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THE DIALOGUE MASS.
What May and May Not Be Done
I
NTEREST in the Dialogue Mass,
which is becoming familiar in Catholic
Action and other bodies these
days, makes relevant the following remarks
by a correspondent to our contemporary,
"America":
Bonzelet, in his "Pastoral Companion,"
speaking of the "Missa Recitata"
or Dialogue Mass, says:
"With the permission of the Ordinary
the faithful may recite aloud ('Missa
Recitata') the prayers customarily said
by the server, and together with the
celebrant, the 'Gloria,' the 'Credo,'
the 'Sanctus,' the 'Agnus Dei,' and
the 'Domine non sum dignus' when
the celebrant turns with the ciborium
in hand to distribute Holy Communion.
But all these prayers must be said in
Latin. None of the other Mass prayers
may be said aloud." (Sacred Congregation
of Rites, November 30, 1935.)
Bronzelet O.F.M Pastoral Companion,
P. 13, N. 3, 1939.
And Woywod in this commentary on
the code cites an earlier decree of the
same Congregation which forbids the
people to recite aloud during Mass certain
portions, which are to be- said
secretly by the celebrant. He tells
us that the Sacred Congregation of
Rites was asked: "Whether the people
who assist at Mass may read with a
loud voice the Secrets, the Canon and
the words of the Consecration." And
the answer:
"That may not be retained because
the Canon of the Mass should be read
in a low voice by the priest and it is
not proper that the people read it in a
loud voice." (Sacred Congregation of
Rites, August 4, 1922: Acta Ap. Sedis,
XIV., 505. Woywod: "Practical Commentary
on the Code of Canon Law."
Vol. 2, Appendix 111 (34) and P. 614-
1939.)
"America" goes on to summarise and
comment upon the Dialogue Mass: (1)
The use of the Dialogue Mass is not
recommended indiscriminately. It is
evidently not adapted to every
type of congregation; it demands
careful training and leadership; in all
cases, its use depends strictly upon
the permission of the Bishop, who will
judge whether the circumstances—in
his diocese or in particular instances—
are fitting for its execution. (2) Advocates
of the Dialogue Mass are
agreed, with the correspondent, that
it is not permissible to recite publicly
the Secret prayers and the Canon of
the Mass with the celebrant. (3) Conversely,
there is no question about the
permissibility (subject to the provisos
in No. 1) of joining in the Latin responses
and those parts of the Common
of the Mass mentioned.
There has apparently risen in the
United States a question of the congregation
reciting parts of the Mass in
the vernacular; In regard to this,
"America" adds that there is some
difference of opinion among liturgists
as to the permissibility of reciting in
the vernacular certain parts—such as
Offertory prayers—not included in No.
2, above. "\Vlth regard to this final
point, it can be noted that (a) this vernacular
phase of the Dialogue Mass has
many distinguished advocates; and (b)
we can expect the matter to be pretty
thoroughly threshed out in a forthcoming
book by the Rev. Gerald Ellaid,
S.J., authority on this subject,
entitled "The Dialogue Mass."
And the Rev. Francis B. Donnelly,
J.C.D., in his scholarly and convincing
article, "The Dialogue Mass in the
Vernacular" ("Ecclesiastical Review,"
August, 1941), gives in substance,
though drawn from other authentic
sources, the same precise legislation
contained in the recent decree of the
Sacred Congregation of Rites, November
30, 1935.
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