I remember memorizing my prayers as a catechumen 20 years ago. Books helped me to familiarize myself with the parts of the Mass, which initially seemed foreign and alienating. This is normal for converts, and I’m grateful to have had those resources, but my children will have no such memories. To them, Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum will seem like words that they always knew. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi will feel like part of the fabric of the universe. I love that. Because it is true, and no book can teach that as effectively as reverent liturgy.
“I ask that you be vigilant,” writes Pope Francis in “Traditionis Custodes,”his 2021 letter to the bishops of the world, “in ensuring that every liturgy be celebrated with decorum and fidelity to the liturgical books promulgated after Vatican II, without the eccentricities that can easily degenerate into abuses.”
It seems to me that reverent liturgy has become a topic of renewed interest among Catholics, which is wonderful to see. We live in uncertain times, and the church faces many challenges, but nothing will sustain us through these trials like the fitting worship of God.
There are of course many facets to the debate about reverent liturgy, but two things in particular seem worth stressing. First, liturgy should be beautiful. Second, it should draw worshipers beyond themselves and into a relationship with things that transcend their particular place and time: the universal church, a rich Catholic tradition and, most importantly, God himself.