Sunday, February 12, 2006

Addressing Liturgical Issues on the Blogosphere

A group of self-described "young thinking Catholics" in Singapore have recently run a series of posts on their blog, Threshold of Hope, about liturgical matters.

There was one about Latin in the Church's liturgy and another, now brewing, about sacred music and the pipe organ. In this latter post, the writer, rather misleadingly, asks: "Should drums, pianos and guitars be allowed in mass worship, or should the pipe organ be the only one that is allowed? This question parallels very much the debate over whether some Latin should be reintroduced into mass. It puts into focus the two diverging sentiments of modern day worship: to freely express love and worship of God, or to seek the sacred, majestic and mysterious in tradition."

The false dichotomy that is drawn is clearly felt to be true by many fellow Catholics! If the New Liturgical Movement is to affect the wider Church, I believe we can and ought to begin by addressing many common objections, misconceptions and errors - often the result of ignorance - on the part of 'young thinking Catholics', like these in Singapore, in the Church.

We can't expect them to come and read this blog, so I ask that interested parties read what they have to say and then comment in response as is appropriate.

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