCHULER

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