The influence of Vatican II

This is a recollection received from a religious sister who does not wish to be identified.

“I am now in my eighties. Looking back over that long period of time, I can say without hesitation that Vatican II was the most powerfully formative influence in my life.

In the late 1960s I lived in Cape Coast, Ghana, in a religious community of 8 sisters, mixed European and American. The local leader was an American, forward looking and keen to implement the directives of Perfectae Carittatis. With one exception (later won over) we set about rediscovering the essentials of religious life, exemplified in the life of our founder and the particular spirit she embodied.

Foremost among the change we needed to work on was the art of discussion. This especially affected our understanding of obedience. Hitherto we had been drilled to obey without a word! The letter of Ignatius on obedience (with its passive image of an old mans tick) was read publically once a month. Now we had to learn how to enter into discernment, a new word in our vocabulary. To help us out, the leader invited a professor of psychology  from the University of Dublin to come and stay with us for a few weeks, which he did. He showed us the art of creative listening in group discussion.

Another area profoundly changed for me by Vatican II was prayer. Hitherto we the Latin Mass daily, preceded by an hours meditation in the early morning; in the evening half an hours ‘adoration’, half an hours spiritual reading in common, the various hours of the Little Office of Our Lady (in Latin) – all squeezed into a full days teaching. After Vatican II we were able to let go of the drudgery. Instead, through shared prayer, we began to open up to one another at a deep level. The changes which met with some resistance at first, proved to be liberating and a source of growth.

Finally, I praise Vatican II for the changes in the liturgy. Specialised groups suffered pain with the loss of Gregorian Chant, especially in Holy Week, but this was offset by great gains, chief among them the use of a living language and the turning of the altar to face the people. Recognition of the equality of the sexes is yet to come: for the present the liturgy still endorses a macho culture. It belongs to God’s nature not to abandon ‘his people – above all the 'leitourgia' – the work of the laity’, enabling men and women to play their rightful role in the act of worship.”