vendredi 7 août 2009

Today's celebrations:

  • Afterfeast of Transfiguration, happy Transfiguration belatedly New Calendarists and Uniates!

  • St Anne, the Granny of God, 25 July in Eastern Calendar, which is today according to Old Calendar. Happy name's day all Annes!

  • Had the pleasure of attending the marriage of Rafaël and Stéphanie in St Sévérin parish this evening, MEILLEURS VŒUX!

  • Before which I had heard, in the Abbey Bookshop, the song:

    "Dance, dance, wherever you may be,
    For I am the Lord of the dance" said He:
    "And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be
    And I'll lead you all in the dance" said He.


    And that is true, for He danced on the gates of Hell, when he came down there.

Why then is there a canon forbidding priests to dance in public? Because the liturgy participates in the highest dance, that of the angels who fall down before God singing the Trisagion. What you normally call dances, like Squaredance or Waltz, takes it model in somewhat lower angelic spirits, though still great, who lead the stars in the dance that is visible for human eyes. Or maybe they too get up to the throne of God once in a while --- I have not yet read Dionysios Areopagita.

This message on guardian angels by Plinio Correa de Oliveira says:

"There are angels to watch over groups, families of souls, societies and other institutions, so that everything that exists is guarded by angels. This, incidentally, is part of the role of the angels, for they maintain the whole material universe executing all of the decrees of God."



UPDATE:

There is a darker side to the ban on dances in public for priests. In pagan religions like the Greek or the Hindoo, false divinities were regarded as inventors or protectors of dance. When I was young I told nuns who had been treating Elvis "he is the King of music" - no, Jesus is the King of Music, they said. As there was Elvis so there were Apollon, Dionysos and Shiva (to name some) to pose as "King of dance" (Natârâja). And in both Greek and Indian sources we have stories that make these divinities look like masks of the devil: death, intoxication, false but selffulfilling prophecy. That is not "somewhat lower but still high", that is real low. Even if their title is false, the association may make it unfitting for priests - or else the Roman adage "nemo saltat sobrius, nisi forte insanit".

6 commentaires:

Hans Georg Lundahl a dit…

Speaking of Ireland (It was Dubliners who sang Lord of the Dance on the link):

Save TARA, a petition to sign

now available on:

http://o-x.fr/uio

Anonyme a dit…

Aquinas quoting Dionysius and Gregory

Hans Georg Lundahl a dit…

Actually it is neither there nor in Q 110 actually stated that this or that order of angels or even "angels" "spirits" or "separate substances" as such do rule the stars or planets.

I only think it is a very neat conclusion from the statement of St Augustine in the other quote (Q110 ad 3) on the other post to which I will link next comment.

Hans Georg Lundahl a dit…

Here.

The written parts by me are in French, but there is a comment linking to Q 110 in the newadvent site.

Hans Georg Lundahl a dit…

James 1:17 Every best gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration.

I have read a version which says:

"... with whom there is not, as with the stars any change, nor shadow of alteration."

When angels bow down before God, they participate by stability of eternal bliss in His unchangeableness, but it was not always so, not all chose to obey and adore. The other ones fell...

Which means that the "dance" of liturgy is about eternity, the dances that imitate the stars only about time and change.

Hans Georg Lundahl a dit…

Links, mostly, including to Fr. Huneycutt, Bishop Williamson, John Sandinopoulos, and some of my comments, these being English counterpart to "Mon retour des Orthodoxes à la FSSPX":

1 Hungarians do play guitar (link) 2 China 3 Orthodixie: "Of course Sponge Bob is gay" (link) 4 Dale Ahlquist: "G.K. Chesterton and The Perils of ... 5 "Generous Orthodoxy" defends fallibilism? 6 Brain death diagnosis kills? (link) 7a "Kill your parents" +40ys=Educate your children! (link) b I don't believe in Weathermen c How e v e r 8 "When does His Grace Hilarion sleep?" /Orthodixie ... 9 Airport Tyranny/Dinoscopus (link) 10 Mark Pivarunas, bishop, speaks (link) 11 Between Sunday of Genealogy and Christmas Day (links) 12 Two courageous men, two heavily conformist communities... 13 Reading time for Mgr Williamson! 14 Update 1: Mgr Williamson apologises for hurting people... 15 Update 3: some do not apologise or avoid schism (update 2 is in French series) 16 Count-down to St Patrick's - a link to his "breast plate"... 17 Happy St Patrick's day, all of you ... 18 Annunciation 19 Happy Annunciation, Old Calendarists! - 20 Great and Holy Tuesday (link to Fr. James) - 21 Orthodox Holy Week (link to Fr Huneycutt) - 22 Christ is risen! - 23 Il est vraiment ressuscité 24 Piracy and slavehunt are not Christian things 25 A book and a site they might not want you to read ... 26 Today's celebrations: 27 Blessed feast of the Dormition! 28 My dear Bishop Williamson, if I had earned money a... 29 Brother Dimond refutes claim that Shroud of Turin is a fake (link, youtube)... 30 Am I too libertarian for FSSPX? Hope not. 31 a Mystagogy posts certainly false allegation on St Robert Bellarmine... - b Pseudoquote identified. What De Romano Pontifice, ... really says - c Further faults of fact in the Mystagogy post