Liturgiprofessor Edward McNamara, ved Regina Apostolorum-universitetet, skriver ukentlige og interessante svar på liturgispørsmå hos Zenit.org (og det dreier seg bare om den nye messen, ikke TLM). Jeg har lest artiklene med stor interesse i mange år – se bl.a. her for en samling av interessante liturgiartikler fra Zenit.
I dag nevner professor McNamara en kommentar han har fått fra India, der en person klager over at man stadig diskuterer det mekaniske og ritualistiske i messen. Og han sier at siden messen er så tørr, går mange katolikker over til protestantiske menigheter – som er mer tilfredsstillende for dem.
Professoren svar ganske så direkte og skarpt på disse synspunktene – les videre selv:
Over the years, this column has addressed many points of liturgy, some of which are admittedly technical and maybe even rarefied. But I always strive to give my readers the benefit of the doubt and presume that their inquiries stem from a sincere desire to celebrate the liturgy according to the Church’s heart and mind.
I do not believe that it follows that an exact and precise liturgical celebration is thereby a soulless and mechanical ritual. Nor is a cavalier attitude toward rubrics an inevitable proof of authentic Christianity. There can be both good faith and hypocrisy behind both attitudes, but these are the failings of individual human beings that do not touch the heart of the question.
I strongly defend fidelity to liturgical norms because I believe that the faithful have a right to be able to participate in a recognizably Catholic liturgy, a liturgy that flows from Christ himself and is part of the great stream of the communion of saints.
While not doubting the sincerity of my correspondent, I must take exception to his way of characterizing Protestant worship with respect to Catholic liturgy. I believe that we are before a question that goes much deeper than external forms. The crux of the problem is not that our separated brethren have more exciting performances but that we have failed to teach our faithful basic Catholics doctrine on the Mass and the Eucharist.
Any Catholic who has the tiniest inkling of what it means to assist at Mass; to be present at the Lord’s Passion, death and resurrection; to be able to unite his or her prayer presented to the eternal Father united together with Christ’s supreme sacrifice; to have the possibility of sharing the Bread come down from heaven — how could such a Catholic ever compare this privilege to any Protestant service, even though admittedly it might have better music and more able preaching?
… When the full possibilities of genuine Catholic liturgy are used, the celebration is not a tad less participative, spontaneous and meaningful than any non-Catholic service. The difference is that in liturgy, just as in sports, authentic spontaneity, participation and creativity are found within the rules and not outside of them.
Apart from the liturgy Catholicism has a plethora of forms of prayer and associations, from historic confraternities and sodalities to modern charismatic prayer groups and ecclesial movements. I believe that these multifarious expressions can satisfy all forms of spiritual sensibility and desire for involvement much better than any individual group of Protestants.
Therefore if some of our Catholic faithful are migrating to Protestant groups, I don’t think we should be blaming the liturgy but rather double our efforts to celebrate it properly and proclaim the truth of the great mystery of faith.