Today, the Church celebrates the liturgical memorial of the Beloved disciple, Saint John the Evangelist. As you know, John is the great theologian, perhaps you might say after Saint Paul, of Jesus. His Gospel is a superb love story.
(A Sarum text)
Father Steve Rossetti, a priest of the Diocese of Syracuse (NY) and a professor of Theology at the Catholic University of America, is spending the Christmas holiday at the South Pole.
The decision to publish this book in English is exceptional. Anton Baumstark is a pivotal figure in 20th century liturgical studies and widely considered a genius. He set the world on fire for his keen understanding of the sacred Liturgy, both of the East and the West as he offers a lens –a method– for understanding historical (organic) development in the Tradition of the Church. Baumstark keeps the reader grounded in asking the questions which keep us close to the theologia prima, the sacred Liturgy. The serious student in liturgical studies will pay close attention to On the Historical Development of the Liturgy and Comparative Liturgy.
The Forward is written by Archimandrite Robert F. Taft, SJ, from whom I was first introduced to Anton Baumstark.
From the publisher, Liturgical Press:
Anton Baumstark’s On the Historical Development of the Liturgy (1923) complements his classic work, Comparative Liturgy. Together they lay out his liturgical methodology. Comparative Liturgy presents his method; On the Historical Development of the Liturgy offers his model.
This book was written for one audience and valued by another. Written to lead adherents of the nascent German liturgical movement to a deeper religious appreciation of Catholic worship, its methodology and scope have won the appreciation of liturgical specialists for nearly a century. In describing the organic growth of the liturgy, its shaping and distortion, Baumstark’s reach extends from India to Ireland, Moscow to Axum, Carthage to Xi’an. He discusses the influences of language, literature, doctrine, piety, politics, and culture. While his audacity can be breathtaking and his hypotheses grandiose, his approach is nevertheless stimulating. In this annotated edition, Fritz West provides the first English translation of this work by Anton Baumstark.
Trained in classical and oriental philology, Anton Baumstark (1872-1948) was prodigious as a scholar studying the literature, art, and liturgy of the whole church–Oriental, Eastern, and Western. Comparative liturgy, his method for studying the historical development of the liturgy as an organism, has had a lasting influence, notably on the liturgical study of the Christian East. Fritz West, a liturgical scholar ordained in the United Church of Christ, has written numerous articles on liturgical methodology, the three-year lectionary, and worship in his Reformed tradition. He has published two books, The Comparative Liturgy of Anton Baumstark and Scripture and Memory: The Ecumenical Hermeneutic of the Three-Year Lectionaries.
The review of the proclamation of the Gospel in 2011 by the Pope is a stunning reminder that not all is complete if not rooted and grounded in Christ. His questions are good points for self-examination. Be careful to read the emphasis added to the text.
The occasion that brings us together today is always particularly moving. The holy feast of Christmas is almost upon us and it prompts the great family of the Roman Curia to come together for a gracious exchange of greetings, as we wish one another a joyful and spiritually fruitful celebration of this feast of the God who became flesh and established his dwelling in our midst (cf. Jn 1:14). For me, this is an occasion not only to offer you my personal good wishes, but also to express my gratitude and that of the Church to each one of you for your generous service; I ask you to convey this to all the co-workers of our extended family. I offer particular thanks to the Dean of the College, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who has given voice to the sentiments of all present and of all who work in the various offices of the Curia and the Governorate, including those whose apostolate is carried out in the Pontifical Representations throughout the world. All of us are committed to spreading throughout the world the resounding message that the angels proclaimed that night in Bethlehem, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will” (Lk 2:14), so as to bring joy and hope to our world.
As this year draws to a close, Europe is undergoing an economic and financial crisis, which is ultimately based on the ethical crisis looming over the Old Continent. Even if such values as solidarity, commitment to one’s neighbour and responsibility towards the poor and suffering are largely uncontroversial, still the motivation is often lacking for individuals and large sectors of society to practise renunciation and make sacrifices. Perception and will do not necessarily go hand in hand. In defending personal interests, the will obscures perception, and perception thus weakened is unable to stiffen the will. In this sense, some quite fundamental questions emerge from this crisis: where is the light that is capable of illuminating our perception not merely with general ideas, but with concrete imperatives? Where is the force that draws the will upwards? These are questions that must be answered by our proclamation of the Gospel, by the new evangelization, so that message may become event, so that proclamation may lead to life.
Over the summer Jesuit Father Edward Oakes published his latest book, Infinity Dwindled to Infancy.
Advent is moving us closer and closer to the Incarnation of the Eternal Word of God–Jesus. Among the rich readings of sacred Scripture we have in the Liturgy, there is today’s that recalls for us Mary’s visiting her cousin Elizabeth who is pregnant with John the Baptist. The Visitation is the second of the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary.
Sixty-seven people who are being proposed for sainthood had their causes advanced today when Angelo Cardinal Amato, SDB, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints presented the respective cases to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.
Several were recognized as martyrs for the Faith; their witness to Christ resulted in their being killed in hatred of the faith (odium fidei). 7 who were identified as living a life of heroic virtue were women who founded religious congregations of sisters.
Others were diocesan and religious priests, nuns, sisters and lay people. The martyrs came from Spain having died in the mid-1930s. Of note to me was…
~the recognition of the miracle attributed to the intercession of the Servant of God Maria Luisa (nee Gertrude Prosperi; 1799-1847; image) an Abbess of the Benedictine Abbey in Trevi;
~the recognition of the miracle attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (1654-1672), an American lay woman and first Native American;
~the recognition of the miracle attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Marianne Cope (nee Barbara; 1838-1918), a Franciscan sister who worked with Saint Damian of Molokai.
The Filipino community gets its second saint with the acceptance of the miracle attributed to Blessed Pedro Calungsod (1654-1672), a lay catechist.
The widely known public atheist Christopher Hitchens, 62, died from complications of pneumonia and cancer of the esophagus. He was Oxford educated and the author of several books who worked as a new correspondent and literary critic.