Friday, September 25, 2009

Catch as catch can . . .

Blogging from the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars annual convention in Providence, Rhode Island . . . in between sessions.

Here are a few (roughly remembered) comments from the afternoon talks by Fr. Vincent Twomey, Emeritus Professor Moral Theology and former student of Joseph Ratzinger, either quoting Ratzinger/Benedict or remarking on his thinking and his theology:
It is the loss of transcendence that gives rise to political ideologies, which, in turn, give rise to social and cultural catastrophes.

By itself, politics cannot produce that without which it collapses into incoherence, namely, ethics and the authority on which they depend.

Political powerlessness is the key to the recovery of the Church's real power.

If Hans Urs von Balthasar was like a painter who painted every single detail with incredible precision, Joseph Ratzinger is like Picasso, who with a few bold brush strokes captured the essence of the subject.

Cardinal Ratazinger/Pope Benedict XVI, however, "speaks in paragraphs, thinks in chapters, and writes books in a single draft."

The reduction of reason to rationalism is a disaster for our age and our world. Reason needs revelation in order to be itself, and revelation needs reason in order to account for itself.

On the subject of conscience in a world where many think of it as a synonym for one's own preferences, Fr. Twomey used a little parable: an old woman has lost something but she cannot remember what she has lost until she finds it. An adequately formed conscience is like that.

Finally, from Fr. Twomey, citing the pope: Only when the Church respects her limits is she limitless.
From Sr. Timothy Prokes, Professor of Theology at the Graduate School of Christendom College:
The body's meaning is gift, and humans are made for self-gift.
On Ratzinger/Benedict's discussion of the body in the Church's liturgical life: the refusal to kneel is a misunderstanding of freedom. To kneel is to recognize the truth of one's existence.
More if and when there's time.

4 comments:

Dennis said...

"To refuse to kneel" is to embrace the older tradition of standing as a sign of resurrection.

As the second Eucharistic Prayer has it: "WE thank you for counting us worthy to STAND in your presence and serve you...". This is now ironically said while only the celebrant is standing.

This desire to elevate the penitential to the ordinary mode of liturgical awareness points to the heart of the problem in my opinion.

Standing/Resurrection was the mode of the ancient church (as witnessed by the Eastern Churches even today).

I believe we are witnessing a preference for a later penitential (kneeling)tradition. It is preferred for reasons of nostalgia by those who grew up in it.

Not much of a theological argument.
But a Pope's preference and insistence carries enough weight to bury theological arguments to the contrary.

This will not be the first time that power triumphs knowledge

Dennis said...

"To refuse to kneel" is to embrace the older tradition of standing as a sign of resurrection.

As the second Eucharistic Prayer has it: "WE thank you for counting us worthy to STAND in your presence and serve you...". This is now ironically said while only the celebrant is standing.

This desire to elevate the penitential to the ordinary mode of liturgical awareness points to the heart of the problem in this papacy's agenda in my opinion.

Standing/Resurrection was the mode of the ancient church (as witnessed by the Eastern Churches practice even today and the words of the Latin Rite EP cited above). This has far reaching significance in the life of the Church as both sides know.

I believe we are witnessing a preference for a later penitential (kneeling)tradition. It is preferred for reasons of nostalgia/ world view by some who grew up in it.

Not much of a theological argument.
But a Pope's preference and insistence carries enough weight to bury theological arguments to the contrary and even stem the tide of Resourcement that gave rise to an Ecumenical Council.

This will not be the first time that power trumps knowledge. And kneeling isn't the only item on this agenda.

the other Gil said...

Many years ago, when a pastor at my church kept advising week after week that we are to no longer kneel during the consecration, some parishioners persisted in their kneeling. Then the pastor threatened to tear out the kneelers if all parishioners did not conform to his request.

I thought long and hard on this, and I came to the conclusion that it is theologically correct to stand, kneel or sit during the consecration; after all, the apostles sat during the first consecration.

It then occurred to me that every age is more suited to one of these three correct postures, and I am convinced that our age would benefit more from kneeling. I say this because of our puffed-upness, our knowledge of being justified having taken control of our senses to such a degree that we are losing all humility.

Many in our time are like the Pharisee who stands in the temple justified, while the tax collector kneels and pounds his chest in great sorrow and humility. I like to think of myself as the latter, and am grateful that the magisterium accommodates me.

John said...

Gil,

The insight that the "refusal to kneel" is a "misunderstanding of freedom" brought to mind lyrics from "My Way", the old Sinatra song:

"To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
No, oh no not me,
I did it my way.

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!"

This song, popular lo so many years ago, captured the spirit of our age very well: The "I" is glorified while the "Thou" is denied; "my" efforts are all important; if I don't have "myself" then I have "naught"; and, of course, only a fool (loser?) "kneels" for anybody.

The triumphalistic glorification of the self, and the “I will not serve”mentality revealed in the "My Way" lyrics, have only gotten worse over the years. An updated, and more nihilistic, version of these sentiments can be heard in "It's My Life", a recent song by Jon Bon Jovi. (In fact, "My Way" is explicitly referenced, with approval-"as Frankie said, I did it my way"-in the song). But, if there is any doubt that these songs are sung, and heard, by those with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear, one only has to listen to the version of "It's My Life" Bon Jovi sang shortly after 9/11 at the Concert for New York. In a moment of supreme irony, Bon Jovi finished with "thank you… God bless you all” without the slightest hint that he understood that the words of his song were an express rejection of God's existence and activity in the world.

How in the world can one seek God's blessing when one is constantly denying the reality that God even exists?

John