The following report is from the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny, about the recent visit of Martin Mosebach, prize-winning German author, and author of The Heresy of Formlessness, to Fr. George Rutler's parish, the Church of Our Saviour in New York City.
On Sunday, January 30, Martin Mosebach spoke at the parish of Our Saviour, New York. A solemn high mass preceded his talk. We were heartened by the impressive turnout for both the mass and Mr. Mosebach’s talk. In attendance were numerous seminarians and clergy as well as some well-known representatives of various Catholic media. Mr Mosebach gave a forceful presentation on the Traditional liturgy: how it had been destroyed; its essential features; how it is being recovered; and its significance for the overall liturgical and spiritual life of the Church. The text of the original version of his talk (given at an Archdiocesan conference in Sri Lanka last year) can be found HERE.
On Tuesday February 1, Mr. Mosebach spoke at the New York Goethe Institute in a presentation in English and German with critic Liesl Schillinger of the New York Times Book Review. The weather was terrible, yet attendance vastly exceeded expectations using up all available chairs. 70 or so guests had assembled to hear a discussion of a writer none of whose works of fiction have been translated into English! the response of the audience was enthusiastic. When asked if his Catholic faith influenced his novels, Mosebach replied that undoubtedly it did – but exactly how he could not say. Mr Mosebach has written an essay Catholic Literature making much the same point.
A few photos from the events.
DE:NEW LITURGICAL MOVEMENT