Editor’s note: This is the text of the homily Archbishop J. Peter Sartain preached at the Prayer of Repentance and Healing service held October 4, 2018, at St. James Cathedral.
SEATTLE – The week before Pope Francis’ September 22 visit to Lithuania, members of the local Lithuanian-American community gathered here for the rare occasion of attending Mass in their native language.
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As many Catholics know, the Second Vatican Council famously referred to the liturgy as the “source and summit of the Christian life.” And following the prompts of the great figures of the liturgical movement in the first half of the 20th century, the council fathers called for a fuller, more conscious and more active participation in the liturgy on the part of Catholics.
Cardinal Robert Sarah’s recent book The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise explores a number of themes both theological and spiritual, all centering around the unhappy role that noise has come to play in our culture and more specifically in the church. His observations are most trenchant in regard to the liturgy, which should come as no great surprise, given his role as head of the Vatican congregation devoted to liturgy and sacraments. As I read the sections of his book dealing with the importance of silence during Mass, I often found myself nodding vigorously.