Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Charismatic Worship during Mass

I found a good quote that puts into words what has perhaps been my biggest discomfort with charismatic worship during Mass.

It's from Romano Guardini's "The Spirit of the Liturgy," p. 19
This was written in response to much of the "popular piety" at Mass prior to the Second Vatican Council, but I believe it is certainly applicable to charismatic worship.

"The primary and exclusive aim of the liturgy is not the expression of the individual's reverence and worship for God. It is not even concerned with the awakening, formation, and sanctification of the individual soul as such. Nor does the onus of liturgical action and prayer rest with the individual. It does not even rest with the collective groups, composed of numerous individuals, who periodically achieve a limited and intermittent unity in their capacity as the congregation of a church. The liturgical entity consists rather of the united body of the faithful as such--the Church--a body which infinitely outnumbers the mere congregation. The liturgy is the Church's public and lawful act of worship, and it is performed and conducted by the officials whom the Church herself has designated for the post--her priests. In the liturgy God is to be honored by the body of the faithful, and the latter is in its turn to derive sanctification from this act of worship. It is important that this objective nature of the liturgy should be fully understood."

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