Here is a selection of quotations from His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke’s June 28th address “Liturgical Law in the Mission of the Church” at the Sacra Liturgia conference in Rome:
“The difference in the approach to the Sacred Liturgy from my first days in the seminary in the Fall of 1962 to the time of the post-Conciliar reforms was, to say the least, extreme, if not violent.”
“The post-conciliar period and accompanying euphoria manifested a general disdain for the Church’s perennial discipline.”
“Given the radical reform of the liturgical ties, a certain antinomian mentality easily led to a great deal of liturgical experimentation which was completely divorced from the discipline which had formerly governed the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy.”
“The right understanding of the Sacred Liturgy is, in fact, the key to the understanding of every dimension of life. That right understanding is safeguarded by the law, the discipline, which safeguards, first, the relationship of man with God.”
“Clearly, unless man recognizes and respects the ius divinum [the divine right / the right relationship between God and His creation, especially man] in what pertains to the Sacred Liturgy, he fails to recognize and respect the truth about creation and, above all, about himself. The failure to recognize and respect the ius divinum leads to idolatry, as the story of the Golden Calf demonstrates.”
“Only by observing and honouring the divine right that God be known, adored, and served as He desires and commands does man find his happiness in this life and in the life to come.”
“[The Sacred Liturgy cannot] be reduced to the activity of any individual, not even a priest, but must be governed, with respect for the divine right, by the law of the Church, by the supreme authority, that is, by the Roman Pontiff and by the Bishops in communion with him.”
“Sadly, after the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, but certainly not because of the teaching of the Council, many abuses in the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy took place.”
“The right attention to liturgical norms does not constitute a sort of legalism or rubricism, but an act of profound respect and love for our Lord who has given us the gift of divine worship, an act of profound love which has, as its irreplaceable foundation, the respect for the divine right.”
Sacra Liturgia 2013
1 comment:
In principle I have no objections to what the good Cardinal is saying, and he himself offers such a beautiful Mass.
I have however been pondering lately whether extreme rigidity in a priest's Ars Celebrandi can be just as distracting from what is happening at the Altar as the Ars Celebrandi of those priest who are extremely loose with their offering of Holy Mass?
I say this because I've experienced this lately with a priest here in Wisconsin who seems so intent on "not doing something wrong" that he comes off as robotic, and honestly, distracting in trying to worship the Lord at Holy Mass.
Thoughts anyone?
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