Pope Francis warned that the liturgy is the work of Christ and of the Church and should be joyful, because “it is not something from a museum”, but “not like a worldly party”.
“The liturgy is the work of Christ and of the Church, and as such, it is a living organism, like a plant, it cannot be neglected or mistreated. It is not a marble or bronze monument, it is not something from a museum. The liturgy is alive like a plant, and it must be cultivated with care,” the pope said as he welcomed an Italian association of teachers on liturgy.
Furthermore, Pope Francis pointed out that “the liturgy is joyful, with the joy of the Spirit, not a worldly party. That is why, for example, a liturgy with a funeral tone does not go. It is always cheerful because it sings praises to the Lord”.
The Holy Father then encouraged this Italian association, which celebrates its 50th anniversary, to network with its study and research activity because “theology can and must also have a synodal style, involving the various theological disciplines and the human sciences. , ‘networking’ with institutions that, beyond Italy, cultivate and promote liturgical studies”.
In this line, Pope Francis exhorted to “remain listening to the Christian communities” so that his work does not distance itself from “the expectations and needs of the people of God”.
“These people -of which we are a part!- always needs to be formed, to grow, and yet it possesses within it that sense of faith -the sensus fidei- that helps it to discern what comes from God and truly leads to Him, also in the liturgical sphere”, the Pope affirmed, citing the apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium.
Likewise, the Holy Father advised that the academic dimension not distance itself from the pastoral and spiritual dimension because “we need, today more than ever, a high vision of the liturgy so that it is not reduced to detailed disquisitions of rubrics”.
The Pope asked for “an unworldly liturgy, but one that raises its eyes to heaven, to feel that the world and life are inhabited by the Mystery of Christ; and at the same time a liturgy with ‘feet on the ground’, propter homines, not far from life. Not with that worldly exclusivity, no, that has nothing to do with it. Serious, close to people. Both things together: turn our eyes to the Lord without turning our backs on the world”.
In this way, the Holy Father recalled that in his recent apostolic letter Desiderio desideravi “on liturgical formation, I underlined the need to find adequate channels for a study of the liturgy that goes beyond the academic sphere and reaches the people of God”.
In this sense, the Pope indicated that “progress in understanding and also in the liturgical celebration must always be rooted in tradition, which always makes you advance in that direction that the Lord wants.”
“There is a spirit that is not that of the true tradition: the worldly spirit of ‘indietrismo’, fashionable today: to think that going to the roots means going backwards”.
“Indietrismo is going back two steps because ‘that’s how it has always been done’ is better. It is a temptation in the life of the Church that leads you to a worldly restorationism, disguised as liturgy and theology, but it is worldly. And ‘indietrism’ is always worldly,” the Pope said.