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Saturday 29 September 2007

The Dignity of the Liturgy

Halle, halle, halle, loo--oo-YAH! Halle, halle, halle, loo--oo.... oh, sorry, I was channeling there for a minute.
Somehow I missed this, though it's been available on the estimable CNP for quite a while I assume.
Wise words in an address to the K of C from Archbishop Wuerl, now of D.C., (and a favorite whipping boy for conservative Catholics for his refusal to use his bully pulpit, in what might as well be the primatial see, to publicly spank pro-"choice" Catholic pols. I, to quote my late mil, "like the cut of his jib," and will not presume to know what has or has not been said in private, nor make a prudential judgement on what course of action the good Archbishop's prudential judgement may have led him to.
Take note of the person of the verbs in Luke 15:
Nowhere do we read, "YOU have sinned against heaven and against Me, no longer are YOU fit to be called MY son...." not even as an example to, or to satisfy the schadenfreude of, the Dutiful Son. B ut IDigress)
Ecclesia de Eucharistia ... reminds us that we should celebrate the Eucharist "in a setting worthy of so great a mystery" ...While it is true that the Eucharist can be celebrated in a very simple and unadorned manner, it is also true that the human spirit cries out for a proper setting worthy of so great a mystery.
The Mass becomes for the whole Church an event of solemnity, recollection, prayer and beauty....

we are not free to change the ritual for the celebration of the Eucharist according to our own preferences. The Holy Father notes, "There have been a number of abuses which have been a source of suffering for many." Thus he appeals "urgently that the liturgical norms for the celebration of the Eucharist be obeyed with great fidelity" [#52].
For this reason the rubrics — the red print in the missal that guides us through the celebration of the mystery — are meant to maintain a sense of unity and solidarity with the whole Church in the celebration of the same mystery. No one can take it upon himself to redirect what is the patrimony of the Church and the heritage of God's people.

I wonder if the rest of the speech is available anywhere.

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