Works is everything, but doesn't include adherance to outward forms

  • Thread starter Thread starter at_peace_1
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

at_peace_1

Guest
I noticed that there is an preoocupation here with adherance to a certain outward form of liturgy. I don’t see how this type of thing affects the all important inner life.

Works emanate from the changed inner person, who in right relationship with the invisible God is a lamp on a hill. Works is everything, but don’t consist of rigid rules, that if followed, will magically change the person. Instead, works are the result of the changed man.

Therefore, all this arguing about liturgy is pointless. The true sanctuary is the human heart.
 
at_peace_1 said:
… adherance to a certain outward form of liturgy. I don’t see how this type of thing affects the all important inner life. … all this arguing about liturgy is pointless.
Click to expand...
Because how we pray affects how we believe (lex orandi, lex credendi). The external form of the liturgy is important because it has to reflect as accurately as possible the internal content of the liturgy. Vatican II’s document on the liturgy said that “the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows”, which was an amplified echo of previous statements by Pope Pius XII (in Mediator Dei) and Pope Leo XIII (in Mirae Caritatis). It’s not just here that you notice an “adherence to a certain outward form of the liturgy”; the Church Herself commands our obedience to the liturgical rules and norms so that we offer fitting worship to God. To think the external has no bearing on the internal is to deny the integrity of the whole.
 
at_peace_1 said:
I noticed that there is an preoocupation here with adherance to a certain outward form of liturgy. I don’t see how this type of thing affects the all important inner life.

Works emanate from the changed inner person, who in right relationship with the invisible God is a lamp on a hill. Works is everything, but don’t consist of rigid rules, that if followed, will magically change the person. Instead, works are the result of the changed man.

Therefore, all this arguing about liturgy is pointless. The true sanctuary is the human heart.
Click to expand...
I find that Liturgy is a reset button that goes along with works. In my experience works alone drains you on many levels leaving you empty. The two forms of spirituality, (to go the Benedictine style) are liturgy and works. Works apply the liturgy to real life moving it away from a brick and mortar application and liturgy refreshes you spiritually to continue in your works. Liturgy is the gaterning in community (parish) to not only recharge from the mass but from the people around you in the social setting. Personally I do not get uptight over some liturgy matters mentioned here, as in the end all get recharged by the mass, some styles work better in some localities than others.

You are correct the true sanctuary for both liturgy and works are each of our hearts.
 
Thank you for your respectful responses. New Ulm’s post does have some points that are persuasive.

I think for me, I need to retreat into the Desert of my inner being for now, and take a break from the distractions of the Church, liturgy, and the controversies and struggles of organized religion.
 
The Catholic faith is tactile. Signs and symbols are part and parcel.
 
at_peace_1 said:
Thank you for your respectful responses. New Ulm’s post does have some points that are persuasive.

I think for me, I need to retreat into the Desert of my inner being for now, and take a break from the distractions of the Church, liturgy, and the controversies and struggles of organized religion.
Click to expand...
Good luck in your search, I hope you find what you are looking for. Let us know what your journey through your personal Desert brings.

If I can recommend a book for you on your Desert Journey it is this one:
amazon.com/gp/product/0814617573/
*
Spirituality for Everyday Living: An Adaptation of the Rule of St.Benedict*

It explains in more detail to what I was referring too in my previous post.
 
at_peace_1 said:
I need to … take a break from the distractions of the Church, liturgy, and the controversies and struggles of organized religion.
Click to expand...
I’m sorry the Church and Her liturgies are a distraction for you. I will pray that your “desert experience” is fruitful.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top