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Archbishop Romero
receives a sack of beans
at the presentation of the
gifts at Mass
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You see, Liturgy is a highly
political thing. A few months ago I
received this comment to my posting of March 12 this year:
I have always believed that the most subversive product of
the conciliar reform was the Lectionary and Pope Francis has proved my point.
While conciliar documents and papal encyclicals have their value -- though go,
as you say, mostly unread, much less acted upon -- it is the broad, daily
exposure to the Scriptures, and the Gospels in particular that are likely to
rankle the conservative mindset even more. To wit, the daily Domus homilies by
the pope. There has been nothing more offensive to the wingnuts than the almost
daily harangue against them based straightforwardly and without varnish on the
day's readings. I have always been amazed at how the worst of right wing
Republicans and Katholic Krazies of my acquaintance can attend daily Mass and
retain their political and religious views when they hear, over and over again,
the diatribes against pharasaic religion, the prophetic denunciations against
social injustice, the narratives of divine mercy, and the pauline invective
against religion grounded in mere tradition and works righteousness. All of
this has been the subject of Francis' daily preaching and it has driven them to
utter distraction. This is also why, I believe, they are so enamored of the
"Extraordinary Form" -- it effectively shields them from such
uncomfortable exposure to the Bible behind clouds of incense, the cover of a
foreign language, the distraction of rubrical obsessions and the comparative
paucity of reading from Scripture.
It is an old axiom in our
Catholic tradition that if you want to change what people believe change the
way the pray. (Lex orandi, lex credendi)
The Novus Ordo has been extremely effective in raising the Catholic social
consciousness for several reasons.
1.
The direct
participatory access to the liturgy of the current rite vs. the pre-conciliar
rites changes the hierarchal self-expression of the Church
2.
as you cite—the
direct exposure to the Scripture, read in one’s own language, from a more widely
inclusive lectionary, and preached on a daily basis.
3.
The integration
of the horizontal and vertical dimension of our faith with a shared awareness
of the Presence of God and the presence of our neighbors.
4.
The move away
from monarchial models of worship and environment for simpler, plainer
vestments, vessels, décor.
5.
The inclusion of
new music that not only expressed our relationship to God, but to each other
and often emphasizes the needs of the poor or the special place in God’s care
which is given to the poor.
6.
A church architecture
that often places the altar in the midst of the assembly and thus emphasizes
not only our common participation but our personal responsibility to God
I can’t help but think that
much of the opposition to the current Liturgy isn’t motivated by a desire to
preserve the socio-economic and political status quo. When I read blogs like Rorate Caeli or Father Z’s Blog I cannot but notice the political undertones
(admittedly no stronger than the political undertones readers find in my
blog). I don’t think Pope Benedict realized
the political impact the liturgy was taking in his pontificate, but I do think
that Pope Francis is far more savvy about the relationship between cult and
politics. (We expect Jesuits to be
savvy, even well, Jesuitical.) And I
think that much of the opposition to Francis and the protests against his style
of liturgy (and his style of papacy) is in fact a protest against the shift to
the left on highly politicized issues in which he has sunk the pontifical
dentures. The place of immigrants is one
of these issues; the environment is another; income inequality is a third. Certainly the projected beatification (and
possible canonization) of Archbishop Romero has generated a flood of Internet
complaints. And now Dom Helder (“When I feed the poor you call me a saint;
when I ask you why they are poor you call me a communist”) Camara is being
considered for posthumous promotion to the dismay of those whose model for
sainthood is the late great 40th POTUS. And then of course there is our dear friend
in Malta who from his liturgical style seems to be waging a campaign to be
elected to fill the slippers of the late Queen Mother. Unfortunately for him it is not an elected
position. When you see how at home he is at the Palace in Gricigliano he would be so good at it.
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