In discussing the liturgical changes initiated by the Second Vatican Council it is important to note that the idea of making changes to the Liturgy of the Church did not suddenly emerge from the united minds of the conciliar fathers, nor from the minds of any one of them.
Making changes in the liturgical life of Catholics was something that actually happened at the Council of Trent when the fathers there decided that uniformity and ‘roman’ practice would prevail universally. Only a very few very ancient practices – or those associated with ancient religious orders – were allowed to continue in use after the end of the Council. At that time, this was a truly radical option; but it was judged to be the one that would most effectively reinforce Catholic belief and render impossible the attacks seen as coming from the ‘reformers’.
Things stayed that way until the first part of the 20 th century. Pope Saint Pius X – (probably fatigued by the patriarchal liturgies he has endured in Venice) – insisted that every parish should master a basic repertoire of simple ‘gregorian’ chants. That dictate went un-followed for a very long time – two world wars got in the way of such ‘fussing with the Mass’. Besides, as every real musician will tell you, chant is hard to learn and do when you’re used to polyphony and popular hymns – the texts don’t rhyme or scan and there is no fixed rhythm to the music!
As I said, two world wars got in the way. But as soon as the wars were history, Pope Pius (a remarkably UN-traditional pontiff) went to work on the liturgy.
He began with a wholesale re-translation of the official ‘catholic’ Bible, the Vulgate, and had a completely new Psalter created for the Breviary and the chants of the Mass. This was consistent with his conviction (outlined in an encyclical Divino afflante spiritu) that the Scriptures themselves needed to be restudied in the light insights derived from archaeology and linguistics.
If the Scriptures could be so restudied, why not the Mass? And Pius did that with a major overhaul of the rituals for Holy Week, the Church’s most sacred rites and observances. There seemed to be no sense in starting with such a small things as the orientation of the altars when you could start with the celebration of the very mysteries enacted on those altars (besides, Pius was already saying Mass facing the congregation in all the papal basilicas of Rome). To go with this revision of the rites Pius decreed the first change in the pre-Communion fast since the Council of Trent. I don’t think that anyone wants to go back to a midnight fast from everything – even water – in order to receive Communion only on Sunday morning! Pius XII is the one to thank for that!