Agendum

There is a movement, especially among the laity in America, to reform the Liturgy as celebrated in this country to better reflect the original noble intentions of the fathers of Vatican II, in short, to celebrate the Mass as it ought to be celebrated, with Gregorian chant and the Latin language given pride of place in our worship. Excellent organizations such as Adoremus seek to provide the knowledge and resources necessary for the laity to help renew parish life through that apex of parish liturgy, the holy sacrifice of the Mass.

But that will not be the focus of this blog.

The problem with this movement is that without the support of a like-minded pastor, it goes nowhere. Oh sure, we can always nag, but this rarely helps our overworked, liturgically challenged priests, and it rarely yields good results to either us or our shepherds. So rather than nag, it seems to me that we should encourage ... and LEAD.

"But how can we lead? You aren't one of these batty people who advocate laics saying mass, are you?" Far from it! But the mass is not the only Liturgy. The Liturgia Horarum, or Liturgy of the Hours, is "the prayer of the Church with Christ and to Christ." (IGHL 2) It is the Divine Office by which laics, clerics, and angels share in God's life (IGHL 3). It is a means of consecrating time, consecrating the hours of the day in the world. It is lead by a cleric when one is present, and by a laic otherwise. It can be celebrated in the church or in the home.

According to the Institutio Generalis Liturgiae Horarum (IGLH), "To the different hours of the day the liturgy of the hours extends the praise and thanksgiving, the memorial of the mysteries of salvation, the petitions and the foretaste of heavenly glory that are present in the eucharistic mystery, `the center and high point in the whole life of the Christian community'" [12]. It is a way of bearing the mass back into the world, back into our a daily lives after we drive out of the church parking lot. As such, it is especially relevant to the mission of us laics, us fideles.

And it is something we can do about the state of Liturgy in our lives. By practicing the reforms of the Liturgia Horarum as mandated by Vatican II in Sacrosanctum Concilium, we can renew or own lives and help lead the renewal of the Church's Liturgy in the Divine Office, and indirectly in the Mass.

In sum, here is a quote from number 27 of the IGLH, which will serve as a sort of Manifesto for my blog:

27. Lay groups gathering for prayer, apostolic work, or any other reason are encouraged to fulfill the Church's duty, by celebrating part of the liturgy of the hours. The laity must learn above all how in the liturgy they are adoring God the Father in spirit and in truth; they should bear in mind that through public worship and prayer they reach all humanity and can contribute significantly to the salvation of the whole world.

Finally, it is of great advantage for the family, the domestic sanctuary of the Church, not only to pray together to God but also to celebrate some parts of the liturgy of the hours as occasion offers, in order to enter more deeply into the life of the Church.

The name of this blog, Nauta Mundo Naufrago, is a line from a hymn addressed to the Holy Cross. It means "O Sailor for a shipwrecked world." It reminds me to look always to the cross of Christ for guidance through the stormy seas of this world by praying cum Christo et ad Christum.