As many Catholics know, the Second Vatican Council famously referred to the liturgy as the “source and summit of the Christian life.” And following the prompts of the great figures of the liturgical movement in the first half of the twentieth century, the Council Fathers called for a fuller, more conscious, and more active participation in the liturgy on the part of Catholics. However, since Mass attendance in Europe, North America, and Australia has plummeted, it is not surprising that an extraordinary number of those who self-identify as Catholics in the West have very little idea what the Mass actually is.
Pope Francis celebrates the Eucharist during Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican Sept. 14. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano) See POPE-MASS-CROSS Sept. 14, 2017.
