Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Roots of the present crisis


A Mass in the Archdiocese of Sao Paulo, Brazil (August 2012)
"The massive crisis afflicting the Church today is, at root, nothing other than a crisis of identity precipitated by an unprecedented interference and experimentation with her most holy and tradition-bearing possession, the Mass. This crisis of identity spills over into everything else: the crisis in missionary work, the crisis in ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, the crisis in relations with political entities, the crisis in Catholic education in general and theology in particular."

-- Peter Kwasniewski, "Rationalism and Individualism in Catholic Theology"
(New Liturgical Movement, September 23, 2013).

There may be various other penultimate causes of the crisis of implosion in the Church today -- secularization, materialism, political liberalism, modernism, etc. -- yet I think Kwasniewski is right about the Mass being the proximate cause: the endless liturgical tinkering and resulting casual indifference about how the faithful encountered their Lord in the Eucharist, the Source and Summit of their faith, took its toll and had the most devastating effect.

[Hat tip to Sir. A.S.]

1 comment:

Jacobi said...

orsdped sizesacred makeenhaI don't disagree with Kwasniewski, but I would put it another way.

I suspect we are in the midst of another Reformation perhaps more destructive than the last and like that one it will take time before this dawns on the remaining faithful Catholics.

The reason why? Well it is the"synthesis of all heresies" held in check for a while but then given full reign and opportunity by Vat II and the unfortunate character of Paul VI