Book Review: The Organic Development of the Liturgy: The Principles of Liturgical Reform and Their Relation to the Twentieth-Century Liturgical Movement Prior to the Second Vatican Council Paperback by Alcuin Reid (Author)

The Organic Development of the Liturgy: The Principles of Liturgical Reform and Their Relation to the Twentieth-Century Liturgical Movement Prior to the Second Vatican Council Paperback

by Alcuin Reid  (Author)

From Amazon: How has the Liturgy of the Roman rite developed and changed in history before and after the Council of Trent? What principles have determined the boundaries of legitimate liturgical reform over the centuries? What was the Liturgical Movement? Did Gueranger, Beauduin, Guardini, Parsch, Casel, Bugnini, Jungmann, Bouyer and the Movement's other leaders know and respect these principles? And what is to be said of the not insignificant liturgical reforms carried out by Saint Pius X, Popes Pius IX and Pius XII and Blessed John XXIII in the course of the twentieth century?
In The Organic Development of the Liturgy, Dom Alcuin Reid examines these questions systematically, incisively and in depth, identifying both the content and context of the principle of "organic development"-- a fundamental principle of liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium-- making a significant contribution to the understanding of the nature of the Liturgical Movement and to the ongoing re-assessment of the reforms enacted following the Council.

My Review: In his preface to this book, then, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger writes how there are many ways liturgists think about Liturgy. In talking about the "development of liturgy" it is important, he says, to distinguish "actions that are helpful and healing from those that are violent and destructive." 

Dom Alcuin Reid offers a "wealth of material" to highlight those principals and actions which guide or hinder the healthy organic growth of the liturgy through the centuries beginning with a brief sketch of liturgical reform throughout the centuries, then a more in depth analysis of the principles and actions of reforms beginning with Pope Saint Pius X up to Pope Pius XII's "Mediator Dei". The third part examines those years just prior and leading up to Vatican II.

For those interested in liturgical matters, there are probably more "accessible" books, simply because this is an extremely "scholarly" work(25 page bibliography, over 1000 footnotes!) 

If a "reform of the reform" is to occur in the Church, and if it is to remain faithful to Tradition, it must follow the principles of authentic growth detailed in this book by Dom Alcuin Reid. 
(As John Henry Cardinal Newman once said, "To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant.")

Homily: Thursday of 5th Week in Ordinary Time - Proclaimed Faith casts out demons

Imagine the suffering and confusion of a parent whose child becomes demon-possessed.  Impelled by the depth of her love for her daughter, the Syrophoenician woman sought after Jesus, whose reputation proceeded him as he came to the district of Tyre, on the coast of present-day Lebanon.

She is the only person in Mark’s Gospel who addresses Jesus as Lord.  She has discerned his true identity: the Holy One—God in the flesh—who stands before her now. 

“For saying this, you may go.” Jesus said.  It was not just her interior faith, not just faith that she kept to herself, but that faith proclaimed, spoken out loud that led to her daughter’s deliverance from demonic oppression.

Sometimes the healings and deliverance God wants to work in our life, doesn’t come just through our private prayer, but our proclamation of the Gospel, our involvement in the work of evangelization, and spreading the Gospel. 

I think it is particularly this work of evangelization, of public proclamation which casts out the demons of our culture.  For our battle is not just against human forces, as St. Paul says, “but against the principalities and powers, the rulers of this world of darkness, the evil spirits in regions above."

This is why it is so important for Catholics to know their faith and to be able to explain it in a clear manner.  This is why it is important for the Holy Father and the Bishops to be very public about the Church’s teaching concerning care for the poor and also regarding the moral issues.

Jesus uses the word proclaimed, the truth shared to cast out demons.  The Syrophoenician woman is a model of faith for us, she does not keep her faith private, but boldly proclaims Jesus to be Lord, which leads to the healing and salvation of her loved one.

May we be bold in our faithful proclamation of Christ’s Gospel today, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Thursday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time - "Living Wisely"

The importance of Wisdom runs throughout our readings today.  The queen of Sheba traveled from far off lands to seek Solomon’s Wisdom.  And in the responsorial psalm we repeated, “the mouth of the just murmurs wisdom”.  In the Gospel, Jesus very wisely teaches that it is not food or other ritual practices which makes a man unclean, rather, it is moral choices.

One of my favorite lines from that great advent song, O Come O Come Emmanuel, is the one about Wisdom: “O Come Thou Wisdom from on High, who orders all things mightily; to us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go”

Wisdom helps us to order our lives, to keep our priorities straight.  In the Gospel Jesus’ Wisdom points out the folly of mixed up priorities. What good is keeping kosher law, if you are committing blasphemy? What good is keeping your hands clean if your heart is unclean because of sin—because of murder, adultery, lust and greed and envy.  Get your priorities straight!

In the Psalm we heard how the heart of the just man is focused on the law of God—on the moral law. The good man ponders, he meditates on the law of God day and night, so that God’s law can permeate his life—his words and deeds. 

Wisdom helps us to order our life so it’s pointed toward heaven.  Wisdom helps us to judge whether our behaviors and attitudes are in keeping with a Christ like attitude or not. 

In Baptism, Jesus gave us a new heart, a heart not made for wicked designs, but to be a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, to be a place out of which we live our lives wisely. 

We seek to grow in wisdom today by meditating on the laws of God, by letting God’s word inform our desires and actions.

May our lives be wisely ordered according to the teachings, and thoughts, and attitudes of Christ this day for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: February 11 - Our Lady of Lourdes

The first apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the 14 year old girl named Bernadette Soubarou on this day, February 11, in 1858.  Bernadette reported seeing a young woman dressed in white, with a rosary in her hand, and a yellow rose on each foot.

In one of the early apparitions, the lady in white instructed Bernadette to go to a nearby spring, drink from it and wash herself in it.  Not long after that, a number of people who bathed in that same water reported remarkable cures.

Many may find the idea of a Marian Apparition rather strange.  One cannot deny the biblical evidence that Mary loved to visit people.  She lovingly visited her cousin Elizabeth to share her joy of the Christ-child inside her.  She was there in Jerusalem during her son’s Passion, and approached him during His way of the cross, she approached him on calvary, and stood by him during his suffering.  She was with the apostles, in prayer, on Pentecost.

The messages of Our Lady in all her apparitions around the world, whether they be at Fatima in Portugal, or at Guadeloupe in Mexico, or at Lourdes in France, or the many other places she appeared, the message has been the same: to pray for the conversion of the world to her Son, Jesus. In other words, the Blessed Mother repeats the message she first gave at the wedding at Cana, “do whatever he tells you.”

In addition to asking that a shrine be built at Lourdes, the Virgin Mary told Bernadette to pray for the conversion of sinners, by praying the Rosary and meditating on the salvific events in the life of Christ.

Today, more than 7 million people make a pilgrimage to this place, every year.  Church authorities have officially recognized over 60 miraculous cures, though countless people have experienced healing in some way.

In 1992, Pope John Paul II, who had such a great devotion to Our Blessed Mother, designated the 11th Day of February as a World Day of Prayer for the Sick: “a special time of prayer and sharing, of offering one’s suffering for the good of the Church, and reminding us to see in our sick brother and sister the face of Christ who, by suffering, dying, and rising, achieved the salvation of mankind.” (Letter instituting the World Day of the Sick 13, May 1992, no.3)

We unite ourselves in a special way today with all those who turn to God for help in their afflictions, who seek his peace and healing.  May we, be instruments of that peace of healing for them, with Mary, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: February 10 - St. Scholastica - Pure love of God

St. Gregory the Great said, “Since God is love, then surely he can do more who loves more.” 

The Opening Prayer for this Mass in honor of Saint Scholastica refers twice to love.  “We pray, O Lord, that, following her example, we may serve you with pure love and happily receive what comes from loving you.”

When our love for God is pure, it produces abundant and joyous fruits that can transform our family, and community, and world.  On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaimed, “blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.”

Scholastica loved and served God with a purity of heart, and purity of heart leads to the experience of the joy of God’s friendship. 

Scholastica was a consecrated virgin who dedicated her life to deepening her faith and love for God.

When Vatican II stressed the Universal Call to Holiness, we were being reminded that all Catholics are called to strive for greater love of God and neighbor.

Saint Scholastica was of course the twin sister of St. Benedict, and she helped St. Benedict develop the rule for the Benedictine Order.  The primary tenet of the rule of St. Benedict, which Scholastica helped author is “To prefer nothing to the love of Christ.” 

We must honestly examine our lives, and with God’s help identify those behaviors and attitudes which keep us from witnessing to the love of Christ.  For in the end, it is the love of Christ which is our deepest yearning.

Scholastica had a tender love for her brother Benedict.  They would often meet on occasion to discuss the Christian life.  One day, Benedict was visiting his sister at the convent, and it was nearing the time for him to return to his own monastery for prayers.  As he departed, she prayed for a God to prolong their meeting, and God sent a terrible storm, that kept Benedict from returning home.  So, he waited out the storm by continuing his holy conversation with his sister.

Scholastica can be invoked particularly for siblings who do not love each other as they should.  She is the patron saint of nuns, epileptic children, and storms.

Through Saint Scholastica’s prayerful intercessions, May all we do today be directed to Him, for the Glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: 4th Week in Ordinary Time - Friday - Extraordinary Witness

If you were reading Mark’s Gospel from beginning to end, this long passage of John the Baptist’s martyrdom comes as a sort of unexpected interlude. 

In the previous verses, we read how Jesus sends out the Twelve apostles on a special mission to teach, and perform miracles, and cure the sick and drive out demons.  But before we hear of their return, how they tell Jesus all they did and taught, we get this really lengthy account of the execution of John the Baptist.

As Mark uses the life and arrest and death of John the Baptist to foreshadow what will happen to Jesus, it also foreshadows what will happen to the majority of the apostles, and also is a lesson that to follow Jesus Christ is to accept suffering, imprisonment, even death for the sake of the Gospel.

It is like Saint Mark is saying, take courage Christians, do not be surprised when this happens to you.  It happened to John, it happened to Jesus, it will happen to the apostles, and every Christian, in their own way is called to unite themselves with the suffering Christ for the sake of the Gospel.

We’ve been seeing a lot of red this week: St. Blase, St. Agatha, St. Paul Miki and his martyred companions.

From Jerusalem, to Japan, to Rome, from the time of Christ to the present day, Christians have been laying down their lives for and in imitation of the Master, Jesus.

Only few men and women in every age of the Church become those extraordinary witnesses, as Christian martyrs.  But by virtue of our baptism, we are called to daily conversion, perseverance in prayer, defense and proclamation of the Gospel in conversation.  And particularly we unite ourselves in prayer to all those who do face imprisonment, misunderstanding, physical hardship and suffering for the Gospel.

I saw yesterday an article that said 2013 saw a rise in physical violence against Christians, and 2014 looks like it will be higher. I saw a horrific video of these courageous young men, standing in front of their Cathedral, witnessing to the Gospel of Life, and they were spit upon, and mocked, by the angry mob.  There is such a hatred towards the truth of the Christian Gospel, and as more and more hearts turn away from that truth, violence will likely increase.

From the time when he lept for joy in his mother’s womb, through his preaching, and to his martyrdom we heard accounted today, John the Baptist’s whole life pointed to Jesus Christ.  May our lives courageously point to Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: February 5 - St. Agatha, virgin & martyr

Saint Agatha is one of the great virgin martyrs of the early Roman church, who in the midst of persecution, chose to be faithful to Christ no matter what the cost.  She was martyred in the brief but ferocious persecution of the emperor Decius. 

This persecution was the first empire wide persecution.  It required all citizens of the Empire to offer a sacrifice to the Roman Gods, renounce the Christian faith in front of a Roman official and obtain a certificate called a libellus proving they had done so.

Some Christians publically rejected their faith by offering the sacrifice; some compromised their faith by bribing the official to obtain the libellus. 

Saint Agatha was a beautiful young woman who was sought after by many of the wealthy suitors of her time.  She, however, had given her heart to another.  She had consecrated herself to Christ—to be His bride—to spend her life in his prayerful service and consecrated virginity.

One Pagan Roman man, threatened that he would turn her in to the authorities if she did not marry him.  She refused to marry him, and since she would not offer the pagan sacrifice, she was  imprisoned, and tortured, and eventually killed.

We honor the virgin martyrs like Agatha, Susanna, Agnes, Anastasia, Dymphna, because of their courage and perseverance and immense love of Christ.  They sacrificed their lives rather than betray the union of their hearts with the Heart of Christ.  These weren’t just naïve little girls; they knew what their consecration to Christ would mean in a time of hostility towards the faith. 

Christians are called to courarage in witnessing the faith, when it is not convenient to do so, even in the face of political hostility.

In our culture which grows increasingly hostile to Christ and his message, may Saint Agatha and the virgin martyrs teach us to love Him and hold fast to Him and prefer nothing to the love of Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

From a fifth grader: "Is the Mass still Valid?"

I brought the fifth graders into the sacristy today to talk about the different vestments the priest wears during mass and the colors of the different liturgical seasons and feasts.

One of the young girls asked, "if a priest doesn't wear his chasuble, is the Mass still valid".  A good question.  I recalled how Fr. Maximillian Kolbe would celebrate Mass in the concentration camp.  He probably did not have the proper vestments.  I then told them of Cardinal Văn Thuận from Vietnam: how while in prison, since he had no altar, he would take a crumb of bread, and three drops of wine, in the palm of his hand and celebrate Mass.  Pope John Paul II said, "this was his altar.  This was his cathedral."

"Why would he celebrate Mass without anyone else there?" one boy asked.  When a priest celebrates Mass, he is never alone.  All of the angels, all of the saints and souls in purgatory, and in a mystical way, the entire church is gathered at the sacrifice of Christ.  The priest offers it for himself and for the whole world with the whole Church--the whole Christ.

Now, this doesn't mean I am going to celebrate Mass in shorts and a t-shirt on a picnic table.  We must give God the best we have.  For the Cardinal, it was three drops of wine in a prison cell.  For us, so blessed with religious freedom, we wear the finest vestments and use the finest vessels we can afford.

(This is why I cherish my time with our wonderful students).

Homily: Tuesday - 4th Week in Ordinary Time - Healing Miracles

Yesterday, as I visited the school and the PSR for the throat blessings, we talked about how Saint Blaise was a very holy man, and like Jesus became a well-known worker of miracles, particularly healing miracles.  And the kids did a pretty good job at naming a number of Jesus’ healing miracles found in the Gospels.

Through his healing miracles, Jesus shows that God is a lover of health and life.  Jesus shows his healing power over blindness, deafness, paralysis, leprosy, and unknown disease, he casts out multitudes of demons, and even raised Lazarus from the dead  

Many people came to Jesus, or brought their loved ones to Jesus, for healing.  Today’s Gospel highlights the importance of faith in receiving Jesus’ healing gifts.

The people from Jairus’ synagogue thought  the healing of Jarius’ daughter beyond Jesus’ power. “Why trouble the teacher any longer” they said.  What if Jairus went to Jesus and then Jesus didn’t heal his daughter?  He’d have a dead daughter, and might have been laughed out of the synagogue as well.

Yet he decided to risk his reputation and take that leap of faith in Jesus. He fell at the feat of the master and pleaded with him.  This coming to Jesus, bringing his greatest suffering to Jesus, the death of his daughter, was the catalyst for the healing and life giving power of Jesus to be unleashed in his family.

We must never think that any situation we are facing is “too much” for Jesus to handle.  He can handle difficult bosses and co-workers. He can handle fallen-away family members who continue to make horrible decisions with their life.  He can handle our darkest temptations.  But we must bring them to him. 

Is every petition answered as we wish? No.  We will probably only see just how God answered every one of our petitions in eternity.  But we mustn’t fail to bring our petitions to Jesus because they seem “too big” or they are something we have to do “on our own”. 

All of our decisions should be brought to Jesus to be blessed, and all of our hurts should be brought to Jesus to be healed.  That he may truly be Lord of our Life, may we bring and surrender everything to Him for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: February 3 - St. Blaise - Blessing of Throats

Though St. Blaise was a bishop and martyr in the early Church, his notoriety came about when it was said that he healed a boy who had fish bones stuck in his throat and near death. After this healing miracle, the Bishop Blaise was imprisoned because of the Christian persecution.  The boy’s mother brought him food and candles while he was in prison.  This is why candles are used in the throat blessing.

After the final blessing today, you may come up to receive a personal blessing of your throat if you wish.

This really is a unique blessing.  Perhaps it is because our throats have such a special role to play in our Christian life.  We are to use our throats to sing God’s praise every day, we are to use our throats to give encouragement to each other in remaining faithful to Christ, and we are to use our throats to spread his Gospel, to build up the Church by proclaiming Christ’s truth

The candles which are placed around our throats is to remind us that what comes out of our throats is meant to resemble the light of Christ.  Yet, the candles are also crossed, to remind us that it is by the cross which we are delivered from all evils. 

In the Gospel we hear how Jesus cast out the unclean spirit.  His saints work with him to deliver the world from all forms of evil as they share in his victory by living in imitation of him, by giving their lives in witness to him.

By our prayers and our words and works may we with Christ deliver those in need from illness, from the dominion of evil, from fear, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.