A Commentary on the General Instruction of the Roman Missal ed. by Edward Foley, Nathan D. Mitchell, and Joanne M. Pierce (review)

troduction to the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy for an undergraduate or adult education course. John J. M. Foster School of Canon Law The Catholic University of America Washington, DC A COMMENTARY ON THE GENERAL INSTRUCTION OF THE ROMAN MISSAL edited by Edward Foley, Nathan D. Mitchell, and Joanne M. Pierce. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2007. This commentary on the 2002 Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani (IGMR) and its English translation in the 2003 General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), including the adaptations approved by the United States Conference of Bishop, is the collaborative effort of scholars from the Catholic Academy of Liturgy and the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions. The work includes a forward by Bishop Donald Trautman, an introduction by the editors, a helpful list of abbreviations and acronyms, and three introductory articles that provide the context for the commentaries on each article of the liturgical documents. Nathan Mitchell and John Baldovin place the IGMR in the context of past documents of its type. R. Kevin Seasoltz presents a primer entitled “Liturgy and Ecclesiastical Law.” Finally, David Power and Catherine Vincie offer theological and pastoral reflections on various issues— explicit and implicit—in the text. The subsequent commentators often reference these foundational articles (especially that by Power and Vincie ). The chapters and commentators are divided as follows: Preamble (Margaret Mary Kelleher); Chapter I: Importance and Dignity of the Eucharistic Celebration (Keith F. Pecklers); Chapter II: The Structure of the Mass, Its Elements and Parts (Edward Foley); Chapter III: The Duties and Ministries in the Mass (Bruce T. Morrill and Susan K. Roll); Chapter IV.1: The Different Forms of Celebrating Mass (Martin Connell and Sharon McMillan); Chapter IV.2: Concelebrated Mass (Gilbert Ostdiek and Andrew Ciferni); Chapter IV.3: Mass at Which Only One Minister Participates and Chapter IV.4: Some General Norms for All Forms of Mass (Mary Schaefer and Joanne M. Pierce); Chapter V: The Arrangement and Furnishing of Churches for the Celebration of the Eucharist (Mark E. Wendig and Richard S. Vosko); Chapter VI: Requisites for the Celebration of Mass (Richard E. McCarron and Anne C. McGuire); book reviews 511 Chapter VII: The Choice of Mass and Its Parts (JoyceAnn Zimmerman); ChapterVIII: Masses and Prayers forVarious Circumstances and Masses for the Dead (Joanne M. Pierce and Richard Rutherford); and Chapter IX: Adaptations Within the Competence of Bishops and Bishops’ Conferences (Mark Francis and Gary Neville). In each chapter, the Latin text and English translation are set side-by-side above the commentary.A list of contributors and index of English terms used in the translation and commentary complete the book. The introduction sets forth three goals for the commentary: (1) to contextualize the IGMR, (2) “to provide careful analysis of the text of the document itself [through] specific theological, historical, and pastoral commentary” on each article, and (3) to look to “the future of the document [and] anticipate future directions” (ix). Happily, the book accomplishes its purpose. Indeed, in the article-by-article commentary, the authors provide insights into the theological and liturgical values underlying the current law, developments in the norms from either the Roman Missal of 1570 and/or previous versions of the IGMR as well as suggestions for pastoral application. Canonists will note that what is missing from the second goal is reference to the juridic nature of the IGMR. While many of the commentators advert to the juridic nature of various norms in the document, the juridical commentary is the principal weakness in the text. For example, throughout the commentary technical terms are used imprecisely, e.g., “extraordinary ministersof the Eucharist” (53) and “eucharisticminister” (346) rather than minister of Holy Communion; “residential bishops” (107–109) and (local) ordinary (221, 285, 356) instead of diocesan bishop ; and “bishop and priest” for sacerdos (219, 398–399). Also problematic is the lack of nuance in the juridic weight of other documents used by the commentators, e.g., the instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum, the USCCB’s Introduction to the Order of Mass, and the BCL statements Music in Catholic Worship and Liturgical Music Today. Other isolated points of liturgical law are either misinterpreted or ignored. Future editions of the book should also correct the dozen...