Co-Workers
in the Liturgical Ministry of Christ,
How
should a recipient of a high honor respond? What should a
recipient of a prestigious award say? Whenever Pope John XXIII
entered St. Peter’s Basilica and walked through the crowds, people
applauded and the Pope would bless them and make an uplifting gesture
with his hands. One day a reporter asked him: “Holy Father, what
does that gesture mean?” Pope John responded: “When I lift up
my hands at the applause, I send heavenward the recognition and acclaim
the people give me.” This evening I send heavenward your
applause and acclaim and recognition. Please know I am most
grateful to you, the members of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical
Commissions for bestowing upon me the Msgr. Frederick McManus Award.
To be included with past distinguished recipients --- Fr. Godfrey
Diekmann, Dr. John Page, Ade Bethune, Aidan Kavanagh, Archbishop
Pilarczyk --- is a singular honor and humbling experience.
In 1994 the delegates to the national meeting of this organization
established a national award for significant contributions to liturgical
renewal and named the award after its first recipient Msgr. Fred
McManus. Tonight I would like to preface my acceptance of this
award with a tribute to Fred McManus, who is an inspiration and mentor
to all of us. St. Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians (2:9)
refers to James, John and Peter as “Pillars of the Church”.
Paul recognized the pivotal role played by these disciples in building
up the Church. A pillar signifies firmness and support. A
pillar is essential for the design of any edifice. “Pillar of
the Church” is a title that recognizes the importance of a
disciple’s leadership and service. Fred McManus is a pillar of
the Church, a pillar of the liturgical movement, a pillar of liturgical
renewal.
I recall the many meetings of the Bishops’ Committee on Liturgy on
which Fred served as a consultant. He was always a voice of calm
and reasoned discussion in liturgical matters. Tonight I urge all
liturgists to be the continuation of Fred’s voice --- a voice of
expertise --- a voice of balance --- a voice of truth --- a voice of
charity. A recognized expert in canon and liturgical law, Fred
represents the very best of this National Federation.
Fred was present 40 years ago when the Constitution on the Sacred
Liturgy was debated and approved at Vatican II. As a peritus
to the Council, he saw firsthand the workings of the entire four
sessions of Vatican II. This
experience gave him a vision and passion to bring renewal to all
parishes. Fred gave invaluable assistance to the Bishops’
Committee on Liturgy. He was a founding member of the
International Commission on English in the Liturgy and was intimately
connected to the foundation of this Federation (FDLC). Today
liturgists need to imitate his spirit more than ever --- his spirit of
perseverance, his spirit of courage, his spirit of dedication and
commitment to the liturgical principles of renewal. We need to be
his voice --- knowledgeable, persuasive, respectful of all sides of the
question but ever insistent on the baptismal rights of the assembly for
full participation.
We have inherited a great legacy from those who began the liturgical
movement. Recall the humble beginnings of the liturgical movement
in our country. The first liturgical study week was held in
Chicago in 1940, in the basement of a parish church. There were
between two hundred to three hundred people participating. In a
real sense they were the underground church. They listened to
radical ideas of lay participation in the Eucharist and the daring
concept of parts of the Mass in English. In 1940 a person risked
much to identify with the liturgical movement. In the minds of
many, these new liturgists were borderline heretics, promoting the
involvement of the laity in the Eucharist, which was then perceived as
the exclusive domain of the priest.
The founders of the American liturgical movement did not give up.
They were persons of hope who patiently persevered. We need to
imitate the perseverance and courage of these liturgical icons --- Fr.
Virgil Michel of Collegeville, Fr. Godfrey Diekmann, Fr. Martin
Hellriegel, Msgr. Hillebrand. These scholars and pastors who
brought the liturgical movement to the United States and the scores of
liturgists who have sustained and kept alive this movement inspire us to
endure and persevere and hope. We must continue to teach, teach,
teach the liturgical principles of Vatican II.
In 1956 Pope Pius XII summed up in one sentence the meaning of the
liturgical movement. He said that the liturgical movement was a
sign of the providential disposition of God, a sign of the movement of
the Holy Spirit in the Church to draw people more closely to the
mysteries of faith and the riches of grace which flow from active
participation in liturgical life. Note the key phrase in the
Pope’s message: “The liturgical movement is a sign of the movement
of the Holy Spirit” in the Church today. It is not a fad, it is
not the work of liturgical terrorists, not the invention of liberal
liturgical scholars; the liturgical movement is the will of the Spirit
for all of God’s people.
Today liturgists face major challenges. The euphoria of Vatican II
has ended. As the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy fades
in time, is it also fading in influence? Do we recognize a
pullback from the liturgical principles, a lessening of collaboration, a
return to devotionalism rather than Eucharistic celebration? Is
there a liturgical backsliding that causes us to be disillusioned,
dejected, disheartened? We need to recall the founders of the
American Liturgical Movement. These liturgical pioneers did not
give up and we must not give up. We must not surrender the
progress made at Vatican II.
St. Paul once told his parishioners: While you are waiting for the Lord
to come, “Do not quench the Spirit”. Do not stifle the Spirit.
These are words for the Church today. When we encounter those who
advocate a “reform of the reform”, we must say, “Do not quench the
Spirit.” The Holy Spirit was present at Vatican II and gave us
new liturgical direction. When we encounter people who harken back
to rigidity in rubrics, we must say. “Do not quench the Spirit.”
When inculturation is denied and one liturgical form is forced on all,
we must say, “Do not quench the Spirit.” When the Scripture
translations in our Lectionary are flawed and not proclaimable, we must
say, “Give us the richness of God’s Word: Do not quench the
Spirit.” The Holy Spirit prompted the renewal and reform of the
liturgy. Now, more than ever, we must say, “Do not quench the
Spirit.”
The liturgical theology found in the Constitution on the Sacred
Liturgy did not originate on the floor of St. Peter’s Basilica at
Vatican II. The liturgical movement gave birth to the Constitution
on the Sacred Liturgy. The liturgical movement paved the way.
The Constitution was the Magisterial endorsement of the insights and
research of scholars like Jungmann and Bouyer. The Constitution
on the Sacred Liturgy was the answer to the prayers and struggles of
those in the liturgical movement for decades and decades. Remember
the blood, sweat, and tears that went into the liturgical movement.
Remember those who suffered for trying to advance the liturgical and
Scriptural movement – people like Fr. Max Zerwick, Fr. Stanislaus
Lyonnet, Fr. Ray Brown. Why does the Church hurt its best and
brightest? Why? Our love for the Church should prompt us to
speak out.
A
recent draft of a forthcoming Vatican instruction included several
problematic elements --- elements which were neither pastorally
sensitive nor liturgically correct. While we are thankfully
reassured that more competent and more sensible judgments have
prevailed, we need to ask how could such proposals be drafted and
approved for submission in the first place?
When such Roman liturgical drafts call us to return to a liturgical
mentality prior to Vatican II, we need to say to one another: Keep up
your courage. When liturgical expertise is not respected, we must
say to one another: Keep up your courage. When fundamental
principles of liturgical renewal are reversed, we must remind one
another: Keep up your courage. When liturgical offices are closed
and liturgical budgets are slashed, we must say to one another: Keep up
your courage. When we see liturgical renewal still wanting in many
parishes and when we feel the pain of the clerical sex abuse scandal and
its impact on worshipping assemblies and presiders, let us give hope to
one another.
St. Paul writes in his Second Letter to the Corinthians: “Because we
possess the ministry through God’s mercy, we do not give in to
discouragement.” These are powerful and timely words for us.
I say to you who are in the liturgical ministry of the Church:
Persevere; let no one quench the Spirit; give one another courage; keep
the liturgical movement alive, keep the liturgical movement alive.
Thank
you.
