Iconoclasm and Liturgy

Catholic Church Conservation ^ | 23/8/2006 | Chris Gillibrand

[Gillibrand]

Iconoclasm and Liturgy by Martin Mosebach

The case is at first glance a banal one. The church concerned does not rank among the flashpoints of Germany’s ecclesiastical history, nor does it stem from one of the great architectural epochs; the architects and artists who worked jointly on its completion are for the most part unknown. What happened in this Church of Saint Raphael in the Heidelberg suburb of Neuenheim is, however, exemplary for thousands of churches the world over, for masterpieces and anonymous creations, for cathedrals and chapels.

Hardly a church remained unscathed in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council, and even if one chances upon an intact ensemble, then not because reverence or taste spread their guardian wings over it. It would be due to the merciful lack of money, a lamentably rare phenomenon in the land of church tax. No German bishop can deny that there was widespread occurrence of something similar to St. Raphael’s in his diocese. Such are the clerical and liturgical fruits of the post-Conciliar development. Those wishing to view the full horror subsisting in the ambiguous concept ‘aggiornamento’ should consider the brief, straightforward story of St. Raphael’s.

[Gillibrand]

A translation of an article which originally appeared in Germany by the very incisive Catholic thinker Martin Mosebach

[Gillibrand]

PS
the article is also copiously illustrated .

[Theophane]

I will read the whole article later, but it looks very good. Since I had the privilege to be at the grottos of the Annunciation and Nativity, and the Holy Sepulchre, about one month before the latest unpleasantness erupted, it was great to see them shown (the Holy Sepulchre is slightly idealized in the picture--in reality the area around it is more cluttered) in the article.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

And pray also, if you will, for the 54 Legionary deacons whom I also had the privilege to see ordained in Rome on 3 June 2006, and who will be ordained to the holy priesthood on 24 December 2006.

As I may have mentioned once before, one unanticipated highlight of the ordination ceremony came during the presentation of the Gospels to each deacon, when the Legionary choir and the congregation of 4,000 in St Paul's Outside the Walls sang that old Fanny Havergal standby "Take My Life and Let it Be Consecrated Lord to Thee". It was very emotional.

[Nihil Obstat]

Gillibrand - Well done, keep up the good work.

Theophane -

And pray also, if you will, for the 54 Legionary deacons whom I also had the privilege to see ordained in Rome on 3 June 2006, and who will be ordained to the holy priesthood on 24 December 2006.

Prayers sent - fantastic news