Is the reform of the reform a dead letter? I will leave that to those with much smartier pants than I own.
However, I have thought for some time that much greater emphasis should be placed on an “Excellence in Liturgy” Movement. I think this could be a much broader based movement than the ‘reform of the reform.’
This movement should focus on the broad elimination of liturgical abuses and the promotion of those elements specifically referenced in Sacrosanctum Concilium.
Let us broadly perform the Novus Ordo mass as best as it can be performed. Let it be standard and reliable across the board. When we have a achieved that, we are in a much better place to discuss what the future of reform looks like.
February 25, 2014 at 7:00 pm
I'm in!
February 25, 2014 at 7:07 pm
Happily, my parish does just that.
February 25, 2014 at 7:11 pm
If the Tridentine rite was good enough for Pope John…
Okay, okay, let's start with turning the Altar around and tossing the guitars and felt banners into a bonfire of the vanities. The liturgical dancers should be freed for an extra shift at the Kit Kat Klub.
February 25, 2014 at 10:37 pm
Let's start with getting kneelers for Deacon Sandy! At a low low price of £5 per kneeler.
http://www.safefoam.co.uk/acatalog/churchkneelers_1210.html
February 26, 2014 at 1:14 am
Most people who comment on the "reform of the reform" don't even know what it is, or at least you wouldn't know to read what they say. Anyone who uses the word "hybrid" in its description, you can just stop reading right now.
Then go read this guy …
Reform of the Reform – Not Impossible
… at New Liturgical Movement, for your own good.
You're welcome.
DLA
February 26, 2014 at 5:52 pm
Obviously, what is needed now is a Reform of the Reform of the Reform.
February 26, 2014 at 6:18 pm
Lol, we were all thinking it!
February 26, 2014 at 9:34 pm
I think one of the biggest problems with the Reform of the Reform is that not everyone meant the same thing by it.
Some meant Reform of the "Reform." These were people who felt that what happened after Vatican II was largely out of step with what the Church actually called for and taught. The problem was not the official reforms of the liturgy (so much), but what was done in the name of "the Spirit of Vatican II." For these people, the Pauline Missal is not so much the problem but the solution. For them, fidelity to the rubrics and a healthy love and widespread use of traditional liturgical elements is what is meant by Reform of the Reform.
Some meant a Reform of the actual Reform. They felt that what the Church did, in her official capacity, was wrong and needs to be righted. They felt that we need to go back and revise the Pauline Missal and other official liturgical books to fix what was broken. No amount of fidelity to the rubrics will be sufficient because the rubrics are part of the problem.
I think "Excellence in the Liturgy" is the former.