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“In the United States we have a very healthy understanding of liturgy. We know something about liturgy, and I think we’re doing it rather well.” — Bishop Trautman (October 2005)
Hearing this, most people would probably say, “She’s got a bad voice.” However, I disagree.
“Father Christopher Smith is a former Baptist who converted to Catholicism as a teenager. He is a graduate of Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, and he holds both a licentiate and a doctorate in dogmatic theology. He recently spoke with CWR about parish life at Prince of Peace and the parish’s approach to the liturgy.” — Catholic World Report
It is too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that nothing else matters in the liturgy besides “Jesus is present.” This is a superficial and relativistic way of thinking that has to be challenged and corrected, if the Real Presence is to be of any benefit to us—indeed, if our faith in the Real Presence is even going to survive.
Consider these lines from GIA’s newest hymnal (Worship IV): “Who is this who eats with sinners, calling luckless losers winners?” Did they really just use the phrase “luckless losers” in a Catholic hymn book?
“Disgusted and hurt, I went back to selling hotdogs and making music in a liberal Catholic church on Sunday evenings.”
The priest intoned the Gloria … a truly magnificent effect!
