The liturgical reform was made for pastoral reasons: to bring the people closer to the liturgy and to make it understood by the ordinary people who frequent it. Isn’t a return to the precise observance of the rubrics and the literal pronunciation of prayers out of place, when a looser dynamic helps to capture the attention of the faithful, especially children?
The concept of Christian spirituality is complex and very rich, indeed. Hereafter we mention and explain briefly its main dimensions.
In the seminary, we were taught that the liturgy must be easily understood by the people, but often in its texts, there are technical terms, proper to systematic theology. In the new editions of the liturgical books, there is a continuous effort to propose translations that are more and more suited to common speech. How to respond to this need without indulging in an annoying and continuous change of language?
The Curé of Ars was very humble, yet as a priest, he was conscious of being an immense gift to his people: “A good shepherd, a pastor after God’s heart, is the greatest treasure which the good Lord can grant to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of divine mercy”.
As a child her family and her uncle and aunty shared the same house – 22 people crammed into two small flats above the family shop with no fresh tap water. The house later burned down. Her father was paralyzed at 40, her priest brother died at 33, the other brother seven years later. Schidell’s husband died of Alzheimers. Shidell said faith got her through those challenges.
I am a seminarian and I really like your editorial line, which is precise and moderate. I want to ask you the following question: Didn’t the Council simplify the liturgy and many other things? Why again do we want to complicate things with a return to a ‘rubricism’ that is now past?
When we come to the month of November it is but natural that we are mindful of our deceased faithful, as we celebrate the liturgical feast of the All Souls on November 2. It is obvious that we fix our minds on that great mystery that awaits us and that frightens us. We cannot pretend indifference to the most significant passage of our existence, the one on which some of us have bet in a Pascalian way for future life.
The expression “communion of saints” indicates the participation of all the members of the Church in the faith, sacraments, charisms and other spiritual gifts. About this mystic communion St Josemaría Escrivá said “live a special Communion of Saints: and, in the moments of interior struggle just as in the hours of professional work, each of you will feel the joy and the strength of not being alone.”
The day of All Hallows, or All Saints’ Day, is celebrated in honor of all the saints, known and unknown. Hence, the true spirit of Halloween belongs to the Catholic Church and thus excludes the violence, gore, sensuality, or demonism now commonly associated with Halloween.