True Liturgical Reform

I. Reform Before Worship

Since the 19th century people have thought that liturgical revivals or reforms would change the condition of the Christian people. Revive Gregorian chant. Put missals in the hands of the laity. Encourage them to participate, to pay attention. Dialogue Latin Mass. Worship in the vernacular language. Liturgical archeology. Lately, a return to Mass in Latin.

What does God say about a people who pay him lip service? In Mt.5:23-24, Jesus says if we remember on the way to the altar that our brother holds anything against us, leave our gift at the altar and first go and reconcile with our brother. Reform comes before our worship not after.

The worship that Jesus offers to the Father and which he gives to us his brothers and sisters is a multi-faceted mystery which we will never fully fathom. We start, however, by realizing that we are offering Sacrifice. The sacrifice is the life, death, resurrection and ascension of our Lord which he brings and offers to the Father.
As such when we gather together for the Divine Liturgy we are offering through the Christ-like office of the bishop and his priest a real sacrifice.

In the last part of the 20th century the understanding that we were offering a Holy Sacrifice seemed to be overshadowed by the idea of "celebration". Lets have a community rally!

Indeed the Divine Liturgy is a real celebration where our Risen Lord Jesus both offers the sacrifice and comes to us in Holy Communion. Yet we are tempted to reduce the Divine Liturgy to a mere temporal human celebration to promote temporary human community. Perhaps having become aware of this shortcoming, we think a return to artificially imagined past liturgical practices will straighten everything out.

II. Our Reform

No changing of liturgical prayers and practices in the name of "reform", tradition or ecclesial archeology will, mechanically, produce better Christians. No Industrial Revolution massive or streamlined production improvements are called for. As we approach the table of the Last Supper, the altar of the Cross, the empty stone tomb of the Risen Lord we must return to the beginning of the Gospel: "Reform your lives! The kingdom of heaven is at hand."(Mt.4:17) Reform first, the rite of penance first!

The Divine Liturgy is offered in Christ as worship, not used by us as a tool. It is not a means for social engineering the Church and certainly not a media for entertaining display.

Pray for our reform as a priestly people. Our spiritual repentance
joined with physical reverence and the mental acknowledgment that this is a Sacrifice will, with the necessary Christian faith, hope and charity, lead to true liturgical reform.

Let us go to the Temple of the Body of Christ and beat our breasts, saying: Be merciful to me, Lord, a sinner! Then our Sacrifice will be pleasing and acceptable to God.