Benedict XVI on the huge crisis we face as a Church.

Wherein Fr. Z gets on his knees and begs you to act.

by frz@wdtprs.com (Fr. John Zuhlsdorf)

In his address to the Plenary meeting of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, His Holiness said this, which is merely one paragraph of his address in my rapid translation:

As we know, in vast areas of the world the Faith is in danger of being snuffed out like a flame that no longer has any sustenance. We are at a profound crisis of faith, at a loss of a religious sense that constitutes the greatest challenge for the Church of today. The renewal of the faith must therefore be the priority in the undertaking of the whole Church in our times. I hope that the Year of Faith can contribute, with the cordial collaboration of all the members of the People of God, to bring God back anew to this world and to open to men an access to the faith, to a reliance on the God who loved us to the end (cf John 13,1), in Christ Jesus, crucified and risen.

This is a huge challenge for every member of the whole Church.

I will add my view that nothing of which His Holiness spoke is going to be accomplished without a renewal of our liturgical worship.

Our identity as Catholics cannot be separated from our worship.

Benedict XVI’s provisions in Summorum Pontificum remain one of the most important acts of his pontificate.

We need more and more and more opportunities for people to experience the older, traditional form of the Roman Rite in our Latin Church parishes.

Younger priests: learn the older form. This is your Rite! Know your Rite! If you are a Latin Church priest, who are you if you don’t know your Rite? Just do it!

Lay people: band together and start requesting celebrations Holy Mass also in the Extraordinary Form. Get organized. Form a schola and start singing chant so you will be ready when the time comes. Offer to take care of all the material details. Offer to provide vestments, books, money so the priest can go get training. Start thinking about forming a group of servers, perhaps even father and son teams.

Many benefits will flow from a side by side experience of both forms of Holy Mass of the Latin Church.

Posted via email from deaconjohn's posterous