Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Sunday Irritations
It seems that is very difficult for me to find a Mass (other than ones at dawn) that do not get bogged down in abuse or self-affirmation nonsense. While reading Pope Benedict's The Spirit of the Liturgy I came across his analysis of the problem of the people who worshipped the golden calf and recognized (as does he) that the problem exists as well today:
"The people cannot cope with the invisible, remote, and mysterious God. They want to bring him down into their world, into what they can see and understand. Worship is no longer going up to God, but drawing God down into one's own world. He must be there when He is needed, and He must be the kind of God that is needed. Man is using God, and in reality, placing himself above God... Worship becomes a feast that the community gives itself, a festival of the self-affirmation. Instead of being worship of God, it becomes a a circle closed in on itself...Ultimately (worship) is no longer concerned with God but with giving oneself a nice little alternative world, manufactured from one's own resources. Then liturgy really does become pointless, just fooling around... All that is left in the end is frustration, a feeling of emptiness."
Frankly I am tired of that feeling of emptiness even though I am not part of the abuse itself. For more, check out this article by Fr. Schall, S.J. Yes, he is a Jesuit with his head screwed on straight. Don't faint!
"The people cannot cope with the invisible, remote, and mysterious God. They want to bring him down into their world, into what they can see and understand. Worship is no longer going up to God, but drawing God down into one's own world. He must be there when He is needed, and He must be the kind of God that is needed. Man is using God, and in reality, placing himself above God... Worship becomes a feast that the community gives itself, a festival of the self-affirmation. Instead of being worship of God, it becomes a a circle closed in on itself...Ultimately (worship) is no longer concerned with God but with giving oneself a nice little alternative world, manufactured from one's own resources. Then liturgy really does become pointless, just fooling around... All that is left in the end is frustration, a feeling of emptiness."
Frankly I am tired of that feeling of emptiness even though I am not part of the abuse itself. For more, check out this article by Fr. Schall, S.J. Yes, he is a Jesuit with his head screwed on straight. Don't faint!
