Saturday, January 12, 2008

Inorganic change

Someone mentioned this paragraph of Mediator Dei in the combox of the post Don’t Touch, so I thought I would bring it up here for you. I have heard the argument that the Church changes organically as time progresses, but clearly it is orchestrated change that Pope Pius XII is warning about. There is a big difference.

62. Assuredly it is a wise and most laudable thing to return in spirit and affection to the sources of the sacred liturgy. For research in this field of study, by tracing it back to its origins, contributes valuable assistance towards a more thorough and careful investigation of the significance of feast-days, and of the meaning of the texts and sacred ceremonies employed on their occasion. But it is neither wise nor laudable to reduce everything to antiquity by every possible device. Thus, to cite some instances, one would be straying from the straight path were he to wish the altar restored to its primitive tableform; were he to want black excluded as a colour for the liturgical vestments; were he to forbid the use of sacred images and statues in Churches; were he to order the crucifix so designed that the divine Redeemer's body shows no trace of His cruel sufferings; and lastly were he to disdain and reject polyphonic music or singing in parts, even where it conforms to regulations issued by the Holy See.

4 comments:

Tom in Vegas said...

Clearly, change is inevitable within the Church. I accept change, otherwise lack of it renders the Church anachronistic. The part that concerns me is WHAT change should we make. This truly is a scary question to ask. I have given significant thought to what the Church might look like in 500 years. I know this may sound ludicrous, but will we someday have alien clergy? As the Church expands (physically) into the cosmos might there be an extraterrestrial Vatican to guide those who worship outside of Earth? Will this cosmic Vatican and the earthly Vatican be at odds with each other (schism)? By the time these two significant evolutions have come to fruition, what else (theologically, liturgically, etc.) might be different? I think it's a little unnerving when you think about it.

Tom

paramedicgirl said...

Tom, what I see happening is this: as the hippie generation dies out, so will the Novus Ordo. They will accompany each other into oblivion.

The guitar picking vocalists and that bongo drum, slap happy kid of theirs will go the way of the dinosaur; the women who prance about the altar as if they are priestesses will be eradicated, never to return, and we will be rewarded for our penance and patience during these times by the restoration of the Tridentine Mass as the ordinary Mass of the Church.

Michele said...

lol!!! the guitar pickers lol!!!! hee hee hee hee hee!!!!

ignorant redneck said...

Would it be rude to send this text to a dissenting church I know?

I guess I'm just evil like that :}