Let’s talk about the celebration of the Eucharist. I found this interview with Cardinal Bergoglio from 2007. He covers other things, but I was struck by what he said about the celebration of Mass as the Latin American bishops met for their conference that year. He told the interviewer that for the first time the prelates gathered at a Marian shrine, and that, unusually for a bishops’ meeting …
Every morning we recited lauds, we celebrated mass together with the pilgrims, the believers. On Saturday or Sunday there were two thousand, five thousand. Celebrating the Eucharist together with the people is different from celebrating it amongst us bishops separately. That gave us a live sense of belonging to our people, of the Church that goes forward as People of God, of us bishops as its servants.
Bishops as servants. It is certainly an insight many of us in lay ministry can appreciate and embrace also: that art and music is something we offer, but we bring it to the liturgy from a sense of service to others.
14 March 2013 at 2:54 pm
I feel almost too hopeful – isn’t that ironic. Thank you for these posts, Todd!
12 April 2013 at 3:27 pm
Is Pope Francis really a reformer? Is he really such an outsider? In terms of liturgy, he is a traditionalist. That goes for theology too. In terms of cleaning up the Curia, his parents were Italian immigrants in Argentina, so he is part of “the family.”. So, will Francis stand up to the Italian clerics in the Curia? Has the media overstated the REFORMER? For more, pls see my essay at: http://deligentia.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/pope-francis-a-reformer/