The video on "The Liturgy" actually tried to prove that the Church was trying to dissassemble to Traditional Latin Mass and the liturgical actions of centuries of Christian belief. At one point, the commentator actually says (something to the effect of), "The question is not why have we turned the altars around, but why were they up against a wall in the first place." This is an unfortunate and gravely mistaken reading of the Documents of Vatican II. It is quite clear as one reads the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy or Sacrosanctum Concilium that this is not something which the Council sought to do. It is not even mentioned. In fact, recently a blogger known as Matt Fradd noted this in one of his columns. Yet in this video the deceptively make it sound as if this were almost the expressed desire of the Catholic Church. Moreover, it goes on to basically make the case the Liturgy, and in particular the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, is reducible to a mere "meal which Jesus left us." Lastly, it laments that we can be comfortable with a "human jesus, but a divine Jesus makes us uncomfortable."
These elements of the video make it clear that the Catholic Faith is not about receving the Gift of Faith from God, the objective revelation and teaching of Jesus handed on in the Church. Rather, the producers of this video seek to have us only worship what we understand. We should, it seem, not seek the mystery of God, the intimate life of God, but we should be happy enough with only that which we can handle. What a sad version of Catholicism this creates.
Over and over again this same video admits that "the Mystery" of God is removed from the Liturgy. Yet, this is the very nature of what Jesus came to reveal for us in the Mystery of the Holy Trinity. The very interior and intimate life of God is what we are invited into in the Sacrament of Baptism. Now, according to this video, with the New Order of Mass after Vatican II we seem to have no need of mystery in Liturgy. A more false notion could not be found.
As if this weren't bad enough, the next video I reviewed in this series is proposing to show Mary in a "new light." There are many subtleties in this presentation that may be beyond most average Catholics, however for myself as a trained theologian there are many distinctions that must be made which are not and presumptions which are spoken that are not clear. Beyond that, it should suffice to point out that the Nun who presents this presentation on Mary is the one about whom Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, the head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith, criticized the LCWR (the Leadership Conference of Women Religious - which is a leadership group that heads the many of the congregations of nuns in America) because they honored this dissenting theologian.
As I continue to review these videos, I can't help but notice it is for videos like this, which are published by a company called "Parish Video Library", that so many Catholics, either in leadership roles or in the pews, who heard and accepted these views were and are the reason that so many Catholics no longer believe the Catholic Faith or erroneously hold positions which are contrary to the Catholic Faith. It is so much easier for us as human beings for us to convince ourselves that we understand the faith when it makes sense to us or is easier for us to follow, rather than understand that the gift of Catholic Faith and challenge which it offers us in our human lives. Becoming a Saint is not possible by any other means than by the cross of faith and abandonment to God's teaching for mankind in the Holy Catholic Church. May we not seek the way that is wide and easy, but the narrow way that is the way of sacrifice and obedience to Christ.
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