At the Papal Mass in Washington DC, those who attended the service were told something unusual: stand up during the consecration.
That’s right, the people who claim the Pope is wanting to bring back the old traditions are right. The Pope is indeed trying to take the church back!
The Pope wants us to go back, back before the council of Trent, back before the schism, back to Nicea, where the command was to celebrate the liturgy in joy — standing up.
Ok, maybe that is not what one should get out of the Pope’s liturgy.
It is, however, the kind of argument many on the internet give. Every small thing the Pope does is scrutinized to indicate some new direction by which we can see the liturgy going in the future. Every last detail is judged and assessed, and interpreted by people following one agenda or another, being shown how the Pope’s newest activities confirms their desires.
Maybe the reality is simpler. Maybe sometimes what the Pope does is what is easiest to do in the situations and contexts he finds himself in. Maybe people shouldn’t be interpreting every little thing he does after all.
What a wonderful event it was to be a part of. All around me were fellow Byzantines — priests, nuns, and seminarians; one just wonders why we were thrown up at the top away from everyone else. I will be writing more of my experiences at the liturgy soon.
Christos Voskrese! Voistinu Voskrese!
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