“Without radical humility that is expressed in gestures of adoration and in sacred rituals, no friendship with God is possible. Silence manifests this connection in an obvious way. True Christian silence makes itself sacred silence first so as to become silence of communion.” ReligionHumilityCatholicFriendship With God Book:The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise Source: The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise
“Now, celebrations become tiring because they unfold in noisy chattering. The liturgy is sick. The most striking symptom of this sickness is perhaps the omnipresence of the microphone. It has become so indispensable that one wonders how priests were able to celebrate before it was invented.” ReligionCatholic ChurchCatholic Church TodayPope FrancisThe New Mass Book:The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise Source: The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise
“Christ is certainly distressed to see and to hear priests and bishops, who ought to be protecting the integrity of the teaching of the Gospel and of doctrine, multiply words and writings that weaken the rigor of the Gospel by their deliberately ambiguous, confused statements.” ReligionCatholic ChurchCatholic Church TodayPope Francis Book:The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise Source: The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise
“But here is my hope: God willing, when he wills and as he wills, the reform of the reform will take place in the liturgy. Despite the gnashing of teeth, it will happen, for the future of the Church is at stake. To ruin the liturgy is to ruin our relationship to God and the concrete expression of our Christian faith.” Catholic ChurchCatholic Church TodayPope FrancisThe New MassReform Of The Reform Book:The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise Source: The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise
“Without a strong reaffirmation of Christ's teaching as it has always been handed down by the Magisterium of the Church, there is no ecumenism. Who remembers the words of Pope Paul VI at his General Audience on August 28, 1974? He fearlessly declared: 'What sort of ecumenism could we construct in that way? Where would Christianity end up, and moreover, where would Catholicism be if today, under pressure from a specious but admissible pluralism, we accepted as legitimate the doctrinal disintegration and therefore also the ecclesial disintegration that it can bring with it?” EcumenismMagisteriumPaul Vi Book:The Day is Now Far Spent Source: The Day is Now Far Spent
“La oración consiste en imaginar en silencio la vida concreta y diaria de Jesús. No se trata de recordar un suceso histórico, sino de procurar que el Hijo de Dios entre silenciosamente en nuestro corazón.” DiosCorazónJesucristoOraciónSilencioCatólicoImaginación Book:The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise Source: The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise
“Many fervent Christians who are moved by the Passion and death of Christ on the Cross no longer have the strength to weep or to utter a cry of pain to the priests and bishops who make their appearance as entertainers and set themselves up as the main protagonists of the Eucharist. These believers tell us nevertheless: "We do not want to gather with men around a man! We want to see Jesus! Show him to us in the silence and humility of your prayer!” ReligionCatholicCatholic Church TodayThe New Mass Book:The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise Source: The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise
“There are so many priests who enter triumphantly and walk up toward the altar, greeting people left and right, so as to appear sympathetic. Just look at the sad spectacle of some Eucharistic celebrations. ... Why so much frivolousness and worldliness at the moment of the Holy Sacrifice? Why so much profanation and superficiality, given the extraordinary priestly grace that renders us able to make the Body and Blood of Christ substantially present by the invocation of the Spirit? Why do some think that they are obliged to improvise or invent Eucharistic Prayers that conceal the sacred prayers in a wash of petty, human fervor? Are Christ's words insufficient, making it necessary to multiply merely human words? In such a unique and essential sacrifice, is there any need for such a display of imagination and subjective creativity? "In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words", Jesus warns us (Mt 6:7).” PrideCatholicCatholic ChurchThe New MassBanality Of The World Book:The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise Source: The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise
“Celebration toward the east fosters silence. Indeed, there is less temptation for the celebrant to monopolize the conversation. Facing the Lord, he is less tempted to become a professor giving a lesson throughout the Mass, reducing the altar to a podium centered on the microphone instead of the Cross.” SilenceCatholic ChurchCatholic Church TodayThe New Mass Book:The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise Source: The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise
“Celebrating Mass facing east, by breaking up the face-to-face, private get-together, helps to prevent turning the liturgy into the community's celebration of itself.” Catholic ChurchCatholic Church TodayThe New Mass Book:The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise Source: The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise
“The Word of God and the doctrinal teaching of the Church are still heard, but souls that desire to turn toward God and to offer him the true sacrifice of praise and adoration are no longer impressed by liturgies that are too horizontal, anthropocentric, and festive, often resembling noisy, popular cultural events. The media have totally invaded the Mass and transformed it into a spectacle, when actually it is the Holy Sacrifice, the memorial of the death of Jesus on the Cross for the salvation of our souls. The sense of mystery disappears through changes, permanent adaptations that are decided on autonomously and individually so as to seduce our modern, profane mentalities that are marked by sin, secularism, relativism, and the rejection of God.” Catholic ChurchCatholic Church TodayThe New Mass Book:The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise Source: The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise