Liturgical ranting...

So here I am doing my research for my Liturgical Law papers and I come across this post from Fr. Tom Richstatter. It may seem like a bit of a non-academic rant, so to speak, but he makes some good points, in my humble opinion. As the Gospel says, "let those who have ears hear!".

Role of General Liturgical Principles:

These "General Liturgical Principles" are important to understand obedience to liturgical law.  Obedience to liturgical law requires knowledge of three things: 

1.  General Liturgical principles
2.  The norms or rubrics
3.  Pastoral Sensitivity

To obey liturgical law is to
1.  use pastoral sensitivity to
2.  assure that the norms
3.  achieve the end envisioned by the general liturgical principles.

The "General Liturgical Principles" are the "goal" statements, the purpose of the law, the "why's," the "what's the law for?" statements.  What are some of these?
Examples of General Liturgical Principles

1. The primacy of prayer.   Liturgy is prayer. Prayer is what it is all about!

2. The liturgy is the prayer of Christ.  Every liturgical celebration is an action of Christ and his Body the Church. (CSL 7.) Liturgical prayer is Trinitarian prayer; It is the voice of Christ addressed to the Father in the Holy Spirit. It is the prayer of the Body of Christ. The Assembly is the primary liturgical symbol.

3. The principle of active participation. Liturgy is doing, not watching.   (CSL, chapter 1, part B: Norms Drawn from the Hierarchic and Communal Nature of the Liturgy.)   "Liturgical services are not private functions, but are celebrations belonging to the Church, which is the 'sacrament of unity,' namely, the holy people united and ordered under their bishops. Therefore liturgical services involve the whole Body of the Church; they manifest it and have effects upon it; but they also concern the individual members of the Church in different ways, according to their different orders, offices, and actual participation." (Constitution on the Liturgy 26). "Whenever rites, according to their specific nature, make provision for communal celebration involving the presence and active participation of the faithful, it is to be stressed

4. The language of Liturgy is a symbol. Therefore we strive for Quality symbols. "Good symbols nourish faith. Poor symbols weaken and destroy it." (BCL Music in Catholic Worship, 5.)  Theological basis of this principle: Sacramenta significando efficiunt gratiam.  Sacraments cause grace by signifying. Other things being equal, the better the sign the better the grace. (St. Thomas)

5. Less is more. [When you multiply money, you get more money; when you multiply symbol, you get less symbol.] Another way of expressing this same principle: An artist always uses a limited palette. The principle of artistic unity. From the Bishops' statement Environment and Art in Catholic Worship, speaking of vestment:  94. The more these vestments fulfill their function by their color, design and enveloping form, the less they will need the signs, slogans and symbols which an unkind history has fastened on them. The tendency to place symbols upon symbols seems to accompany the symbolic deterioration and diminution already discussed.  A few implications:  1.   The vestment itself should be beautiful, and not merely "decorated." For example: a beautiful stole "says more" than a stole with the words (Remember: words are symbols also) embroidered on it: "I Am - A Priest."   2.   One cross (on the wall, by [not "on"] the altar, over the altar, leading the procession, but one cross, not three or four.  3.   One altar.  4.   One image of Mary. 
The architect Mise Van derRoo said: "Less is More." Venturi (next generation) said:   "Less is a bore."

6. Principle of accumulated symbolism. "There is a limit to the amount of symbolic ambiguity a rite can sustain."  (N. Mitchell, Made Not Born, p 70.)

7. The principle of polyvalence. All good liturgy must be polyvalent, that is it must be accessible to many different people in many different (spiritual, cultural, emotional) places. [Related to the Law of Symbol.]

8. Form follows function.  Turtles don't fly.

9. Principle of once is enough.  "Needless duplications are to be avoided."

10. Principle of once is not enough.  Ritual action is essentially repeated and habitual action. [blowing out candles on a birthday cake, decorating a Christmas Tree, coloring Easter eggs.] Once never makes a ritual. Prehension is essential to a ritual's function.

11. Liturgy is public. Celebrations which are celebrated in common with the faithful present and actively participating are preferred to rites which are quasi-private. (CSL 27).

12. Principle of one role at a time. In liturgical celebrations each person who has an office to perform should carry out all and only those parts which pertain to that office. (CSL 28.)

13. The donatists principle.  "The Donatists (The Donatists said that the sacraments are useless unless administered by a holy priest.) may have been wrong theologically, but when it comes to presidential style, pastorally they were, oh, so right!"

14. The principal of music. Singing is twice praying.  [They go home humming the communion song, not the homily or the Eucharistic Prayer.]

15. The principle of authenticity.  Things should be what they seem:   A few implications: morning prayer in the morning;  infants need an infant rite;  name giving should be real name giving;   a bath is a bath;  You don't stay for grace before meals unless you are staying for the meal; You aren't invited to a meal unless you are invited to eat and drink.  Prayers should be prayers; instructions should be instructions. Age quod agis.  Do what you are doing.  What is it you are trying to do? invite, pray, exhort, explain? Who is it you are talking to? People? God? [Don't give God theology lessons, especially poor ones.]

16. The principle of beauty. Beauty humanizes and elevates; ugly doesn't.  For example, wearing a vestment should make you look better, not worse!

17. A little bit of "nice" covers a multitude of "dumb".  [People will put up with a lot of things they don't agree with if they perceive the priest to be a kind, concerned, loving person.]

18. Ritual actions and functional actions. Do not ritualize functional elements.

19. You can use more than one sense at once. You can see, hear, and smell all at the same time.  For example, incensing the gospel during the singing. 

20. The principle of parties.  Good signs nourish faith. (BCL. Music in Catholic Worship, 6.)  If you go to a party and all goes well and you are having a good time, you want to stay.  When it's dull, you want to go home.

21. The principle of over planning.  If nothing can go wrong, perhaps nothing can go right.

22. The principle of progressive solemnity.  You don't use the best things all the time.

23.  Sacramenta propter homines.  God doesn't need sacraments, we do. 

So there you go...something to think about over the weekend. Would love to hear some comments regarding the above!