The Holy See approved the fresh liturgical - Mayan rite. Although this does not seem to have anything to do with Poland, it is truly different.
On 8 November 2024, the Dicastery for God's Culture and Discipline of Sacraments approved the alleged Mayan Rituary. It is simply a full group of “lithurgical adaptations” which are to adapt the Holy Mass to the expectations of the Indian population in part of Mexico.
It may seem a small curious: yes, Holy Mass is the absolute center of the Church's life, and hence even what happens on the outskirts of a distant country is important. However, individual could say that, ultimately, this does not have much to do with our reality of life.
Nothing more wrong. The authoritative introduction of the Mayan ritual in the Catholic Church is simply a manifestation of the functioning of a fresh way of reasoning about liturgy and the function of local cultures. Ryt Majński is an component of a wider arrangement, and in this arrangement there is besides Poland. Mayan images will not affect our lives; but the same thought that led to their formal appearance in the Mexican liturgy can lead to other, but equally crucial changes in us.
Ryt Majński – where he came from and what he is expected to trust on
In the case of a fresh ritual, it is for now fundamentally 1 diocese: San Cristóbal de las Casas in the south of Mexico. The main centre of the diocese is simply a city inhabited by more than 200 000 people of the same name. There are, however, over 1.5 million Catholics surviving in the diocese, any of whom are powerfully related to Indian culture. The diocese's authorities have for many years tried to lead to the “inculturation” of the liturgy. They came out of the ideals propagated in the post-socior age, according to which the outer form Holy Mass should be “close to the people” who participate in it. These efforts met for a long time with criticism from the Vatican, but, as in many another cases, criticism ceased for Francis' pontificate. A fewer years ago, work was undertaken to make a formal Mayan ritual, so that the actual changes in the liturgy already made were besides reflected in the regulations. This happened on 8 November by the decision of Cardinal Arthure Roche, Prefect of the Dicastery of God’s Culture.
The amendments were translated Missale Romanum to the language tsotsil from a group of Mayan languages. On this occasion a number of “adaptations” were introduced into the mass and another liturgical books.
This is about changes specified as the introduction of sacred ritual dances from pagan rites to the Mass. They are to appear at various times, including erstwhile they bring gifts or after Holy Communion.
In addition, there is simply a fresh function for laymen – a fresh service is established only for the Mayan ritual, in which men and women redecorate the altar. Capturing takes place in a manner typical of Mayan culture.
In addition, laymen are besides to preside over prayer at various moments of Holy Mass.
In the diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas liturgy practiced for a long time, circumstantial flower altars on earth were besides built, which mention to 4 sides of the world.
The retired bishop of the diocese and at the same time 1 of the main promoters of the fresh ritual, Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel, announced that this is not the end of the changes; work is underway to deepen the "inculturation" of the liturgical. According to the cardinal, it is not about any “rejection of the Roman ritual” but about “adapting” the local culture according to the spirit of changes introduced in the Church after the Second Vatican Council. The Cardinal stressed that the formal acceptance of the Mayan ritual is simply a large breakthrough, due to the fact that it is only the second specified case in the post-conservation era – after the Zair ritual accepted by the Vatican in 1988 for the needs of the Congo, and now widespread besides in any another places in Africa.
The reader surely strikes the fact of taking the elements of the indigenous pagan culture into the liturgy. The authors of the fresh ritual guarantee that the aim is to purify and christianize them. Whether this ambitious task will be accomplished will show the future. Cardinal Arizmendi assured that the full substance should not be alarmed due to the fact that only the outer form changes Holy Mass, but not its contents. It's not comforting; form is besides content.
Accepting the Mayan ritual is most likely not the last act of liturgical inculturation policy in Latin America. For respective years now, a peculiar commission has been working to form the alleged Amazonian Rituary; it is expected that he will shortly besides gain the approval of the Dicastery of God's Culture.
Meaning for the Universal Church
The acceptance of Mayan ritual should be read in the key of the changes postulated and introduced by the Synod on Synodality. The final paper of this assembly adopted on 26 October points to very serious changes waiting for the Catholic Church – especially in terms of how it works. As readers of my earlier texts at PCh24.pl know, words-keys are decentralization, diversity and inclusion. On the basis of the synodical process, the Catholic Church is to make “at different rates” and to draw on the local context in specified matters as liturgy, catechesis, discipline, pastoral theology, spirituality. The synodal paper besides stresses the request for “participation of all” and a closer “integration of everyone and everyone” into the life of the Church, including the liturgy. In appropriate places of the text, it is said to give the liturgy a "synodical number" by moving distant from focusing on a priest and promoting secular services.
As you can see, Ryt Majński is fulfilling all these goals. Decentralisation is evident here – we are dealing with the introduction of a change initiated and developed by 1 peculiar diocese, for its own needs. Diversity – the same; changes in the liturgy are made through a wide scope of individual local culture. Inclusion – absolutely. The central core of the Mayan ritual is the inclusive "Welcome" of Indian rituals and the "Inclusion" of laymen who have many additional tasks, which naturally limits the function of priest.
The reader can now cut off all Mayan particularism and execute the operation of applying the same principles to Poland, or more broadly – Catholicism in the European Union. What will the decentralised, diverse and inclusive Polish-European liturgy look like?
It is not that the only ‘local culture’ that can influence the form of the liturgy is Indian. As indicated by the German Synodic Way, whose ideas well express the spirit of the current reforms,ocus theologicus – the place from which theology derives its arguments – are besides signs of time (German. Zeichen der Zeit), i.e. current social changes.
In the case of Poland and Europe, there is so no mention of inculturating Indian incense and threatening idolatrous worship of parent Earth. However, we can talk about the hypothetical introduction to the liturgy of basic ideas manifested in modern society, specified as moral autonomy, functional egalitarianism, sex egalitarianism, and yet liberal relativism, and thus about idolatry towards another religions or sexual minorities.
Can changes enter into force in Poland?
Polish bishops are not peculiarly keen to make any major changes in the Church. However, this is not a warrant of stability. First, they may be forced to convert the Holy Mass. Second, there are exceptions in the episcopal.
If the conversion of the liturgy was to take place in the Mayan-Amazon key, i.e. to leave “from the bottom” and to get later Vatican approval, it would not be expected that it would concern Poland. But it may be different. The Synod for Synodality called for a peculiar commission to be created in its final document, which will make the synodic character of the liturgy. If specified a paper is accepted by the Dicastery of God's Worship by the pope's approval, it can enter into force and impose mandatory changes, specified as the request to increase secular participation, even if the circumstantial scope of this participation had to be determined locally.
Moreover, there are bishops in Poland who are possibly open even to the autonomous “syndication” of Holy Mass. Above all, they are hierarchs supporting or even personally associated with charismatic Christianity. The emblematic character of this stream is the metropolitan of Lodz card. Grzegorz Ryś, who, as the portal PCh24.pl reported, late announced that "the liturgical improvement has not yet been carried out", and the Holy Mass is "the theatre of 1 actor". It is known that Cardinal Ryś has a powerful influence on what the cast of bishops present in Poland looks like; in the coming years this will affect the promotion of thinking, which he represents. possibly a fewer peculiarly close to the charism of the hierarchs will shortly be joined by others, forming a group that will be able to impose on the Episcopate any kind of “inculturation” of the liturgy.
So it may turn out that – as to the idea, not as to the details – the changes introduced to the south in Mexico next day will come to Poland, transforming the Holy Mass into a reality full of inclusion, which will lead to its even deeper clearing from the sacrum.
Paweł Chmielewski
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