5. Silence is Golden!
The Roman statesman Cato wrote: “He is nearest to the gods who knows how to be silent.”
The Second Vatican Council undertook its renewal of the Liturgy in order to foster “full, conscious, and active participation.” At times, this means active listening and sacred silence, rather than physical activity. Silence is important in the Liturgy because it allows us to more easily hear the voice of the Lord.
Within the Mass, there are designated times of sacred silence. During the Act of Penitence at the beginning of Mass, we recollect ourselves and recall our sins. After the Readings, and the Homily, we pause to reflect on God’s Word to us. After Communion, we take time for personal prayer in thanksgiving for the gift of the Eucharist.
In and around the church, especially immediately before liturgies, we should maintain a spirit of reverence and silence, so that we may direct our attention to God and to holy things.
GIRM 45
6. The Regulation of the Liturgy…
The Liturgy is the work of the Lord through which He bestows grace on His people. Jesus Christ entrusted the sacraments and the celebration of the mysteries of the faith to His Church. Throughout history, the prayers of the Church have come to take on specific formulas and rituals, which have been renewed and adapted at times to better express God’s saving mysteries in a particular age.
The task of regulating the rituals of the Liturgy and of publishing liturgical books belongs to the authority of the Church, that is, the Apostolic See (the Pope) and, in some instances, the Diocesan Bishops. Priests and deacons are co-workers with the bishops in their task of celebrating the Liturgy according to the norms of the Church. Because the faithful have a right to experience the Liturgy as regulated by the Church, no one, not even a priest, may change the Liturgy on his own authority.
RS 14-35
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