Its interesting that Catholic Online run Adkins' [Zenith] report of interview with Cardinal Rigali of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia regarding the Cardinal's views about the Summorum Pontificum. The Cardinal said that seminarians who are undergoing liturgical formation shoul be taught the Summorum, the rite of the extraordinary form and the theology behind that rite. He further emphasize that even for priests who never had the experience of celebrating the Traditional Rite, learning the older rites will be beneficial because it will influence the manner by which they say the Novus Ordo. And hopefully it will encourage a reverent celebration the Mass. You can read more about this by visiting the link specified above.
This is now my opinion: I think that the Cardinal is right. Seminarians should be taught how to say this mass. Its not just about the rite but the history and theology behind it. We can never appreciate this Mass if we lack the theological understanding behind it and also the history and the ethos of the time that shaped this rite. Only when one is equipped with these backgrounder that one would understand, appreciate and love this rite. To those who posses a genuine devotion to this rite may find therein a genuine expression of their Catholicity. The confusion brought about by the liturgical reforms of the 70s has engineered the unlearning of these vast wealth of liturgical tradition. But the rediscovery of this rite and by bridging the present with the past will bring about the synthesis desired by the Pope. Catholic Tradition is dynamic, its dynamism rest on the trancendence of the then, now and to come. This is the meaning when we say "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." In here also finds the reality of Christ's words, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end."
No comments:
Post a Comment