he following is a translation of a 2015 article by Father Javier Sánchez Martínez, originally titled "Without Self-Celebrating." Before his death in 2021, Fr. Sánchez was a priest and liturgist in the Diocese of Córdoba, Spain. While the article discusses the broader topic of the trend of liturgical anthropocentrism in the Church as a whole, we can easily see how Kiko's various "invented liturgies" for the Neocatechumenal Way can fall under this umbrella and should be equally critiqued.
There is a secularist shift in the liturgy that manipulates the sacred and replaces it with the "we;" Christ is removed and the community group is put in His place. The liturgy becomes the group's hallmark to strengthen human ties, transmit human slogans and values, and repeat - tiresomely - that "we are going to make a more just and supportive society."
This is noticeable in the human, didactic, and very moralistic emphases of the monitions and the homily ("this one is very long, a rally..."). It is noted in the type of liturgical songs that try to have rhythm and provoke emotion and sentimentality. It is also noticeable in the multiplication of elements so that many take part by going up into the sanctuary (one monition at a time, one reader per petition... or even the reading of a manifesto or "commitment"). That liturgy focuses everything on the specific group.
When this is done, there are elements of the liturgy that are left behind because they do not make sense, or people don't know what to do with them: silence during the penitential act, after the Oremus of the Collect, or after the homily; the singing of a meditative, contemplative Responsorial Psalm; the prayers of the Mass and the Eucharistic Prayer, in particular, addressed to God, which are recited quickly because no one knows any longer how to pray to God with the liturgy. The signs of adoration are suppressed--genuflection, kneeling during the consecration, a profound bow when passing in front of the altar--as are processions (entrance, Gospel) and incense...
Liturgy ceases to be Christian liturgy - worship in Spirit and truth - when it becomes a festive show, focused on celebrating the group in and of itself, or exalting its supposed "commitments."
More and more the liturgy becomes anthropocentric: man is exalted, and the community itself is the center and pole of attraction. Everything is discursive: new moralisms, values and commitments, movement of emotions and feelings in songs and gestures (mawkish songs, lots of hugging and kissing at the sign of peace...).
The first deceit would be to center the liturgy as if it were something owned--and therefore manipulable--by the priest, the liturgical team, or the community. Rather, the liturgy belongs to the Church, and we insert ourselves into it, respectfully, to receive Life and glorify the Lord. This ecclesial vision of the liturgy was expressed many times by Pope Benedict XVI:
"We must always ask ourselves anew: who or what is the authentic subject of the liturgy? The answer is simple: the Church. It is not the individual person or group which is celebrating the liturgy, but is first and foremost God's action through the Church which has her own history, her rich tradition and her creativity." (Letter to the Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, May 13, 2011)
The liturgy is above all the action of God, not our own creative action. It is the place of God's grace and sanctification, and that is why the liturgy is received as a gift - it is not manufactured each time like a human invention or a secular party, waiting to see what they come up with each Sunday.
"We can say that neither the priest by himself nor the community by itself are responsible for the liturgy; it is the total Christ, Head and members. The priest, the community, each one is responsible to the extent that he is united with Christ, and how he represents Christ in the communion of Head and Body. Every day the conviction must grow in us that the liturgy is not our 'doing,' but rather, on the contrary, it is God's action in us and with us." (Juan José Silvestre Valor, Looking to God: Rediscovering the Liturgy with Benedict XVI, p. 185)
It is advisable to study deeply and repeat these concepts from the hand of Benedict XVI, to eradicate something so widespread as the idea that the liturgy belongs to the group and must be a fun and entertaining party:
"It is not, therefore, the individual - priest or member of the faithful - or the group celebrating the liturgy, but the liturgy is primarily God's action tbrough the Church which has her own history, her rich tradition and her creativity. This universality and fundamental openness, which is proper to the whole of the liturgy, is one of the reasons why it cannot be conceived of or modified by the individual community or by experts, but must be faithful to the forms of the universal Church." (General Audience, October 3, 2012)
The liturgy is received from the Church. It is celebrated in communion with the whole Church. It shapes and sanctifies us by glorifying God. This, then, is the Holy Father's exact perspective and, well assimilated, it corrects false creativity and [one of the Neos' favorite words] desacralization.
"It is not about our doing something, about our demonstrating our creativity, in other words, about displaying everything we can do. Liturgy is precisely not a show, a piece of theater, a spectacle. Rather, it gets its life from the Other. This has to become evident, too. This is why the fact that the ecclesial form has been given in advance is so important. It can be reformed in matters of detail, but it cannot be reinvented every time by the community. It is not a question, as I said, of self-production. The point is to go out of and beyond ourselves, to give ourselves to him, and to let ourselves be touched by him... [The celebrative style, the liturgy] does not just spring from the fashion of the moment." (Benedict XVI, Light of the World)
For this reason, in any liturgy, in any parish, monastery, church, Christian community, etc., only God must shine, and for this it is essential to adhere to the liturgical books and celebrate with a contemplative gaze, with adoration, knowing Whom it is we are before. No, we don't celebrate ourselves.
"Ultimately, this is the question: do we celebrate the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, or do we celebrate our own experiences of death and life, because in some ways celebrating it seems that the presence or non-presence of God does not matter, since everything is centered in the community." (Pedro Fernández Rodríguez, O.P., The Sacred Liturgy, p. 305)
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