The Pope in Austria
Archbishop Piero Marini - liturgist
Pope on Ash Wednesday
Msgr. Guido Marini - liturgist
Posted on 02/12/2008 11:00:38 AM PST by NYer
Having (finally!) been relieved of his duties as the Vatican's chief liturgist, Archbishop Piero Marini-- not to be confused with his successor at that post, Msgr. Guido Marini-- has written a little book defending his approach and denouncing his critics.
If you enjoy liturgical dance, conch-shell fanfares, and rainbow chasuables-- in short, if you are high on the "spirit of Vatican II-- you probably miss Archbishop Marini, and would enjoy his new book, A Challenging Reform: Realizing the Vision of the Liturgical Renewal, 1963-1975.
Father George Rutler is not a big fan, however, and his acerbic review of the Marini book for First Things blasts gaping holes in the arguments that the author uses to justify his divergence from accepted liturgical norms. ("Marini is not a slave to the Principle of Non-Contradiction," Father Rutler notes.)
Archbishop Marini wants to revive the excitement that he, at least, apparently felt during the era of liturgical experimentation that followed Vatican II; he is contemptuous of those who harken back further to the traditions of bygone centuries. Father Rutler wants to know "why nostalgia for the 1560's is inferior to nostalgia for the 1960's, except for dentistry."
The Marini book is an apologia for the work of professional liturgists over the course of the last four decades. Not surprisingly, then, the archbishop is now on tour, promoting his book and rallying the spirits of his fellow liturgists-- who might otherwise be depressed by the trend toward liturgical sobriety under Pope Benedict XVI. Their day has come and gone, their work has lost its luster, the people in the pews are bored with their latest shenanigans. Still you can't expect the liturgists to go quietly, because...
The blithe obliviousness of many experts to damage all around them is, nonetheless, breathtaking.
Amen. The whole review is a "must read."
The Pope in Austria
Archbishop Piero Marini - liturgist
Pope on Ash Wednesday
Msgr. Guido Marini - liturgist
I will, however, give the "Prnciple of Non-Contradiction" paragraph:
Marini is not a slave to the principle of non-contradiction. The Consilium [ad Exsequendam Constitutionem de Sacra Liturgia -- under Bugnini shoved up to a replacement for the Congregation for Rites, suppressed in the later part of Paul VI's pontificate] was "to reflect the hopes and needs of local churches throughout the world," but two sentences later Holy Mother Church becomes something of a nanny: "In order to renew the liturgy, it was not enough to issue new directrives; it wa also necessary to change the attitudes of both the clergy and lay faithful to enable them to grasp the purpose of the reform." In case the people thought something was being done to them instead of for them, various means of social communication would be required "in preparing the faithful to welcome the reform."
I'm happy to report that it didn't work on me -- though it's been a looong 40 years! ;-)
For you, this very nice T-shirt:
it's been a looong 40 years! ;-)
Bears repeating!!! I will NEVER forget how Marini turned Mother Teresa's beatification Mass into a near pagan ritual.
LOL! Thanks so much! :)
That’s not the most flattering picture of the Pope I’ve ever seen. Yet I thought him very engaged and sharp at Midnight Mass. He just doesn’t take a great picture...
The purple and gold vestments in the more formal style are not only more liturgically correct -- they make the Pope look like a Pope!
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