Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, bishop emeritus of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and responsible for the Doctrine of Faith at the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM), offers Exaudi readers his weekly article.
LOOK
Following the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments giving official recognition to some liturgical adaptations in indigenous communities of Chiapas, reactions such as these have arisen:
On the LifeSiteNews site, they say: The Vatican approved the Mayan rite of the Mass. God forgive them for eliminating the Tridentine Mass, the Mass of the apostles and of all the saints to introduce their pagan and satanic rites. The Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) titles its article: Vatican: green light to the ‘Mayan rite’ of the Mass for indigenous communities of Chiapas. Even ZENIT, the very prestigious and very reliable news agency from Rome, says: Vatican approves “Mayan Mass.”
Someone wrote to me: The Mass is the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus offered to the Father. If invocations of other entities are introduced, such as diabolical spirits (pagan gods are that), it is no longer being celebrated only for the Lord, therefore, the content changes. It is not secondary that a pagan cult is introduced into a Mass… Are the Mayan ritual dances not invocations of pagan spirits?… A pagan rite was already celebrated in the Vatican gardens…
These reactions reflect ignorance of the liturgy and the ancient culture of these indigenous ethnic groups. In the approved adaptations, nothing is pagan or contrary to the Catholic faith. The traditionalists would like nothing to be changed in the Mass and for the Roman rite to be preserved, as was customary before the Second Vatican Council; but neither Jesus nor the apostles celebrated with this Tridentine Missal; it is only from the 16th century. At the Last Supper, Jesus celebrated the first Mass, called the breaking of the bread, with various Jewish-style rites; he gave them fullness. It is the best example of inculturation, with Jewish ritual signs. He instituted the Eucharist not in Latin, but in Aramaic, which was the language of those with whom he lived at that time. The bread he used was not like our hosts, which look like wafers and are real bread; the form changes, not the substance. Orthodox Catholics validly celebrate the Mass in a cultural way different from ours, and their Eucharist is perfectly valid; they cannot be required to celebrate as we do. The fundamental thing does not change: there is the Word of God, consecration of bread and wine, assembly and an ordained minister who presides.
DISCERN
In the face of these confusions, the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM), in agreement with the respective Dicastery, issued this explanatory note: In the face of various interpretations spread about the recent adaptations to the Ordinary of the Mass approved by the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, it considers it necessary to make the following clarifications:
- Scope of approval: These adaptations have been approved exclusively for the Tseltal, Tsotsil, Ch’ol, Tojolabal and Zoque communities and not for other communities of the faithful who do not belong to these indigenous peoples. These are optional adaptations to the Ordinary of the Mass of the Roman Rite. They do not constitute a new rite or a substantial modification of the structure of the Mass of the Roman Missal. There is no “Maya rite” or “Maya Mass.”
- Approved adaptations: The three authorized adaptations are limited to: a) The ministry of the Principal: This is a person recognized in the community who collaborates in specific moments of community prayer, as a monitor. He always acts at the invitation of the priest who presides over the celebration. He invites the assembly to pray aloud at certain moments of the celebration. Likewise, he does not assume the presidency of the Eucharistic celebration at any time. b) The ministry of incensing: This is carried out at the times provided for in the Roman Missal. It incorporates the traditional use of incense, which is typical of the communities. It is designated by the diocesan Bishop. c) Prayer of the assembly moderated by the Principal: Under the presidency of the priest, the Principal invites the assembly to pray out loud, presenting their personal and community intentions to God. The assembly may remain standing or kneeling. It is only performed at one of these three moments of the Mass: At the beginning of the Mass, after the greeting; during the prayer of the faithful; in thanksgiving, after communion; in this case, this prayer may be performed with body movement accompanied by its own music. It is not a ritual dance, but rather rhythmic body swings.
- Important clarifications: It is necessary to clarify that no “Mayan rite” has been approved, ritual dances during the celebration, Mayan altar, prayers to the cardinal points, transfer of the liturgical presidency to lay people.
- Context of the adaptations: These adaptations are the result of a careful process of diocesan discernment, study and approval by the CEM, the recognitio of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, respect for both the nature of the liturgy and legitimate cultural expressions.
- Implementation: The adaptations, which are optional, will be implemented gradually. The necessary training will be provided to priests and pastoral workers. Pastoral monitoring of their application will be maintained.
The Mexican Episcopal Conference reiterates its commitment to the authentic inculturation of the liturgy, always in communion with the universal Church and under the guidance of the Magisterium.
A clarification on my part. It is insisted that no ritual dances have been approved; however, the ritual authorized by Rome says, in the description of the adaptations, that after Communion: “Thanksgiving may be done with bodily movement” (426). “Everyone, standing in their places, prays in silence with a rhythmic pendulum-like movement” (427). The same phrase is used in No. 138 of the approved ritual. Although the word “dances” is not used in the ritual, it is known as such in Chiapas as in other peoples. They are not popular folk dances. And there is no need to be reluctant to use this word, since the same Dicastery uses it in its Instruction to The Roman Liturgy and Inculturation (Varietates legitimae) of 1994: “In some peoples, singing is instinctively accompanied by clapping, rhythmic swaying and dancing by the participants. Such forms of external expression can have a place in the liturgical actions of these peoples, provided that they are always an expression of true community prayer, adoration, praise, offering and supplication, and not just a performance” (42). And this is what Pope Francis invites us to do in Querida Amazonia: “To gather in the liturgy many elements of the indigenous experience in their intimate contact with nature and to encourage native expressions in songs, dances, rites, gestures and symbols” (82).
ACT
Let us continue forward in the process of inculturation of the liturgy, always faithful to the Word of God and the Magisterium of the Church, so that our peoples may live their faith in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, also in their cultural forms, being faithful children of the Catholic Church.
The warning given by Pope Francis is serious: “The particular Churches must actively promote forms, at least incipient, of inculturation. If we allow doubts and fears to stifle every boldness, we may simply remain complacent rather than creative, failing to bring about any progress. In that case, we will not be cooperating with historical processes, but merely spectators of an unfruitful stagnation of the Church” (EG 129).
