Fr. Cassian on Lectio Divina

Post by Monks of Norcia.

Fr. Cassian on the Divine Office

Post by Monks of Norcia.

Praying Without Ceasing

Post by Monks of Norcia.

Fr. Folsom on Prayer

Prayer Changes Us, Not God

Yesterday's homily at STA was about prayer - after all, the Our Father was the focus of the Gospel reading. What was interesting is that the priest celebrating the liturgy is a retired priest staying at the residence for retired priests. On occasion I will see him at an event, wearing a cassock. I haven't talked to him before, so I don't know how "traditional" he is.

Fr. Folsom's Talk at Oxford

The Letters of St. Gregory to St. Augustine of Canterbury - YT and Vimeo

Some Thoughts on Inculturation

This post at NLM provided an opportunity for me to comment: Usus Antiqiuor in Japan: A Latin-Japanese Missal

While before I might have subscribed to the view that Latin might be useful as the lingua franca of clerics and the intellectuals of the Roman-rite churches, I've never thought that the liturgy should be celebrated in Latin in missionary countries. I think as long as I've had an opinion on the question, I've thought that a hieratic version of the native vernacular should be employed in missionary countries, holding up the work of the Jesuits in China as an example. (I think the Roman rite was celebrated in Korean in Chosun Korea as well?)

Now, my opinion may have even shifted some more, in so far as I speculate about decisions that were made in the past - some version of a hieratic vernacular should have been used for nations who do not have Latin as a mother tongue (nations of Germanic ancestry) - and even some Romance language nations may not have been familiar enough with Latin to justify its continued use in the Roman-rite liturgy. (I would thus disagree with those traditionalists who maintain that Latin should be the universal liturgical language of the Roman rite churches.)

Still, the celebration of the Roman-rite liturgy in places like Hong Kong or Japan may seem quaint or peculiar to us now, but we should ask, why are some Asians (or non-Asians, for that matter) attracted to such liturgies when they do not understand the language? Are they looking for a sense of sacred that contemporary vernacular liturgies lack? Some may be older, familiar with the use of Latin in the Roman rite before Vatican 2. It may just be nostalgia at work, or the desire to pray in a familiar milieu, but their interest may be more than that. What lessons can we learn about the Pauline reform of the Roman rite and what corrections should we seek?

Today the New Evangelization may may require greater inculturation, but this inculturation should be tempered with a knowledge of the past and the artistic traditions of the Christians who lived before us. Inculturation should always be accompanied by the inspiration to give our best and an appreciation of the "true, good, and beautiful," as we seek those translations and native art forms which can be adapted. Not being gifted with language I will not say that much about it - while the revision of the English translation may have been warranted, I do question whether it could have been done better. (Without, perhaps, fully embracing a more archaic form of English - I would not be opposed to this in principle, even though it might strike some as being artificial - but it may not be pastorally effective.)

Do we need to rediscover forms of music and art that are simple but beautiful? (Simple does not necessarily mean modernist.) We should be more attentive to the moral dimension of music and its effects on the person, particularly the emotions, not mistaking affective appeal for authentic Christian spirituality. While it may be clear to many that "Christian" rock cannot be adapted for use in the liturgy, we should also reconsider the use of music that is derived from Romanticism. I am not a music scholar or musicologist so I cannot expound more on this; some music is compatible with the "stillness" that we need in order to attend to the presence of the Lord, and some music is not. (A comparative study of the different forms of singing that were adapted as Christianity spread over the world would be useful. Did they originate in pre-existing religious traditions? Or were they adapted from other uses? Was a distinction between sacred music and profane music always preserved?)

As for the shift in architecture - there are some posts at New Liturgical Movement on the "Other Modern." Perhaps some modernism is useful, provided that it is coupled with a proper sense of ornamentation that draws the Christian to the presence of God. (Modernism + austere, bare liturgical environment: far from the ideal.)

Perhaps some thoughts on vestments and sacred vessels later...



*What of Latin as the language of theology, scholarship, and documents of the Church of Rome? Should all priests be familiar with Latin (and Greek and Hebrew)? Or should there be different tracks for priests according to their talents and abilities?

Bill Maher interviews Fr. Reginald Foster:


Plus:
Dom Cassian Folsom on Forms of Eucharistic Reservation

To Be Released Next Month

Four Courts Press: Benedict XVI and the Roman Missal
Janet E. Rutherford & James O'Brien, editors

Fr. Cassian Folsom on the Liturgy

NLM: Dom Cassian Folsom: "The Great Divorce: An Attempt to Diagnose the Root Cause of Our Liturgical Ills" - Norcia podcast (I've posted the mp3 before.)

Growth and Degrowth

Chris Martenson, The Really Really Big Picture
Dave Lindorff, What is Wrong with America
Richard Heinberg, Why is the Economy Shrinking?

The Extraenvironmentalist: Episode 55 - Degrowth (hi - low)
'In this epic length episode #55 of The Extraenvironmentalist we cover the Montreal Degrowth Conference from May 2013[sic]. We hear from a number of degrowth academics and activists about the ideas in the movement. Through more than twelve interviews we speak with Peter Brown, Michael M’Gonigle, Josh Farley, David Suzuki, Bill Rees, Mary Evelyn Tucker, Janice Harvey, Charles Hall, Gail Tverberg, Juliet Schor, Joan Martinez-Alier and Erik Assadourian. Then, we recap 2012 by hearing from Gregor MacDonald about the IEA’s headline grabbing scenario for a United States that produces more oil than Saudi Arabia and Jeremy Grantham’s recent eyebrow raising report on resource scarcity. We close out with a preview of our 2013 interviews."

Misc.
Something from Norcia - a lecture given at Wyoming Catholic College - The Great Divorce.

Fr. Folsom on Liturgical Gestures

SACRED SIGNS AND ACTIVE PARTICIPATION AT MASS
What Do These Actions Mean, and Why Are They So Important?
Rev. Cassian Folsom, OSB

(via OSBNorcia)

He writes:

Note that Pope Innocent is describing what the custom was in the West. In the 13th century the East and the West still made the sign of the cross in the same way. The pope goes on to say: "Others, however, make the sign of the cross from the left to the right, because from misery (left) we must cross over to glory (right), just as Christ crossed over Paradise. [Some priests] do it this way so that they and the people will be signing themselves in the same way. You can easily verify this picture the priest facing the people for the blessing - when we make the sign of the cross over the people, it is from left to right..."

So the people, imitating the blessing of the priest, began to sign themselves from left to right. Be that as it may, centuries have gone by since then, and we in the West make the sign of the cross from left to right, with the palm open.

Here's an important liturgical principle: it is always difficult and often undesirable to jump back across the centuries to some ideal liturgical practice of the past. That's what Pius XII in Mediator Dei called "archeologism". You can't erase the intervening centuries. The principle rather is continuity with the tradition (mind you, I'm not saying a fossilized tradition, but a living tradition). So the Western way of making the sign of the cross is a valid development of the liturgical tradition.

Would it be a valid development to return to the older way of making the sign of the cross, even if it is abrupt? What about as a sign of unity with the East or with our past?

Magdalen College

There's a short interview with Tim Van Damm of Magdalen College on Life on the Rock. The archived video will be available until the next episode. The audio for Episode 675 can be found here. Mr. Van Damm discusses the liberal arts program offered at Magdalen -- it uses a Great Books program but modified by Dr. George Harne. There's a new musician in residence at the college, but no info at the website yet. There's also the Sacred Heart House (in Boston) for men. (For vocation discernment?) It's associated with St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.


More:
A previous appearance: Tim Van Damm on "Life on the Rock" on Vimeo

From last year: Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J. with Dr. Jeffrey Karls, President of Magdalen College and Dr. George Harn, Academic Dean of Magdalene College (download)

Related:
Mortimer Adler, The Great Ideas
Otto Bird (ND obit)

A lecture by Fr. Cassian Folsom, O.S.B. at Magdalen College, November 18, 2009:

Fr. Cassian Folsom O.S.B. from magdalen college on Vimeo.

Sedes Sapientiae Foundation

Articles by Fr. Cassian:
From One Eucharistic Prayer to Many
Sacred Signs and Active Participation at Mass