On Liturgical Abuses

No one can doubt that liturgical abuses exist. The sons of Aaron show the earliest form of this by offering "unholy fire" (Leviticus 10) and are likewise consumed in holy fire for their disobedience. Consequently, the document Quo Primum sets a certain standard for the liturgy in the Roman Rite and this standard changed (not in a bad way) with Vatican II and the Novus Ordo Missae. Since then, the west has been struggling with priests (and the occasional nun or layperson) who try to celebrate Mass to the beat of their own drum (sometimes quite literally) and the Church seems split. It's not hard to enter a parish community and find factions on the liturgy.

Certainly, we should all be conscious and aware of liturgical abuse. It is something we must fight. However, we must also be aware that when the Mass is celebrated validly (there are times that it is not), Jesus is present there. If God is there, then we must quiet our hearts and accept Him humbly, praying that He will care for His Sacred Liturgy. Approaching the altar with anger in one's heart and one's eyes turned inward in the conceit of disapproval only further detracts from the Mass.

One of the advantages to living in Steubenville is that I get to see Dr. Scott Hahn fairly often. While giving a series of talks on the Mass and the Scriptures, he was asked what he thought of liturgical abuses. Always humble of heart, the good professor replied, "the only abuse I ever notice is that I am allowed to receive."

May God bless us all.