In thinking about the Exhortation and matters liturgical this week, considering all of that along with the hopes many have for a forthcoming Motu Proprio and the dynamic of how all of this works out on the ground, I formulated an opinion on what, I think, is missing from Rome on this. Yeah, I did that all by myself.

The easy answer is "Putting Certain Bishops on the plane to Rome and escorting into the Apostolic Palace for an interesting Q & A session with the Pope." or "Finding a pleasant Mongolian see for certain bishops."

But that’s not an adequate answer because it’s not an answer that takes reality into account – the reality of who, for the most part, does liturgy in dioceses and parishes (I am speaking of the US scene, because that’s the scene I know a little about, as opposed to the rest of the world), what structures are in place to support and train all of those folks, what the dominant clerical and (importantly) episcopal mindsets are, and so on.

There’s another dimension to this reality, though. And that is the reality of various musicians around the country working very hard to keep the musical heritage of the Roman Rite alive in parishes large and small, priests who pray the liturgy consistent with both spirit and letter of the liturgical books, seminarians who look forward to doing so once they are ordained, composers who are drawing from wells dug longer ago than 1975, artists who are creating, architects who are designing, colleges that are pulling together new programs in liturgy, sacred music and art…

They could use a word.

A word of support. Praise. Oh, dare I say it…affirmation!

(Sorry about that.)

There is this huge gap between A)The spirit and letter of what, according to Rome, should be happening in the Roman Rite and B)What the bulk of the liturgical establishment declares is acceptable and even praiseworthy.

Folks on the ground who are attempting to live and work by (A) are, in most dioceses (there are exceptions) struggling against a great obstacle that is weighty, entrenched, and institutionalized.

To have someone – the Pope, someone at CDW…even a prominent American bishop involved in these things indicate (I know not how), not once, but in a consistent manner, that these efforts – to really reintegrate beauty, a sense of universality across time and space, and the depth of Catholic tradition back into our liturgical mindset – are not some sort of fringe effort, but are praiseworthy and are supported…would do a lot.

What would also do a lot, I’ll humbly suggest – is example.  Examples set, not just once in a while, but daily in St. Peter’s in Rome, in the other pontifical basilicas, in papal liturgies abroad,  in cathedrals. A lot.