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CONSTITUTIO APOSTOLICA * MISSALE ROMANUM Missale Romanum ex decreto Concilii Oecumenci Vaticani II instauratum promulgatur. PAULUS
EPISCOPUS
Missale Romanum, ex decreto Concilii Tridentini a Decessore Nostro S. Pio V anno MDLXX promulgatum (Cf Const. Apost. Quo primum, die 13 menses Iulii anno 1570 data), nemo non suscipit in multis iisque mirificis utilitatis fructibus esse numerandum, qui ex eadem Sacrosancta Synodo in universam Christi Ecclesiam dilapsi sunt. Per quattuor enim saecula, non modo illud ritus Latini sacerdotes pro norma habuerunt, ad quam Eucharisticum Sacrificium facerent, sed sacri etiam Evangelii nuntii in omnes fere terras invexerunt. Innumeri praeterea sanctissimi viri animorum suorum erga Deum pietatem, haustis ex eo sive Sacrarum Scripturarum lectionibus sive precationibus, copiosius aluerunt, quarum praecipuam partem Sanctus Gregorius Magnus in certum digesserat ordinem. Sed ex quo tempore latius in christiana plebe increbescere et invalescere coepit sacrae fovendae liturgice studium, quod, de Decessoris Nostri ven. rec. Pii XII sententia, estendere visum est actue providentis Dei erga huius aetatis hormines propensissimae voluntatis indicium, atque Sancti Spiritus per Ecclesiam suam salutiferum transitum (Cf PIUS ΧII, Allocutio iis, qui primo Conventui ex omni natione de Liturgia pastorali, Assisii habito, interfuerunt, die 22 mansis Sept. anno 1956: AAS 48, 1956, p. 712), palam pariter eluxit, Missalis Romani formulas tum aliquatenus recognoscendas tum accessionibus esse locupletandas. Cuius rei faciendae initium Idem Decessor Noster attulit Vigilia Paschali et Ordine Hebdomadae Sanctae instauratis (Cf. S. CONGR. RITUUM, Decr. Dominicae Resurrectionis, die 9 mensis Febr. anno 1951 datum: AAS 43, 1951, pp. 128 ss.; Decr. Maxima redemptionis nostrae mysteria, die 16 mensis Nov., anno 1955 editum: AAS 47, 1955, pp. 838 ss.), qui proinde primum quasi gradum posuit ad Missale Romanum novis huius temporis animi sensitius accommodandum. Recens autem Concilium Oecumenicum Vaticanum II, edita Constitutione a verbis Sacrosanctum Concilium incipiente, generalis renovationis Missalis Romani fundam enta locavit: statuens, ut primum textus et ritus ita ordinaretur, ut sancta, quae significarent, clarius exprimerent (Cf CONCILIUM OECUM. VATICANUM II, Const. de sacra liturgia, Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 21; AAS 56, 1964, p. 106); deinde ut Ordo Missae ita recognosceretur, ut singularum partium propria ratio necnon mutua conoxio clarius paterent, atque pia et actuosa fidelium participatio facilior redderetur (Cf ibid., n. 50, p. 114); tum ut, quo ditior mensa Verbi Dei pararetur fidelibus, thesauri biblici largius aperirentur (Cf ibid., n. 51, p. 114); ut postremo novus ritus concelebrationis conficeretur, Pontificali et Missali Romano inserendus (Cf ibid., n. 58, p. 115). Attamen huiusmodi Missalis Romani renovatio nequaquam ex improviso inducta putanda est; cum ad eam haud dubie viam munierint progressiones in disciplinis liturgicis, proximis hisce quattuor saeculis, factae. Nam si, post Concilium Tridentinum celebratum, ad Missalis Romani recognitionem non parum adiuvarunt evoluti et inspecti vetusti Bibliothecae Vaticanae aliique undique conquisiti codices, uti confirmatur Constitutione Apostolica Quo primum a Decessore Nostro S. Pio V data, posthaec nimirum hinc vetustissimi liturgici fontes et reperti et foras emissi sunt, hinc liturgicae Orientales Ecclesiae formulae altius sunt investigatae; ita ut optarent multi, ut huius generis cum doctrinae tum pietatis divitiae, non modo in tabulariorum tenebris non iacerent, sed e contrario in lucem prolatae christianorum mentes animosque illustrarent et pascerent. Nunc vero, ut novam Missalis Romani compositionem, summis saltem lineamentis, quasi praefiniamus, in primis animadvertimus, Institutione Generali, qua in libro tamquam prooemiο usi sumus, novas normas Eucharistici Sacrificii celebrandi proponi, sive quoad ritus persolvendos et officia uniuscuiusque astantis et participis propria, sive quoad supellectiles et loca rei divinae peragendae necessaria. Praecipua instaurationis novitas in Precatione Eucharistica, quam vocant, versari existimanda est. Quamvis enim in Romano ritu prima eiusdem Precationis pars, hoc est Praefatio, varias, saeculis volventibus, susceperit fοrmulas, altera tamen pars, quam Canonem Actionis appellabant, per illud tempus, quod a IV ad V saeculum actum est, immutabilem induit formam; cum, e contrario, Liturgiae Orientales in ipsas Anaphoras quandam varietatem reciperent. Hac autem in re praeterquam quod Precatio Eucharistica aucta est copia Praefationum, vel ex antiquiore Romanae Ecclesiae traditione sumptarum, vel nunc primum compositarum, quibus et peculiares partes mysterii salutis clarius patefierent, et plura uberiοraque gratias agendi argumenta praeberentur, praeterea ut eidem Precationi tres novi Canones adderentur stauiimus. Attamen sive ut pastoralibus, quas nominant, rationibus consuleretur sive ut concelebratio expeditius procederet, iussimus verba Dominica in qualibet Canonis formula una eademque esse. Itaque in quavis Precatione Eucharistica illa sic proferri vοlumus: supra panem: ACCIPITE ET MANDUCATE EX HOC OMNES: HOC EST ENIM CORPUS MEUM, QUOD PRO VOBIS TRADETUR; et supra calicem: ACCIPITE ET BIBETE EX EO OMNES: HIC EST ENIM CALIX SANGUINIS MEI NOVI ET AETERNI TESTAMENTI, QUI PRO VOBIS ET PRO MULTIS EFFUNDETUR IN REMISSIONEM PECCATORUM. - HOC FACITE IN MEAM COMMEMORATIONEM. Verba autem mysterium fidei, de contextu verbοrum Christi Domini deducta, atque a sacerdote prolata, ad fidelium acclamationem veluti aditum aperiunt. Quoad Ordinem Missae, ritus, probe servata eorum substantia, simpliciores facti sunt (Cf ibid., n. 50, p. 114). Εa namque praetermissa sunt, quae temporum decursu duplicata fuerunt vel minus utiliter addita (Ibid.), praesertim circa ritus oblatiοnis panis et vini, et circa ritus fractionis panis et Communiοnis. Huc accedit quod restituuntur . . . ad prisitnam Sanctorum Patrum normam nonnulla quae temporum iniuria deciderunt (Cf ibid.); cuius generis sunt Homilia (Cf ibid., n. 52, p. 114), et Oratio universalis seu Oratiο fidelium (Cf ibid., n. 53. n. 114), et ritus paenitentialis, seu reconciliationis cum Deo et cum fratribus, initio Missae peragendus: cui, ut opοrtebat, suum redditum est momentum. Ad haec, iuxta illud Concilii Vaticani II praescriptum, quo praecipiebatur ut intra praestitutum annorum spatium, praestantior pars Scripturarum Sancatarum populo legeretur (Cf ibid., n. 51, p. 114), totum Lectionum corpus diebus dominicis legendarum in trium annorum ordinem tributum est. Praeterea diebus utcumque festis, lectioni Epistulae et Evangelii alia praeponitur, ex Veteri Τestamento, vel, Tempore Paschali, ex Actibus Apostolοrum sumpta. Hac enim adhibita ratione, enucleatius mysterii salutis cοntinuus processus illustratur, verbis Dei revelatis demonstratus. Quae amplissima lectionum biblicarum copia, qua diebus festis praestantior Sacrarum Scripturarum pars fidelibus prοponitur, accessione profecto completur reliquarum Librorum Sacrοrum partium, quae diebus profestis recitantur. Quae sane omnia hoc modo ordinata sunt, ut magis ac magis in christifidelibus ea verbi Dei fames (Cf Am 8, 11) exstimuletur, qua, Spirito Sanctο duce, novi Foederis populus ad perfectam Ecclesiae unitatem veluti urgeri videatur. Hisce ita compositis, illud etiam vehementer fore confidimus, ut sacerdotes et fideles simul sanctius animum suum ad Cenam Domini praeparent, simul, Sacras Scripturas altius meditati, verbis Domini uberius in dies alantur. Exinde denique sequetur, ut, iuxta Concilii Vaticani II monita, Divinae Litterae sive quasi quidam spiritualis vitae fons perennis, sive praecipuum christianae doctrinae tradendae argumentum, sive demum cuiusvis theologicae institutionis medulla ab omnibus habeantur. Verumtamen in hac Missalis Romani instaurations, non solum tres, de quibus adhuc diximus, partes, hoc est Precatio Eucharistica, Ordo Missae et Ordο Lectionum, mutatae sunt, sed ceterae etiam, in quibus idem constat, recognitae et valde variatae sunt, id est: Temporale, Sanctorale, Commune Sanctorum, Missae Rituales et Missae votivae, quae vocant. In quibus peculiaris quaedam diligentia ad Orationes adhibita est, quae non solum numero auctae sunt, ut novis horum temporum neccssitatibus novae responderent, sed etiam vetustissimae ad antiquorum textuum fidem redditae. Ex quο factum est, ut singulis praecipuorum temporum liturgicorum feriins, scilicet Adventus, Nativitatis, Quadragesimae et Paschae, diversa cotidie adiceretur oratio. Quod reliquum est, licet textus Gradualis Romani, ad cantum saltem quod attinet, nοn fuerit mutatus, tamen, facilioris intellectus gratia, sive Psalmus ille Responsorius, de quο S. Augustinus et S. Leo Magnus saepe commermorant, sive Antiphonae ad Introitum et ad Communionem in Missis lectis adhibendae, pro opportunitate, instaurata sunt. Ad extremum, ex iis quae hactenus de novo Missali Romano exposuimus quiddam nunc cogere et efficere placet. Cum Decessor Noster S. Pius V principem Missalis Romani editionem promulgavit, illud veluti quoddam unitatis liturgicae instrumentum idemque tamquam genuini religiοsique cultus in Ecclesia monumentum christiano populo repraesentavit. Haud secus Nos, etsi, de praescripto Concilii Vaticani II, in novum Missale legitimas varietates et aptationes (Cf CONCILIUM OECUMENICUM VATICANUM II, Const. de sacra liturgia Sacrosanctum Concilium, nn. 38-40; AAS 56, 1964, p. 110) ascivimus, nihilo tamen secius fore confidimus, ut hoc ipsum a christifidelibus quasi subsidium ad mutuam omnium unitatem testandam confirmandamque accipiatur, utpote cuius ope, in tot varietate linguarum, una eademque cunctorum precatio ad caelestem Patrem, per summum Pontificem nostrum Iesum Christum, in Spiritu Sancto, quovis ture fragrantior ascendat. Quae Constitutione hac Nostra praescripsimus vigere incipient a die XXX proximi mensis Novembris hoc anno, id est a Dominica I Adventus. Nostra haec autem statuta et praescripta nunc et in posterum firma et efficacia esse et fore volumus, non obstantibus, quatenus opus sit, Constitutionibus et Ordinationibus Apostolicis a Decessoribus Nostris editis, ceterisque praescriptionibus etiam peculiari mentione et derogatione dignis. Datum Romae, apud Sanctum Petrum, die III mensis Aprilis, in Cena Domini N.I.C., anno MCMLXIX;, Pontificatus Nostri sexto. PAULUS PP. VI * AAS 61 (1969). pp. 217-226
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APOSTOLIC
CONSTITUTION MISSALE ROMANUM ON NEW ROMAN MISSAL
The Roman Missal, promulgated in 1570 by Our predecessor, St. Pius V, by decree of the Council of Trent,(1) has been received by all as one of the numerous and admirable fruits which the holy Council has spread throughout the entire Church of Christ. For four centuries, not only has it furnished the priests of the Latin Rite with the norms for the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, but also the saintly heralds of the Gospel have carried it almost to the entire world. Furthermore, innumerable holy men have abundantly nourished their piety towards God by its readings from Sacred Scripture or by its prayers, whose general arrangement goes back, in essence, to St. Gregory the Great. Since that time there has grown and spread among the Christian people the liturgical renewal which, according to Pius XII, Our predecessor of venerable memory, seems to show the signs of God's providence in the present time, a salvific action of the Holy Spirit in His Church.(2) This renewal has also shown clearly that the formulas of the Roman Missal ought to be revised and enriched. The beginning of this renewal was the work of Our predecessor, this same Pius XII, in the restoration of the Paschal Vigil and of the Holy Week Rite,(3) which formed the first stage of updating the Roman Missal for the present-day mentality. The recent Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, in promulgating the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, established the basis for the general revision of the Roman Missal: in declaring "both texts and rites should be drawn up so that they express more clearly the holy things which they signify";(4) in ordering that "the rite of the Mass is to be revised in such a way that the intrinsic nature and purpose of its several parts, as also the connection between them, can be more clearly manifested, and that devout and active participation by the faithful can be more easily accomplished";(5) in prescribing that "the treasures of the Bible are to be opened up more lavishly, so that richer fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God's Word";(6) in ordering, finally, that "a new rite for concelebration is to be drawn up and incorporated into the Pontifical and into the Roman Missal."(7) One ought not to think, however, that this revision of the Roman Missal has been improvident. The progress that the liturgical sciences has accomplished in the last four centuries has, without a doubt, prepared the way. After the Council of Trent, the study "of ancient manuscripts of the Vatican library and of others gathered elsewhere," as Our predecessor, St. Pius V, indicates in the Apostolic Constitution Quo primum, has greatly helped for the revision of the Roman Missal. Since then, however, more ancient liturgical sources have been discovered and published and at the same time liturgical formulas of the Oriental Church have become better known. Many wish that the riches, both doctrinal and spiritual, might not be hidden in the darkness of the libraries, but on the contrary might be brought into the light to illumine and nourish the spirits and souls of Christians. Let us show now, in broad lines, the new composition of the Roman Missal. First of all, in a General Instruction, which serves as a preface for the book, the new regulations are set forth for the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, concerning the rites and the functions of each of the participants and sacred furnishings and places. The major innovation concerns the Eucharistic Prayer. If in the Roman Rite, the first part of this Prayer, the Preface, has preserved diverse formulation in the course of the centuries, the second part, on the contrary, called "Canon of the Action," took on an unchangeable form during the fourth and fifth centuries; conversely, the Eastern liturgies allowed for this variety in their anaphoras. In this matter, however, apart from the fact that the Eucharistic Prayer is enriched by a great number of Prefaces, either derived from the ancient tradition of the Roman Church or composed recently, we have decided to add three new Canons to this Prayer. In this way the different aspects of the mystery of salvation will be emphasized and they will procure richer themes for the thanksgiving. However, for pastoral reasons, and in order to facilitate concelebration, we have ordered that the words of the Lord ought to be identical in each formulary of the Canon. Thus, in each Eucharistic Prayer, we wish that the words be pronounced thus: over the bread: ACCIPITE ET MANDUCATE EX HOC OMNES: HOC EST ENIM CORPUS MEUM, QUOD PRO VOBIS TRADETUR; over the chalice: ACCIPITE ET BIBITE EX EO OMNES: HIC EST ENIM CALIX SANGUINIS MEI NOVI ET AETERNI TESTAMENTI, QUI PRO VOBIS ET PRO MULTIS EFFUNDETUR IN REMISSIONEM PECCATORUM. HOC FACITE IN MEAM COMMEMORATIONEM. The words MYSTERIUM FIDEI, taken from the context of the words of Christ the Lord, and said by the priest, serve as an introduction to the acclamation of the faithful. Concerning the rite of the Mass, "the rites are to be simplified, while due care is taken to preserve their substance."(8) Also to be eliminated are "elements which, with the passage of time, came to be duplicated, or were added with but little advantage,"(9) above all in the rites of offering the bread and wine, and in those of the breaking of the bread and of communion. Also, "other elements which have suffered injury through accidents of history are now to be restored to the earlier norm of the Holy Fathers"(10): for example the homily,(11) the "common prayer" or "prayer of the faithful,"(12) the penitential rite or act of reconciliation with God and with the brothers, at the beginning of the Mass, where its proper emphasis is restored. According to the prescription of the Second Vatican Council which prescribes that "a more representative portion of the Holy Scriptures will be read to the people over a set cycle of years,"(13) and of the readings for Sunday are divided into a cycle of three years. In addition, for Sunday and feasts, the readings of the Epistle and Gospel are preceded by a reading from the Old Testament or, during Paschaltide, from the Acts of the Apostles. In this way the dynamism of the mystery of salvation, shown by the text of divine revelation, is more clearly accentuated. These widely selected biblical readings, which give to the faithful on feast days the most important part of Sacred Scripture, is completed by access to the other parts of the Holy Books read on other days. All this is wisely ordered in such a way that there is developed more and more among the faithful a "hunger for the Word of God,"(14) which, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, leads the people of the New Covenant to the perfect unity of the Church. We are fully confident that both priests and faithful will prepare their hearts more devoutly and together at the Lord's Supper, meditating more profoundly on Sacred Scripture, and at the same time they will nourish themselves more day by day with the words of the Lord. It will follow then that according to the wishes of the Second Vatican Council, Sacred Scripture will be at the same time a perpetual source of spiritual life, an instrument of prime value for transmitting Christian doctrine and finally the center of all theology. In this revision of the Roman Missal, in addition to the three changes mentioned above, namely, the Eucharistic Prayer, the Rite for the Mass and the Biblical Reading, other parts also have been reviewed and considerably modified: the Proper of Seasons, the Proper of Saints, the Common of Saints, ritual Masses and votive Masses. In all of these changes, particular care has been taken with the prayers: not only has their number been increased, so that the new texts might better correspond to new needs, but also their text has been restored on the testimony of the most ancient evidences. For each ferial of the principal liturgical seasons, Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter, a proper prayer has been provided. Even though the text of the Roman Gradual, at least that which concerns the singing, has not been changed, still, for a better understanding, the responsorial psalm, which St. Augustine and St. Leo the Great often mention, has been restored, and the Introit and Communion antiphons have been adapted for read Masses. In conclusion, we wish to give the force of law to all that we have set forth concerning the new Roman Missal. In promulgating the official edition of the Roman Missal, Our predecessor, St. Pius V, presented it as an instrument of liturgical unity and as a witness to the purity of the worship the Church. While leaving room in the new Missal, according to the order of the Second Vatican Council, "for legitimate variations and adaptations,"(15) we hope nevertheless that the Missal will be received by the faithful as an instrument which bears witness to and which affirms the common unity of all. Thus, in the great diversity of languages, one unique prayer will rise as an acceptable offering to our Father in heaven, through our High-Priest Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit. We order that the prescriptions of this Constitution go into effect November 30th of this year, the first Sunday of Advent. We wish that these Our decrees and prescriptions may be firm and effective now and in the future, notwithstanding, to the extent necessary, the apostolic constitutions and ordinances issued by Our predecessors, and other prescriptions, even those deserving particular mention and derogation. Given at Rome, at Saint Peter's, Holy Thursday, April 3 1969, the sixth year of Our pontificate. PAUL VI, POPE NOTES 1. Cf. Apost. Const. Quo primum, July 13, 1570. 2. Cf. Pius XII, Discourse to the participants of the First International Congress of Pastoral Liturgy at Assisi, May 22, 1956: A.A.S. 48 (1956) 112. 3. Cf. Sacred Congregation of Rites, Decree Dominicae Resurrectionis, February 9, 1951: A.A.S. 43 (1951) 128ff.; Decree Maxima Redemptionis nostrae mysteria, November 16, 1955: A.A.S. 47 (1955) 838ff. 4. Vatican Council, Const. on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, art. 21: A.A.S. 56 (1964) 106. 5. Ibid., art. 50: A.A.S. 56 (1964) 114. 6. Ibid., art. 51: A.A.S. 56 (1964) 114. 7. Ibid., art. 58: A.A.S. 56 (1964) 115. 8. Ibid., art. 50: A.A.S. 56 (1964) 114. 9. Ibid. 10. Cf. Ibid. 11. Cf. Ibid., art. 52: A.A.S. 56 (1964) 114. 12. Cf. Ibid., art. 53: A.A.S. 56 (1964) 114. 13. Ibid., art. 51: A.A.S. 56 (1964) 114. 14. Cf. Amos 8:11. 15. II Vatican Council, Const. on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Consilium, art. 38: A.A.S. 56 |
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PROMULGATION OF THE ROMAN MISSAL REVISED BY DECREE OF THE SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL Missale Romanum Apostolic Constitution of Pope Paul VI issued on April 3, 1969. PAUL, BISHOP Servant of the Servants of God For an Everlasting Memorial The Missale Romanum was promulgated in 1570 by our predecessor St. Pius V, in execution of the decree of the Council of Trent.[1] It has been recognized by all as one of the many admirable results that the Council achieved for the benefit of the entire Church of Christ. For four centuries it provided Latin-rite priests with norms for the celebration of the eucharistic sacrifice; moreover messengers of the Gospel brought this Missal to almost the entire world. Innumerable holy men and women nurtured their spiritual life on its readings from Scripture and on its prayer texts. In large part these prayer texts owed their arrangement to St. Gregory the Great. A deep interest in fostering the liturgy has become widespread and strong among the Christian people and our predecessor Pius XII has viewed this both as a sign of God's caring will regarding today's people and as a saving movement of the Holy Spirit through his Church.[2] Since the beginning of this liturgical renewal, it has also become clear that the formularies of the Roman Missal had to be revised and enriched. A beginning was made by Pius XII in the restoration of the Easter Vigil and Holy Week services;[3] he thus took the first step toward adapting the Roman Missal to the contemporary mentality. The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, in the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, laid down the basis for the general revision of the Roman Missal: "Both texts and rites should be drawn up so that they express more clearly the holy things they signify";[4] therefore, "the Order of Mass is to be revised in such a way that the intrinsic nature and purpose of its several parts, as also the connection between them, may be more clearly brought out, and devout, active participation by the faithful more easily achieved."[5] The Council also decreed that "the treasures of the Bible are to be opened up more lavishly, so that a richer share in God's word may be provided for the faithful";[6] and finally that "a new rite for concelebration is to be drawn up and incorporated into the Roman Pontifical and Roman Missal."[7] No one should think, however, that this revision of the Roman Missal has come out of nowhere. The progress in liturgical studies during the last four centuries has certainly prepared the way. Just after the Council of Trent, the study "of ancient manuscripts in the Vatican library and elsewhere," as St. Pius V attests in the Apostolic Constitution Quo primum, helped greatly in the correction of the Roman Missal. Since then, however, other ancient sources have been discovered and published and liturgical formularies of the Eastern Church have been studied. Accordingly many have had the desire for these doctrinal and spiritual riches not to be stored away in the dark, but to be put into use for the enlightenment of the mind of Christians and for the nurture of their spirit. Now, however, our purpose is to set out at least in broad terms, the new plan of the Roman Missal. We therefore point out, first, that a General Instruction, for use as a preface to the book, gives the new regulations for the celebration of eucharistic sacrifice. These regulations cover the rites to be carried out and the functions of each minister or participant as well as the furnishings and the places needed for divine worship. It must be acknowledged that the chief innovation in the reform concerns the eucharistic prayer. Although the Roman Rite over the centuries allowed for a multiplicity of different texts in the first part of the prayer (the preface), the second part, called the Canon actionis, took on a fixed form during the period of the fourth and fifth centuries. The Eastern liturgies, on the other hand, allowed a degree of variety into the anaphoras themselves. On this point, first of all, the eucharistic prayer has been enriched with a great number of prefaces-drawn from the early tradition of the Roman Church or recently composed-in order that the different facets of the mystery of salvation will stand out more clearly and that there will be more and richer themes of thanksgiving. But besides this, we have decided to add three new canons to the eucharistic prayer. Both for pastoral reasons, however, and for the facilitation of concelebration, we have ordered that the words of the Lord be identical in each form of the canon. Thus in each eucharistic prayer we wish those words to be as follows: over the bread: Accipite et manducate ex hoc omnes: Hoc est enim Corpus meum, quod pro vobis tradetur; over the chalice: Accipite et bibite ex eo omnes: Hic est enim calix Sanguinis mei novi et aeterni testamenti, qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum. Hoc facite in meam commemorationem. The words Mysterium fidei have been removed from the context of Christ's own words and are spoken by the priest as an introduction to the faithful's acclamation. In the Order of Mass the rites have been "simplified, due care being taken to preserve their substance."[8] "Elements that, with the passage of time, came to be duplicated or were added with but little advantage"[9] have been eliminated, especially in the rites for the presentation of the bread and wine, the breaking of the bread, and communion. Also, "other elements that have suffered injury through accident of history" are restored "to the tradition of the Fathers,"[10] for example, the homily,[11] the general intercessions or prayer of the faithful,[12] and the penitential rite or act of reconciliation with God and the community at the beginning of the Mass, which thus, as is right, regains its proper importance. According to the decree of the Second Vatican Council, that "a more representative portion of the holy Scriptures be read to the people over the course of a prescribed number of years,"[13] the Sunday readings are arranged in a cycle of three years. In addition, on Sundays and all the major feasts the epistle and gospel are preceded by an Old Testament reading or, at Easter, by readings from Acts. This is meant to provide a fuller exposition of the continuing process of the mystery of salvation, as shown in the words of divine revelation. These broadly selected biblical readings, which set before the faithful on Sundays and holydays the most important part of sacred Scripture, are complemented by other parts of the Bible read on other days. All this has been planned to arouse among the faithful a greater hunger for the word of God.[14] Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, this hunger will seem, so to speak, to impel the people of the New Covenant toward the perfect unity of the Church. We are fully confident that under this arrangement both priest and faithful will prepare their minds and hearts more devoutly for the Lord's Supper and that, meditating on the Scriptures, they will be nourished more each day by the words of the Lord. In accord with the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, all will thus regard sacred Scripture as the abiding source of spiritual life, the foundation for Christian instruction, and the core of all theological study. This reform of the Roman Missal, in addition to the three changes already mentioned (the eucharistic prayer, the Order of Mass, and the readings), has also corrected and considerably modified other of its components: the Proper of Seasons, the Proper of Saints, the Common of Saints, ritual Masses, and votive Masses. In all of these changes, particular care has been taken with the prayers. Their number has been increased, so that the new forms might better correspond to new needs, and the text of older prayers has been restored on the basis of the ancient sources. As a result, each weekday of the principal liturgical seasons, Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter, now has its own, distinct prayer. The text of the Graduale Romanum has not been changed as far as the music is concerned. In the interest of their being more readily understood, however, the responsorial psalm (which St. Augustine and St. Leo the Great often mention) as well as the entrance and communion antiphons have been revised for use in Masses that are not sung. After what we have presented concerning the new Roman Missal, we wish in conclusion to insist on one point in particular and to make it have its effect. When he promulgated the editio princeps of the Roman Missal, our predecessor St. Pius V offered it to the people of Christ as the instrument of liturgical unity and the expression of a pure and reverent worship in the Church. Even though, in virtue of the decree of the Second Vatican Council, we have accepted into the new Roman Missal lawful variations and adaptations,[15] our own expectation in no way differs from that of our predecessor. It is that the faithful will receive the new Missal as a help toward witnessing and strengthening their unity with one another; that through the new Missal one and the same prayer in a great diversity of languages will ascend, more fragrant than any incense, to our heavenly Father, through our High Priest, Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit. The effective date for what we have prescribed in this Constitution shall be the First Sunday of Advent of this year, 30 November.a We decree that these laws and prescriptions be firm and effective now and in the future, notwithstanding, to the extent necessary, the apostolic constitutions and ordinances issued by our predecessors and other prescriptions, even those deserving particular mention and amendment. Given at Rome, at Saint Peter's, on Holy Thursday, 3 April 1969, the sixth year of our pontificate. PAUL PP VI
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