By Bishop Dennis Walsh
Guest Column
When I was a young seminary student, I remember reading St. Justin Martyr’s description of how Christians celebrated the Eucharist around the year 155. Writing to the Roman Emperor, Justin explained what believers did when they gathered on Sunday: they listened to the Scriptures, prayed together, offered bread and wine, gave thanks, and received Holy Communion.
I was struck by how simple, beautiful, and familiar it all was. Even across nearly two thousand years, I could recognize the foundations of the same liturgy we celebrate today. That discovery taught me something important: the liturgy is not just a ritual — it is the powerful way the Church hands on her faith from one generation to the next.
This truth has been highlighted again by Pope Leo XIV, who recently offered a catechesis on Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy from the Second Vatican Council. Some people today call the document “radical,” or “disruptive” often without ever having read it. But historically, it was anything but divisive. It was the first constitution issued by the Council, and it passed with overwhelming support: 2,147 bishops voted in favor, and only 4 opposed. It became the blueprint for the liturgical renewal that followed.
Many criticisms of the Council’s liturgical reforms repeat talking points rather than reflect what the document actually says. Sacrosanctum Concilium did not focus primarily on using the vernacular or on the priest’s posture at the altar. Its most important teaching was much deeper: through baptism, every Catholic is called to full, conscious, and active participation in the Eucharist. This is not a modern idea — it is rooted in the earliest Christian communities, including the one Justin Martyr described. The bishops and liturgists took the Council’s direction and did the hard work of revising the Church’s liturgical books which were lawfully promulgated by the authority of the pope. These revisions were made with this “prime directive” in mind, attentive to what they were hearing from bishops around the world.
The liturgy is where the Church’s Tradition is lived. We learn our faith not only by reading about it, but by praying it. The readings, prayers, gestures, and sacraments shape what we believe and how we live. Every generation receives the faith through the Mass, just as the first Christians did.
This is why the Church has always cared so deeply about the liturgy. It is the place where Christ continues His saving work. When we celebrate the Eucharist, we do not simply remember what Jesus did — we encounter Him again. The Tradition is not only preserved; it is experienced.
Throughout history, the liturgy has often revealed the differences that exist within the Church. Today is no different. Some Catholics call for a return to older practices they believe are “more reverent,” sometimes stressing uniformity over true unity. But the Church has never required that every community worship in exactly the same way. What matters is that we remain faithful to the words and actions the Church gives us and open to the grace it offers.
Pope Leo XIV has reminded us that the liturgy today has a noble simplicity — a clarity that helps us focus on the central mystery we celebrate. Reverence does not come from using a particular language or from adding more elaborate rituals. Reverence comes from encountering the Lord, from approaching the altar with humility, devotion, and gratitude.
And this is why we must celebrate the liturgy in all humility, receiving the liturgy the Church — its guardian — has given us. The Mass is not ours to redesign according to personal opinions or preferences, as if the liturgy given to us by the Church is lacking. It is a gift handed down through the centuries, entrusted to the Church, and offered to us so that we may meet Christ and be transformed by Him.
In the Third Eucharistic Prayer, we pray “Listen graciously to the prayers of this family, whom you have summoned before you…” This is a powerful reminder. We come to Mass because God Himself calls us. At the altar, we are invited to join Christ’s sacrifice, to receive His Body and Blood, and to be changed by His love.
Active participation means opening our hearts to this encounter. It means listening, praying, singing, and, for those who are able, receiving the Eucharist with faith. When we do this, the Church’s living Tradition is handed on — not just in words, but in the living experience of worship.
As a diocesan family, I encourage all of us to deepen our love for the liturgy. Let us read Sacrosanctum Concilium with fresh eyes. Come to Mass ready to meet the Lord, ready to be changed, ready to hand on our faith to the next generation.
May our celebration of the Eucharist, in union with the Church and your Bishop, strengthen our unity, deepen our faith, and draw us ever closer to Christ, who gives Himself to us at every Mass.
