Creativity in Liturgy: Authentic or Inauthentic?

I want to give emphasis on this quote from Msgr. Guido Marini, Pontifical Master of Liturgical Ceremonies, this was taken from his speech at the Clergy Conference in Rome, January 6, 2010, A conference for the year of priests:

"From this perspective it is not difficult to realise how far distant some modes of conduct are from the authentic spirit of the liturgy. In fact, some individuals have managed to upset the liturgy of the church in various ways under the pretext of a wrongly devised creativity. This was done on the grounds of adapting to the local situation and the needs of the community, thus appropriating the right to remove from, add to, or modify the liturgical rite in pursuit of subjective and emotional ends. For this, we priests are largely responsible."
the full text of the speech can be read from NLM

Archbishop Socrates Villegas Urges Clergy to Celebrate Liturgy with Utmost Decorum

"Saying that a decorous and solemn celebration of the liturgy is a mandate imposed on priests by virtue of their ordination, a young Catholic prelate called on his clergy to celebrate the Eucharist with the dignity and solemnity it deserves. Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, in a fraternal letter sent to his priests on December 31, said it is a solemn duty of priests to celebrate the Mass with utmost reverence and attentive care." More of this can be read from CBCP NEWS "

Here is my comment:

Amen Archbishop Soc Villegas, Mabuhay ka!

How many of our Filipino clergy take to heart the care of sanctuaries and the celebration of the Sacraments?  This laxity is shown in the way even vestments are worn.  To site as an example priests are beginning to neglect the use of the alb as primary vestment.  Another is the way vessels are cared for.  Nobody uses now the Paten to protect the host from falling down.  I have seen several times how the hosts fell from the hands of extraordinary ministers and picked up just like as if an ordinary thing falls without due care for the particles of the sacred species.

In our diocese today one thing I lament is the poor way by which some liturgies are executed. Many priests don't wear the alb anymore and much less the cincture.  Sometimes the chasuble are designed to cover the entire body so as to make the excuse not to wear the alb.  But often the material is so thin that street clothes could be seen.  Some of the vessels are not well maintained.  I am glad though that I have no longer seen priests use earthen or ceramic vessels.  Thanks to "Redemptionis Sacramentum".  Priests tend to be very busy, they give prominence to their social work functions and etc... But some have forgotten that we lay people always have in our mind our priests as ministers of the altar and hence we expect them to give full attention to the liturgy, the confessionals, to lead us in prayers and to sanctify us.  In most cases this image of the priest is wanting.  Thus how could we expect young men to have the vocation to the priesthood if what they see and observe does not fall into their mental image of a priest.  I only hope that our priests will pay more attention to this.

Octave of the Nativity - Solemnity of the Circumcision of Our Lord

January 1 - Solemnity of the Circumcision of Our Lord.

Christ Baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan.  Painting from the Baptistry of the Our Lady of Pnafrancia Church, Naga City, Camarines Sur, Philippines

O God, it was through the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary that You bestowed the gift of eternal life upon mankind. Grant that we may feel the powerful intercession of Mary, through whom we were privileged to receive the giver of life, Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord; who lives and rules with You . . . (Collect)

The Quiet Time

Note:  The Christmas season has afforded me the opportunity to have a couple of weeks vacation and this has afforded me a respite from the busy and cramp schedule.  I also took this opportunity to clean up mu bookshelves and fortunately I found a file of old manuscripts I have written almost twenty years ago.  I would like to share with you this piece entitled The Quiet Time. I wrote this article way back in 1990 and was published in the youth section of the bi weekly journal The Messenger of Truth in June 20, 1990.

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On of the spiritual exercises that are indespensible to Christian growth is the quiet time.  Each and everyone of us feels the need for an inner fortitude to sustain us in our daily walk of life.  Therefore the apostle Paul prays, "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man." (Ephesians 3:16)

The object of practicing the quiet time is for us to be still and know the Lord is God.  We need to set aside an hour where , in quietness and stillness, we can think about the goodness of God, where in quietness we can open our hearts to God.  Sometimes during the busy hours of the Day our thoughts are so scattered; we hardly have room for for thoughts about God.  If we are not used to giving the first hours of our mornings to God, we might find our day trivial and our evenings unpleasant.  If this is the case let us ask God to direct our meditation upon the love of God.

A good part of the day to have our quiet time is the early morning.  While there is no set rule, the time most convenient for us will do.  The Bible is the tool we use in our meditations as we spend our quiet time.  A good devotional book may be a good supplement.  As much as possible there should be privacy.  It will be easier for us to direct our thoughts to God when we are in private.  Jesus said, "Be though, when though prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hst shut thy door, pray to thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (Matthew 6:6)

Spending time more with God will change our charcter.

Mental discipline is one of the factors that will contribute to the degree of blessing we can receive in our quiet time.  Sometimes our thoughts are prone to jump form one point to another.  Thus in our quiet time we must realize we are communing with God.  Our minds must be directed to Him.  If we have problems, such as, jobs or business pressures, let us leave them behind while we enjoy our quiet time and devotions.  Remember that for everything there is  a proper time.  If we are willing to commit everything to God, then He shall make everything beautiful in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  The time we spend with God will always be for our own benefit.  We can receive every blessing that God has stored for us.  Let us take Moses as an example.  Forty days and nights he spent with God caused his face to be so brilliant that he had to veil it.  He was so immersed in the divine presence that God's glory was abiding in him.  He was not conscious of that until the Israelites told him they feared to approached him because his face was so brilliant with light.  In the New Testament, Paul compared Moses' experience  in this verse: "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the Glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord". (II Corinthians 3:18).   Spending time more with God will change our charcter.  In this way we find strength to do our daily tasks and duties.  This inward strength will be a motivating factor for us to work for the Lord.  This will give the Holy Spirit a chance to implant in our hearts convictions that would surely build us into mature Christians.

We cannot minimize the role of quiet time in relation to our spiritual development, if we neglect this spiritual exercise, we will find it difficult to listen to God.  We will not be able to perceive the voice of God wile our mind is occupied with the cares of this life.  When God spoke to Elijah, He spoke in a "still small voice" (II Kings 19:12).  Can we hear this "still small voice" if our minds are occupied with the hub of activities? Of course we can hear God in the busy workplace just as we can hear Him in the loneliness of a desert.  Quietness is a state of heart and mind.  It is even possible for us to go in the quietness of the desert and yet our hearts can be filled with turmoil.  As we set a certain time of the day for our quiet him, we will discover that it is very worth the while.  There we can hear that "still small voice" speaking in the depths of our soul.  As we bow ourselves to God, our hearts will be filled with reverence for Him who has saved us and washed us from our sins.

Pope Paul VI on Peace

"A warning must be kept in mind. Peace cannot be based on a false rhetoric of words which are welcomed because they answer to the deep, genuine aspirations of humanity, but which can also serve, and unfortunately have sometimes served, to hide the lack of true spirit and of real intentions for peace, if not indeed to mask sentiments and actions of oppression and party interests. Nor can one rightly speak of peace where no recognition or respect is given to its solid foundations: namely, sincerity, justice and love in the relations between states, and, within the limits of each nation, in the relations of citizens with each other and with their rulers; freedom of individuals and of peoples, in all its expressions, civic, cultural, moral, and religious; otherwise, it is not peace which will exist - even if, perchance, oppression is able to create the external appearance of order and legality - but an unceasing and insuppressible growth of revolt and war." [Excerpt/quote]  Pope Paul VI in 1968, the Declaration can be read from the Holy See's Website

Solemnity of the Mother of God

"In the revised arrangement of the Christmas season, we should all turn with one mind to the restored solemnity of the Mother of God. This feast was entered into the calendar in the liturgy of the city of Rome for the first day of January. The purpose of the celebration is to honor the role of Mary in the mystery of salvation and at the same time to sing the praises of the unique dignity thus coming to "the Holy Mother...through whom we have been given the gift of the Author of life." This same solemnity also offers an excellent opportunity to renew the adoration rightfully to be shown to the newborn Prince of Peace, as we once again hear the good tidings of great joy and pray to God, through the intercession of the Queen of Peace, for the priceless gift of peace. Because of these considerations and the fact that the octave of Christmas coincides with a day of hope, New Year's Day, we have assigned to it the observance of the World Day of Peace (Paul VI, Marialis Cultus, Feb. 2, 1974, no.5)." As qouted from ChurchYear.net

On the Feast of the Holy Innocents

On this feast of the Holy Innocents let us pray for the Christians in Iraq.

Celebration of Corpus Christi in Iraq, 1920, attended by Chaldeans, Syriacs, and Armenians.