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The
following are Bishop Trautman's remarks upon receiving the award
Co-Workers in the
Liturgical Ministry of Christ,
How
should a recipient of a high honor respond? What should a recipient of
a prestigious award say? Whenever Pope John XXIII entered St. Peter’s
Basilica and walked through the crowds, people applauded and the Pope
would bless them and make an uplifting gesture with his hands. One day
a reporter asked him: “Holy Father, what does that gesture mean?” Pope
John responded: “When I lift up my hands at the applause, I send
heavenward the recognition and acclaim the people give me.” This
evening I send heavenward your applause and acclaim and recognition.
Please know I am most grateful to you, the members of the Federation of
Diocesan Liturgical Commissions for bestowing upon me the Msgr.
Frederick McManus Award. To be included with past distinguished
recipients --- Fr. Godfrey Diekmann, Dr. John Page, Ade Bethune, Aidan
Kavanagh, Archbishop Pilarczyk --- is a singular honor and humbling
experience.
In 1994 the delegates to the national meeting of this
organization established a national award for significant contributions
to liturgical renewal and named the award after its first recipient
Msgr. Fred McManus. Tonight I would like to preface my acceptance of
this award with a tribute to Fred McManus, who is an inspiration and
mentor to all of us. St. Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians (2:9)
refers to James, John and Peter as “Pillars of the Church”. Paul
recognized the pivotal role played by these disciples in building up the
Church. A pillar signifies firmness and support. A pillar is essential
for the design of any edifice. “Pillar of the Church” is a title that
recognizes the importance of a disciple’s leadership and service. Fred
McManus is a pillar of the Church, a pillar of the liturgical movement,
a pillar of liturgical renewal.
I recall the many meetings of the Bishops’ Committee on
Liturgy on which Fred served as a consultant. He was always a voice of
calm and reasoned discussion in liturgical matters. Tonight I urge all
liturgists to be the continuation of Fred’s voice --- a voice of
expertise --- a voice of balance --- a voice of truth --- a voice of
charity. A recognized expert in canon and liturgical law, Fred
represents the very best of this National Federation.
Fred was present 40 years ago when the Constitution on
the Sacred Liturgy was debated and approved at Vatican II. As a
peritus to the Council, he saw firsthand the workings of the entire four
sessions of Vatican II. This
experience gave him a vision and passion to bring renewal to all
parishes. Fred gave invaluable assistance to the Bishops’ Committee on
Liturgy. He was a founding member of the International Commission on
English in the Liturgy and was intimately connected to the foundation of
this Federation (FDLC). Today liturgists need to imitate his spirit
more than ever --- his spirit of perseverance, his spirit of courage,
his spirit of dedication and commitment to the liturgical principles of
renewal. We need to be his voice --- knowledgeable, persuasive,
respectful of all sides of the question but ever insistent on the
baptismal rights of the assembly for full participation.
We have inherited a great legacy from those who began the
liturgical movement. Recall the humble beginnings of the liturgical
movement in our country. The first liturgical study week was held in
Chicago in 1940, in the basement of a parish church. There were between
two hundred to three hundred people participating. In a real sense they
were the underground church. They listened to radical ideas of lay
participation in the Eucharist and the daring concept of parts of the
Mass in English. In 1940 a person risked much to identify with the
liturgical movement. In the minds of many, these new liturgists were
borderline heretics, promoting the involvement of the laity in the
Eucharist, which was then perceived as the exclusive domain of the
priest.
The founders of the American liturgical movement did not
give up. They were persons of hope who patiently persevered. We need
to imitate the perseverance and courage of these liturgical icons ---
Fr. Virgil Michel of Collegeville, Fr. Godfrey Diekmann, Fr. Martin
Hellriegel, Msgr. Hillebrand. These scholars and pastors who brought
the liturgical movement to the United States and the scores of
liturgists who have sustained and kept alive this movement inspire us to
endure and persevere and hope. We must continue to teach, teach, teach
the liturgical principles of Vatican II.
In 1956 Pope Pius XII summed up in one sentence the meaning
of the liturgical movement. He said that the liturgical movement was a
sign of the providential disposition of God, a sign of the movement of
the Holy Spirit in the Church to draw people more closely to the
mysteries of faith and the riches of grace which flow from active
participation in liturgical life. Note the key phrase in the Pope’s
message: “The liturgical movement is a sign of the movement of the Holy
Spirit” in the Church today. It is not a fad, it is not the work of
liturgical terrorists, not the invention of liberal liturgical scholars;
the liturgical movement is the will of the Spirit for all of God’s
people.
Today liturgists face major challenges. The euphoria of
Vatican II has ended. As the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
fades in time, is it also fading in influence? Do we recognize a
pullback from the liturgical principles, a lessening of collaboration, a
return to devotionalism rather than Eucharistic celebration? Is there a
liturgical backsliding that causes us to be disillusioned, dejected,
disheartened? We need to recall the founders of the American Liturgical
Movement. These liturgical pioneers did not give up and we must not
give up. We must not surrender the progress made at Vatican II.
St. Paul once told his parishioners: While you are waiting
for the Lord to come, “Do not quench the Spirit”. Do not stifle the
Spirit. These are words for the Church today. When we encounter those
who advocate a “reform of the reform”, we must say, “Do not quench the
Spirit.” The Holy Spirit was present at Vatican II and gave us new
liturgical direction. When we encounter people who harken back to
rigidity in rubrics, we must say. “Do not quench the Spirit.” When
inculturation is denied and one liturgical form is forced on all, we
must say, “Do not quench the Spirit.” When the Scripture translations
in our Lectionary are flawed and not proclaimable, we must say, “Give us
the richness of God’s Word: Do not quench the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit
prompted the renewal and reform of the liturgy. Now, more than ever, we
must say, “Do not quench the Spirit.”
The liturgical theology found in the Constitution on the
Sacred Liturgy did not originate on the floor of St. Peter’s
Basilica at Vatican II. The liturgical movement gave birth to the
Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. The liturgical movement paved
the way. The Constitution was the Magisterial endorsement of the
insights and research of scholars like Jungmann and Bouyer. The
Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy was the answer to the prayers and
struggles of those in the liturgical movement for decades and decades.
Remember the blood, sweat, and tears that went into the liturgical
movement. Remember those who suffered for trying to advance the
liturgical and Scriptural movement – people like Fr. Max Zerwick, Fr.
Stanislaus Lyonnet, Fr. Ray Brown. Why does the Church hurt its best
and brightest? Why? Our love for the Church should prompt us to speak
out.
A recent draft of a forthcoming Vatican instruction included
several problematic elements --- elements which were neither pastorally
sensitive nor liturgically correct. While we are thankfully reassured
that more competent and more sensible judgments have prevailed, we need
to ask how could such proposals be drafted and approved for submission
in the first place?
When such Roman liturgical drafts call us to return to a
liturgical mentality prior to Vatican II, we need to say to one another:
Keep up your courage. When liturgical expertise is not respected, we
must say to one another: Keep up your courage. When fundamental
principles of liturgical renewal are reversed, we must remind one
another: Keep up your courage. When liturgical offices are closed and
liturgical budgets are slashed, we must say to one another: Keep up your
courage. When we see liturgical renewal still wanting in many parishes
and when we feel the pain of the clerical sex abuse scandal and its
impact on worshipping assemblies and presiders, let us give hope to one
another.
St. Paul writes in his Second Letter to the Corinthians:
“Because we possess the ministry through God’s mercy, we do not give in
to discouragement.” These are powerful and timely words for us. I say
to you who are in the liturgical ministry of the Church: Persevere; let
no one quench the Spirit; give one another courage; keep the liturgical
movement alive, keep the liturgical movement alive.
Thank you.
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