The Authority of the General Instruction

Part 2 in an ongoing series of essays on the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.

What authority does the General Instruction enjoy in terms of the sacred liturgy? That is, for those celebrating the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite according to the Third Edition of the Roman Missal, is the General Instruction normative or advisory?

Before we can answer that question, we’ll need to take a step back.

Previous editions of the Roman Missal are prefaced by a section titled Rubricae Generales Missalis, or “General Rubrics of the Missal”. These are directions for the priest, telling him what to do and say, and how to do it and say it. The most recent version of these rubrics were introduced by Saint John XXIII’s Motu Proprio Rubricarum instructum of 25 July 1960.

It has been the constant aim of the Apostolic See, especially since the Council of Trent, to define more accurately and arrange more suitably the body of rubrics by which the Church’s public worship is ordered and governed. Thus many things have been emended, changed and added in the course of time. ….

Motu Proprio Rubricarum instructum, Introduction
 

This led to a revision in the rubrics of the Mass and Breviary that was implemented to coincide with the publication of the 1962 Missal. These General Rubrics of the Missal remain in force for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

In the Missal of 1970, the Rubricae Generales Missalis, or “General Rubrics of the Missal” is replaced by a section called Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani or, “General Instruction of the Roman Missal”. They are exact analogues.

In fact, Pope Saint Paul VI in the Apostolic Constitution that promulgates the new Roman Missal, defines the General Instruction as providing norms – not advice – for the celebration of the sacred liturgy:

… We first point out that in the Institutio Generalis, which We have used as a prœmium to the book, new norms are given for the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, regarding both the rites to be carried out and the functions proper to each person present and participating and to the furnishings and the places necessary for the conduct of divine worship.

Apostolic Constitution Missale Romanum, Pope Paul VI.
 

It’s a direct follow-on to Pope John’s directions for the 1962 Missal.

When the Pope who promulgated the Missal refers to the General Instruction as providing norms “for the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice” in an Apostolic Constitution, you pretty much have the definition of its authority.

And just to make sure there’s no confusion, in the decrees concerning the publication of the Second Typical edition (1975) and the Third Typical edition (2000) of the modern Missal, special notice is given of changes to the General Instruction.

In the Institutio Generalis, whose marginal numbers are unchanged, a description of the functions of acolyte and lector has been inserted instead of those that the subdeacon used to carry out (nos. 142-152).

Decree Concerning the Second Typical Edition of the Roman Missal, Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship (1975)
 

Regarding the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, some variations have been introduced consistent with the manner of expression and prescriptions of other liturgical books and also recommended by pastoral experience. The permitted cases regarding the faculty to distribute Holy Communion under both kinds are set out more clearly; a newly-composed Chapter 9 has been added, in which a way is outlined of adapting the Roman Missal in an appropriate way to pastoral needs.

Decree Concerning the Third Typical Edition of the Roman Missal, Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments (2000)
 

So it’s pretty clear that the General Instruction, which is integral to the Missal itself, is normative to the Missal in which it appears, and that this authority is granted by the same authority that promulgated the Missal itself: the supreme legislator, the Pope.

Next time: Introduction of the General Instruction: Tradition and Accommodation.