Colloquia Theologica Ottoniana

One of the main directions of the renewal initiated by the Second Vatican Council was the adaptation (aptactio, accomodatio) of the liturgy to changing cultural conditions and cognitive abilities of the faithful (fidelium captus). The Council recognised that the established historical form of the liturgy ceased to correspond to the mentality of its times; hence, the demand for a more comprehensible liturgy and thus a more attractive one – so that it would draw more participants. This postulate is combined with the conviction that the liturgy should fulfil an evangelising function, which makes the didactic dimension dominant over the mystery proper to the liturgy. The paper criticises that postulate. A liturgy that has missionary or evangelising potential does not need to succumb to a didactic strategy. The most missionary liturgy may be a seemingly incomprehensible liturgy, but one that gives the opportunity to experience and live the ritual, i.e. initiation and mystagogical liturgy. This view stems from the assumption that a liturgy’s communicativeness goes beyond a narrowly understood intellectual intelligibility. Is this reserved solely – as some claim – to the liturgy celebrated in the extraordinary form of the rite, which is supported by the mystery of Latin and increasingly hermetic sign system? The author argues that also the so-called post-conciliar liturgy has mystagogical potential, and the focus on the didactic dimension leads to a deformation of the nature of the liturgy, as its fundamental dimension is performativity and not intelligibility.