"everything in the liturgy on Friday has been reviewed and blessed by the Bishop's office."
Missions and Retreats: September 2005 Archives
It's official. I was sent the plans for the opening and closing liturgies for the ICM. The opening hymn for the Opening Liturgy is a Haugen Classic that is all about us. It might be about the effect that God has on the Almighty US, but it is not about God or addressed to God.
The Closing Liturgy begins with some outright heresy. I am not trying to judge Hanh or Buddhists. They have a certain dignity and right to their beliefs. This, however has no place in the Liturgy.
From the writings of Thick Nhat Hanh:
“Our true home is in the present moment,
To live in the present moment is a miracle.
The miracle is not to walk on water.
The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment,
To appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.
Peace is all around us-
In the world and in nature-
And within us-
In our bodies and our spirits.
Once we learn to touch this peace,
We will be healed and transformed.”
Just for beginners, our true home is in heaven. And the walking on water was a significant moment revealing that Jesus is God. In this liturgy, however, we are invited to find truth within, and so are invited to deny or ignore the revealed living Word that is Jesus the Christ, the living Son of God.
Oh, that's right, it is is Sunday liturgy. I will have to go look and see if they included the Creed.
[UPDATE] The Creed is part of the liturgy plan, and the Hanh quote has just been added to my homily.
I will be a way for a few days at the Incernational Council Meeting for Retrouvaille.
I may get an opportunity to blog from the Hotel, but it will be very busy. Pray for me as I have to endure (must be time for penance) a modern liturgy prepared by some expert liturgists. These have been pretty delightful conventions but I have always found the liturgy dreadful, especially the ones where I am the presider.
