The Hip, Young Traditionalist

Then there was that time they put me on the cover, talking to a guitar-strumming priest about liturgy.

Though I try to mix up publications, I’m posting another America piece this week, because it’s just so clearly appropriate. I participated in a conversation with Fr. Matthew Cortese a few years ago on liturgy and worship, which was quite fun. He was a good-natured and respectful interlocutor and I enjoyed the exchange. And then they put it on the cover! It’s always a little rush when you open the mailbox and find that they picked you as the cover piece.

The start of this job was also memorable. Editors from America reached out to ask whether I knew anyone who was a fan of traditional liturgy and could participate in a genial exchange about it with someone of a different perspective. They preferred that this person be a woman, definitely not a priest, and not too old.

I was laughing to myself, “Are you asking me to do this, or calling me old?” Anyhow, I volunteered, and they quickly accepted. Interesting that they wanted a priest to represent the less-traditional perspective, and a not-too-old lay woman to speak for tradition.

I’m aware that there are lots of people far more qualified than me to discourse on the fine points of liturgy. But, sometimes the microphone gets passed to you and you just have to do what you can. I did reflect at some length on the points that might help a less-traditional audience think in fruitful ways about worship. It was a good memory in the end, one of those times when you walk away thinking, “Well, that was interesting, and I don’t think I totally blew it.”

Also I got to quote my favorite liturgy book!

In The Spirit of the Liturgy, written before he became pope, Benedict XVI makes this point by referencing the story from Exodus 32 in which the Israelites, sitting restless at the foot of Mount Sinai, create a golden calf and celebrate “a festival to the Lord.” Benedict notes that, at least according to Aaron, it is the Lord who is being celebrated, not Baal or Ra; the people are still ostensibly faithful to the God of Israel. But their feast is condemned, not accepted as real worship, because God never asked to be worshiped in that way. The golden calf is simply invented by a (mere) man as a morale-raising measure. Reverence has little or nothing to do with it.

And later:

Liturgy should not be frozen in amber, but it should be immensely respectful of tradition. Embedded within liturgical tradition are certain divinely inspired truths about how God wishes to be worshiped; and in striving to honor that, we open the possibility of reverence. At the same time, receiving and protecting liturgical traditions helps us to grasp the transcendent nature of liturgy. Worship is good for human beings, but we reap its full benefits only when our goal is to honor God.

In my mind I was thanking the Fraternity of St. Peter for helping me grasp that truth.