What do you think?
Rate this book
The Organic Development of the Liturgy: The Principles of Liturgical Reform and Their Relation to the Twentieth-Century Liturgical Movement Prior to the Second Vatican Council
How has the Liturgy of the Roman rite developed and changed in history before and after the Council of Trent? What principles have determined the boundaries of legitimate liturgical reform over the centuries? What was the Liturgical Movement? Did GuTranger, Beauduin, Guardini, Parsch, Casel, Bugnini, Jungmann, Bouyer and the Movement's other leaders know and respect these principles? And what is to be said of the not insignificant liturgical reforms carried out by Saint Pius X, Popes Pius IX and Pius XII and Blessed John XXIII in the course of the twentieth century?
In The Organic Development of the Liturgy , Dom Alcuin Reid examines these questions systematically, incisively and in depth, identifying both the content and context of the principle of "organic development"ùa fundamental principle of liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium ùmaking a significant contribution to the understanding of the nature of the Liturgical Movement and to the ongoing re-assessment of the reforms enacted following the Council.
In The Organic Development of the Liturgy , Dom Alcuin Reid examines these questions systematically, incisively and in depth, identifying both the content and context of the principle of "organic development"ùa fundamental principle of liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium ùmaking a significant contribution to the understanding of the nature of the Liturgical Movement and to the ongoing re-assessment of the reforms enacted following the Council.
350 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2004
20 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 21, 2012
Astounding and scholarly work which details the developments of the Sacred Liturgy from day one to just before Vatican II. It's a seminal work and one that must be read before drawing any meaningful conclusions about the state of the Liturgy today. Pay special attention to the story of Cardinal Quiqnonez to understand the current mind of many young priests in the Church today.
July 29, 2019
Excellent book, amazing scholarship.
April 15, 2011
This book is a masterpiece. I don't often rate books five stars, but Alcuin Reid's book is excellent and worthy of five stars. Reid's book, which consists of a study of the principles of liturgical development throughout history and, in particular, the history of the Liturgical Movement prior to Vatican II, is learned, well-written, and impeccably researched. I felt myself led forward by a man who had mastered all the materials and knew how to give the lay reader a window into them. The thesis of Reid's book is that true liturgical development is organic in nature. It is neither overly subjective (giving too much weight to the pastoral concerns of the here and now) nor is it antiquarian -- that is, it does not privilege the ancient and the old, but recognizes that the liturgy is a truly like a tree that grows. Certainly, pruning may be in order at times, but what is illegitimate is rejecting the growth in the liturgy and going back to its form in the first centuries of the Church. Reid also makes a point of pushing back on ultramontanism, rightly pointing out that the Pope is bound by tradition and history when it comes to making changes to the liturgy.
Reid shows with clarity that which was best in the Liturgical Movement. This was a desire to effect true liturgical piety in the laity. It was aimed at inflaming the hearts of the faithful and opening their eyes to the depths and breadth of the mystery celebrated in the Holy Mass. There were antiquarians and those who placed too much emphasis on the subjective, but the fathers of the Liturgical Movement were well within the Tradition and proposed nothing more than organic steps and modifications. Unfortunately, their dreams seem to have been derailed or so it seems.
The question Reid leaves for another day, but which is certainly raised by his work, is to what degree can the reformed liturgy (in the Roman Catholic Church) after the Second Vatican Council be said to follow the principles of liturgical growth and development. The Novus Ordo seems, at first glance, not to be an organic development of our liturgical patrimony and yet it is what we have and have been given (I was born in the year of three Popes).
In short, this book is a great gift to the Church and all those who have an interest in liturgy.
Reid shows with clarity that which was best in the Liturgical Movement. This was a desire to effect true liturgical piety in the laity. It was aimed at inflaming the hearts of the faithful and opening their eyes to the depths and breadth of the mystery celebrated in the Holy Mass. There were antiquarians and those who placed too much emphasis on the subjective, but the fathers of the Liturgical Movement were well within the Tradition and proposed nothing more than organic steps and modifications. Unfortunately, their dreams seem to have been derailed or so it seems.
The question Reid leaves for another day, but which is certainly raised by his work, is to what degree can the reformed liturgy (in the Roman Catholic Church) after the Second Vatican Council be said to follow the principles of liturgical growth and development. The Novus Ordo seems, at first glance, not to be an organic development of our liturgical patrimony and yet it is what we have and have been given (I was born in the year of three Popes).
In short, this book is a great gift to the Church and all those who have an interest in liturgy.
February 28, 2014
In his preface to this book, then, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger writes how there are many ways liturgists think about Liturgy. In talking about the "development of liturgy" it is important, he says, to distinguish "actions that are helpful and healing from those that are violent and destructive."
Dom Alcuin Reid offers a "wealth of material" to highlight those principals and actions which guide or hinder the healthy organic growth of the liturgy through the centuries beginning with a brief sketch of liturgical reform throughout the centuries, then a more in depth analysis of the principles and actions of reforms beginning with Pope Saint Pius X up to Pope Pius XII's "Mediator Dei". The third part examines those years just prior and leading up to Vatican II.
For those interested in liturgical matters, there are probably more "accessible" books, simply because this is an extremely "scholarly" work(25 page bibliography, over 1000 footnotes!)
If a "reform of the reform" is to occur in the Church, and if it is to remain faithful to Tradition, it must follow the principles of authentic growth detailed in this book by Dom Alcuin Reid.
(As John Henry Cardinal Newman once said, "To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant.")
Dom Alcuin Reid offers a "wealth of material" to highlight those principals and actions which guide or hinder the healthy organic growth of the liturgy through the centuries beginning with a brief sketch of liturgical reform throughout the centuries, then a more in depth analysis of the principles and actions of reforms beginning with Pope Saint Pius X up to Pope Pius XII's "Mediator Dei". The third part examines those years just prior and leading up to Vatican II.
For those interested in liturgical matters, there are probably more "accessible" books, simply because this is an extremely "scholarly" work(25 page bibliography, over 1000 footnotes!)
If a "reform of the reform" is to occur in the Church, and if it is to remain faithful to Tradition, it must follow the principles of authentic growth detailed in this book by Dom Alcuin Reid.
(As John Henry Cardinal Newman once said, "To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant.")
September 5, 2017
An excellent overview of the history and principles of liturgical development through 1962! Some of my thoughts on it are available here:
https://vogliodio.wordpress.com/2017/...
https://vogliodio.wordpress.com/2017/...
Read
September 18, 2020This book is the documentation of a tragedy. St. Pius V, pray for us.
May 31, 2025
Lex orandi, lex credendi…
I found Dom Reid’s book informative and well written. Chapter 1 is a good summation of liturgical changes up to the 19th Century, but the real meat of this book discusses the Liturgical Movement that largely began with Dom Prosper Gueranger and concludes right before the Second Vatican Council. Dom Reid’s purpose is similar to that of St. John Henry Newman: what principles exist whereby changes in the liturgy can be judged legitimate or illegitimate?
The keystone to his argument is that the liturgy has an objective existence of its own; it is not ours to dispose of, no matter who we may be. Cardinal Ratzinger (and by the second edition, Pope Benedict XVI) explicitly makes that point. “The Pope said do things differently” is simply not good enough. Any pope is simply piddling peanuts in comparison to a 1,400 year old tradition and all of the saints who participated in it. And that power has very rarely been used by the papacy. Nearly all changes right up until the 20th Century found their origins in local practices that were later confirmed by the Vatican. Changes were made sparingly. Part of this has to do with the nature of the Church. Our fathers handed these truths and modes of worship down to us, and it was the joy of generations to hand them on to their children (spiritual or carnal as the case may be).
The liturgy, as it was, brought us in contact with God as the highest mode of worship we could offer Him. Our goal was to conform ourselves to that liturgy. To the extent that changes can be made at all, those changes have to be an act of love, and not of pride. Such a love would rather leave the liturgy untouched than even unintentionally inscribe one’s own name into it.
Dom Reid documents the history of the Liturgical Movement, whose earlier generations hoped to inspire Catholics to live a fully liturgical life. Educate the people about the parts of the Mass, bring back Vespers, keep the feasts of the year, study the history of our beautiful worship…a truly noble goal. After the First World War, a new breed began to pop up under the name of the Liturgical Movement. Very well educated but not displaying much in the way of humility or frankly love of the liturgy as it then existed, this group (Jungmann in particular) began to see every change in the previous thousand years or so as “corruptions” to be weeded out. Given an inch to suggest changes that probably could have been helpful, they decided to take a mile. The goal ends up becoming changing the liturgy to fit modern man rather than changing modern man to match the liturgy. The “pastoral effect” of our liturgy becomes a talking point for the first time in 19 centuries.
The end result of this is a never ending circus; MacManus, one of the radical proponents of a new liturgy, gives the game away when he states each generation will have to revisit the liturgical books to adapt them to their own characteristics. The irony is not lost on me that the generation which insisted we adapt the liturgy to ourselves is brutally insistent that we find the Novus Ordo inspiring, or else.
I highly recommend this work. Reid (unlike me) writes in a calm, level tone, and this book is detailed.
I found Dom Reid’s book informative and well written. Chapter 1 is a good summation of liturgical changes up to the 19th Century, but the real meat of this book discusses the Liturgical Movement that largely began with Dom Prosper Gueranger and concludes right before the Second Vatican Council. Dom Reid’s purpose is similar to that of St. John Henry Newman: what principles exist whereby changes in the liturgy can be judged legitimate or illegitimate?
The keystone to his argument is that the liturgy has an objective existence of its own; it is not ours to dispose of, no matter who we may be. Cardinal Ratzinger (and by the second edition, Pope Benedict XVI) explicitly makes that point. “The Pope said do things differently” is simply not good enough. Any pope is simply piddling peanuts in comparison to a 1,400 year old tradition and all of the saints who participated in it. And that power has very rarely been used by the papacy. Nearly all changes right up until the 20th Century found their origins in local practices that were later confirmed by the Vatican. Changes were made sparingly. Part of this has to do with the nature of the Church. Our fathers handed these truths and modes of worship down to us, and it was the joy of generations to hand them on to their children (spiritual or carnal as the case may be).
The liturgy, as it was, brought us in contact with God as the highest mode of worship we could offer Him. Our goal was to conform ourselves to that liturgy. To the extent that changes can be made at all, those changes have to be an act of love, and not of pride. Such a love would rather leave the liturgy untouched than even unintentionally inscribe one’s own name into it.
Dom Reid documents the history of the Liturgical Movement, whose earlier generations hoped to inspire Catholics to live a fully liturgical life. Educate the people about the parts of the Mass, bring back Vespers, keep the feasts of the year, study the history of our beautiful worship…a truly noble goal. After the First World War, a new breed began to pop up under the name of the Liturgical Movement. Very well educated but not displaying much in the way of humility or frankly love of the liturgy as it then existed, this group (Jungmann in particular) began to see every change in the previous thousand years or so as “corruptions” to be weeded out. Given an inch to suggest changes that probably could have been helpful, they decided to take a mile. The goal ends up becoming changing the liturgy to fit modern man rather than changing modern man to match the liturgy. The “pastoral effect” of our liturgy becomes a talking point for the first time in 19 centuries.
The end result of this is a never ending circus; MacManus, one of the radical proponents of a new liturgy, gives the game away when he states each generation will have to revisit the liturgical books to adapt them to their own characteristics. The irony is not lost on me that the generation which insisted we adapt the liturgy to ourselves is brutally insistent that we find the Novus Ordo inspiring, or else.
I highly recommend this work. Reid (unlike me) writes in a calm, level tone, and this book is detailed.
January 24, 2024
Fantastic overview of organic development (what it is and is not) of the Sacred Liturgy up to the eve of the Second Vatican Council.
November 11, 2016
A scholarly work from Dom Alcuin Reid. In this masterpiece, the author explores the question about legitimate development of the Liturgy. By looking at the history, Reid is able to formulate criterias for the organic development of the Liturgy, and thereby we have the principles to discern the authentic liturgical reform from the false one. Personally for me, it's interesting to see that there are liturgical "expert" such as Josef Jungmann who advocates antiquarianism (condemned by Pius XII in Mediator Dei) and the Pastoral Liturgy (There are two meanings about the term, but in this sense pastoral liturgy means that Liturgy must be changed to conform the needs of modern man), because I always think that his work (The Mass of the Roman Rite) is safe to read.
I recommend it for everyone who has interest in the Liturgy.
I recommend it for everyone who has interest in the Liturgy.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews