Alcuin Reid on Liturgical Reform

An address which should be carefully and completely read is provided by Phil Blosser, with the permission of Fr. Reid.

Fr. Reed examines Art. 23 of Sacrosanctum Consilium and then quotes a few folks--Mgr. Bugnini, Fr. Jungmann, Fr. Bouyer, and Mgr. Famoso, all affirming the principles of Art. 23.

As we all know, that line of thought was trashed almost immediately.

Nevertheless, I submit, that if we use the criteria given us by Sacrosanctum Concilium in article 23, we cannot but come to see that there are clear indications that the reform that followed the Council exceeded the legitimate boundaries of organic development it itself imposed.

Fr. Reid's thoughts on Mgr. Bugnini are a clue:

...he does not regard the Sacred Liturgy as an objective organism handed on in tradition and only modified with the profound respect for the tradition according to that principle we term organic development. He regards liturgical tradition as something to be rediscovered through historical scholarship, edited according to current pastoral exigencies and posited juridically by authority regardless of what has been handed down in history.

(Liturgeists who are not acquainted with Sacrosanctum Consilium (yes, that is a lot of you) are urged to buy a copy of the Documents of Vatican II, available at Half-Price Books for cheap monies.)

Fr. Reid did not use too many polysyllabic words, either.