Michael Davies on liturgical reform

Michael Davies authored a two-part article on "True and False Liturgical Reform" before he passed away in 2004. It was published in two installments in the Summer and Fall (2002) issues of Latin Mass magazine. I have received permission to reproduce these articles online, but I have decided to publish them in one of my other blogs, since they are rather long and I did not want to post anything quite so long in this venue. The first installment of Davies' article reviews the history of the Mass from antiquity up through the Protestant revolution and the reform of St. Pius V. He traces the development of the Mass through the first four centuries to the end of Roman persecution in the Constantinian period, with particular attention to the subsequent Gregorian reforms and the Gregorian Sacramentary. Most of the balance of this this first installment is devoted to a fairly detailed summary of the radical changes effected by Protestantism and the ingenious (or insidious) strategies by which these were often implemented. For example, he quotes Francis Clark, who writes, in Eucharistic Sacrifice and the Reformation:

The first Prayer book of Edward VI could not be convicted of overt heresy, for it was adroitly framed and contained no express denial of pre-Reformation doctrine. It was, as one Anglican scholar puts it, "an ingenious essay in ambiguity," purposely worded in such a manner that the more conservative could place their construction upon it, and reconcile their consciences to using it, while the Reformers would interpret it in their own sense and would recognize it as an instrument for furthering the next state of the religious revolution."

Sound familiar?

Davies then states what he sees as the essential difference between true and false liturgical reform. True reform, he says, contains no drastic revision of the liturgical traditions that have been received, and its most evident characteristic is fidelity to these traditions, as in the example of the Gregorian reforms he reviews earlier. He then concludes with a final example of authentic liturgical reform from Rome's response to the Protestant challenge in the reforms of St. Pius V.

What Davies offers in his article is only a mere sketch of the much more substantial three-volume study of the Mass: Liturgical Revolution: Vol I: Cranmer's Godly Order (1976); Vol II: Pope John's Council (1977); Vol III: Pope Paul's New Mass (1980). Yet, as always, Davies is lucid, reliable, and engaging.

• To read Davies' article, go to: Michael Davies, "True and False Liturgical Reform: The First of Two Parts" (Scripture and Catholic Tradition December 6, 2006).
  
  
• To comment on Davies' article, please go to the comment box following the full article on the Scripture and Catholic Tradition blog. The comment box below is reserved for those who have not read, or do not wish to read, Davies' article.