At night
When I returned home from this year‘s Paschal Vigil, late at night, I opened my Tree of Life Bible in a random place. The pages I then had in front of me to read were 2 Kings 23-24: the story of King Josiah.
I need to lead you into this article by narrating this little detail on the timing of me reading this story, so that – during the course of following my line of thoughts here – you may be able to understand why it occupied my mind for days and days after the Paschal Vigil, making me wonder what to learn from it. Some of those things we might be able to learn from it, I will try to relate here. I will get into two aspects in more depth after a first overview of the story.
Along our path here, you will not only become familiar with the story of King Josiah but also, at least a little bit, with one of the documents of the Second Vatican Council: the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy…
Overview of King Josiah‘s story
The story about King Josiah is the story about a king “who did right in the eyes of ADONAI and walked in all the ways of his father David, and turned not aside to the right or to the left“ (2 Kings 22: 2). He is one of the very few righteous kings recorded in Israel‘s history books.
During the renovation of the Temple ordered by the king, Hilkiah, the high priest, finds a Torah scroll. Then Shaphan the scribe reads the scroll, the Word of God, to king Josiah – and we are told that “after the king heard the words of the Torah scroll, he tore his clothes“ (2 Kings 22: 11), realizing how much the people had sinned against their God by not obeying the covenant made with Him.
King Josiah sends an entourage led by the high priest to a prophetess by the name of Huldah, who “was living in the Second Quarter of Jerusalem“ (2 Kings 22: 14), in order to “inquire of ADONAI“ for him and for all Judah “about the words of this scroll that was found“ (2 Kings 22: 13).
Huldah is introduced to us as a married woman, “the wife of Shallum“ (2 Kings 22: 14). She prophecies that the people of Judah will be led into exile because they “have forsaken“ the LORD and “burned incense to other gods“ (2 Kings 22: 17). Concerning king Josiah she transmits the following message:
“‘Thus says ADONAI, God of Israel. As for the words that you have heard, because your heart was softened and you humbled yourself before ADONAI when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants – that they should become a desolation and a curse – and because you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,‘ declares ADONAI. ‘Therefore behold, I will gather you to your fathers and you will be gathered to your grave in shalom. So your eyes will not see all the disaster I am bringing on this place.‘“
2 Kings 22: 18-20
King Josiah gathers “all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem“ (2 Kings 23: 1) and alongside “all the men of Judah and all the inhabitans of Jerusalem“, “the kohanim and the prophets, all the people, young and old“ goes up to the Temple, where he reads “all the words of the Book of the Covenant“ (2 Kings 23: 2) to them. Altogether, they renew their covenant with the LORD:
“Then the king stood by the pillar and cut a covenant before ADONAI, to follow ADONAI, to keep His mitzvot, His laws and His decrees with all their heart and soul, in order to fulfill the words of this covenant that were written in this scroll. So all the people stood for the covenant.“
2 Kings 23: 3
After this renewal of the covenant the story in 2 Kings continues with narrating the purging and cleansing of the temple and of all the land from idolatry as initiated and overseen by Josiah. With purifying fire he turns the high places, shrines, and idols, the “abominations“ to which Judah and Israel had given themselves over, to dust and ashes.
“Then the king commanded Hilkiah the kohen gadol, the kohanim of the second order and the doorkeepers to bring out of the Temple of ADONAI all the vessels made for Baal and Asherah, and all the host of heaven, and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and took their ashes to Bethel. He stopped the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained from burning incense on the high places in the towns of Judah and around Jerusalem, as well those burning incense to Baal, the sun, the moon, the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. Then he brought out the Asherah pole from the House of ADONAI to Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem, burned it in the Kidron Valley, ground it to dust and threw its dust over the graves of the common people.“
2 Kings 23: 4-6; 10; 15; 19; 24
“Next he defiled Topheth, which is in the Ben-hinnom Valley, so that no one might make his son or daughter pass through the fire for Molech.“
“Moreover, the altar that was at Bethel and the shrine built by Jeroboam son of Nebat – who caused Israel to sin – that altar and the shrine he demolished, too. He burned the shrine and ground it to dust, and burned up the Asherah.“
“Josiah also removed all the shrines of the high places that the kings of Israel had built in the towns of Samaria to provoke. He did to them just as he had done in Bethel.“
“Moreover, Josiah got rid of the necromancers and the mediums, the teraphim and the idols, and all the detestable things that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem – in order to confirm the words of the Torah that were written in the scroll that Hilkiah the kohen found in the House of ADONAI.“
Finally, we are told that King Josiah and the people celebrated the feast of Pesach like never before, the very feast of covenant renewal par excellence, the feast that remembers how God entered into a special covenant with Israel by leading them out of Egypt, by saving them from slavery in a foreign land:
“Then the king commanded all the people saying, ‘Celebrate the Passover to ADONAI your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.‘ For no Passover like this had been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel or in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was observed for ADONAI in Jerusalem.“
2 Kings 23: 21-23; 25
“Before him there had never been a king like him, who turned to ADONAI with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Torah of Moses, nor has any king like him risen since him.“
The story of king Josiah is also narrated in the second book of Chronicles. There we read the following remarks about the righteous king and about this memorable Pesach feast under his reign:
“Josiah removed all the abominations from the whole territory of Bnei-Yisrael and made all who were found in Israel worship ADONAI their God. All his days they did not turn away from following ADONAI, the God of their fathers.“
2 Chronicles 34: 33; 35: 18
“Passover had not been celebrated like that in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet, and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did with the kohanim, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.“
The rediscovered Torah scroll, Huldah the prophetess, and how spiritual restoration needs Sacred Scripture and the Holy Spirit
The whole story about King Josiah feels to be so rich in meaning that it is quite impossible to grasp all of it here. One thing I noticed while thinking about it is how the structure of Lent and the paschal feast is inscribed into the story: the structure of repentance (and cleansing), renewal of the covenant (renewal of the baptismal promise during the Easter Vigil), and celebrating God‘s miraculous victory and salvation, celebrating His Passover.
The first of the two themes I wish to focus on in more detail is that part of the story which tells us about the rediscovery of the Torah scroll, about Josiah‘s reaction, and about Huldah the prophetess.
First of all, the sequence of events is a bit different in the account we read in 2 Chronicles compared to the one in 2 Kings. In the book of Chronicles, it says that Josiah “began to purge Judah and Jerusalem“ in the twelth year of his reign, having begun “to seek after the God of his father David“ (2 Ch 34: 3) in the eighth year of being king, at the age of sixteen, as Josiah ascended to the throne at the age of eight.
In the eighteenth year then, “after purging the land and the House“, Josiah wishes to “repair the House of ADONAI his God“ (2 Ch 34: 8) with “the silver money that was brought into the House of God, which the Levites, the gatekeepers, had collected from Manasseh, Ephraim and all the remnant of Israel, as well as from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem“ (2 Ch 34: 9). With this money workmen are employed that set out on “repairing and restoring the House“ (2 Ch 34: 10) in a material sense. Obviously the previous kings had not taken good care of the Temple, not only spiritually, but also materially.
The high priest Hilkiah finds the Torah scroll during the first step of renovating the House: while bringing out the silver money needed for the work. The first thing that strikes us here is, that it was Josiah’s heart seeking after the God of his fathers and his zeal for worshipping the true God combined with his desire of a material restoration of the House of the LORD, of making it beautiful again, which brought about the grace of finding an ancient Torah scroll: In the book of Chronicles it says, that “Hilkiah the kohen found a Torah scroll of ADONAI given by Moses“ (2 Ch 34: 14).
The Torah scroll is a treasure far surpassing the silver money the priests brought out of the LORD‘s House. It is not a material, but a spiritual treasure – one which the people of Israel and their kings had forgotten and put aside as if it were of minor importance. One should expect that a Torah scroll containing the Word of their God, containing their covenant with Him, is not hidden somewhere in the attic. But it seems that it was. The spiritual treasure was found almost “accidently“, while caring about the material restoration of the House.
What had been the result of their neglect of hearing and studying God‘s Word? Idolatry, or at the very least a “mixed“ worship, a worship without truly knowing their God and His character – still worshipping in the Temple of their God in Jerusalem, but alongside “vessels made for Baal and Asherah“ (2 Kings) inside the very same Temple.
“The Torah experts did not know Me. The shepherds rebelled against Me. The prophets prophecied by Baal and went after unprofitable things. (…) See if there has been anything like this. Has a nation changed its gods – even though they are not gods? Yet My people have exchanged their glory for worthless things. (…) My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me – the spring of living water – and they dug their own cisterns – cracked cisterns that hold no water.“
Jeremiah 2: 8-13
Josiah immediately, upon hearing the words of the Book of the Covenant, understands that “the wrath of ADONAI“ must be great “because our fathers did not observe the word of ADONAI to do according to all that is written in this scroll“ (2 Ch 34: 21), and in a spirit of repentance and penance he tears his clothes and weeps.
Both 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles try to convey that Josiah is a king similar to King David, who was a man after God‘s own heart (cf. 1 Samuel 13: 14) – a man with a soft, humble, and passionate heart that seeks God and His righteousness.
What God‘s Word accomplishes first in the king and later in all the people is repentance. The rediscovery of God’s Word that is read out and listened to again is the beginning of the spiritual restoration of the House of the LORD. After the purging and cleansing of the Temple and the land, both are waiting for being filled with a new spiritual fullness in the LORD. Both God‘s Word and the extraordinary Pesach celebration bring about this new fullness.
Though Josiah understands that judgment is coming for the remnant of Israel and Judah, though he has already interpreted the Scripture he has heard, he also decides to ask Huldah the prophetess about the meaning of God‘s Word. According to Jewish tradition Huldah was a relative of the prophet Jeremiah. They shared the same ministry: calling people to repentance and prophecying about the coming exile, yet also sowing hope about a new and more glorious future beyond exile.
In the days of the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit was not yet poured out over all people, both young and old, but only certain chosen people were anointed with the Spirit and the gift of prophecy, like Jeremiah or Huldah. Notice how in the books of the Old Testament and even in the gospel accounts the authors will often specifically mention the anointing of the Holy Spirit certain people – for example certain kings, priests, prophets – have received. There were many “prophets“ walking around in the days of Jeremiah, but only he, as well as Huldah, were true prophets:
“Then ADONAI said to me: ‘The prophets prophecy lies in My Name! I did not send them, nor commanded them, nor did I speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, divination, futility, a delusion of their heart.‘“
Jeremiah 14: 14
It is only at Pentecost, that the outpouring of God’s Spirit on all flesh, as prophecied by Joel (cf. Joel 2: 28), takes place, coming down as one of the graces of participation in God’s very nature which are now, in the New Covenant, abundantly available to mankind by Christ‘s merit and through the sacraments He gave His Church – graces which were not available in the same way in the days of the Old Covenant:
“On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ‘s Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person: of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance.“
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 731
So Josiah turns to Huldah the prophetess. But what is prophecy? What is the prophetic ministry?
The Catechism tells us that “the Christian faithful (…) have become sharers in Christ’s priestly, prophetic, and royal office in their own manner“ (par. 871). It gives the following explanation of what participation in Christ‘s prophetic office means:
“Christ . . . fulfills this prophetic office, not only by the hierarchy . . . but also by the laity. He accordingly both establishes them as witnesses and provides them with the sense of the faith [sensus fidei] and the grace of the word. To teach in order to lead others to faith is the task of every preacher and of each believer.“
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 904-905
“Lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization, ‘that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life.‘ For lay people, ‘this evangelization . . . acquires a specific property and peculiar efficacy because it is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world.‘ This witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful.“
The prophetic ministry is not only concerned with prophecy in the sense of foretelling future events. That is not even the main meaning of this office. Rather, it is the ministry of understanding, teaching and witnessing concerning the word of faith. The original Hebrew word for prophecy actually means “vision“. The spirit of prophecy is the spirit of an accurate vision of God‘s revelation, which can then be shared with others. This clear vision is given us by the aid and graces of the Holy Spirit.
And in that sense, we could maybe dare see Huldah the prophetess as a sort of figure of the Holy Spirit. We might view her like that because it is, of course, truly the Holy Spirit who is speaking through her, but also because the message Huldah mediates for Josiah is not just repeating the things he himself has already understood upon hearing God‘s Word. There is more to it.
Her words – formed by the knowledge of the Spirit – confirm Josiah‘s apprehension that God‘s judgment will come upon the people. But they also grant the king a very personal message concerning him. That personal message is full of hope and good tidings, and it entails – both for him as well as for all his brothers and sisters – the blueprint of the worship that God seeks from His people:
“(…) because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against the inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes, and wept before Me, I have heard you (…). Behold, I will gather you to your fathers and you will be buried in your grave in shalom.“
2 Chronicles 34: 27-28
The point is: Sacred Scripture understood with the eyes and ears of the Holy Spirit will always have the unique power to convey messages to us that are both collective and personal, that work in us both repentance and hope in God‘s mercy.
Maybe it was the second part of Huldah‘s message for Josiah – the assurance of God’s acceptance of the sacrifices of his contrite heart – that gave the king so much comfort that he decided to keep working on the material and spiritual restoration of the House of the LORD despite it all – even though his decisions, actions, and efforts would not have the power to avert the future exile of Judah. In any case, the Torah scroll and Huldah the prophetess, or we could say: Sacred Scripture and the Holy Spirit, work together in giving Josiah consolation and courage enough to keep going.
“(…) Christianity is the religion of the ‘Word‘ of God, a word which is ‘not a written and mute word, but the Word is incarnate and living‘. If the Scriptures are not to remain a dead letter, Christ, the eternal Word of the living God, must, through the Holy Spirit, ‘open (our) minds to understand the Scriptures.‘“
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 108
“‘And such is the force and power of the Word of God that it can serve the Church as her support and vigor, and the children of the Church as strength for their faith, food for the soul, and a pure and lasting fount of spiritual life.‘“
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 131
So maybe these are some of the first lessons we could draw from King Josiah‘s story: Firstly, that material and spiritual neglect often go together, just like material and spiritual care do, but also that the material restoration of the House of God alone is not enough. A house that was purged and cleansed from evil spirits is an empty house, but it cannot be empty for long. Unless the Holy Spirit fills the temple, it is in danger to be filled again soon with the same old evil spirits and even more of them:
“Now when an unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places looking for rest and doesn‘t find it. Then it says, ‘I‘ll go back home where I came from.‘ And when it comes, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order. Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there. And that man‘s last condition becomes worse than the first.“
Matthew 12: 43-45
Secondly, that Sacred Scripture, that the Word of God given to us in all the “scrolls“ of the Old and the New Testament, read and understood with the aid of the Holy Spirit who grants understanding and gives insight into their “prophetic“ meaning, is absolutely necessary for spiritual restoration and fullness.
“Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.“
Saint Jerome
Josiah‘s extraordinary celebration of the Passover feast
While the book of 2 Kings only mentions the outstanding Pesach feast which King Josiah and all the remnant of Israel and Judah celebrated at Solomon‘s Temple in Jerusalem in the eighteenth year of his reign, the book of Chronicles gets into the details of the celebration, trying to let us know why it was so extraordinary, so good, so powerful, so rich. This is the account:
“Josiah celebrated Passover unto ADONAI in Jerusalem. They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month. He reinstated the kohanim to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the House of ADONAI. He said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were consecrated to ADONAI, ‘Put the holy Ark in the House which Solomon the son of King David of Israel built. Since it is no longer a burden on your shoulders now, serve ADONAI your God and his people Israel. Prepare yourselves by your ancestral houses in your divisions, according to the writing of King David of Israel and according to the writing of his son Solomon. Stand in the holy place by the divisions of the ancestral houses, by sons of the people and by divisions of ancestral houses of the Levites. Now sanctify yourselves, slaughter the Passover lamb and prepare it for your kinsmen, according to the word of ADONAI by the hand of Moses.‘
2 Chronicles 35: 1-17
Josiah provided for all the people who were present, flocks of lambs and goats totaling 30,000, all for the Passover offerings, as well as 3,000 bulls – all from the king‘s possessions. His officials also gave a freewill offering to the people, the kohanim and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel – the administrators of the House of God – donated to the kohanim 2,600 Passover offerings, and 300 bulls. Likewise, Conaniah along with Shemaiah and Nethaniel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad, leaders of the Levites, provided 5,000 Passover lambs for the Levites and 500 bulls.
So the avodah was prepared and the kohanim stood at their posts with the Levites in their divisions according to the king‘s command. They slaughtered the Passover lambs and while the kohanim sprinkled the blood handed to them, the Levites flayed them. Then they removed the portions to be burnt to give them to the divisions of ancestral houses of the people to present to ADONAI, as it is written in the book of Moses. They did the same with the bulls. They roasted the Passover lambs with fire according to the ordinance, then boiled the sacred parts in pots, caldrons and pans, and brought them quickly to all the people. Afterward, they made preparations for themselves and for the kohanim, because the kohanim, the sons of Aaron, were busy sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the kohanim, the sons of Aaron.
The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the commandment of David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun, the king‘s seer. The gatekeepers were at every gate. They did not depart from their posts for their fellow Levites provided for them.
So on that day the entire service of ADONAI was prepared to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of ADONAI according to the command of King Josiah. The Bnei-Yisrael present celebrated the Passover at that time and observed the Feast of Matzot for seven days.“
The word “avodah“ we read in this Bible translation is the Hebrew word for “work“ or “service“, having the same meaning that our word “liturgy“ has. I would like to highlight a couple of verses that stick out, as they give a clear picture of why this Pesach celebration was the first truly worthy celebration of God‘s saving acts for Israel since “the days of Samuel the prophet“, meaning: since the days of David and Solomon.
“He reinstated the kohanim to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the House of ADONAI.“
2 Chronicles 35: 2; 5; 8; 10; 13; 15
“Stand in the holy place by the divisions of the ancestral houses, by sons of the people and by divisions of ancestral houses of the Levites.“
“His officials also gave a freewill offering to the people, the kohanim and the Levites.“
“So the adovah was prepared and the kohanim stood at their posts with the Levites in their divisions according to the king‘s command.“
“They roasted the Passover lambs with fire according to the ordinance (…) and brought them quickly to all the people.“
“The singers (…) were at their stations according to the commandment of David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun (…). The gatekeepers were at every gate.“
So what was King Josiah‘s accomplishment? Well, he made sure that everyone is prepared for the celebration, that everyone knows exactly what their role is within the common work of the liturgy, and he encouraged the priests and the people to participate eagerly, zealously – even with “freewill offerings“, offerings beyond what is demanded – in the celebration of the feast. We read the account of a Pesach celebration that is supremely well organized, as organized as a general would organize his army for a military expedition. All that is done is done with vigor. And the king takes care that there is no lack in anything, that everything needed for a festive celebration is provided abundantly.
It is worth noting that this very good preparation and execution of the Pesach liturgy is achieved not by anyone’s conceptions made up out of the blue of how Pesach could be celebrated splendidly but by returning to ancient ordinances, to the ordinances of the Torah of Moses and to the statutes of those two kings in Israel‘s Golden Age who set the whole foundation for the celebration of the appointed feasts in the city of Jerusalem: David and Solomon.
In general, there is an emphasis in both 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles on the fact that King Josiah‘s righteousness and merits came from his “likeness“ to his father David and his eagerness to walk in the ancient paths, to return to the ways of their fathers:
“He did right in the eyes of ADONAI, and walked in the ways of his father David.“
2 Chronicles 34: 2
“Stand in the roads and look. Ask for the ancient paths – where the good way is – and walk in it. Then you will find rest for your souls.“
Jeremiah 6: 16
King Josiah restores the House of God both materially and spiritually. It is cleansed from idols, it is beautiful again, and it is filled with the joy and delight of remembering the day when God led Israel out of Egypt and purchased for Himself a holy nation. The liturgy is done with Levites as strong as soldiers, serving as musicians, gatekeepers, shepherds, and priests. But also all the people present are actively involved. They are just as prepared for the celebration as the Levites are.
And there is a line, only given in the account in 2 Kings, that emphasizes this active involvement of everyone:
“Then the king commanded all the people, ‘Celebrate the Passover to ADONAI your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.‘“
2 Kings 23: 21
King Josiah knows that Pesach is the most important feast for the people of Israel because it is the feast of the inaugaration of the covenant God made with His people by pouring His mercy and grace upon them, before giving them the Law of the Covenant seven weeks later at Mount Sinai. And so he is aware that a renewal of Israel‘s faithfulness to God, of their love to their God, that a new spiritual fullness in God that prevents them from turning to the left or to the right in their walk, from going astray in vain idolatry, requires that they re-enter into the mystery of the Passover night as if this miracle of the exodus was done for them by God right here and now, thereby getting to know their God and His character and His marvelous deeds anew.
It is the whole purpose of the liturgy to make present what is never simply a thing of the past and to rekindle a pure spiritual fire in its participants. Liturgical acts are not something like “pious-looking“ theatre. Let us rather understand them as vessels of reality.
King Josiah knows this, because he truly believes in God and His presence both in the ancient ordinances as well as here and now in the prophetic utterings of His ever living word and of His prophets like Huldah, hence he takes the celebration of Pesach very seriously and calls upon the people to take it seriously as well. Everyone shall participate with “knowledge“ about the sacred mysteries, and no one shall look upon it as if it were simply a poorly understood theatre performance to be watched.
The Catechism contains several paragraphs that clearly teach how the heart of the liturgy is ever-present and ever-alive – because Christ, the high priest “who is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, always living to make intercession for them“ (Hebrews 7: 25), is the heart of it – , and how the assembly needs to take care to be prepared for the streams of grace the Holy Spirit wishes to pour over the liturgy‘s participants.
“In the liturgy the Holy Spirit is teacher of the faith of the People of God and artisan of ‘God‘s masterpieces‘, the sacraments of the New Covenant. The desire and work of the Spirit in the heart of the Church is that we may live from the life of the risen Christ. (…)“
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1091
“(…) the Church, especially during Advent and Lent and above all at the Easter Vigil, re-reads and re-lives the great events of salvation history in the ‘today‘ of her liturgy. But this also demands that catechesis help the faithful to open themselves to this spiritual understanding of the economy of salvation as the Church‘s liturgy reveals it and enables us to live it.“
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1095
“The assembly should prepare itself to encounter its Lord and to become ‘a people well disposed‘. The preparation of hearts is the joint work of the Holy Spirit and the assembly, especially of its ministers. The grace of the Holy Spirit seeks to awaken faith, conversion of heart, and adherence to the Father‘s will. These dispositions are the precondition both for the reception of other graces conferred in the celebration itself and the fruits of new life which the celebration is intended to produce afterward.“
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1098
“The Spirit and the Church cooperate to manifest Christ and his work of salvation in the liturgy. (…)“
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1099 and 1104
“Christian liturgy not only recalls the events that saved us but actualizes them, makes them present. The Paschal mystery of Christ is celebrated, not repeated. It is the celebrations that are repeated, and in each celebration there is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that makes the unique mystery present.“
Our liturgical celebrations are participations in the “Divine Liturgy“, participations in God‘s works of salvation. All the liturgical feasts of the people of Israel were given to them by God, were gifts from heaven. It is God who tells them through Moses when, how, and why to celebrate certain feasts. And so it is with the liturgy of the Church: God is the author. That‘s why keeping to the “ancient ways“ is so important. It means sticking with what was entrusted to the assembly “in the beginning“, at its birth.
But King Josiah is also aware, I think, that the people of Israel alive here and now need to truly understand their covenant with God so that they can cooperate with Him in the liturgy, and therefore they need to understand the words written in the Book of the Covenant, as they record those events in salvation history which reveal to them who this God is and what He is doing. That aspect is something I also see in the verse “Celebrate the Passover to ADONAI your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant“. They shall know “their“ God“, they shall celebrate onto Him, and they shall know His deeds and what kind of covenant He made with them. How else could real cooperation be possible?
King Josiah refers them to the Torah that was just recently “rediscovered“. In the same way, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium) solemny promulgated by His Holiness Pope Paul VI on December 4, 1963 which states that the Council – meaning the Second Vatican Council – “desires to impart an ever increasing vigor to the Christian life of the faithful“ and to undertake “the reform and promotion of the liturgy“ (par. 1), refers us today to the importance of Sacred Scripture for the restoration of the liturgical life. Here are a couple of passages from this document that speak to the nature of the Church‘s liturgy and to some of the conditions for its true revival:
“(…) every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of His body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others; no other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree. (…)“
Sacroscantum Concilium, paragraphs 7, 10, 11, 14, 24, 48
“(…) the renewal in the Eucharist of the covenant between the Lord and man draws the faithful into the compelling love of Christ and sets them on fire. From the liturgy, therefore, and especially from the Eucharist, as from a font, grace is poured forth upon us; and the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God (…) is achieved in the most efficacious possible way.“
“But in order that the liturgy may be able to produce its full effects, it is necessary that the faithful come to it with proper dispositions, that their minds should be attuned to their voices, and that they should cooperate with divine grace lest they receive it in vain. Pastors of souls must therefore realize that, when the liturgy is celebrated, something more is required than the mere observation of the laws governing valid and licit celebration; it is their duty also to ensure that the faithful take part fully aware of what they are doing, actively engaged in the rite, and enriched by its effects.“
“Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy. Such participation by the Christian people as ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people‘ (1 Peter 2:9, cf. 2: 4-5) is their right and duty by reason of their baptism. In the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy, this full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else (…).“
“Sacred Scripture is of the greatest importance in the celebration of the liturgy. For it is from scripture that lessons are read and explained in the homily, and psalms are sung; the prayers, collects, and liturgical songs are scriptural in their inspiration and their force, and it is from the scriptures that actions and signs derive their meaning. Thus to achieve the restoration, progress, and adaptation of the sacred liturgy, it is essential to promote that warm and living love for scripture to which the venerable tradition of both eastern and western rites gives testimony.“
“The Church, therefore, earnestly desires that Christ‘s faithful, when present at this mystery of faith, should not be there as strangers or silent spectators; on the contrary, through a good understanding of the rites and prayers they should take part in the sacred action conscious of what they are doing, with devotion and full collaboration. They should be instructed by God‘s Word and be nourished at the table of the Lord‘s body (…).“
Because of the importance of Sacred Scripture for a revived liturgical life with people who take their role as a “royal priesthood“ and a “holy nation“ seriously and who actively and consciously participate in the celebration of the mysteries of the faith, the very same document calls for “more reading from holy scripture“ in liturgical celebrations, and for sermons that “draw (their) content mainly from scriptural and liturgical sources“ with a “character (…) of a proclamation of God‘s wonderful works in the history of salvation, the mystery of Christ, ever made present and active within us“ (par. 35).
The reform and restoration of the liturgy intended by the Second Vatican Council, and the “return to the sources“
Sacrosanctum Concilium is the document that led to the New Roman Missal in 1965, as this document written during the Second Vatican Council called upon the Church to “undertake with great care a general restoration of the liturgy itself“, to draw up “texts and rites (…) that (…) express more clearly the holy things which they signify“, so that “the Christian people, so far as possible, should be enabled to understand them with ease and to take part in them fully, actively, and as befits a community“ (par. 21), and to revise the liturgical books “as soon as possible“ (par. 25).
This revision of the rites should be done “carefully in the light of sound tradition“ and in order “that they may be given new vigor to meet the circumstances and needs of modern times“ (par. 4). The document proclaims that “zeal for the promotion and restoration of the liturgy is rightly held to be a sign of the providential dispositions of God in our time, as a movement of the Holy Spirit in His Church“ (par. 43).
Several norms for this reform and restoration of the liturgy are then given. When you read them, you better understand the intentions behind the New Rite, the reasons for the changes that were made – and also where the actual implementation of the restoration of the liturgy has, until now, fallen way short of the norms the Council proposed:
“(…) there must be no innovations unless the good of the Church genuinely and certainly requires them; and care must be taken that any new forms adopted should in some way grow organically from forms already existing. (…)“
Sacrosanctum Concilium, paragraphs 23, 28, 34, 36, 50, 51, 53, 54, 116, 120, 124
“In liturgical celebrations each person, minister or layman, who has an office to perform, should do all of, but only, those parts which pertain to his office by the nature of the rite and the principles of liturgy.“
“The rites should be distinguished by a noble simplicity; they should be short, clear, and unencumbered by useless repetitions; they should be within the people‘s powers of comprehension, and normally should not require much explanation.“
“(…) the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites. But since the use of the mother tongue (…) frequently may be of great advantage to the people, the limits of its employment may be extended. (…)“
“The rite of the Mass is to be revised in such a way that the intrinsic nature and purpose of its several parts, as also the connection between them, may be more clearly manifested, and that devout and active participation by the faithful may be more easily achieved. For this purpose, the rites are to be simplified, due care being taken to preserve their substance; elements which, with the passage of time, came to be duplicated, or were added with but little advantage, are now to be discarded; other elements which have suffered injury through accidents of history are now to be restored to the vigor which they had in the days of the holy Fathers, as may seem useful or necessary.“
“The treasures of the bible are to be opened up more lavishly, so that richer fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God‘s word. In this way a more representative portion of the holy scriptures will be read to the people in the course of a prescribed number of years.“
“Especially on Sundays and feasts of obligations there is to be restored, after the Gospel and the homily, ‘the common prayer‘ or ‘the prayer of the faithful‘. By this prayer, in which the people are to take part, intercession will be made for holy Church, for the civil authorities, for those oppressed by various needs, for all mankind, and for the salvation of the entire world.“
“(…) steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them. (…)“
“The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services. (…)“
“In the Latin Church the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor to the Church‘s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man‘s mind to God and to higher things.“
“(…) Let bishops carefully remove from the house of God and from other sacred places those works of artists which are repugnant to faith, morals, and Christian piety, and which offend true religious sense either by depraved forms or by lack of artistic worth, mediocrity and pretense. (…)“
The Second Vatican Council wished to give the Church “new vigor“ by a “return to the authoritative sources“, mainly the sources of Sacred Scripture, the liturgy, and the patristic era, the Church Fathers of the first centuries, in order to be able to respond to the unique challenges of our modern times. One can see this emphasis on a certain “returning“ to Scripture and the Holy Fathers even in this little compilation of quotations from Sacrosanctum Concilium given above.
As far as one can see, this new era of a revitalized life of faith drinking from the ancient sources, walking in the ancient ways – but as those living today, right here and now, in the midst of the modern age, trained for today‘s spiritual warfare – , this new era of a “noble simplicity“ with hearts “set on fire“ has not come to fruition yet in the Church.
King Josiah‘s story, across which I stumbled in the night of the Easter Vigil, reminded me of this intention of the Second Vatican Council because he does the very same thing, it seems: He returns – and calls the people of Israel to return – to the “Book of the Covenant“ and to the “ways of his father David“.
At his time, the house of God had seen material and spiritual decline by a lack of care and by all the apostasy and idolatry that had been going on for generations. What else can you do then, after a period of such neglect of tradition, after many generations have already failed to pass on the torch to their children, but try to make a new beginning by remembering the most ancient wellsprings of the faith and its devotions, by trying to rekindle the fire through the spark of the first flames? And what if this was the purpose and intent of the Second Vatican Council, or at least of what the Holy Spirit has been wishing to accomplish through it?
Torches must be passed on to the next generation, not ashes. We live in a post-Christian world, a world similar to the pre-Christian world of the first few centuries of Christianity, a world in which a few practicing Christians are surrounded by a neo-pagan majority. Therefore, returning to the sources of that early era of the faith makes a lot of sense. The fathers of the Church can teach us anew how to live in a time and age where we are “sojourners of the Diaspora“ (1 Peter 1: 1).
The liturgy, the Roman rite we celebrate can be the Old or the New – but it alone, if it were celebrated as if “dead letter“, cannot rekindle the fire, because the fire comes from the Holy Spirit. Of course, the Holy Spirit is always present and active, in every Sacrifice of the Holy Mass, whether in the Old or the New Rite, and of course, He has been already given to every member of the Church at Holy Baptism and Holy Confirmation. Yet, as Saint Paul the Apostle tells us, the Holy Spirit can be “quenched“.
“Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophetic messages, but test all things, hold fast to what is good, keep away from every kind of evil.“
1 Thessalonians 5: 19-22
Now, if we truly believe that the Holy Spirit is always active in the Church and is safeguarding her ecumenical councils, should we then not ask ourselves: What was it that the Holy Spirit wanted to communicate to the Church through the Second Vatican Council? Which prophetic messages were contained in it? And how can we heed them?
And then, again, concerning lighting a fire, it comes to my mind that when you make fire with firestones, which is a simple and noble way to do so, you actually always need two of them that are rubbed against each other. You need what is old and what is new; you need the liturgical celebrations and the Book of the Covenant; you need the revival of public worship and of private devotion. With only one of the two in each of these many pairs of two, the fire will not burn.
“Therefore every Torah scholar discipled for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure both new things and old.“
Matthew 13: 52
Here is one final thought in closing this, while also summing up what can maybe be learned from King Josiah‘s extraordinary Pesach celebration: Not only does such an extraordinary celebration need to be done in the “spirit“ of our forefathers in the faith, not only does it presuppose good catechesis and deep roots in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, not only does it need to be entered into with a disposition ready to actively participate with an understanding of the meaning of what is happening and ready to receive the graces of the Holy Spirit, but because the liturgy is from beginning to end an act of prayer – of praise, of thanksgiving, of supplication, of intercession – offered up toward God in unity with the Passover of Christ the high priest, it needs – in the night of the Easter Vigil, and on each and every day – participants who really do pray as if it were an issue of life and death right here and now – in the night when Israel escapes into a new life, is raised with Christ to a new life, and Pharaoh‘s chariots hunting after them in order to entrap them forever in the prison of the old life are drowned in the depths of the sea.
Extraordinary celebrations, whether done in one or the other rite, as well as extraordinary times, times like these, need priests and people with vigor, with the sap of life in them and with the urgent desire and thirst to receive the sap of life anew; priests and people who are strong in their God just like the weak, burdened, mistreated people of Israel were strong – strong in their weakness – when they raised themselves up at the command of their God to leave Egypt, to walk away from it and out of it in procession following the pillar of fire, trading the low-hanging fruit of the fleshpots of Egypt for the high calling of serving their God in the wilderness, switching from a life of servile ambiguity to a life of “noble simplicity“.
Can all of us learn again – no matter how much comfortable inertia and wantless standstill the world around us may propose to us as the best “way“ forward or backward, as the most commendable position of the sleepy spectator, enclosed in a bubble safe and sound, who neither wins nor loses nor even ever rouses himself to try – , can all of us eagerly wish to learn again to be as swift on our feet as the children of Israel were in that Passover night of their liberation and as the Levites were during that Passover feast in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign when they “brought (the Passover lambs) quickly to all the people“ (2 Ch 34: 13)?
“This month will mark the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you. (…) Your lamb is to be without blemish, a year old male. (…) Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight. They are to take the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the crossbeam of the houses where they will eat it. They are to eat the meat that night, roasted over a fire. With matzot and bitter herbs they are to eat it. (…) So let nothing of it remain until the morning. (…) Also you are to eat it this way: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in haste. It is ADONAI‘s Passover. (…) This day is to be a memorial for you. You are to keep it as a feast to ADONAI. Throughout your generations you are to keep it as an eternal ordinance.“
Exodus 12: 2-14
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you are able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the worldly forces of this darkness, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist when the times are evil, and after you have done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm then! Buckle the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. Strap up your feet in readiness with the Good News of shalom. Above all, take up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Ruach on every occasion, with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, keep alert with perseverance and supplication for all the kedoshim.“
Ephesians 6: 10-18
Post scriptum no 1: The Catechism on the relationship between Jewish and Christian liturgy and on the unity of the Old and the New Testament
“A better knowledge of the Jewish people‘s faith and religious life as professed and lived even now can help our better understanding of certain aspects of Christian liturgy. For both Jews and Christians Sacred Scripture is an essential part of their respective liturgies: in the proclamation of the Word of God, the response to this word, prayer of praise and intercession for the living and the dead, invocation of God‘s mercy. In its characteristic structure the Liturgy of the Word originates in Jewish prayer. The Liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical texts and formularies, as well as those of our most venerable prayers, including the Lord‘s Prayer, have parallels in Jewish prayer. The Eucharistic Prayers also draw their inspiration from the Jewish tradition. (…) Christians and Jews both celebrate Passover. For Jews, it is the Passover of history, tending toward the future; for Christians, it is the Passover fulfilled in the death and Resurrection of Christ, though always in expectation of its definitive consummation.“
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1096
“The unity of the two Testaments proceeds from the unity of God‘s plan and His revelation. The Old Testament prepares for the New, and the New fulfills the Old; the two shed light on each other; both are true Word of God.“
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 140
“(…) the New Testament has to be read in the light of the Old. Early Christian catechesis made constant use of the Old Testament. (…)“
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 129
Post scriptum no. 2: True worship of God versus self-seeking worship – a quote from the book The Spirit of the Liturgy by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Benedict XVI
“The worship of the golden calf is a self-generated cult. When Moses stays away for too long, and God himself become inaccessible, the people just fetch him. Worship becomes a feast that the community gives itself, a festival of self-affirmation. Instead of being worship of God, it becomes a circle closed in on itself; eating, drinking, and making merry. The dance around the golden calf is an image of this self-seeking worship. It is a kind of banal self-gratification.
Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI): The Spirit of the Liturgy
The narrative of the golden calf is a warning about any kind of self-initiated and self-seeking worship. Ultimately, it is no longer concerned with God but with giving oneself a nice little alternative world, manufactured from one’s own resources. Then liturgy really does become pointless, just fooling around. Or still worse it becomes an apostasy from the living God, an apostasy in sacral disguise. All that is left in the end is frustration, a feeling of emptiness.“
Post scriptum no. 3: Excerpts from Missale Romanum (1969) and Summorum Pontificum (2007)
“The Roman Missal, promulgated in 1570 by Our predecessor, Saint Pius V, by decree of the Council of Trent, has been received by all as one of the numerous and admirable fruits which the holy Council has spread throughout the entire Church of Christ. For four centuries, not only has it furnished the priests of the Latin Rite with the norms for the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, but also the saintly heralds of the Gospel have carried it almost to the entire world. Furthermore, innumerable holy men have abundantly nourished their piety towards God by its readings from Sacred Scripture or by its prayers, whose general arrangement goes back, in essence, to St. Gregory the Great.
Missale Romanum, Apostolic Constitution issued by His Holiness Pope Paul VI
Since that time there has grown and spread among the Christian people the liturgical renewal which, according to Pius XII, Our predecessor of venerable memory, seems to show the signs of God‘s providence in the present time, a salvific action of the Holy Spirit in His Church. This renewal has also shown clearly that the formulas of the Roman Missal ought to be revised and enriched. The beginning of this renewal was the work of Our predecessor, this same Pius XII, in the restoration of the Paschal Vigil and of the Holy Week Rite, which formed the first stage of updating the Roman Missal for the present-day mentality. (…)
After the Council of Trent, the study ‘of ancient manuscripts of the Vatican library and of others gathered elsewhere‘, as Our predecessor, St. Pius V, indicates in the Apostolic Constitution Quo primum, has greatly helped for the revision of the Roman Missal. Since then, however, more ancient liturgical sources have been discovered and published and at the same time liturgical formulas of the Oriental Church have become better known. Many wish that the riches, both doctrinal and spiritual, might not be hidden in the darkness of the libraries, but on the contrary might be brought into the light to illumine and nourish the spirits and souls of Christians. Let us show now, in broad lines, the new composition of the Roman Missal. (…)
According to the prescription of the Second Vatican Council which prescribes that ‘a more representative portion of the Holy Scriptures will be read to the people over a set cycle of years‘, the readings for Sunday are divided into a cycle of three years. In addition, for Sunday and feasts, the readings of the Epistle and Gospel are preceded by a reading from the Old Testament or, during Paschaltide, from the Acts of the Apostles. In this way the dynamism of the mystery of salvation, shown by the text of divine revelation, is more clearly accentuated. These widely selected biblical readings, which give to the faithful on feast days the most important part of Sacred Scripture, is completed by access to the other parts of the Holy Books read on other days.
All this is wisely ordered in such a way that there is developed more and more among the faithful a ‘hunger for the Word of God‘, which, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, leads the people of the New Covenant to the perfect unity of the Church. We are fully confident that both priests and faithful will prepare their hearts more devoutly and together at the Lord‘s Supper, meditating more profoundly on Sacred Scripture, and at the same time they will nourish themselves more day by day with the words of the Lord. It will follow then that according to the wishes of the Second Vatican Council, Sacred Scripture will be at the same time a perpetual source of spiritual life, an instrument of prime value for transmitting Christian doctrine and finally the center of all theology. (…)
In conclusion, we wish to give the force of law to all that we have set forth concerning the new Roman Missal. In promulgating the official edition of the Roman Missal, Our predecessor, St. Pius V, presented it as an instrument of liturgical unity and as a witness to the purity of the worship of the Church. (…) we hope nevertheless that the Missal will be received by the faithful as an instrument which bears witness to and which affirms the common unity of all. Thus, in the great diversity of languages, one unique prayer will rise as an acceptable offering to our Father in heaven, through our High-Priest Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit. (…).“
“The Supreme Pontiffs have to this day shown constant concern that the Church of Christ should offer worthy worship to the Divine Majesty, ‘for the praise and glory of his name‘ and ‘the good of all his holy Church‘.
Summorum Pontificum, Apostolic Letter given Motu Proprio by Pope Benedict XVI
As from time immemorial, so too in the future, it is necessary to maintain the principle that ‘each particular Church must be in accord with the universal Church not only regarding the doctrine of the faith and sacramental signs, but also as to the usages universally received from apostolic and unbroken tradition. These are to be observed not only so that errors may be avoided, but also that the faith may be handed on in its integrity, since the Church‘s rule of prayer (lex orandi) corresponds to her rule of faith (lex credendi).‘ (…)
It is well known that in every century of the Christian era the Church’s Latin liturgy in its various forms has inspired countless saints in their spiritual life, confirmed many peoples in the virtue of religion and enriched their devotion. In the course of the centuries, many other Roman Pontiffs took particular care that the sacred liturgy should accomplish this task more effectively. Outstanding among them was Saint Pius V, who in response to the desire expressed by the Council of Trent, renewed with great pastoral zeal the Church‘s entire worship, saw to the publication of liturgical books corrected and ‘restored in accordance with the norm of the Fathers‘, and provided them for the use of the Latin Church. (…)
In more recent times, the Second Vatican Council expressed the desire that the respect and reverence due to divine worship should be renewed and adapted to the needs of our time. (…) In some regions, however, not a few of the faithful continued to be attached with such love and affection to the earlier liturgical forms which had deeply shaped their culture and spirit, that in 1984 Pope John Paul II, concerned for their pastoral care, through the special Indult Quattuor Abhinc Annos issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship, granted the faculty of using the Roman Missal published in 1962 by Blessed John XXIII. (…)
Given the continued requests of these members of the faithful, long deliberated upon by our predecessor John Paul II, and having listened to the views expressed by the Cardinals present at the Consistory of 23 March 2006, upon mature consideration, having invoked the Holy Spirit and with trust in God‘s help, by this Apostolic Letter we decree the following:
Art 1. The Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the lex orandi (rule of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. The Roman Missal promulgated by Saint Pius V and revised by Blessed John XXIII is nonetheless to be considered an extraordinary expression of the same lex orandi of the Church and duly honoured for its venerable and ancient usage. These two expressions of the Church‘s lex orandi will in no way lead to a division in the Church‘s lex credendi (rule of faith); for they are two usages of the one Roman rite. (…)
Art. 5, § 1 In parishes where a group of the faithful attached to the previous liturgical tradition stably exists, the parish priest should willingly acede to their requests to celebrate Holy Mass according to the rite of the 1962 Roman Missal. (…)
Art. 9, § 1 The parish priest, after careful consideration, can also grant permission to use the older ritual in the administration of the sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, Penance and Anointing of the Sick, if advantageous for the good of souls. (….)“