Occasionally I hear comments on various matters of worship and practice at our community Masses. I may make fuller comments available online or in a hand-out, but let a few remarks suffice for the present. At the outset, please understand that I am a Benedictine, not a diocesan priest, and Benedictines have a distinctive approach to liturgy that may differ from that of most parish priests. All of us need to respect liturgical norms of the Church and diocesan policy; but most importantly, we approach liturgy as a work of the Holy Spirit, who sets us free, and who seeks to build us up in charity.
For those who want to know the details of church rules, you may consult the diocesan website or read the “General Instruction of the Roman Missal” (GIRM) available online. I believe that approaching worship through lists of rules is to proceed in the wrong way. Indeed, never once in all of my years in the monastery did I hear our Abbot or any priest or monk refer to “rules” for worship. No one ever talked about the GIRM. Benedictines learn to pray, in solitude and liturgically, by doing it, and maintaining the living community’s practices. Custom and practice matter far more than abstract rules, and must always be respected. Rules are useful as guidelines to correct serious abuses. I have seen faithful and generally respectful worship in our communities. The only “abuse” I felt duty bound to correct was to remind the faithful that hosts are made of wheat and water only, in continuity with the tradition of Jewish bread for Passover (matzah). At Mass we celebrate the New Passover of Christ from death to life eternal, and our movement into the “promised land” of God’s Presence with our LORD.
I recommend keeping at least these two thoughts in mind for our common worship. First, from St. Paul in Romans 12: “I implore you, by the mercies of God, to present yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (or: reasonable service). Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern the will of God: what is good and acceptable and perfect.” As I see it, these words are the best general statement of the essence of Christian worship in the New Testament.
The second quotation to keep in mind comes from St. Augustine (c. 400), and should help us keep perspective, and not get lost in nit-picking: “In essentials, unity; in non-essential matters, freedom; in all things, charity.” Essentials of our faith are very
few; non-essentials are many. Charity should ever guide our worship and lives.
For those who want to know the details of church rules, you may consult the diocesan website or read the “General Instruction of the Roman Missal” (GIRM) available online. I believe that approaching worship through lists of rules is to proceed in the wrong way. Indeed, never once in all of my years in the monastery did I hear our Abbot or any priest or monk refer to “rules” for worship. No one ever talked about the GIRM. Benedictines learn to pray, in solitude and liturgically, by doing it, and maintaining the living community’s practices. Custom and practice matter far more than abstract rules, and must always be respected. Rules are useful as guidelines to correct serious abuses. I have seen faithful and generally respectful worship in our communities. The only “abuse” I felt duty bound to correct was to remind the faithful that hosts are made of wheat and water only, in continuity with the tradition of Jewish bread for Passover (matzah). At Mass we celebrate the New Passover of Christ from death to life eternal, and our movement into the “promised land” of God’s Presence with our LORD.
I recommend keeping at least these two thoughts in mind for our common worship. First, from St. Paul in Romans 12: “I implore you, by the mercies of God, to present yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (or: reasonable service). Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern the will of God: what is good and acceptable and perfect.” As I see it, these words are the best general statement of the essence of Christian worship in the New Testament.
The second quotation to keep in mind comes from St. Augustine (c. 400), and should help us keep perspective, and not get lost in nit-picking: “In essentials, unity; in non-essential matters, freedom; in all things, charity.” Essentials of our faith are very
few; non-essentials are many. Charity should ever guide our worship and lives.
