Liturgical Obedience, the Imitation of Christ, and the Seductions of Autonomy

Conference given by Dr Peter Kwasniewski at Silverstream Priory "Hell has no liturgy. The fallen angels have no common work of charity, no common work of divine worship. As a desert father once said, the devil has no knees. His mentality is 'non serviam', and an angel is pure mentality—in a sense, they are what they are thinking. Moreover, there is no proper hierarchy in hell. Contrary to the prevailing democratic way of thinking, liturgy is essentially connected with hierarchy: Christ the High Priest is the one who leads the worship, and He deigns to allow the participation of the priest, the deacon, the subdeacon, the ministers, the cantors, the choir, the laity, each in his or their own place and function. One cannot demand or create a liturgical role; one rather receives it and enters into it. To be liturgical is to submit freely to an external rule, an order not of our own making, a complex whole of which we are humble parts."