That wise old Anglican cove,
Fr Hunwicke has this to say about the contrast between Protestant and Catholic worship:
In other words, for classical Protestantism, the Eucharist is an acted word; it is a sermon dramatised; it is intended to instruct the witnesses and draw their heart to that saving faith which justifies. But for the Catholic, it is an opus operatum; an action which by the powerful and indefectible promise of Christ is objectively (not merely subjectively and in the heart of the believer) effective. So the celebrant is not in the business of moving or instucting or edifying or converting the viewer - if such may be the the by-products, even useful ones, of the action, they are not its intrinsic purpose. The priest's intrinsic purpose is to confect and offer the Body and Blood of the Redeemer in sacrifice for the sins of men. Failure to realise this is at the heart of what is wrong with so much modern and 'relevant' liturgy; and, to judge from my own reading and experience, the error is just as pervasive and deep-rooted inside the Roman Communion as it is outside it.
Why a picture of Lancing College Chapel? Fr Hunwicke taught classics there for aeons.
7 comments:
I am reminded of the ecumenical grace before meals:
Bless us, O Lord and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty...and for what the Protestants are about to receive may the Lord make them truly thankful!
Sweet and Gentle Jesus condescends to come to us both in flesh and spirit in the Holy Eucharist in the Holy Sacrifice whilst the protestants eat bread that cannot save them, for man cannot live by bread alone.
Forgive me for observing that the conception of "Catholic worship", as outlined by Fr Hunwicke, seems in its own way every bit as reduced and rationalistic as its Protestant counterpart.
[forgot the smilie in my last comment:
8-0
:)
]
Words words and more words. When's he going to convert?
I make Fr Hunwicke a very early port of call on anything of a liturgical nature. He is undoubtedly a star!
Fr Hunwicke's blog unfortunately has a resident anti-semite who believes in blood libels and all sorts of horrors which the Catholic Church has decisively repudiated. Fr Blake does not tolerate such evil nonsense on his blog.
That being said ,this detached observer wonders why Hunwicke is an Anglican in full communion with Canterbury and of course therefore with the recently consecrated lesbian "bishop" in the USA since his conception of the Papacy appears to be much nearer to Pius IX and Cardinal Manning than it is to that of Pope Benedict ,Fr Blake, or Eamon Duffy.
However that does not detract from his massive liturgical erudition.
Post a Comment