Liturgical Abuse leads to loss of Faith

From the Catholic Herald

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A weakening of faith in God, a rise in selfishness and a drop in the number of people going to Mass can be traced to liturgical abuse or Masses that are not reverent, two Vatican cardinals and a consultant have said.

US Cardinal Raymond Burke, head of the Vatican’s supreme court, said: “If we err by thinking we are the centre of the liturgy, the Mass will lead to a loss of faith.” [And who is the usual culprit for liturgical abuse, for making the Mass like a variety show?  Your guess is as good as mine.  Priests who think the Mass is an occasion for them to be the center of attention.]

Cardinal Burke and Spanish Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, spoke yesterday at a book launch in Rome.

The book, published only in Italian, was written by Fr Nicola Bux, who serves as a consultant to the congregations for the doctrine of the faith and for saints’ causes and to the office in charge of papal liturgies.

The English translation of Fr Bux’s book title would be, How to Go to Mass and Not Lose Your Faith.

Cardinal Burke told those gathered for the book presentation that he agreed with Fr Bux that “liturgical abuses lead to serious damage to the faith of Catholics”.

Unfortunately, he said, too many priests and bishops treat violations of liturgical norms as something that is unimportant when, in fact, they are “serious abuses”.  [The question remains the same:  "What will Church do to discipline liturgical abusers, and I am not just talking about clerics, but religious "nuns who have their own Magisterium" and even lay people.  Heck, I even see photos of altar servers on Facebook donning the chasuble and stole and posing with their hands raised in blessing as if it is only child's play!  One even commented that he is just "modeling" the vestments?  Who the hell is he fooling?  The vestments are reserved for the ordained!  They are not mere garbs you can don to a costume party!  What do we do with these abusers?  Have you known a liturgical abuser, especially those you see on national TV like Fr. Mario Sobrejuanite, Fr. Archie Guiriba, who you doubt if he is still a priest or still a Catholic, an Fr. Anton Pascual, to name a few, getting disciplined or sanctioned for their continuous violation of liturgical laws?  NADA!]

Cardinal Cañizares said that while the book’s title is provocative, it demonstrates a belief he shares. “Participating in the Eucharist can make us weaken or lose our faith if we do not enter into it properly,” and if the liturgy is not celebrated according to the Church’s norms, he said.  [And liturgists in Manila doubt why people go to Mass wearing clothing as if they are going to a party.  And we doubt why people enter the church before Mass as if they are going to a social gathering?  Because people have been taught to treat the Mass this way, by the very priests whom they look up to, by the priest's example, encouraging people to clap as if they are in an Evangelical revivalist gathering, asking people to greet one another before they start the Mass as if they came for a Woodstock concert!]

“This is true whether one is speaking of the Ordinary or Extraordinary form of the one Roman rite,” the cardinal said. [Oh yes, there are abuses.  Anyone will always find a way to twist the norm.  Is there one country in this planet that does not have any violator of even the simplest law or regulation?  There will always be violations.  I have heard stories of how some priests in the past, obviously celebrating the EF Mass, offer it in lighting speed, not even mouthing the prayers, and obviously reading the prayers with just their eyes.  But obviously, there are more liturgical abuses in the OF Mass than the EF.  And that is the truth!]

Cardinal Cañizares said that at a time when so many people are living as if God did not exist, they need a true Eucharistic celebration to remind them that only God is to be adored and that true meaning in human life comes only from the fact that Jesus gave his life to save the world.  [Now it is the Reverend Showman who wants to be adored, clapped and praised for making the Mass more entertaining and more relevant.   Relevant?  Being at Calvary once again is not relevant?  Geez.]

Fr Bux said that too many modern Catholics think the Mass is something that the priest and the congregation do together when, in fact, it is something that Jesus does.  [Have you ever heard priests and nuns and some lay leaders say that it is the people who are gathered that makes the Mass?  I tell you folks, you do not need to go to an investigation to know that that is plain stupid and even downright heretical!  One priest, alone, can confect the Mass.  Get it!]

“If you go to a Mass in one place and then go to Mass in another, you will not find the same Mass. This means that it is not the Mass of the Catholic Church, which people have a right to, but it is just the Mass of this parish or that priest,” he said. [That is why Mass was said in one universal language before, Latin!  Now it is even hard for me to attend Mass if I am in a different place.  I can understand other dialects but Ilocano is hard for me.  And I had been to too many Ilocano speaking places and I cannot even find one Sunday Mass where it is celebrated in either Filipino or English!  You know what I understand?  Amen.]

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After all has been written...

So, what then is Liturgy?

Ha!

Even if we have a so called "great liturgist" living among us, it makes you wonder why liturgical abuse even flourished, why you even hear and read the works of his students encouraging to go against the Pope and his liturgical reform and why he is not even censured?

Why a sitting cardinal archbishop would foolishly sign a document openly challenging the Pope's Motu Propio?

We need a liturgical disciplining center.

I think I'll name it Azkaban.

Nice name, eh?