Why I Love the Liturgy

Here are some quotes which sum up the reasons why I love the liturgy…as well as telling us what the liturgy should be (all emphases added).

From The Spirit of the Liturgy by Romano Guardini:

P. 66: “The liturgy wishes to teach, but not by means of an artificial system of aim-conscious educational influences; it simply creates an entire spiritual world in which the soul can live according to the requirements of its nature. The difference resembles that which exists between a gymnasium, in which every detail of apparatus and every exercise aims at a calculated effect, and the open woods and fields. In the first everything is consciously directed towards discipline and development, in the second life is lived with Nature, and internal growth takes placed in her. The liturgy creates a universe brimming with fruitful spiritual life, and allows the soul to wander about in it at will and to develop itself there.”

p. 67 [commenting on Proverbs 8:30-31]  It is the delight of the Eternal Father that Wisdom (the Son, the perfect Fullness of Truth) should pour out Its eternal essence before Him in all Its ineffable splendor, without any ‘purpose’ – for what purpose should It have? – but full of decisive meaning, in pure and vocal happiness; the Son ‘plays’ before the Father.

     “Such is the life of the highest beings, the angels, who, without a purpose and as the Spirit stirs them, move before God, and are a mystic diversion and a living song before Him.”

From The Spirit of the Liturgy by Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI):

p. 18: “Ultimately, it is the very life of man, man himself as living righteously, that is the true worship of God, but life only becomes real life when it receives its form from looking toward God. Cult exists in order to communicate this vision and to give life in such a way that glory is given to God.”

p. 21: “Worship, that is, the right kind of cult, of relationship with God, is essential for the right kind of human existence in the world. It is so precisely because it reaches beyond everyday life. Worship gives us a share in heaven’s mode of existence, in the world of God, and allows light to fall from that divine world into ours…”

p. 22: “But real liturgy implies that God responds and reveals how we can worship him. In any form, liturgy includes some kind of ‘institution’. It cannot spring from imagination, our own creativity – then it would remain just a cry in the dark or mere self-affirmation. Liturgy implies a real relationship with Another, who reveals himself to us and gives our existence a new direction.”

p. 22: [He comments on the story of the golden calf to make the point that] “…the liturgy is not a matter of ‘what you please’.” [When “creativity” happens, people are worshiping an image.] “The people cannot cope with the invisible, remote, and mysterious God. They want to bring him down into their own 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…Worship becomes a feast that the community gives itself, a festival of self-affirmation. Instead of being worship of God, it becomes a circle closed in on itself: eating, drinking, and making merry. The dance around the golden calf is an image of this self-seeking worship.”

p. 60: “Past, present, and future interpenetrate and touch upon eternity.”

SSGG's Schola Assists at Masses in Prineville, Madras

Part of the mission of the Society of St. Gregory the Great is to enhance all legitimate forms of worship, and to add some Latin chant to Novus Ordo English Masses in the Diocese of Baker.  

To this end, the Schola Cantorum of the Society of St. Gregory the Great visited St. Joseph Church in Prineville on October 29, and sang some of the Latin chants for the 6pm Saturday night Mass. Four members of the schola sang the first chants of the Kyrie Simplex for the Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei; they sang the Gloria from the Missa de angelis.  

The Schola also sang an English hymn at the beginning of Mass; the offertory hymn was Adoro te, devote; and the chant Ave Verum was sung for Holy Communion. As a recessional, the simple Salve Regina was chosen.

This was the Schola’s second visit to St. Joseph’s. Father Robert Greiner, pastor of St. Joseph’s, was happy to welcome the schola back. He sang most of the prayers and responsories of the Mass. Since there is no one who normally sings at the Mass except Father Greiner, it was an occasion he wanted to celebrate with as much singing as possible. This puts him right in step with the intentions of the US Bishops: the new Roman Missal contains more music than any previous edition, and the Bishops are encouraging priests to sing their parts of the Mass.

The Schola has also sung at St. Patrick Church in Madras. The pastor, Father Luis Flores-Alva, has invited them to return at the end of November. Father Flores-Alva is currently having his choir trained to sing a simple Latin Mass, as well as a Mass written in both English and Latin.

This is all in keeping with the documents of Vatican II, which state that the faithful should be able to sing Latin chants for the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei – and this is the minimal level of knowledge to be expected.  Besides reflecting the mind of the Church, the use of Latin and Gregorian chant in the Mass can also be a unifying factor in multicultural congregations.

The Society of St. Gregory the Great is willing to help any parish or choir who desires assistance with the Latin chants. A monthly chant workshop is held in Bend. In addition, on November 11-12, we are hosting a “Mystical Body, Mystical Voice” workshop which addresses the changes that we’ll be experiencing with the new translation beginning on November 27.  

See the side bar for more information on the workshops, or contact Stephanie Swee at swee0574@gmail.com or Judith (Jay) Boyd at drjayboyd@msn.com with any questions.

Changes in the Prayers at the Preparation of the Gifts

Here are the prayers at the preparation of the gifts as they are presently said, compared to the new texts which will be put into use on the first Sunday of Advent, Nov. 27. Although, on the surface, the changes are minimal, it seems to me that they make a real difference in the perspective they lend on our relationship to God. See what you think.

Present text: Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life.

New text: Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life.

Present: Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. It will become our spiritual drink.

New: Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the wine we offer you: fruit of the vine and work of human hands it will become our spiritual drink.

Present: Lord God, we ask you to receive us and be pleased with the sacrifice we offer you with humble and contrite hearts.

New: With humble spirit and contrite heart may we be accepted by you, O Lord, and may our sacrifice in your sight this day be pleasing to you, Lord God.

Present: Lord, wash away my iniquity; cleanse me from my sin.

New: Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

The Kingdom of God

From a sermon by Meister Eckhart:

“Our Lord says:  Know that the kingdom of God is close to you.  Indeed, the kingdom of God is within us; God is closer to me than I am to myself: my being depends on God’s being near me and present to me. So he is also in a stone or a log of wood, only they do not know it. If the wood knew God and realized how close he is to it as the highest angel does, it would be as blessed as the highest angel. And so man is more blessed than a stone or a piece of wood because he is aware of God and knows how close God is to him. And I am the more blessed, the more I realize this, and I am the less blessed, the less I know this. I am not blessed because God is in me and is near me and because I possess him, but because I am aware of how close he is to me, and that I know God. The prophet says in the Psalter: Do not be without understanding like a mule or a horse. Again the patriarch Jacob says: God is in this place, and I knew it not. We should know God and be aware that God’s kingdom is near to hand.”

A Few Photos

These photos were taken at an EF Mass at

Our Lady of the Valley in La Grande, Oregon,

May 10, 2008





Liturgiam Authenticam

I don't know anything about this other than what you see here. I got this from Mark's blog Dominican Idaho. As he notes, it "probably won't be playing at your local multiplex, but it ought to play at your parish!"

Beauty, Truth, and the Mass

Over at V-For-Victory, Anita has made some valuable comments on Bishop Morlino's recent statement about true beauty, and the beauty of Truth. Be sure to read the entire post, as well as Bishop Morlino's column.  Here are a few excerpts from Anita:

Beauty Is Truth, And Truth Beauty -- No, Really!

Any time I argue in favor of Gregorian chant at Mass, there always seems to be somebody around -- somebody, that is, of the Haugen-Haas mindset -- to inform me that my preference for chant is purely a matter of taste, and that other people have different tastes and opinions.  What never gets explained is why, if liturgical music is purely a matter of taste and opinion, their opinion always deserves to prevail over mine.  The answer, of course, is that where no one acknowledges universal standards, the party that prevails is always the one with the most power.  Thus, the ultimate end of relativism masquerading as "liberalism" or "tolerance" or "progressivism" is that might makes right.

Fortunately, however, there are universal standards; and even more fortunately, there are some in authority who stand up for them.  Bishop Robert C. Morlino of the Diocese of Madison in Wisconsin is one such, and his recent column in the diocesan organ, the Catholic Herald, addresses precisely the question of beauty and the liturgy.  The liturgy, he declares, "always requires beauty in its celebrations."

...

We must never forget that, being wounded by original sin, it is possible for us to take as good that which is not good.  We are not only capable of loving what is unworthy but also of rationalizing it.  Consider, for example, the ancient Roman taste for gladiatorial games, under the guise of admiring the combatants' skill and prowess.  Of course, the need to rationalize a taste for violence, or overt sexual displays, or low company, or other forms of spiritual trash, at least shows that the person caught in those snares still realizes, deep in his core, that these things are wrong.  Eventually, however, if we wallow long enough in baseness, that spark of conscience will be smothered and we will no longer see a need to rationalize.

...

When I enter a church built during the last century, do I feel as though I am in the portico of heaven?  Or do I feel like I'm in an airplane hangar?  Does the music make me feel as though I am at the foot of the Cross, or in the audience at a Broadway musical?  If I were an alien from the Andromeda Galaxy observing the sacred liturgy, would I guess by the vessels used at Mass that they contain Something precious?...