Is modern man capable of the liturgical act?

During the week of Father’s Day, I had the pleasure of attending a Sacred Music Retreat put on by the Liturgical Institute at Mundelein Seminary. The week culminated in an Institute-wide celebration of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist with an evening Mass celebrated by the Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Denver, Colorado. Later that evening, he delivered the Hillenbrand Distinguished Lecture titled: “Glorifying God by your life: evangelization and the renewal of the liturgy”.

Chaput’s lecture touched the heart of many post-Vatican II problems. Msgr. Guido Marini, the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, (Papal Liturgist!) speaks of “the reform of the reform”, necessary because many misinterpreted the Second Vatican Council; much of Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate has been focused on reorienting the Universal Church to a greater orthodoxy. The left attacks the Holy Father. The right attacks the Holy Father. This is, perhaps, the surest sign he is orthodox and right where he needs to be.

Chaput quoted a much neglected statement by Father Romano Guardini, author of Spirit of the Liturgy. (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, wrote a modern work by the same name and quoted Father Guardini throughout.) Chaput quotes: “Is not the liturgical act, and with it all that goes under the name ‘liturgy,’ so bound up with the historical background – antique or medieval or baroque – that it would be more honest to give it up altogether? Would it not be better to admit that man in this industrial and scientific age, with its new sociological structure, is no longer capable of the liturgical act?”

Chaput agrees that “modern man seem[s] incapable of real worship” and so do I. Chaput goes on to give four points that should help fix the problem. For fear of reworking his lecture, I will be brief:

1. “We need to recover the intrinsic and inseparable connection between liturgy and evangelization.” All moves toward or comes from the Eucharist. The liturgy is truly the best we have for our edification and sanctification. The Novus Ordo has opened up the Mass in new ways. Chaput welcomes the wider use of the Tridentine form utilizing all of the Church’s rich tradition but (perhaps to the chagrin of traditionalists) “find[s] the Novus Ordo, properly celebrated, a much richer expression of worship”.

2. “The liturgy is a participation in the liturgy of heaven, in which we worship in Spirit and truth with the worldwide Church and the communion of saints.” The liturgy goes beyond our own feelings and needs and moves into God’s plan, a reality which is key to how we choose to live our lives and mission of the Church.

3. “We need to strive to recover and live with the same vibrant liturgical and evangelical spirituality as the early Christians.” The early Mass was not merely “a meal shared among friends” as some might have you believe. Chaput reduces these liberal claims to dust in one sentence: “Nobody risks torture and death for a meal with their friends”.

4. “The liturgy is a school of sacrificial love.” The Eucharist, at the heart of the liturgy, is the perfect example of this sacrificial love, Christ’s total self-giving on the Cross. The Eucharist is the model for living the Christian life in service to Christ.

There is one final point which I was thrilled to hear clarified: the Second Vatican Council’s calls for “‘active participation’ of the laity in the liturgy”. This is one of the most misinterpreted phrases of the council. This is used as an excuse for “external activity, commotion and busy-ness” in the Mass when it actually “refers to the inner movement of our souls, our interior participation in Christ’s action of offering of his Body and Blood”. Sacred silence, pause for reflection, is crucial and is a very evident part of Papal Liturgies, even written in red in the Mass booklets. Active participation is not forcing the Congregation to sing against their will because some liturgist or musician has a narrow, selfish, and self-inflated view of their position in the parish. It is orienting our hearts to God in the Mystical and Sacramental Body of Christ.

So what is to be done so that the liturgical act may be possible for modern man? Chaput places the burden on us. We must live our lives liturgically. We must evangelize and pray, stand for truth and find our source and summit in that truth, Eucharistically in the Mass. “Each of us must make our own unique contribution to God’s loving plan”, Chaput writes, “that all creation become adoration and sacrifice in praise of him.”

Chaput ended his talk with a new dismissal from the new Roman Missal translation. As he spoke it, I felt contentment and hope for the reform of the reform, the orthodox direction of the Church: “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.”

* * *

The entire text of Archbishop Chaput’s talk can be found at the Denver Archdiocesan website.

“Freethinkers argue that beliefs should be based on rationality….”

WGN Radio reports on their website a new phenomenon beginning in Chicago. (Click here). Secular organizations around the country are organizing the promotion of “freethinkers” who “argue that beliefs should be based on rationality, not on religious tradition or dogma.” The co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Annie Laurie Gaylor, comments in an article quote, “We have to reach them [atheists], provide an alternative to religion and let them know we're here. Many of us reject the idea of blind faith.” They accomplish this through ads with slogans like “Sleep in on Sundays” or “In the beginning, man created God” and other multimedia ads, programs, and organized movements.

The article and those in the movement anticipate strong religious right outcry. My outcry comes from different reasons than they foresaw. I am more sad than angry that they are promoting and rallying the atheist secular cause. What really makes me angry is their complete lack of engagement with the religious right. If they wanted to engage productively in the public sphere, I would have expected them to do their homework which includes delving into 2,000 years of Christian (specifically Catholic) scholarship. Reason has always been at the forefront of Catholicism enlightened by Faith. Until they are ready and willing to engage on an equal playing field, there is no debate and no possible way to engage with them in their emotional and moral relativistic arguments. Until they engage with religious reason instead of rejecting it outright because of faith they are as close minded and as bigoted as they claim their opponents to be. The Church is ready and willing to engage in dialogue. Join in the relentless pursuit of Truth. “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:32)

Pope Benedict XVI spoke on faith and reason in his General Wednesday Audience on 16 June 2010:

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 - SOUTH AFRICA

Perhaps I'm making up for the fact that I barely saw any of the Winter Olympics 2010 in Vancouver. Could be. I filled out a bracket online with less care than when I did the NCAA Tournament bracket and picked PORTUGAL. Let's see how this turns out.

Each Chapter Affects Another

Suddenly, I find myself stateside.

My four months in Rome have drawn to a close. They were the fastest four months of my life. I am continually praising God for each blessing and grace I received while abroad and I look forward to how God plans to use these graces.

Thank you for reading my writings over the course of the semester. I didn't have time to fit all I wanted to say, and I probably never will, but I intend to continue posting throughout the summer not only recollections from Rome but whatever tickles my fancy while the summer rolls along.

The end was very bittersweet. I knew it was time to come home but the whole experience was something very special...nothing like it will happen again, even at Bernardi. Thank you to the chaplaincy; my teachers, mentors, and professors; the students of Bernardi and the Angelicum and all my new and old friends; and anyone who worked and contributed to the semester from the States or Italy. In one of my graces of the semester, I saw how everything we learned fit together; from art to social justice, theology to everyday concerns, everything fits together through the Catholic Church. I couldn't study one subject without referencing another. This grace also extended to my own life as I piece together my goals for sacred music within the Church and how God is calling me to serve Him. As one chapter comes to a close the rollercoaster peaks at another apex ready to turn and fly careening down another mountain. Let's go, Lord. What do you have in store this time?

Veni Creator Spiritus

Rose pedals fell through the dome of the Pantheon about noon following Mass on Pentecost.

Praying on a Run

I went for a run today.

I piled a bunch of more upbeat songs onto my "On-The-Go 1" playlist and ran wherever my heart desired. I circled Piazza Cavour, ran past Castel Sant'Angelo, and then ran up the street leading right into Saint Peter's Square. I knelt facing Saint Peter's Basilica and prayed for the newly ordained Father Jeremy Trowbridge and permanent Deacon Steven Pulkrabek, among others who were, at that moment, at the Cathedral in Rockford, Illinois in the midst of their Ordination Mass. Continuing on, I ran up a road and hill off to the south side of the square. I found a great view of the city where a wedding party was taking pictures.

As I began to wend my way through Trestevere, Father Stan Fortuna's "Unborn Victims of Violence" came on my iPod. It comments on the political situation of abominations against life with particular reference to the United States. Shortly before the song ended, I stumbled upon what I think was a celebration of the 32nd anniversary of RU-486. My iPod and this rally could not have been a coincidence. I knelt and prayed for the whole situation.

As I left, the gathered group began some sort of march. I thought how thankful I was that there was such a small crowd. In fact, the showing was rather pathetic. Then I remembered a fact I read in the Wednesday 19 May 2010 English Edition of L'Osservatore Romano: over 200,000 faithful gathered for the Holy Father's Regina Caeli Address on Sunday 16 May 2010 to show support for and solidarity with Pope Benedict XVI in light of recent scandal in the Church.

Lucifer's grip on the world is tight but our Victory has already been won.

A very blessed Pentecost to you and your family!

CHRIST IS RISEN!! ALLELUIA!!

Very early in the morning after the Sabbath, when the sun had just risen, they came to the tomb, alleluia. ~Antiphon for the Canticle of Zechariah, Easter Sunday

Here are a couple pictures from the Easter Vigil at Saint Peter's Basilica.
Despite how the media or secular world may attack Our Church and the Holy Father, the recessional after the Easter Vigil shows how much The Church and Benedict XVI are loved!!