emphasized as to deemphasize his humanity, and the honor
shown Mary threatened to displace the worship of Christ.• In liturgy, worship in the cathedrals was more a matter of
performance by the clergy than of participation of the faithful,
carried out in a language (Latin) that was increasingly unknown to
any but the learned clergy.
o Eucharistic controversies stressing the “real presence” led to
the “adoration” of the host more than the eating of a meal. The
adoration of the Blessed Sacrament may have been initiated
by Francis of Assisi and is attested as a lay practice in Paris
around 1226. Eventually, the service of “benediction of the
Blessed Sacrament” entered Catholic life.
o “Sacramentals” increasingly displaced the sacraments as the
focus of Catholic piety: devotion to the saints, collection of
relics, pilgrimages, and the winning and selling of indulgences.o The life of piety could be regarded more as a set of practices
designed to avoid eternal punishment in hell or the terrors of
purgatory, rather than an expression of a living relationship
with the resurrected Christ.• In the political realm, the long involvement of the church in the
affairs of state—supported by the Donation of Constantine—had
the paradoxical effect of actually lessening its spiritual authority,
making it appear (as it often actually was) as one power broker
among others, rather than the representative of a “rule of God” that
transcended human authorities.
• The hierarchical structure of Catholicism itself seemed badly in
need of reform.
o It established, in effect, a caste system, with ignorant laity
completely disenfranchised, ignorant local clergy only slightly
more powerful, and then (in ascending order of prestige,
power, and wealth), monks, mendicants, bishops, cardinals,
and the pope.