Card. Mahony Tweets On Liturgy. So Do I

After the election of Pope Francis, some of the choices of the Pope have made liturgy a hot topic. So much so, the world renowned expert on liturgy, Cardinal Mahony, as seen at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congresses, has weighed in on the topic on Twitter.

I responded with some thoughts of my own.

 'Humble' liturgies are like ugly babies, you pretend to admire them to spare your host's feelings. But the baby, while a miracle, is still ugly.
He who rejects beauty in the mass doesn't elevate the world but deforms heaven. #LiturgyMatters
Great humility and great beauty are not mutually exclusive. Just ask the angels. #LiturgyMatters
Good liturgy is like clear glass, revealing the hidden beauty already there. Bad liturgy is like smoky glass, tough to see what's really happening.
'Humble' liturgy is like a mute angel.
Once you strip the altar, you might as well roll dice for its garments. #LiturgyMatters
'Humble' liturgy is like star-gazing on a cloudy night. The beauty is still there, it is just harder to see. Why do it on purpose? #LiturgyMatters
Denying the beauty of the mass to the masses is sort of like denying food to the hungry. Actually, it is exactly like that.
If I showed up in shorts and flip-flops to meet the Pope, would people laud my humility? #LiturgyMatters
A Church truly dedicated to the poor would provide them the most magnificent liturgy possible. #LiturgyMatters
Humility is about forgetting self, not forgetting beauty. #LiturgyMatters
Would you dress the bride in rags as a sign of your humility? #LiturgyMatters

**Note

When I refer to 'humble' liturgies, the quotes are there for a reason.  I mean artifically 'humble', certainly not simplicity born of necessity.  I mean liturgies in which the beautiful is replaced with the stripped down or plain as if plain is superior when it comes to the worship of God.

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis