Thursday, April 07, 2005
The Dancing Jesuit
There are many things one could say, both positively and negatively about the topic of this NCR article, The Dancing Jesuit by Francis Gonsalves, S.J. I keep thinking back to what Msgr. Albacete wrote in his New York Daily News article. To be Catholic means to embrace the incarnation, which means the material, the physical, the flesh, the human. This "Dancing Jesuit" even danced for the Holy Father. Why? I think it has something to do with what Msgr. Albacete wrote about in his article on the Holy Father. On the lighter (or not so lighter) side - I have seen the "Dancing Puerto Rican" live on many public occasions and it was a heck of a show! He dances (rhetorically and intellectually) with the grace and beauty of a modern-day Fred Astaire.
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2 comments:
Dance is wonderful as a prelude to Liturgy or afterwards or at another time. Tradition, however, encompasses more than words: gestures are also part of sacred tradition. In the Sacred Liturgy, the priest should follow the tradition which he has received, rather than innovating. This article offers a critical survey of the practice:
http://www.adoremus.org/3-00-MurrayDance.html
I totally agree, speaking as an Eastern Catholic who recognizes the importance of liturgy and tradition. I for one prefer a liturgy where the sense of the sacred is preserved. My own sensibilities are normally offended when I perceive games are being played with it.
It's important though that one makes the distinction between big T Tradition and little t tradition though. There are parts of the liturgy which can and should change around the culture it finds itself in. This deals with the whole issue of faith and inculturation, not to mention, evangelization.
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