In L'Osservatore Romano today, via Papa Ratzinger, appears an article by Don Nicola Bux on the liturgy, rooted in the upcoming anniversary of Pius XII's liturgical encyclical, Mediator Dei.
Here follows a translation of the first few paragraphs.
On the Liturgy: A Debate without Prejudice
Nicola Bux
It is a battle underway in the liturgy... and the subject of the dispute is not just the ancient Roman rite.
However, the Holy Father reassures us: the struggle for the correct interpretation and worthy celebration of the sacred liturgy is needed in every generation. It is a great challenge "to achieve internal reconciliation in the bosom of the Church" (Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum, 7 July 2007), and also to bring liturgical reform. [But can we refuse] the invitation if really we love the Church and the sacred liturgy?
Now, if [there are] those who love or [have] discovered the previous liturgical tradition [who] must also be convinced of the value and sanctity of the new rite, everyone else should reflect on the fact that "in the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture. What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful."
The words of Benedict XVI recall these others: "Indeed, though we are sorely grieved to note, on the one hand, that there are places where the spirit, understanding or practice of the sacred liturgy is defective, or all but inexistent, We observe with considerable anxiety and some misgiving, that elsewhere certain enthusiasts, over-eager in their search for novelty, are straying beyond the path of sound doctrine and prudence. Not seldom, in fact, they interlard their plans and hopes for a revival of the sacred liturgy with principles which compromise this holiest of causes in theory or practice, and sometimes even taint it with errors touching Catholic faith and ascetical doctrine."
Who has written this is Pius XII. The logic is the same: tradition and development are necessarily inescapable, and both are in the nature of the Church as [they are in] the human body and are not be resisted but are complementary and interrelated. Therefore it makes no sense to be [either] excessive innovators or [excessive] traditionalists...
[NLM: If anyone can translate the entire piece for the NLM, please do so and email it to me.]
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Don Nicola Bux in L'Osservatore Romano today: On the Liturgy on the Anniversary of Mediator Dei
Shawn TribeMore recent articles:
My Interview on Holy Week with Christopher Jasper on Pipes with AugustineGregory DiPippo
A few days ago, I gave an interview to Mr Christopher Jasper, the founder and director of the online Gregorian Chant Academy. The main subject of our interview is the various reforms of Holy Week, but we touched several related issues as well, such as the mindset of the whole project of liturgical reform in the 20th century. I make bold to suggest ...
The Offertory Incensation, Part IMichael P. Foley
Lost in Translation #122After preparing and offering the gifts and himself, the priest blesses the incense. As he places three spoonfuls of incense onto a live coal, he says: Per intercessiónem beáti Michaélis Archángeli, stantis a dextris altáris incénsi, et ómnium electórum suórum, incénsum istud dignétur Dóminus benedícere, et in odórem suavit...
Music for Lent: The Media VitaGregory DiPippo
The hour of Compline is far more variable in the Dominican Office than in the Roman, often changing the antiphon of the psalms, the hymn, and the antiphon of the Nunc dimittis. This was true of most medieval Uses, and especialy in Lent, a season in which the Dominican Use brings forth some its best treasures. The most famous of these is certainly ...
Tenebrae: The Church’s “Office of the Dead” for Christ Crucified Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka
The Catholic Institute of Sacred Music cordially invites you to the final event of its 2024–2025 Public Lecture and Concert Series.Tenebrae: The Church’s “Office of the Dead” for Christ CrucifiedLecture by James Monti (Dunwoodie, New York)Saturday, April 12, 10:00 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT)From at least as far back as the sixth century, the Church has b...
The Twentieth Anniversary of the Death of Pope St John Paul IIGregory DiPippo
Today marks the twentieth anniversary of the death of Pope St John Paul II, whose reign of almost 26½ years is the third longest in history, after those of St Peter (traditionally said to be 32 years, one less than Our Lord’s earthy life), and Blessed Pius IX (31 years and nearly 8 months.) In the days leading up to his funeral, roughly 4 million p...
On the Sanctification of TimePeter Kwasniewski
In “Processing through the Courts of the Great King,” I spoke of how the many courtyards and chambers of the King’s palace prior to his throne room, or the many precincts and rooms of the Temple leading up to the Holy of Holies, could be a metaphor of a healthy Catholic spiritual life that culminates in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, but surrounds...
“Now About the Midst of the Feast” - Christ the Teacher in the Liturgy of LentGregory DiPippo
Today’s Gospel in the Roman Rite, John 7, 14-31, begins with the words “Now about the midst of the feast”, referring to the feast of Tabernacles, which St John had previously mentioned in verse 2 of the same chapter. And indeed, the whole of this chapter is set within the context of this feast.The Expulsion of the Money-Changers from the Temple, th...
The Apple of Her EyeDavid Clayton
“The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, which is in the east, and there he put the man he had fashioned. From the soil, the Lord God caused to grow every kind of tree, enticing to look at and good to eat, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Gen. 2, 8-9) This 17th century painting...
The Exposition of the Holy Lance at St Peter’s BasilicaGregory DiPippo
The YouTube channel of EWTN recently published a video about the exposition of the Holy Lance at St Peter’s basilica on the first Saturday of Lent. This was formerly done on the Ember Friday, which was long kept as the feast of the Holy Lance and Nails, but since this feast is no longer observed, the exposition of the relic has been transferred to ...
The Feast and Sunday of St John ClimacusGregory DiPippo
In the Byzantine liturgy, each of the Sundays of Lent has a special commemoration attached to it. The first Sunday is known as the Sunday of Orthodoxy, because it commemorates the defeat of iconoclasm and the restoration of the orthodox belief in the use of icons; many churches have a procession in which the clergy and faithful carry the icons, as...
