Tea at Trianon: Liturgical Intervention

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, February 18, 2013

Liturgical Intervention

Some wisdom from Catholic writer and speaker Louie Verrecchio. To quote:

In thinking about state of the liturgy in our day and this widely accepted idea that it would somehow be imprudent for the Holy Father to legislate more or less immediate correction via proclamation, the A&E program Intervention came to mind.

For those unfamiliar, Intervention is a “reality” series that documents the lives of drug abusers, detailing the upheaval and heartache experienced by the family and friends of an addict who is slowly committing suicide. While each episode is somewhat different in the details, there are a number of common themes in nearly all of the stories.

In every one that I’ve seen, the parents of the addict have unintentionally participated in their child’s demise, creating havoc for the entire family, by “enabling” the abuser’s self- destructive behavior over a period of many years.

When confronted by a substance abuse expert with the horrible reality that, apart from an immediate and drastic correction, the family can count on nothing but increased heartache as their loved one continues to barrel headlong toward certain death, the parents often resist, striking a tone remarkably similar to the one previously mentioned.

“I’ll wean him off of my financial support over time… I’ll cut back on the amount I allow her to drink in my home… I’ll let him live here until he finds another place to go…”

Ultimately, at least in the more successful cases, the parents end up realizing that there’s really no such thing as “a little enabling” when it comes to such grave matters of life and death.

A perfect analogy? Of course not, but I think you get the drift.

Is it really the case that those who dwell in the House of God are truly better off when the Papa in whom authority rests is resistant to the notion of leveling drastic corrective measures, in favor of tolerating for “just a little longer” many of the serious liturgical abnormalities and aberrations to which all concerned have grown accustomed?

If the answer is no, as I for one believe it is, then perhaps the following legislative acts concerning the sacred liturgy might be considered worthy of immediate enactment by the next Holy Roman Pontiff.

- Rescinding the indult for Communion in the hand

- Disallowing female altar servers

- Requiring the ad orientem posture (the so-called “Benedictine arrangement” being insufficient)

- Requiring the use of the Latin language, at minimum, for the ordinary of the Mass

- Forbidding the use of popular hymnody as a substitute for the liturgical texts

- Forbidding the use of profane instruments apart from the direct (and rare) approval of the Holy See

- Setting strict requirements that will henceforth make the use of EMHC’s exceedingly rare
- Eliminating the “sign of peace” among the assembly

Surely there are more liturgical matters that deserve immediate correction, but this would be a good start. (Read entire post.)