General Instruction of the Roman Missal

Isn’t the Mass supposed to be unchangeable?

     The fathers of the Second Vatican Council wrote “… where necessary, the rites should be carefully reviewed in light of sound tradition and be given new vigor to meet the circumstances and needs of modern times” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, #4).  The basic structure of the Mass remains the same as it was celebrated in the Early Church: Introductory Rites, Liturgy of the Word, Liturgy of the Eucharist, and Concluding Rites. Minor changes occur, but the essence of the Mass remains the same. In fact, it was not until the Council of Trent in the 16^th century that a standardized format for Mass was set in the Roman (Latin) Rite of the Catholic Church – a rather recent development in the 2000 year history of the Mass.  

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