Notes That Christian Unity "Resides in Prayer"

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 18, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Ecumenical dialogue isn't about arriving at political agreements and making compromises, but rather seeking the unity founded in the truth of Christ, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this today upon receiving in audience the participants in the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, which ends Friday in Rome.

The plenary, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the institution of the dicastery, is considering the theme: "Toward a New Stage of Ecumenical Dialogue."

Acknowledging the advances of the last 50 years, the Pontiff urged those present to "continue your efforts" and to promote the "path to unity."

The Holy Father added that it is urgent "to revive ecumenical interest and to give new incisiveness to the dialogues," even in the face of new challenges, such as "new anthropological and ethical interpretations, the ecumenical formation of the new generations, the further fragmentation of the ecumenical scene."

"The Catholic Church continues the dialogue with passion," he continued, "seeking to deepen, in a serious and rigorous way, the common theological, liturgical and spiritual patrimony, and to address with serenity and commitment the elements that still divide us."

Benedict XVI then affirmed that the "aim of the ecumenical path remains unchanged, as does the firm commitment in pursuing it."

He noted that, however, dialogue is not the same as the art of politics, "in which the ability to negotiate or the greater capacity to find compromises come into play, from which could be expected, as good mediators, that, after a certain time, one will arrive at agreements acceptable to all."

"Ecumenical action has a twofold movement," the Popeth explained. "On one hand there is the convinced, passionate and tenacious search to find full unity in truth, to excogitate models of unity, to illumine oppositions and dark points in order to reach unity.

"And this in the necessary theological dialogue, but above all in prayer and in penance, in that spiritual ecumenism which constitutes the throbbing heart of the whole path: The unity of Christians is and remains prayer, it resides in prayer."

On the other hand, the Holy Father continued, is "another operative movement, which arises from the firm awareness that we do not know the hour of the realization of the unity among all the disciples of Christ and we cannot know it, because unity is not 'made by us,' God 'makes' it: It comes from above, from the unity of the Father with the Son in the dialogue of love which is the Holy Spirit; it is a taking part in the divine unity."

The Pontiff said that this knowledge shouldn't take away from the Church's efforts to work toward unity, but rather "it should make us ever more attentive to receive the signs of the times of the Lord, knowing how to recognize with gratitude that which already unites us and working to consolidate it and make it grow."

"In the end," he added, "it is about leaving to God what is only his and of exploring, with seriousness, constancy and dedication, what is our task, being aware that to our commitment belongs the binomial of acting and suffering, of activity and patience, of effort and joy."

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Here is something shared by a Buddhist friend of mine:

One day, Ananda, Buddha's attendant, exclaimed that kalayanamita (true friends who encouraged, supported and helped one another) were very important. The Buddha replied "Ananda, kalayanamita is everything in the holy life".

I know a man who once said something similar: "Greater love has no one than the man who would lay down his life for his friends". His name was Jesus. He was the Son of God.

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It is totally absurd to try to make the liturgy “attractive” by introducing dancing pantomimes (wherever possible performed by professional dance troupes), which frequently (and rightly, from the professionals’ point of view) end with applause. Wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment. Such attrac­tiveness fades quickly - it cannot compete in the market of leisure pursuits, incorporating as it increasingly does various forms of religious titillation. I myself have expe­rienced the replacing of the penitential rite by a dance performance, which, needless to say, received a round of applause. Could there be anything farther removed from true penitence? Liturgy can only attract people when it looks, not at itself, but at God, when it allows him to enter and act. Then something truly unique happens, beyond competition, and people have a sense that more has taken place than a recreational activity. None of the Christian rites includes dancing.

[Spirit of the Liturgy (SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000), p. 198]

Commentary: Indeed, secularism and consumerism have intruded into ecclesial life like never before, and many - clergy and laity alike - remain unsuspecting and oblivious (and, often, obstinate) about this reality. Of all liturgical eras of the Church, there has been perhaps no one comparable era as this, in which the quality of liturgy is gauged in accordance with how it satisfies the worshipers. The numerical mass of people who speak of the liturgy in terms of how it serves their liturgical fancies, and whether or not it is subservient to their personal preferences, is alarming.

As with all other fields of study, liturgy too evokes a certain sense of subjectivism through which many individuals somehow reserve a right (I would prefer to call it a "wrong") of private judgement. If this attitude sounds somewhat Protestant, it is. And in my observation, the issue of liturgical dance often rests at this point, and doubtlessly, many are happy for it to linger within the margins of debatability. But in the final analysis, it is very much an issue of obedience.

Given that the present Holy Father has never spoken in great breadth about liturgical dance since the commencement of his pontificate (even the book I am expounding was written prior to his pontificate, although I sincerely doubt much of his mind has changed in regard to his liturgical senses), some do contend that liturgical dance has never then been expressly forbidden. The Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Francis Cardinal Arinze, had however spoken the mind of the Sacred Magisterium on these matters in stating that liturgical dance was never permitted. He had proceeded to explain, what were refined movements and rhythmically ordered processions in certain cultures were not, as such, considered "dance" and were therefore permitted.

The Magisterium has spoken. All that is left now is a matter of obedience. Or otherwise.

The Church, in all places and at all times, commands obedience and assent to her teachings. Even in issues that are not entirely pronounced in such an explicit way as they are on other matters, the children of the Church are expected to accord their assent of intellect and will in such matters. As is stated in Lumen Gentium 25a:

This religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, even when he is not speaking ex cathedra; that is, it must be shown in such a way that his supreme magisterium is acknowledged with reverence, the judgments made by him are sincerely adhered to, according to his manifest mind and will. His mind and will in the matter may be known either from the character of the documents, from his frequent repetition of the same doctrine, or from his manner of speaking.

Evidently, obeying the rubrics of the liturgy is more than a mere matter of whether the rubrics make sense. It is also, equally, a reflection of the state of one's heart and the state of one's communion with Holy Mother Church.

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Dancing is not a form of expression for the Christian liturgy. In about the third century, there was an attempt in certain Gnostic-Docetic circles to introduce it into the liturgy. For these people, the Crucifixion was only an ap­pearance. Before the Passion, Christ had abandoned the body that in any case he had never really assumed. Danc­ing could take the place of the liturgy of the Cross, be­cause, after all, the Cross was only an appearance. The cultic dances of the different religions have different pur­poses - incantation, imitative magic, mystical ecstasy - none of which is compatible with the essential purpose of the liturgy of the “reasonable sacrifice”.

[Spirit of the Liturgy (SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000), p. 198]

Commentary: Many unsuspecting Catholics, clergy included, are so unaware of the history - and in this case, the liturgical history - of the Catholic Church that they see prohibitions, such as that of the "liturgical dance", as unjust curtailment of liturgical expression. The Holy Father explains that there is a background against which this prohibition is to be understood. Further to that, this prohibition has to also be understood in the light of the universal religious practices common to mankind.

The liturgy, although being a celebration, is also a sacrifice, and as such is nothing to dance about. Dancing and all sorts of popular frenzies are not the ways in which the sacrifice should be celebrated and commemorated. The gravity of Christ's one true sacrifice must evoke the deepest sense of awe and dignified reverence of the people before "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world".

Any kind of singing, posture or action that threatens to detract our literal attention from the cross of Christ must remain alien to the liturgical senses of the Church. For this reason, dancing (and for that matter, jumping and waving one's hands in the air as one would in an open-air pop concert) is alien to the liturgical tradition of the Church.

To know history is to be Catholic; to remain ignorant of history is to be heretic.

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