I thought there was to be a “new Pentecost” at

Vatican II but the recent revival of traditional liturgy seems to contradict the hopes of the Council.
Blessed John XXIII, Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict have all at various times prayed for a “new Pentecost”, asking for a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Church. In the late 1960s Cardinal Suenens spoke of a sense of pessimism and defeat both in the Church and in society, a theme he continued to address in his 1974 book, A New Pentecost?.
The cardinal felt that Vatican II had been a “new Pentecost” in the graces offered but not necessarily in the graces that were actually received. He called for the Church to experience the nearness and active presence of the Holy Spirit in the Liturgy which should be seen not only as the sanctification of the gifts but also of the people who receive them. In the epilogue to his book, he wrote: “The Spirit is the living breath of the Church, leading it on its pilgrimage [...] He is at once continuity and freshness: ‘things new and old’ (Mt 13.52); tradition and progress.” This affirmation prefigured a key theme of Pope Benedict’s pontificate, that of understanding Vatican II in terms of renewal and continuity in the Church, avoiding the introduction of a split between the preconciliar and the post-conciliar Church. In this context the Holy Father said regarding the older form of the Liturgy: “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.” At the same time, he has sought to celebrate the newer form of the Roman Rite in a way that visibly shows its continuity with the tradition of the Church.
At the heart of Pope Benedict’s concern is unity within the Church and it is therefore sad when discord and disunity are focused on the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy. The traditional liturgy of the Church can also be a part of the “new Pentecost.” What’s your view? And do you have a dilemma of your own? Write to us at the address on this page or e-mail editorial@ catholicherald.co.uk