Aggiornamento and ressourcement

An esteemed commenter noted in another entry that

aggiornamento and ressourcement must go hand in hand in order to be faithful to both. For without ressourcement, aggiornamento loses its bearings, and with out aggiornamento, ressourcement fails to effectively fulfill any promise of renewal.

This is a good concept, if we stipulate that aggiornamento and ressourcement are terms which apply to slightly different fields of interest. 

Here is an analogy I have used to break through the obtundity of both wacko progressivists and  funnel vision traditionalists.

Consider the case faced by Kate and Humphrey, or "Rose" and "Charile" in The African Queen.  They are stuck on this river after going over a rapid which damages the propeller.  They must fix the prop so that they can go faster than the water current.  If they are not able to go faster than the current, they won’t be able to steer the boat and the current will sweep them to their doom.  Without a working engine and prop, you are doomed to crash on the rocks or, as Charlie must, drag the boat by a rope and get leeches all over you.  And who wants that?

This is perhaps a banal way to describe something as important as the liturgical and theological life of the Church.  Nevertheless, it teaches us an important lesson.  The propeller of the boat is the very last part of the boat.  It is simultenously your connection to the past and it impells you to the future.  With a propeller, you can steer a course.  Without it you are doomed.  You must keep moving to remain alive and come through safely to your desired port.

This is why patristiblogging is so important!