YinYangMom:
This is why the Church trusts the competence of the bishop to discern that.
See my other post with regard to what we see and how ‘fully’. It is through the gift of the Holy Spirit that one can truly ‘understand’ what it is God wants us to know. In the meantime, we are to keep reading, keep learning, keep praying that one day it will all make His sense to us.
Also note a previous post where I stated many of those documents were not crafted for the the laity as end users. Any one of us can pick up a dissertation in any academic field of study, read it, and understand most of it. However, since the author is writing for a group of his peers (already holding doctorate degrees in that particular subject) much of what is in the dissertation presumes prior fully knowledge of the subtext. The same goes for these ‘official documents’ of the vatican. Most are written for an audience containing prior expertise in the topic at hand.
It is presumptuous of most of us to believe we can fully appreciate such writings as they are intended to be. Only with the gifts of the Holy Spirit would that be possible, and that is why I believe, there are a select number of faithful who can and do interpret such writings well. I am not one of them.
RS and the GIRM are written for us. RS directly speaks to the faithful.
The trust is placed in the hands of the Bishop within his competence. He is not competent to change the Liturgy outside of Rome’s directives.
From RS:
[7.] Not infrequently,
abuses are rooted in a false understanding of liberty. Yet God has not granted us in Christ an illusory liberty by which we may do what we wish, but a liberty by which we may do that which is fitting and right.[18] This is true not only of precepts coming directly from God, but also of laws promulgated by the Church, with appropriate regard for the nature of each norm. For this reason, all should conform to the ordinances set forth by legitimate ecclesiastical authority.
[8.] It is therefore to be noted with great sadness that “ecumenical initiatives which are well-intentioned, nevertheless indulge at times in Eucharistic practices contrary to the discipline by which the Church expresses her faith”. Yet the Eucharist “is too great a gift to tolerate ambiguity or depreciation”. It is therefore necessary that some things be corrected or more clearly delineated so that in this respect as well “the Eucharist will continue to shine forth in all its radiant mystery”.[19]
…[10.] The Church herself has no power over those things which were established by Christ himself and which constitute an unchangeable part of the Liturgy.[23] Indeed, if the bond were to be broken which the Sacraments have with Christ himself who instituted them, and with the events of the Church’s founding,[24] it would not be beneficial to the faithful but rather would do them grave harm. For the Sacred Liturgy is quite intimately connected with principles of doctrine,[25] so that the use of unapproved texts and rites necessarily leads either to the attenuation or to the disappearance of that necessary link between the lex orandi and the lex credendi.[26]
[14.] “The regulation of the Sacred Liturgy depends solely on the authority of the Church, which rests specifically with the Apostolic See and, according to the norms of law, with the Bishop.[34]
[17.] “The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments attends to those matters that pertain to the Apostolic See as regards the regulation and promotion of the Sacred Liturgy, and especially the Sacraments, with due regard for the competence of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It fosters and enforces sacramental discipline, especially as regards their validity and their licit celebration”. Finally, it “
carefully seeks to ensure that the liturgical regulations are observed with precision, and that abuses are prevented or eliminated whenever they are detected”[37]. In this regard, according to the tradition of the universal Church, pre-eminent solicitude is accorded the celebration of Holy Mass, and also to the worship that is given to the Holy Eucharist even outside Mass.
Good job. I am praying in the background as I watch this thread evolving.