The Church is “a living organism which needs to grow, mature and adapt to circumstances.” (129)
In this week’s Wednesday audience, Pope Leo XIV continues his catechesis on the Second Vatican Council, considering the sacred liturgy through the lens of both tradition and development.
The Church is a living organism that is meant to grow, mature, develop, and accommodate herself to today’s circumstances. The Second Vatican Council recognized the need to adjust certain adaptable elements of the liturgy in order to invigorate the faithful, foster unity, and evangelize the world.
Yet this progress in the liturgy must always be rooted in authentic Tradition, distinguishing and preserving those elements which are immutable and divinely instituted.
In this way, tradition and progress are not opposed to one another. “Tradition is a living reality, which therefore includes in itself the principle of development, of progress.” (Pope Benedict XVI).
