A History of the Dominican Liturgy

404 Pages·1944·23.258 MB·English

by  William R. Bonniwell

(Engraving from Dominican Breviary of 1699)
A HISTORY OF THE
DOMINICAN LITURGY
By
WILLIAM R. BONNIWELL, O.P.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE
MOST REVEREND BARTHOLOMEW J. EUSTACE, S.T.D.
Bishop of Camden
NEW YORK CITY
JOSEPH F. WAGNER, INC.
1944
NifjU (0lifltat:
JACOBUS M. EGAN, O.P., S.T.Lr., S.T.D.
GULIELMUS A. HINNEBUSCH, O.P., Ph.D. (Oxon.)
Jmprimt ÿotrst;
T. S. McDERMOTT, O.P., S.T.Lr.
Prior Provincialis
©IlBtal:
ARTHUR J. SCANLAN, S.T.D.
Censor Librorum
^Imprimatur:
* MOST REV. FRANCIS J. SPELLMAN, D.D.
Archbishop of New York
New York, April 26, 1944
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Copyright, 1944, by Joseph F. Wagner, Inc., New York City
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
INTRODUCTION
The Dominican Order was founded by Saint Dominic and
derives all its essential characteristics from him. Dominic’s
genius was such that he communicated his own personality to
his institute, and to this day it indubitably bears his stamp. He
set the aim, the means, and the government. He founded his
Order for the defense of Christian truth and the salvation of
souls chiefly by means of preaching. For centuries the Consti­
tutions of the Order have stated this aim in their opening lines:
“Our Order was especially instituted from the beginning for
the work of preaching and the salvation of souls, and all our
endeavors must tend to this that we may be of help to the souls
of others.” Under Dominic’s guiding hand the essential means
were chosen for the attainment of this purpose. “The means
established by our most holy Patriarch for the achievement of
our end are, in addition to the three solemn vows of poverty,
chastity, and obedience, the regular life with monastic observ­
ances, the solemn recitation of the Divine Office, and the assid­
uous study of sacred truth.” Thus, liturgy holds an essential
place in the Dominican scheme of things and cannot be ex­
cluded without placing the purpose of the Order in jeopardy.
The Constitutions embody a significant warning to this effect:
“Hence, among us these (means) cannot be taken away or
substantially changed.” This admonition has been corrob­
orated frequently by the testimony of history. When the Do­
minican life was strong and vigorous, the liturgy held an
honored place in Dominican priories; on the other hand, in
v
INTRODUCTION
VI
those unfortunate periods of decline, which tend to mar the
history of a Religious Order, it is found that the liturgy had
fallen from its proud place.
In daily taking his place in choir the Dominican well under­
stands that he is performing an act of praise and adoration of
the Creator, and that this divine service also has a human sig­
nificance. The friar by joining in the corporate worship of his
priory equips himself for a more noble fulfillment of the dual
aspect of his vocation. The liturgy is much more than a com­
memoration of things past. It is to-day and every day an ever­
present reenactment in our souls of the mysteries we celebrate.
By drinking deeply of the divine truths to-day, the friar will on
the morrow communicate to his hearers in the classroom, the
church, and the marketplace, the fruit of his prayers. The lit­
urgy is an effective instrument in the fulfillment of the Do­
minican vocation: Contemplare, et contemplata aliis tradere
(To contemplate and communicate the fruits of that contem­
plation to others). This daily, intimate participation in the
divine mysteries ensures that the Dominican friar who is faith­
ful to his high vocation will never be as “sounding brass and
tinkling cymbal.”
Hence the love, care, and pains taken by the Order during
seven centuries to safeguard its special rite. The Dominican
rite, it is true, has been subject to the vicissitudes of the times,
and unfortunately has suffered therefrom, but the never-ending
*
concern of the Order for its rite indicates that the place of the
liturgy as an essential instrument in the achievement of the
Dominican vocation was never forgotten.
Thus, in studying the rite of the Friars Preachers we are
penetrating to one of the roots that has nourished Dominican
activity during the weatherings of seven centuries. The fresh­
INTRODUCTION vii
ness of the Order's life after this length of time is undoubtedly
due in great part to the service rendered it by its liturgy; for
in an Order so strongly devoted to intellectual pursuits the lit­
urgy has balanced the Dominican ideal and has prevented the
chilling blasts of stilted intellectualism from withering the
charity and zeal which must ever mainly constitute a life of
apostolic activity.
The Dominican rite is associated with the memory of some
of the Church's greatest sons. It was the rite of fifteen can­
onized Saints and more than three hundred Blesseds; and
two Doctors of the Church—Albert the Great and Thomas
Aquinas—have chanted the praises of the Almighty and of­
fered the Bloodless Sacrifice according to its norms. Then, too,
the Dominican rite long fulfilled the function of preserving the
memory of ancient Roman liturgical practices which the Ro­
man Church itself had long since abandoned. Hence the
importance of an adequate understanding and appreciation of
the Dominican rite.
To form a just estimate of any rite it is not enough to view
it as it exists to-day; it must be studied in its origins and his­
tory. Until now this has been impossible in regard to the
Dominican rite. In the first place, only three serious works
have been published on this rite: Cavalieri's in 1686, Cassitto's
in 1804, and Rousseau's in 1926. The first dealt solely with
the explanation of the Mass; the second was superficial and
unreliable; the third confined itself to the first half of the
thirteenth century. Rousseau's work, although a scholarly con­
tribution, left seven hundred years of history to be told. In
the second place, numerous scattered articles on the rite have
been written, but their disagreement on vital points tended to
confuse rather than aid the reader.
vin INTRODUCTION
Father Bonniwell is a sure guide through the mazes of con­
flicting interpretations of various aspects of his subject, and he
has solved numerous vexing questions. Twenty years of ardu­
ous research went into the preparation of his book. In spite
of many serious difficulties, and often in the face of dishearten­
ing disappointments, he refused to be discouraged. He would
neither omit necessary stages of research nor allow himself to
be hurried by adverse criticism which pressed for an earlier
publication. This scholarly patience and intelligent labor have
produced abundant fruit. For the first time in the long history
of the Dominican Order, there is now available a complete
history of the Dominican rite. It is hardly of less importance
that this work is a splendid specimen of scholarship and learn­
ing. It is indeed a work that was well worth awaiting. In
rendering this service, Father Bonniwell has placed his fellow-
Dominicans and the Church at large in debt to him.