I find it laughable, and tragically so, that the liberal theologians and progressivist liturgistas many of us deal with think that we need to impoverish the liturgy with Draconian cut-backs in “liturgy and worship budgets” so that the realities of our parish life reflects the realities of our members’ home lives. We survived by working with Grace to put the Holy House in order, and by a deep spirituality that has its source in prayer and communal liturgy, well done. I don’t want to be complaisant or over-optimistic. – the reigns of Adolf the Awful and Benito the BadĪnd that doesn’t even consider the corruption within! – starting with the first liturgical abuse: The Golden Calf. – 19th C nationalism and the loss of the Papal States, a.d. – The Jacobin anti-Christian program, with its liturgy for the Supreme Being, followed by Buonaparte – The Fall of the Eastern Empire to Islam – The failure of the assorted Crusades and the end of the Kingdom of Jerusalem – The Islamic invasions of Spain, Sicily, Southern Italy and Latium c. – The fall of the Western Empire to worshipers of Wotan, starting with Alaric, prompting The City of God. when Christian were required to pour out a libation (a form of pagan worship) to the Emperor’s deity, or die. – The Roman persecutions by Nero, Domitian, Maximinus et al. – The Greek Seleucid Empire and that whacko Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who profaned the sacred liturgy – The Babylonians and the profanation of the sacred vessels from the temple – The Philistines and assorted worshipers of Baal, Astarte, temple prostitution, and killing children for Moloch If we Catholics date ourselves back to Father Abraham, we have a track record of overcoming, or at least surviving, our enemies: Consider these challenges: It is now probably up to us to save the world. Get serious with your worship and the sphere of the world you shape. It is strongly possible that in our lifetimes "various nations will be annihilated", but this dire sequence can be affected by our actions. I propose that no matter what else we do, the helm of this wreck will be steered around only by how we pray as a Church. I am compelled to indicate deeper rumbling, something the depths of which you must register by feel more than the mere sense of hearing.Īt the same time the way we worship, that is, the way we engage in the sacred action of the liturgy, affects the world.Įvery act of faithful worship, to my mind, has a deep affect upon the course of human affairs.īy all means let us write on globalization and be busy about many things. This chord is readily heard by most people who pause to observe and ponder our society. One of my favorite radio talkers and writers, Bill Bennett, often makes the point that culture trumps … many other spheres, such as politics or economics. I want to come back to a theme I have pushed on WDTPRS for a while now. The Holy Father writes also about many other themes. When man is not considered within the total context of his vocation, and when the demands of a true “human ecology” are not respected, the cruel forces of poverty are unleashed, as is evident in certain specific areas that I shall now consider briefly one by one. It remains true, however, that every form of externally imposed poverty has at its root a lack of respect for the transcendent dignity of the human person. Nor can I forget that, in so-called “poor” societies, economic growth is often hampered by cultural impediments which lead to inefficient use of available resources. On the one hand, I have in mind what is known as “moral underdevelopment”, and on the other hand the negative consequences of “superdevelopment”. For example, in advanced wealthy societies, there is evidence of marginalization, as well as affective, moral and spiritual poverty, seen in people whose interior lives are disoriented and who experience various forms of malaise despite their economic prosperity. Yet we know that other, non-material forms of poverty exist which are not the direct and automatic consequence of material deprivation. If it were a question of material poverty alone, then the social sciences, which enable us to measure phenomena on the basis of mainly quantitative data, would be sufficient to illustrate its principal characteristics. This perspective requires an understanding of poverty that is wide-ranging and well articulated. In his Message for the World Day for Peace, the Holy Father wrote: The speed of the dissolution suggests that these difficulties cannot now be avoided. The deconstruction of the world’s markets suggests that very difficult times are ahead.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |