The Modern Rite: Collected Essays on the Reform of the Liturgy [Paperback]

This book is a collection of essays by Monsignor Klaus Gamber a German liturgical expert who died in 1989, written in the immediate wake of the reforms of the liturgy which took place in the 1970s as a result of the Council. Some Catholics rejected the liturgical reforms and formed pseudo-Catholic sects. Others hung on with gritted teeth in the hope that the old ways would be swiftly restored. Such Traditionalists need little encouragement to read this book, having probably heard of it a hundred times elsewhere. Instead I would recommend it to anyone else who wants an overview of the arguments deployed against the liturgical reforms. The titles of the various essays are as follows: 'The Difficulties in Reforming the Liturgy'; 'The Sacrifice of the Mass - Since When?'; 'Celebration "Turned Towards the People"'; 'The Problem of the Vernacular'; 'Criticism of the New Ordo Missae'; 'On the Changes to the Calendar of Saints'; 'Actuosa Participatio'; 'Communion in the Hand - Yes or No?'; 'Making Worship Relevant'; 'Continuity in Liturgical Development'; 'The Ecumenical Liturgy of the Day after Tomorrow'.

Gamber is not an absolute authority. Nevertheless he does seem to know an awful lot about how the liturgy actually developed as opposed to glib assertions about the practices of the 'early Church'. For example, he argues that in the ordinary course of things in early times the priest never faced the congregation when saying Mass and that therefore the widespread redesign of altars to accommodate this practise in the 70s had no basis in history. The reason the priest had his back to the congregation was not arrogance before the people but humility before God. Most Churches were turned towards the east and theologically the east is where God comes from. I suppose Gamber might be making it all up. I don't know enough to judge. He is very convincing.

Like all really clever people he is able to communicate enough of his knowledge so that one gets the impression one can argue with him on equal terms. Such an impression is exhilarating but completely false. That said it is striking that Gamber asserts one year after the new Order of Mass was promulgated that "it has already proved to be unusable in the long term". Thirty years later the Novus Ordo is still here, so much for unusability. Either Gamber is wrong or the Church is. I am no expert but I do know the Catholic answer: "You are Peter and upon this Rock I shall build my Church and the gates of Hell shall never prevail against it." It would be churlish to deny him five stars simply for making a rash assertion but it is worth noting this all the same.

What the future holds for the Catholic Liturgy I cannot say. Many people disagree with the status quo. This book helps explain why. One of Gamber's other books 'The Reform of the Roman Liturgy: Its Problems and Background' deals with the same themes on a larger scale but it is now out of print. 'The Modern Rite' is particularly worth reading because Gamber was not a refusenik. He stayed with the Church. There is no need for fears that this is a Trojan Horse for the followers of Archbishop Lefebvre. It has been republished by the Monks of Farnborough Abbey. I hope they soon move to publish Gamber's other books.