Recently, within days, actually, we have heard that Pope Leo XIV is calling for an extraordinary gathering of the cardinals at the Vatican in January. No one knows yet, what the topic or topics of this meeting will be. Might it be the liturgy? Time and liturgy will tell.
But this is the last paragraph of Pope Leo’s homily for the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran is clearly Pope Leo’s vision for the liturgy of the Church. You can read the entire homily HERE.
My comments in red:
“Finally, I would like to mention an essential aspect of the Cathedral’s mission: liturgy. The liturgy is “the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed... the source from which all its power flows” Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10). In it, we find the same themes we have already mentioned: we are built up as God’s temple, as his dwelling place in the Spirit and we receive strength to preach Christ in the world (cf. ibid., 2). (The one thing that I have recognized throughout my 46 years of priesthood is that the greatest number of Catholics (and non Catholics) are encountered at the Liturgies of the Church, especially the Sunday Mass, but also weddings, funerals, baptisms and other liturgical events. Thus, what Pope Leo says is true. The liturgy is “the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed….” Thus, the care for the liturgy and its proper celebration, no matter the rite, is essential and must be according the the norms of the Church!)
Therefore, care for the liturgy, especially here at the See of Peter, must be such that it can serve as an example for the whole people of God. It must comply with the established norms, be attentive to the different sensibilities of those participating and keep with the principle of wise inculturation (cf. ibid., 37-38). (My question and I think the question of many traditional minded Catholics, even for the Modern Mass, is what is the principle of wise inculturation? I have no idea what that means. Can anyone point to that inculturation which is wise and unwise???? Certainly the vernacular is a powerful form of inculturation, but does Latin and Greek have to be completely absent? Musical idiom are also areas for wise inculturation. But what if that inculturation is Protestant in sound and theology? What if it reminds people of a piano bar or music sung in current day Broadway ditties? Inculturation is fraught with problems from my perspective because what does it mean? Then there is the issue of dance as prayer, but dance added to the liturgy rather than seeing the Mass and its choreography as the dance, made clearer in the older rites of the Mass.)
At the same time, it must remain faithful to the solemn sobriety typical of the Roman tradition, which can do so much good for the souls of those who actively participate in it (cf. ibid., 14). Every care should be taken to ensure that the simple beauty of the rites expresses the value of worship for the harmonious growth of the whole Body of the Lord. As Saint Augustine said, “beauty is nothing but love, and love is life” (Discourse 365, 1). This truth is realized in an eminent way within the liturgy, and I hope that those who approach the altar of Rome’s Cathedral go away filled with the grace that the Lord wishes to flood the world (cf. Ezek47:1-2, 8-9, 12).” (“It must remain faithful to the solemn sobriety typical of the Roman tradition…” Yes, indeed it should. But it is here that inculturation on many different levels leads to INSOBRIETY!. Think of the Los Angeles Religious Education Conference and its liturgies, especially the Mass there—those are not characterized by sobriety. Or think of various Masses at parishes in the Chicago Archdiocese. These are drunken spectacles. To be sure, the Masses that Pope Leo has celebrated as pope, to include the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint John the Baptist, is sober and beautiful. But the pope may be spitting in the wind to think his words will have any effect beyond his liturgical celebrations unless he issues a Traditionis Custodis authoritarian type document to make it happen and makes sure the Prefect for the Dycastery of Divine Worship enforces it as he has enforced TC!)
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