Sacrosanctum Concilium

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Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, is one of the constitutions of the Second Vatican Council. It was approved by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,147 to 4 and promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 4, 1963.

As is customary with Catholic documents, the name of this Constitution, "Sacred Council" in Latin, is taken from the first line of the document:

1. This sacred Council has several aims in view: it desires to impart an ever increasing vigor to the Christian life of the faithful; to adapt more suitably to the needs of our own times those institutions which are subject to change; to foster whatever can promote union among all who believe in Christ; to strengthen whatever can help to call the whole of mankind into the household of the Church. The Council therefore sees particularly cogent reasons for undertaking the reform and promotion of the liturgy. (--Sacrosanctum Concilium)

[edit] Contents

The numbers given correspond to section numbers within the text.

1. Introduction (1-4)
2. General Principles for the Restoration and Promotion of the Sacred Liturgy (5-46)
   1. The Nature of the Sacred Liturgy and Its Importance in the Church's Life (5-13)
   2. The Promotion of Liturgical Instruction and Active Participation (14-20)
   3. The Reform of the Sacred Liturgy (21-46)
      1. General Norms (22-25)
      2. Norms Drawn from the Hierarchic and Communal Nature of the Liturgy (26-32)
      3. Norms Based Upon the Didactic and Pastoral Nature of the Liturgy (33-36)
      4. Norms for Adapting the Liturgy to the Culture and Traditions of Peoples (37-40)
      5. Promotion of Liturgical Life in Diocese and Parish (41-42)
      6. The Promotion of Pastoral-Liturgical Action (43-46)
3. The Most Sacred Mystery of the Eucharist (47-58)
4. The Other Sacraments and the Sacramentals (59-82)
5. The Divine Office (83-101)
6. The Liturgical Year (102-111)
7. Sacred Music (112-121)
8. Sacred Art and Sacred Furnishings (122-130)
9. Appendix: A Declaration of the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican on Revision of the Calendar

[edit] External links

• Full text in English through the Holy See's website

The New Springtime is a commentary on the liturgical changes in the Catholic Church since the 1960's