At the Third International Meeting of
Catholic Clergy Fraternities, held in Rome from 13 to 17 January,
Cardinal Robert Sarah gave a talk on the beauty and mission of the
priest. GaudiumPress.org published a report.
- The Novus
Ordo liturgical books "urgently need" continuity with the liturgical
tradition, "not a break with the past [as is the case today]".
-
The Roman Rite has produced "obvious fruits" in recent decades, and
through it a new generation of young people with young families has
emerged in the Church.
- This shows that the Roman Rite has a
future because it has a past, a history of holiness and beauty that
cannot be erased or abolished overnight.
- The Cardinal quoted
Benedict XVI: "It is in everyone's interest to preserve the treasures
that have grown through the faith and prayer of the Church [= Roman
Rite] and to give them the place they deserve" (Letter to the Bishops, 7
July 2007).
- The care for the beauty of the liturgy is essentially a pastoral activity.
- The first duty of priests is to become homo liturgicus, whose life and mission begin at the altar.
- We must edify our people through our profound contemplation of the Sacred Liturgy.
- Other pastoral activities arise precisely from our worship of God, but they must not detract from it.
- Silence before the celebration will form others and will give the busy priestly souls some respite.
-
Sacred music is an integral part of the ars celebrandi (Benedict XVI:
"In the liturgy we certainly cannot say that all music is equally
good").
- During "concelebrations" priests often behave
inappropriately, as if they were there by chance, dressed in priestly
vestments, but not focused on the Eucharist.
- The deepest cause of the crisis is that God is not the first priority in the liturgy.
- In the consciousness of many, the things of God and of the liturgy "do not seem urgent".
-
What Cardinal Sarah calls "the lack of understanding of the liturgical
reform" is widespread in the Church and has led to an emphasis on
personal teaching, activity and "creativity".
- The deepest cause of the crisis that is shaking the Church is the lack of clarity about the priority of God in the liturgy.
- A genuine renewal of the liturgy is a fundamental condition for the renewal of the Church.
Picture: © Mazur/cbcew.org.uk, CC BY-NC-ND, #newsEbozozvogc