+ A thought on liturgical abuse
The earliest Christian writing we have is St. Paul's Letter to the Corinthians. Take a look at 1 Cor. 11: 17-29, where we find the oldest account of the Last Supper. Notice: St. Paul's Eucharistic narration is immediately preceded, and followed, by the Apostle's ringing criticism of something. What? Liturgical abuse! Hardly a generation after Our Lord's own time, and the Church is already having to correct liturgical abuse. Serious stuff, too, like getting drunk at Mass. Of course, this observation does not make today's liturgical abuse less painful; how could it, for by its nature, liturgical abuse arises in our very midst, at our own hands, even. But it does, perhaps, contextualize the problem for us a bit. Liturgical abuse, it seems, has always been with us, and likely always will. enp.
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An important article:
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Liturgy
& Sacraments
I. Documentation organized according to the 1983 Code of Canon Law
Canon 836
THE OXFORD
DECLARATION This Declaration was published in the name of the Liturgy Forum of the Centre for Faith and Culture, constituted under the chairmanship of Mgr. Peter J. Elliott, a Vatican official and author of Ceremonies of the Roman Rite, at the conclusion of the Centre's summer conference. 1. Reflecting on the history of liturgical renewal and
reform since the Second Vatican Council, the Liturgy Forum agreed that there
have been many positive results. Among these might be mentioned the introduction
of the vernacular, the opening up of the treasury of the Sacred Scriptures,
increased participation in the liturgy and the enrichment of the process of
Christian initiation. However, the Forum concluded that the pre-conciliar
liturgical movement as well as the manifest intentions of Sacrosanctum
concilium have in large part been frustrated by powerful contrary forces,
which could be described as bureaucratic, philistine and secularist. 2. The effect has been to deprive the Catholic people of
much of their liturgical heritage. Certainly, many ancient traditions of sacred
music, art and architecture have been all but destroyed. Sacrosanctum
concilium gave pride of place to Gregorian chant, yet in many places this
"sung theology" of the Roman liturgy has disappeared without trace.
Our liturgical heritage is not a superficial embellishment of worship but should
properly be regarded as intrinsic to it, as it is also to the process of
transmitting the Catholic faith in education and evangelization. Liturgy cannot
be separated from culture; it is the living font of a Christian civilization and
hence has profound ecumenical significance. 3. The impoverishment of our liturgy after the Council is a
fact not yet sufficiently admitted or understood, to which the necessary
response must be a revival of the liturgical movement and the initiation of a
new cycle of reflection and reform. The liturgical movement which we represent
is concerned with the enrichment, correction and resacralization of Catholic
liturgical practice. It is concerned with a renewal of liturgical eschatology,
cosmology and aesthetics, and with a recovery of the sense of the sacred--mindful that the law of worship is the law of belief. This renewal will be aided
by a closer and deeper acquaintance with the liturgical, theological and
iconographic traditions of the Christian East. 4. The revived liturgical movement calls for the promotion
of the Liturgy of the Hours, celebrated in song as an action of the Church in
cathedrals, parishes, monasteries and families, and of Eucharistic Adoration,
already spreading in many parishes. In this way, the Divine Word and the
Presence of Christ's reality in the Mass may resonate throughout the day, making
human culture into a dwelling place for God. At the heart of the Church in the
world we must be able to find that loving contemplation, that adoring silence,
which is the essential complement to the spoken word of Revelation, and the key
to active participation in the holy mysteries of faith. 5. We call for a greater pluralism of Catholic rites and
uses, so that all these elements of our tradition may flourish and be more
widely known during the period of reflection and ressourcement that lies ahead.
If the liturgical movement is to prosper, it must seek to rise above differences
of opinion and taste to that unity which is the Holy Spirit's gift to the Body
of Christ. Those who love the Catholic tradition in its fullness should strive
to work together in charity, bearing each other's burdens in the light of the
Holy Spirit, and persevering in prayer with Mary the Mother of Jesus. 6. We hope that any future liturgical reform would not be imposed on the faithful but would proceed, with the utmost caution and sensitivity to the sensus fidelium, from a thorough understanding of the organic nature of the liturgical traditions of the Church. Our work should be sustained by prayer, education and study. This cannot be undertaken in haste, or in anything other than a serene spirit. No matter what difficulties lie ahead, the glory of the Paschal Mystery -- Christ's love, his cosmic sacrifice and his childlike trust in the Father -- shines through every Catholic liturgy for those who have eyes to see, and in this undeserved grace we await the return of spring. 29 June 1996, Feast of St Peter and St Paul
This Declaration has been published in many formats. The above version was taken from Peter Elliot, Liturgical Question Box (Ignatius Press), pp. 187-189, posted with permission.
Canon 1172
Congregation
for Divine Worship and
Discipline of the Sacraments
Decree
From
ancient times, the Church, obedient to the prayers of the Lord, has mercifully
provided in its sacramental system pious supplications by which God might be
beseeched to free the Christian faithful from all dangers, and especially from
the attacks of the devil. In particular, exorcists are constituted in the Church
who, imitating the love of Christ, rescue those oppressed by the Malignant One,
even commanding demons in the name of God to retreat lest they harm human beings
in any way.
In
our own day it seemed opportune to review the norms already given as well as the
collected prayers and formulae contained in Title 12 of the Roman Ritual, in
order that the rites might correspond to decrees of the Second Vatican
Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, esp. article 79.
Thus,
this Congregation promulgates the present reformed rite of Exorcism, approved by
Pope John Paul II on 1 October 1998, [and directs] that it be followed for those
norms and formulae that till now were covered in Title 12 of the Roman Ritual.
This
Latin edition shall be published immediately and can be used by those competent
in law. Episcopal Conferences shall take care that versions in the vernacular
are duly prepared and are suited to the norms of law, subject to confirmation by
the Apostolic See.
Anything
to the contrary notwithstanding.
From
the hall of the Congregation for Divine Cult and Discipline of the Sacraments,
22 November 1998, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.
Georgius
Card. Medina-Estévez
Prefect [trans., E. Peters]
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