When I was attending a daily Mass in my home diocese during college, I genuflected (as was my practice at the time) before receiving Holy Communion. Before the priest gave the final blessing, he made an announcement that he noticed that there were several people who genuflected before receiving the Eucharist. We were reminded that the local bishop had issued a letter that called for all of the faithful to observe the practice of bowing before receiving Holy Communion as the only acceptable outward expression of reverence. Therefore, those of us who had genuflected had engaged in an illicit activity. 

Eventually, a new bishop came along who no longer wanted to enforce the practice of his predecessor, so what was once “illicit” under one bishop became “licit” under another. Clearly, liturgical decrees and letters at the local level can have a very limited shelf life. Authentic liturgical renewal has deeper roots when it develops organically in contrast to when it is manufactured by fiat.  Eventually, a new bishop came along who no longer wanted to enforce the practice of his predecessor, so what was once “illicit” under one bishop became “licit” under another. Tweet This

In his noteworthy reflection on the “Liturgical Legacy of Pope Benedict XVI,” Oratorian liturgical theologian Uwe Michael Lang notes:

It seems to have been the idea of Benedict XVI that organic development needs to happen as if by osmosis, that is, a steady and almost unconscious assimilation of the liturgical tradition. An important element in this process was to be the pontiff’s example in his own celebrations. Ritual elements such as the placing of a prominent crucifix in the center of the altar, the distribution of Holy Communion to the faithful kneeling and directly on the tongue, and the extended use of the Latin language were intended to set a standard to be imitated. Benedict was convinced that authentic liturgical renewal does not come about by instructions and regulations.

Benedict XVI was the consummate gentleman when it came to liturgical renewal. He never wanted to impose his views. He was very careful to put into practice his view that the pope is never an absolute monarch when it comes to the teaching and transmission of the Faith and liturgical practice. 

With respect to the liturgy, the then Cardinal Ratzinger emphasizes in his seminal work The Spirit of the Liturgy that the pope “can only be a humble servant of [the liturgy’s] faithful development and abiding integrity and identity.” Papal authority is restrained by the gift of tradition lest we give the impression that the liturgy can be “manufactured” at will. Humility is the essential virtue that must ground the pope and every bishop when it comes to decisions to be made about the celebration of the liturgy. 

Following the Second Vatican Council, a young Fr. Joseph Ratzinger received a postcard from the Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar with these words of wisdom: “Do not presuppose the faith; propose it.”

Consistently, Ratzinger/Benedict proposed the gift of the Faith for the sake of leading the faithful toward a deeper knowledge and love of Jesus Christ on a variety of theological topics. 

For Ratzinger, renewal of the Church is inseparable from renewal of the Liturgy: “The Church stands or falls with the Liturgy. The true celebration of the sacred liturgy is at the center of any renewal of the Church.” Ratzinger constantly worked for the renewal of the liturgy throughout his theology of liturgy. His proposals regarding the theology and celebration of the sacred liturgy will continue to impact theologians, bishops, pastors, deacons, religious, and lay people for centuries to come. Throughout his writings, Ratzinger proposes a cosmic and eschatological vision of the liturgy that reminds the Church to emphasize the priority of God and the primacy of the logos.

The English author and biographer Joseph Pearce refers to Ratzinger’s Spirit of the Liturgy as a “time bomb”:

With the publication of The Spirit of the Liturgy twenty-five years ago, he planted a beneficent bomb which is also a time-bomb. It’s ticking as time is ticking. What we need is for a future pope to mandate that it be taught in every seminary in the world and the liturgy will be renewed globally within a generation. It might not be the next pope. It doesn’t really matter. Benedict’s explosive blessing is primed. It’s ready. At any time, it will, like “a beneficent bomb,” blow out of the Church a quantity of stained glass of a very poor period, and let in gusts of fresh air.

The great lament in our times is that there have been varying attempts to diffuse the effects of this bomb as varying local churches are prohibiting, to varying degrees, some of the ritual practices promoted by Ratzinger/Benedict in both his writings and liturgical practice: the use of a Benedictine arrangement on the altar, the celebrant offering the Mass facing the East or toward the altar (ad orientem), or the distribution of Holy Communion to the faithful kneeling on a prie-dieu or at an altar rail. 

The liturgical teaching and example of Pope Benedict XVI obviously had an impact on varying pastors and members of the lay faithful throughout the world. Clearly, Benedict did not want to impose his liturgical ways upon the Church, but the fragility of such an approach has been exposed with each new decree aimed at curtailing these varying aspects of the liturgical Benedict option in different dioceses. 

While it is certainly discouraging to read about further restrictions placed upon the liturgical Benedict option, the strength of Benedict’s “beneficent bomb” cannot be underestimated. People continue to be transformed by the proposal of liturgy as an opus Dei in Ratzinger’s The Spirit of the Liturgy. While the liturgical practices of Benedict that have been implemented by parishes have proven to be very fragile under the weight of local decrees, the deeper renewal and wisdom in his theology of liturgy will continue to fuel liturgical renewal that is sought by a new liturgical movement. 

Hopefully, more shepherds will come to appreciate the proposal of Benedict’s example of pastoral generosity and solicitude. Benedict did not impose his will upon the faithful but sought to accompany them. He provided for the needs of the Church following the principle of “unity in diversity,” and he placed much hope in a slow and organic development of the sacred liturgy. The jury is still out on whether this was a successful strategy. 

What is certainly true is that authentic liturgical renewal cannot come about simply by instructions or regulations. Authentic and stable renewal is rooted in consistently teaching the truth based upon tradition and celebrating the liturgy with reverence and devotion. Benedict XVI will certainly be remembered for both—he was a model theologian and an exemplar of the ars celebrandi.