Bishop David Macaire of Martinique deplored the “desacralization of the liturgy” that is taking place in so many celebrations around the world, and urged the faithful to perform every liturgical detail with respect and piety
Newsroom (06/11/2022 20:55, Gaudium Press) Commenting on Pope Francis’ recent Apostolic Letter “Desiderio desideravi” (I have ardently desired) on liturgical formation, Bishop David Macaire of Fort-de-France, a French territory on the island of Martinique, laments the “desacralization of the liturgy” in many Catholic celebrations.
The Contrast with The Queen of England’s funerals
The recent ceremonies of funerals in honor of the late Queen Elizabeth II of England made the bishop dream: “I dreamed that Our Lord also deserved, in our liturgical celebrations, a similar devotion and even more!”
“I was struck by the pompous cadre that surrounded the funerals of the Queen of England. Without exalting the effects, the ceremony managed to transcend the emotions through sober choreography, at once pompous and humble, and perfectly ordered. The attention paid to every detail, every gesture, every movement, testified, more than shouts and tears, to love and respect! The religious songs invited prayer and deepening.
Lack of Piety and Respect at Communion
Comparing it to certain liturgical celebrations, the bishop ponders: “For a good Catholic, it is something almost banal to be able, every Sunday, and even every day, to approach the Body and Blood of the One that the prophets, since Abraham, have desired to see.” But the prelate laments: “in communion there is a lack of piety, even respect.”
And he emphasizes: “we mix the Eucharist with all kinds of manifestations, as if we needed to ‘spice it up’: dances and drawings by the catechism kids, ceremonies to honor people, socio-political or theological speeches, marriages where the guests are not Christians…”
Desacralization of the Liturgy
Quoting Pope Francis, he states clearly: “We are desacralizing the liturgy because ‘we have confused simplicity with creeping banality’ (“Desiderio desideravi,” 22). Introducing into the ritual ‘dances, vibrations, emotions, aggressive percussions…’.”
The bishop concludes by asking, with Pope Francis, that “all aspects of the celebration must be taken care of (space, time, gestures, words, objects, vestments, singing, music, …) and all rubrics must be observed: this attention would be enough to avoid subtracting from the assembly what is due to it, that is, the Paschal mystery celebrated in the ritual mode that the Church establishes” (‘Desiderio desideravi’, 23). (JMJA)
Compiled by Camille Mittermeier.