Part Three
VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL LANGUAGE
Verbal language
Another area of the celebration is verbal language. In this area, great attention is given to the Word of God, proclaimed and explained, and its return to God after working in the individual and the Church. (SC 51).
One category that refers to the verbal language is that concerning the Orations. The Institutio Generalis of the Roman Missal (or Principles and Norms for the Use of the Roman Missal), refers to a series of Prayers: the Eucharistic Prayers; the Collect; the Offerings Prayers; the Prayers after Communion.
These are those prayers that the presiding officer addresses to God in the name of the entire Christian community that exercises, through baptism, its priesthood, which enters into relation with the ministerial priesthood. Let us remember that the assembly is the celebrating subject of which the presiding one is a part. (SC 26).
When we speak of Orations, it is good to place ourselves in an ars dicendi in addition to the ars celebrandi. Not only a gestuality that accompanies the word, but also a word that must be artfully pronounced in full coherence with the celebratory moment and the specificity of the words.
The ars dicendi refers to respecting the meaning of the words one utters. Unfortunately, it happens that saying the orations changes the voice and distorts the sense of the oration: when the priest pronounces the orations, either in a straight tone, quickly, or too slowly.
Another sore point is the monitions and variable parts of the celebrations. (SC 34).
The Roman Missal proposes a series of monitions that have an exemplary character and that are linked to those variable texts that cannot be left to improvisation but must be handled with a certain wisdom, with care. Variable parts that must be in harmony with the entire ritual body: a monition must not be a homily that prepares for the ritual act that follows (think of certain introductions to Masses; or certain introductions to the readings, which are often longer than the readings themselves). The monition must get us into the mood of the liturgical action that follows.
My personal opinion: it is better to avoid monitions. Liturgy celebrated well speaks for itself. Let us think of the advertisements we are offered on television or other media: there are no monitions, because the message must speak for itself. Otherwise, advertising is substituted!
The ars dicendi: evaluating the diversity of speech acts, which have different natures, depths and functions, spurs a wise ars dicendi.
Then there are the community verbal acts: the assembly through the penitential act, the acclamations, the profession of faith, the universal prayer and the Lord’s prayer performs verbal acts and expresses its active participation in the celebration. This is not a silent spectator, but is the subject of the celebration (SC 30 and 31).
Singing (SC 112): it is not an accessory element, but an intrinsic part of the celebration. Singing must be linked to the participation of the celebrating assembly. Singing must have a certain quality, not everything is to be sung and not everything is singable. A form of discernment is necessary, one cannot be satisfied with just anything, as long as it is sung. (OGMR 40) Singing must be consistent with the celebratory gesture. (SC 121 § 3); (Precisazioni CEI n. 2. in OGMR, 1. II).
The song must express the moment being celebrated. Hence a Marian song cannot be performed during the entrance procession in which the gathered people of God are expressed as they march towards their Lord: the Church following the risen Lord. Even at the end of the celebration, it is unfortunately customary to perform a Marian hymn, because it expresses the Church that intends to live what it has celebrated, going out to bear witness to the Gospel in the streets of the world. This is not a lack of respect for the Virgin Mary, but it is placing her in her rightful place. Pastorally, I suggest to the one who presides: before dismissing the assembly, suggest the performance of a verse or two of the final hymn. It makes no sense for those leading the hymns to arrive at the end of the final hymn with the church empty.
Non-verbal language
Another element in reading the ritual programme is non-verbal language. The liturgy is also made up of gestures and things, where the corporeity of the celebrating assembly has its importance, because in celebratory language, human corporeity performs actions.
The first aspect we must reflect on is the value of the senses. Liturgical language is careful to enhance the power of the senses, to involve them in a place, in a space to enter into a relationship with God, to enter into a relationship with others, and to enter into a relationship with oneself. In the liturgy, all the five senses are amplified and enhanced: there is the dimension of taste, touch, sight, hearing, smell, all human corporeity and sensibility are recalled. (cf. P. TOMATIS, Accende lumen sensibus, Edizioni Liturgiche, Rome, 2010) The senses are kindled by the liturgical celebration, there is not only an inner participation, but there is a participation that is sensitive and man, says Romano Guardini, is capable of acting symbolically. So there cannot be a dichotomy (= separation) between interiority and exteriority. This need to overcome this separation and leads us to the second aspect, which is the truth of gestures: the actions that the body performs must connote a truth of what is affirmed: the mind agrees with the voice and this agrees with corporeity. There cannot be a schizophrenia, otherwise the gesture is performed, but the interiority is in another place in the world, so the truth of the gesture is fundamental. This leads us back to noble simplicity (SC.34). If we start from what the pope said, referring to forms of personalism or rigidity, gestuality must be noble and simple, it must not be distracting, it must not be emphasised, but neither must it be invented, but neither must it be rigid, that is, it must be natural, it must be true.
The Decoration of Objects
Another aspect is the decorum of the objects, they too are an integral part and give life to the gesture. Everything must be true, beautiful and good. The material element must be true: the objects must express liturgical time and solemnity. (SC 128).
The Sacredness of Silence (SC no. 30; SACRED CONGREGATION OF RITES, Instruction musicam sacram, 5 March 1967, no. 17 Acta Apostolicae sedis (AAS) 59 (1967) 305.
Silence must have its place in the celebratory action. According to the Roman Missal, there must be silence in a celebration:
- during the penitential act (at the time of the examination of conscience) and after the invitation to prayer (e.g. Let us pray) silence helps recollection;
- the silence after the reading or after the homily is a reminder to meditate briefly on what one has heard.;
- after communion, it encourages inner prayer of praise and supplication.
- even before the celebration itself, it is good to observe silence in the church, in the sacristy, in the place where the vestments are put on, and in the adjoining rooms, so that all may prepare themselves devoutly and in the right manner for the sacred celebration. (OGMR Chapter II, n. 45, XXIII).
RR
The next reflection will focus on the Initial Rites.
By Fr. Giorgio Bontempi C.M.
