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Mediator Dei
Mediator Dei (Mediator [between] God) is a papal encyclical issued by Pope Pius XII on 20 November 1947. It was the first encyclical devoted entirely to liturgy.
The encyclical suggested new directions and active participation instead of a merely passive role for the faithful in the liturgy, in liturgical ceremonies and in the life of their parish. The encyclical also emphasized the importance of the Eucharist. Mediator Dei is one of the more important encyclicals of Pope Pius XII. The encyclical condemned certain excesses of liturgical reform and stressed the importance of the union of sacrifice and altar with communion, which would also be seen in the reforms undertaken during and after Vatican II. It was written in part in response to the liturgical movement under way since early in the 20th century.
Pope Pius defends liturgy as important, sacred and sacramental. Liturgy is more than the sum of liturgical actions and prescriptions. It is an error to think of the sacred liturgy as merely the outward or visible part of divine worship or as an ornamental ceremonial. No less erroneous is the notion that it consists solely in a list of laws and prescriptions according to which the ecclesiastical hierarchy orders the sacred rites to be performed.
The encyclical was written in part to reject the idea that "objective piety" (i.e. merely participating in liturgy and partaking of sacraments) made "subjective piety" (i.e. one's disposition) unnecessary, or that non-liturgical piety could be held in contempt.
The encyclical has four parts.
The first part explains the nature, origin and development of liturgy. Liturgy is public worship, an obligation for individuals and communities. Liturgy is outward adoration of God as well as a fountain for personal piety. It originated with the early Church.
The first Christians "were preserving the doctrine of the apostles and in communication by the breaking of bread and their prayers." Whenever their pastors could summon a little group of the faithful together, they set up an altar on which they proceeded to offer the sacrifice, and around which were ranged all other rites appropriate for the saving of souls and for the honor due to God.
"The worship rendered by the Church to God must be, in its entirety, interior as well as exterior. [...] Exterior worship [...] reveals and emphasizes the unity of the mystical Body, feeds new fuel to its holy zeal, fortifies its energy, intensifies its action day by day: 'for although the ceremonies themselves can claim no perfection or sanctity in their own right, they are, nevertheless, the outward acts of religion, designed to rouse the heart, like signals of a sort, to veneration of the sacred realities, and to raise the mind to meditation on the supernatural. They serve to foster piety, to kindle the flame of charity, to increase our faith and deepen our devotion. They provide instruction for simple folk, decoration for divine worship, continuity of religious practice. They make it possible to tell genuine Christians from their false or heretical counterparts.' But the chief element of divine worship must be interior. For we must always live in Christ and give ourselves to Him completely, so that in Him, with Him and through Him the heavenly Father may be duly glorified."
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Mediator Dei
Mediator Dei (Mediator [between] God) is a papal encyclical issued by Pope Pius XII on 20 November 1947. It was the first encyclical devoted entirely to liturgy.
The encyclical suggested new directions and active participation instead of a merely passive role for the faithful in the liturgy, in liturgical ceremonies and in the life of their parish. The encyclical also emphasized the importance of the Eucharist. Mediator Dei is one of the more important encyclicals of Pope Pius XII. The encyclical condemned certain excesses of liturgical reform and stressed the importance of the union of sacrifice and altar with communion, which would also be seen in the reforms undertaken during and after Vatican II. It was written in part in response to the liturgical movement under way since early in the 20th century.
Pope Pius defends liturgy as important, sacred and sacramental. Liturgy is more than the sum of liturgical actions and prescriptions. It is an error to think of the sacred liturgy as merely the outward or visible part of divine worship or as an ornamental ceremonial. No less erroneous is the notion that it consists solely in a list of laws and prescriptions according to which the ecclesiastical hierarchy orders the sacred rites to be performed.
The encyclical was written in part to reject the idea that "objective piety" (i.e. merely participating in liturgy and partaking of sacraments) made "subjective piety" (i.e. one's disposition) unnecessary, or that non-liturgical piety could be held in contempt.
The encyclical has four parts.
The first part explains the nature, origin and development of liturgy. Liturgy is public worship, an obligation for individuals and communities. Liturgy is outward adoration of God as well as a fountain for personal piety. It originated with the early Church.
The first Christians "were preserving the doctrine of the apostles and in communication by the breaking of bread and their prayers." Whenever their pastors could summon a little group of the faithful together, they set up an altar on which they proceeded to offer the sacrifice, and around which were ranged all other rites appropriate for the saving of souls and for the honor due to God.
"The worship rendered by the Church to God must be, in its entirety, interior as well as exterior. [...] Exterior worship [...] reveals and emphasizes the unity of the mystical Body, feeds new fuel to its holy zeal, fortifies its energy, intensifies its action day by day: 'for although the ceremonies themselves can claim no perfection or sanctity in their own right, they are, nevertheless, the outward acts of religion, designed to rouse the heart, like signals of a sort, to veneration of the sacred realities, and to raise the mind to meditation on the supernatural. They serve to foster piety, to kindle the flame of charity, to increase our faith and deepen our devotion. They provide instruction for simple folk, decoration for divine worship, continuity of religious practice. They make it possible to tell genuine Christians from their false or heretical counterparts.' But the chief element of divine worship must be interior. For we must always live in Christ and give ourselves to Him completely, so that in Him, with Him and through Him the heavenly Father may be duly glorified."