A
Antonius_Lupus
Guest
Christ is Risen!!!
If you would permit me, I feel I need to share with y’all some of the insights/questions that the celebration of Holy Pascha brought me. I can’t hold this inside anymore!
First of all, I was overjoyed to celebrate the great mystery. It felt like waves of joy were rising up in me and bursting out in a smile or a sigh of delight! The biggest thing was the reception of the Holy, Spotless, Immortal, and Life-giving Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist which I received three times on Pascha, once during the Great Paschal Vigil, and twice on the morning of Pascha proper. I would have received more had Mother Church not lovingly directed us to only receive Our Lord twice in one day.
To have participated, especially with all the obstacles of my personal life during Holy Week, in the Holy Triduum was an inexpressable blessing and I am grateful.
Yet something else happened on Pascha Sunday. I recount this with some tenderness as it presents me with some embrassment. Before the start of the early 8:15 am Mass, I was thinking, as I usually do from time to time, about the state of the Church. Thankfully, the Paschal celebration dimmed these thoughts allowing me to worship in peace.
However when I returned home, I allowed myself to confront these thoughts and I came to a difficult conclusion, one which is affecting me greatly.
Part and parcel of this was a cursory reading of Fr. John Baldovin SJ’s Reforming the Liturgy: A Response to Critics. This book is a paradox of my little library. It is a respone to many of my “heroes” of the “Reform of the Reform” movement. In the book Fr. John, a Jesuit, responds to every criticism of the current Roman Liturgy, largely defending it. He is also no traditional Roman rite priest either. He advocates greater inclusiveness of non-Roman cultural traditions and music into the Liturgy…like jazz music and “upbeat” Liturgies. He even admits the possibility that, in the future, “Christian rock” Masses may become common and accepted by the Church. Even further than this, he argues against Pope Benedict’s *Summorum Pontificum *which allows for the expanded use of the 1962 Missal of Blessed John XXIII (Tridentine Mass). He is very much against what he sees as “Euro-centric” cultural trends in Ratzinger and other liturgical reformists, as opposed to a Roman rite which is adoptive of African and Asian cultural traditions.
He rubs hard against me…however he makes one point that I cannot escape:
The Age of Faith is gone. With that statement he argues that the liturgical expressions of the past too have passed. After analyzing all the “reform of the reform” movements, he suggests that there will be no returns to ad orientem altars. There will be no widespread use of Latin in the liturgy. There will be no sense of the ancient in future Masses. He appeals to the power of the *sensus fidelum *of the laity. He notes how quickly parish altars were turned to face the people, how quickly Latin fell out of use when no longer necessary, how fast the head coverings for women were dropped. His point is that the age that these things mattered has passed, a new age in the Church has begun and the Church is changing to meet that.
And I cannot escape the truth of his words.
I am losing faith in the “reform of the reform” movement, I can’t see anyway that the laity of this day and age would ever accept a Mass celebrated fully in accord with the intensity of the Latin rite. And what is most devestating is the idea that that kind of Liturgy may not be able to help them grow closer to God, instead it could alienate them, especially given the amount of Latin that would be a part of a fully reformed Mass of Paul VI.
I fear the damage done by the last 40 years of liturgical chaos has done more damage than I could imagine, for even while the Mass nowadays (such as in my parish for example) is often done with great care in mind of the liturgical directives…it cannot move drastically to what is done in Rome, for I have no doubt that it would alienate many parishioners. My parochial vicar once celebrated ad orientem…and I have not seen him do it since.
The “charismatic renewal” is on the rise. More and more Lifeteen Masses are springing up in parishes. The problem I see is that the damage happens so fast, and the Church is now only beginning to repair the Roman rite. Indeed, one wonders at times whether the last remnants of our rite are only to be found in places like Rome itself.
My pastor said something on the Paschal Vigil of most supreme importance: “The Liturgy is a matter of life and death.”
Things happen during the Liturgy, things which words cannot dare to utter and angels tremble to see. In the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church, and the small Roman-rite priestly orders which are allowed to celebrate the 1962 Missal of Blessed John XXIII, this knowledge of “life and death” is strong.
Indeed, it hit me last night that the greatest way to have a truly “Catholic” liturgy is when BOTH priest and people understand what the Liturgy is. When one is aware of what takes place in the Liturgy of the Church…there is simply no room for banality, accomodation, and mediocrity.
TO BE CONTINUED…
If you would permit me, I feel I need to share with y’all some of the insights/questions that the celebration of Holy Pascha brought me. I can’t hold this inside anymore!
First of all, I was overjoyed to celebrate the great mystery. It felt like waves of joy were rising up in me and bursting out in a smile or a sigh of delight! The biggest thing was the reception of the Holy, Spotless, Immortal, and Life-giving Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist which I received three times on Pascha, once during the Great Paschal Vigil, and twice on the morning of Pascha proper. I would have received more had Mother Church not lovingly directed us to only receive Our Lord twice in one day.
To have participated, especially with all the obstacles of my personal life during Holy Week, in the Holy Triduum was an inexpressable blessing and I am grateful.
Yet something else happened on Pascha Sunday. I recount this with some tenderness as it presents me with some embrassment. Before the start of the early 8:15 am Mass, I was thinking, as I usually do from time to time, about the state of the Church. Thankfully, the Paschal celebration dimmed these thoughts allowing me to worship in peace.
However when I returned home, I allowed myself to confront these thoughts and I came to a difficult conclusion, one which is affecting me greatly.
Part and parcel of this was a cursory reading of Fr. John Baldovin SJ’s Reforming the Liturgy: A Response to Critics. This book is a paradox of my little library. It is a respone to many of my “heroes” of the “Reform of the Reform” movement. In the book Fr. John, a Jesuit, responds to every criticism of the current Roman Liturgy, largely defending it. He is also no traditional Roman rite priest either. He advocates greater inclusiveness of non-Roman cultural traditions and music into the Liturgy…like jazz music and “upbeat” Liturgies. He even admits the possibility that, in the future, “Christian rock” Masses may become common and accepted by the Church. Even further than this, he argues against Pope Benedict’s *Summorum Pontificum *which allows for the expanded use of the 1962 Missal of Blessed John XXIII (Tridentine Mass). He is very much against what he sees as “Euro-centric” cultural trends in Ratzinger and other liturgical reformists, as opposed to a Roman rite which is adoptive of African and Asian cultural traditions.
He rubs hard against me…however he makes one point that I cannot escape:
The Age of Faith is gone. With that statement he argues that the liturgical expressions of the past too have passed. After analyzing all the “reform of the reform” movements, he suggests that there will be no returns to ad orientem altars. There will be no widespread use of Latin in the liturgy. There will be no sense of the ancient in future Masses. He appeals to the power of the *sensus fidelum *of the laity. He notes how quickly parish altars were turned to face the people, how quickly Latin fell out of use when no longer necessary, how fast the head coverings for women were dropped. His point is that the age that these things mattered has passed, a new age in the Church has begun and the Church is changing to meet that.
And I cannot escape the truth of his words.
I am losing faith in the “reform of the reform” movement, I can’t see anyway that the laity of this day and age would ever accept a Mass celebrated fully in accord with the intensity of the Latin rite. And what is most devestating is the idea that that kind of Liturgy may not be able to help them grow closer to God, instead it could alienate them, especially given the amount of Latin that would be a part of a fully reformed Mass of Paul VI.
I fear the damage done by the last 40 years of liturgical chaos has done more damage than I could imagine, for even while the Mass nowadays (such as in my parish for example) is often done with great care in mind of the liturgical directives…it cannot move drastically to what is done in Rome, for I have no doubt that it would alienate many parishioners. My parochial vicar once celebrated ad orientem…and I have not seen him do it since.
The “charismatic renewal” is on the rise. More and more Lifeteen Masses are springing up in parishes. The problem I see is that the damage happens so fast, and the Church is now only beginning to repair the Roman rite. Indeed, one wonders at times whether the last remnants of our rite are only to be found in places like Rome itself.
My pastor said something on the Paschal Vigil of most supreme importance: “The Liturgy is a matter of life and death.”
Things happen during the Liturgy, things which words cannot dare to utter and angels tremble to see. In the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church, and the small Roman-rite priestly orders which are allowed to celebrate the 1962 Missal of Blessed John XXIII, this knowledge of “life and death” is strong.
Indeed, it hit me last night that the greatest way to have a truly “Catholic” liturgy is when BOTH priest and people understand what the Liturgy is. When one is aware of what takes place in the Liturgy of the Church…there is simply no room for banality, accomodation, and mediocrity.
TO BE CONTINUED…
I didn’t expect to see you here! 
And I finally received the Eucharist!! It was really amazing to finally receive Him 
, I’ve been a part of this forum for quite some time, but I haven’t been around these parts for a little while.