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The acclamation can
rise to an outcry of joy and praise, to a bravo of acquiescence.
In a tribe of Gabon in Africa the acclamations Laus tibi,
Christe, 'Praise to you, Lord Jesus!' after the Gospel has
been translated 'Bravo, Jesus, you speak well!' Indeed, our
congregations must relearn liturgical acclamation. When the
priest invites the congregation to "Lift up your hearts,"
they answer with anesthetized voices " We lift them up
to the Lord" in the same way they would say "Lord,
have mercy!" And whereas the multitudes in the Gospel were
crying out in full voice to Christ who was entering Jerusalem,
"Hosanna in the highest!" (Mark 11:10), they whisper
it now with expiring breaths while bending their heads. They
have changed the nature of the response to a ritual droning,
as one would exchange a noble wine by replacing it with a lukewarm
lemonade.
It is fitting here
to recall one more time this rule of good liturgical common
sense: an acclamation is a true acclamation only of it is "acclaimed."
Actually, people know
true acclamations, They know how to use them authentically,
for example, in a stadium at a baseball game. Go to a baseball
or football game and you will see what I mean. One is captivated,
submerged, drowned in the tumultuous waves of a true celebration.
There are the clamors of the entrance song when one applauds
the names of the players There are spontaneous acclamations
when a goal is made, without anyone needing to say "Let
us proclaim (the mystery of faith)!" All acclamations are
guaranteed, authentic, immediate, vigorous: "Go man, go!
Yeah! He's out !" I do not want to mention other remarks
directed to the umpire which pass beyond the barrier of teeth
(as old Homer would say) more freely than a ray breaks away
from the bosom of "rosy fingered dawn."
Of course, I know that
the Eucharist is not a game, It is much more. It is the joy
of our love and of our faith before the Lord. Really, I thank
we should express our participation at the celebration of divine
joy more deeply than at any baseball game!
The problem -- we know
it well -- is also the problem of the priest. He ordinarily
gets the answer which he requests. If he says "Lift up
your hearts!" while dialoging with his shoes, eyes shyly
turned to the ground, surely he cannot expect an enthusiastic
acclamation. The principle would be: priest sad, congregation
sadder; priest alive, congregation alive; priest celebrating
the authenticity of the liturgy, congregation living with him
this same authenticity. It is a question or a problem of animation,
of communication, of warmth. There is no miracle in this domain.
Grace does not replace nature. It takes root there. One does
not ask the priest to "surpass" himself each time
or to play a role of which is is incapable . one asks him simply
to live in truth, according to all his capabilities, and this
for the better service of God and his brothers and sisters.
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