Our ill-advised liturgical experiment has been some uniformly bad fruits:
After temporarily rising to nearly 75% in the
immediate aftermath of World War II, U.S. Mass
attendance stood at about 65%, and hence roughly its 1939
level, in the period immediately surrounding Vatican II.
From there on, it fell continuously, at a relatively fast pace
initially, then much more slowly, and now more recently
faster again. In 1995, according to these data, it stood at
46%, …
The trend line is generally downward from 1959 onward, but notice that the negative slope sharpens dramatically at almost exactly 1970. Remind me what happened around that time?
Surely, though, it was just the seeds of 60′s secularism finally sprouting?
In the Protestant data, we see no downward trend at all. Church
attendance is lower than that for Catholics during most of
the period but is certainly not declining. In fact it may
even have begun to trend up. If the temper of the times
had been the cause of the decline in Catholic Mass
attendance however there is no reason that similar forces
should not have operated within Protestantism too.
Whoops.
Speaking of liturgical revolution, Fr. Z. today shared a YouTube video reminding us of one of those wretched fads that just won’t die — liturgical dance.
Hey, at least the choice of musical setting was relevant.
How could a good God create a universe containing liturgical dance? Or giant paper-mache puppets?
Here is some fruit of the liturgical disaster. Archdiocese of Vienna to close many parishes:
http://ncronline.org/node/36401
Vienna, home of Card. Schoenborn’s balloon Masses, whipped cream orgies, and of course the Call to Disobedience.
Not that I read the fishwrap, as Fr. Z calls them, but Rod Dreher had featured it over at TAC.
At least it seems like this Pope is doing more than his predecessor to reverse the liturgical mess, more tradition less protestantized “worship services”.
Look, if you are in a liturgical church (Anglicans, Romans, Most Orthodox) you change that carefully. Very carefully. (I am skating carefully around the theology of this. There be minefields. But the theology matters). The old liturgies were designed to proclaim the gospel and the word of God.
The liturgies can be beautiful — from very ancient (Gregorian and Orthodox chant) to early modern (Evensong from the BCP) to modern (Taize).
Us Protestants have a semi written liturgy — there are essential components to any service of worship. The confessing protestants also had systems around proclaiming the word, not limited to the exegetical preaching which is a firm part of Reformed tradition.
But if you have no structure and go all syncretic and new agey, you are in practice sliding into apostasy (regardless of your theology. The method of practice matters because the method drives the content). This is because you lose the gospel in the dance, the puppets, and the general ugliness of it all.
Ratzinger knows this, and is pulling the errant papists back. Rather him than me: I really do not want your heretics leaving and infecting my kirk. We have enough trouble with our own.
Looked at the Bloody mess of the mass. Now I do not speak Portuguese, but the entire thing offends my Presbyterian sense of Decency and Good Order.
When I think of the Mass I think of Hadyn, Bach and Mozart, not that. (can I go throw up now?)