Chapter 13 assesses the importance of the theology and practice of the liturgy in Ratzinger’s writings and ecclesial ministry.

This chapter will consider the ritual structure and elements of the Roman Mass in the crucial period of formation from the fifth to the early eighth century, which is especially associated with the decisive contributions of popes, such as Leo the Great (r. 440–461), Gelasius (r. 492–496) and Gregory the Great (r. 590–604). The reader will be introduced to the liturgical books that were compiled for the celebration of the Mass (sacramentaries, lectionaries, antiphoners, ordines). Particular attention will then be given to the papal stational liturgy as described in Ordo Romanus I, which was to have a fundamental impact on later development in the West. The chapter will include an extended discussion of the role of chant in the Mass, as well as sections on the renewed presence of Greek in the Roman liturgy and on the direction of liturgical prayer.

In an age of ever-greater academic specialisation, it may appear outdated for a single author to offer a history of the basic structure and ritual shape of the Roman Mass, which aspires to begin with the Last Supper and the origins of the Eucharist and constructs a narrative through centuries of intense religious, social and cultural transformations to conclude with the aftermath of the Council of Trent. My chosen topic is vast and intricate, and its manifold aspects have been treated in depth by a plethora of scholars in the last few decades. Such a broad subject may, it might be argued, be better considered in a companion or handbook, which would incorporate chapters from a range of contributors with well-defined expertise.

The historical development I have traced in this book is marked by both change and continuity. Change is of course to be expected in a trajectory that extends for well over a millennium. From its formative period in late antiquity, the ritual shape of the Roman Mass was affected by many religious, social, cultural, political and economic transformations. It is the essential continuity that should be noticed. The celebration of the Eucharist as a liturgical act is rooted in the words and actions of Jesus at the Last Supper. The priestly and sacrificial character of this liturgical act is clear even in the early Christian period, when sources are few and far between. The Latin liturgical tradition becomes more tangible to us from the fourth century onwards, above all with the early form of the Canon of the Mass attested by Ambrose. The ritual structure of the Roman Mass was forged in the practice of the papal stational liturgy of the late ancient and early medieval periods. Many sacramentaries of the Gregorian type begin with a separate section ‘How the Roman Mass is to be celebrated’, which corresponds to the description of Ordo Romanus I.

At the heart of the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist stands the great prayer of thanksgiving, known in Eastern Christian traditions as anaphora (offering), in which the offerings of bread and wine are consecrated as the body and blood of Christ. Because of the oral character of early liturgical prayer, our knowledge of the formation of Eucharistic prayers in the first three centuries is very limited. This chapter will first examine several ‘paleoanaphoras’ that are generally held to have originated from the pre-Constantinian period, although questions of dating and possible earlier forms of these Eucharistic prayers continue to be debated in contemporary scholarship. The following section will briefly survey some of the ‘classical’ anaphoras of this period, which can be broadly divided into Antiochene and Alexandrian types. A consideration of scriptural readings and liturgical music will complete this chapter.

In the twentieth century, some prominent German-speaking Catholic theologians, including Romano Guardini, Josef Andreas Jungmann, Joseph Ratzinger and Walter Kasper, engaged in a discussion on the ‘basic structure’ or ‘basic form’ (Grundgestalt) of the Mass. The backdrop to this theological debate was formed by the movements for liturgical renewal both before and after the Second Vatican Council.1 Responding to attempts to derive the Eucharistic liturgy from the Last Supper, Joseph Ratzinger formulated two key hypotheses: first, ‘the Last Supper is the foundation of the dogmatic content of the Christian Eucharist, not of its liturgical form. The latter does not yet exist’;2 second, the dominical command ‘Do this in remembrance of me’ (1 Cor 11: 24, 25; Luke 22:19) ‘does not refer to the Last Supper as a whole … but to the specifically eucharistic action’.3 I consider these two insights crucial for investigating the nascent liturgical forms of the Eucharist.

The final chapter of this book will examine the liturgical reform that was initiated by the Council of Trent (1545–1563), with particular focus on the 1570 edition of the Missale Romanum, which was promulgated in its aftermath. After a consideration of the state of the Roman Mass on the eve of the council, I will survey the conciliar deliberations and decrees concerning the liturgy. Against the background of early modern developments, I will the discuss the significance of the post-Tridentine missal, giving special attention to the ritual shape of the Mass.