Gregory Di Pippo is the new editor of the excellent New Liturgical Movement blog. An expert himself in traditional liturgies, western and eastern, he writes movingly here of a late priest who dedicated his life to the promotion of liturgical piety.
Father Z of What Does the Prayer Really Say often remarks that "Liturgy will save the world." Certainly, the preservation of ancient Christian knowledge, particularly concerning prayer, is crucial for the survival of Christendom.
There are two kinds of liturgists, both slightly unhinged. There is the innovator, who desperately experiments with the Novus Ordo as if he does not at all trust it to do what it is supposed to do. He shores it up with oddities as if to protect it from a flood of indifference. And then then there is the traditionalist, who finds spiritual meaning in the merest twitch of a cope in an ancient rite. The discovery that there really is edification in something so small gives the traditionist the edge over the innovator. The traditionalist is interested in the accumulated work and prayer of the Christian churches (i.e. tradition); the innovator is mostly concerned with his own inventions.
It is to be hoped that Mr Di Pippo will one day produce books on the liturgy, for not only does he have an encyclopedic mind, he is an excellent writer and conversationalist.
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