Posted on 06/23/2006 4:32:56 PM PDT by Frank Sheed
Vatican liturgical official seeks recovery of the sacred
Vatican, Jun. 23 (CWNews.com) - The secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship has conceded some "negative results" of liturgical changes since Vatican II, and voiced his support for reform of the post-conciliar liturgy, in an interview with the I Media news agency.
Archbishop Albert Malcom Ranjith Patabendige Don told I Media that the Council fathers had hoped to reinvigorate the sense of an active encounter with God through the liturgy. "But unfortunately," he said, "after the Council, certain changes were made rapidly, without reflection, in a burst of enthusiasm, in a rejection of some exaggerations of the past." The result, the archbishop said, was quite different from the Council's intent.
Asked to provide some examples of the negative results, the Sri Lankan prelate listed "the abandonment of the sacred and the mystical," the confusion between the common priesthood of all the faithful and the ordained ministry, and the concept of the Eucharist as a common banquet rather than a representation of Christ's Sacrifice.
These changes, Archbishop Patabendige Don said, have produced negative consequences for the Church even beyond the liturgy. In the face of a growing secular trend in society, he said, the Church urgently needs to cultivate a deeper sense of the sacred and a more active interior life. Fortunately, the archbishop said, there is a growing sense among Catholics of the need to recover the sense of the sacred. He said that the work of the Congregation for Divine Worship entails helping bishops and episcopal conferences to refine the liturgy by incorporating the strengths of the past.
Asked whether he was hinting at approval of the use of the old Missal of St. Pius V, the Sri Lankan archbishop said that the requests for the use of the pre-conciliar liturgy have become more common. But the question is in the hands of Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news), he said. "The Pope knows all this," he said; "he knows the questions, he is very conscious of the situation, he is reflecting, and we are waiting for his indications."
Archbishop Patabendige Don addes that the use of the Tridentine rite "has never been abolished or banned." However, he said, because of the split in the Church caused by the traditionalist followers of the late Archbishop Lefebvre, the old Mass "has taken a certain identity that is not right."
Whether Pope Benedict will now encourage the use of the Missal of St. Pius V, or call for a reform of the 1962 Missal-- "what some people call 'the reform of the reform'"-- is not yet known, the archbishop said. What is established, he said, is the need for a liturgy that is "more beautiful, more transcendent." The secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship cautioned that it is imprudent to press for quick decisions, running the risk of falling into new errors because of haste. "We have to reflect a great deal," he said; "and above all, we have to pray for the Holy Father and the Church, and listen to what the Lord wants of us."
Catholic Liturgy Ping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Liturgy Ping!
Wow. This is so true now that I think about it. I like the proposed solutions and look forward to being a part of them. My prayers to God for the guidance of the Pope and the Vatican!
I ask the Holy Spirit to guide Pope Benedict at least 5 times per day. Trust me...he needs Him to guide him!
My ditto to your post, Frank Sheed.
Archbishop Patabendige Don was a good selection. God bless Pope Benedict. Happy Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to all.
B16 has been hitting home runs since his installment. I'm curious/a little anxious about Levada, but conservatives should feel generally ecstatic.
Since we are still awaiting an official document concerning the "reform of the reform" or an universal indult for the traditional Mass, much of what has been said can be characterized as Spring training. But I am hopeful about the regular season and plan to have box seats for the World Series! : )
Sorry about that, Frank. I posted the same article without doing a search. Mea culpa! Great minds read the same sources :-)
And yours is a great and very self-sacrificing mind. You and your Parish are in my prayers.
;-o)
NYer admiration society....
FX
Original thread! Sorry for the confusion. (this is why FR offers a Search engine).
Thank you, Frank! Abouna is away for a few weeks but refused to leave until he could provide a priest to say the Latin Mass in his absence. God bless them both. Meanwhile, a ray of sunshine has come from the NYC Landmark's Conservancy, Sacred Sites Group. Our grant request is 'complete' and they will be assigning a group to visit the site. This is a small grant for a conditions study. Once that has been done, we can then apply for another small grant to repair something on the condition's list.
We are still waiting for word from NYS OPRHP on the major grant request submitted last month. State government, like the Vatican, moves at a different pace. We're all praying that one will come through.
I believe many of these catholics were moved by the funeral of JPII when they witnessed an aspect of spirituality sorely lacking in their own worship services. I read somewhere that sales of CDs with the 'Litany of the Saints' skyrocketed during and after his funeral.
Pope Benedict XVI is keenly aware of this need and desire. He has ensured that Vatican Masses reflect this spirituality. Thanks to EWTN, catholics now have a clearer understanding of the Mass envisioned by VCII.
God bless Pope Benedict XVI and Mother Angelica!
Bazzam! Check this out!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1654887/posts
Can we get started with the liturgical reform of the reform? There really is a lot of work to do and time is slipping by.
Check post 15, please.
God truly raises up saints when we need them. I still feel satisfaction with the way that a nun socked it to the Cardinal of Los Angeles.
"Reform of the Reform" means reforming the Novus Ordo as opposed to throwing it out and returning to the Tridentine Mass. It means undoing changes that were made to the Mass after the Second Vatican Council that were not mandated by the Council, such as communion in the hand, altar girls, or requiring the priest to face the people. Reforming the Reform would include such things as putting Latin prayers and Gregorian chant back into the Mass, using bells and incense, having more times of silence during the Mass. It would mean ending liturgical abuses while improving the solemnity and quality of liturgical music and art. In short, it would be to implement the reform of the liturgy that was actually envisioned by the Fathers of the Council.
That will never happen in "Happy Catholic Communities".
They would ignore the changes and in the end, the "Power Players" would throw a hissy fit.
No one would police them and things would remain status quo.
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