6.- The Liturgy
Chapter 5: The Liturgy
Why the Liturgy?
¶1066. The Symbol of the faith is the Creed we believe and is the summary of God’s revelation.
· Ephesians 1:8b-9
o “In all wisdom and insight, God has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.”
· “MYSTERY”
o “…A secret of God now revealed in the plan to save and sum up all things in Christ” (New American Bible note on Eph 1:8).
o Romans 16:25:
§ “Now to him who can strengthen you, according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages.”
o Colossians 1:25b-27
§ “…I am a minister in accordance with God’s stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God, the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past. But now it has been manifested to the holy ones, to whom God chose to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the gentiles; it is Christ in you, the hope for glory.”
o Ephesians 3:2-6
§ Please read and meditate on the use of the word “”mystery” in that passage.
· Why did God made known the Mystery? See Ephesians 3:9-10
o “…And to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the principalities and authorities in the heavens” (Emphasis added).
· The Fathers of the Church called this mystery revealed by God
o The Economy of the Word of God or
o The Economy of Salvation
¶1067. The Old Testament is a prelude to the work of Christ, fulfilled once and for all in the Paschal Mystery (That is, the Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection).
· The Paschal Mystery is the center of our life as Christians.
· “For it was from the side of Christ has he slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth ‘the wondrous sacrament of the whole Church” (CCC).
o Genesis 21-23. The use of typology may help us see the mystery more clearly.
§ “So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and close up its place with flesh. The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: ‘this one, at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one shall be called woman for out of her man this one has been taken. That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh.”
o 1 Corinthians 15:21-22
§ “For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being. For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life…”
o Romans 5:19
§ “For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous.”
· The Church is the sacrament (mysterium) by which God saves the world.
o Ephesians 5
§ “Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ…As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything…Christ loved the Church and handed himself over to her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot of wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish…This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.
· Jesus gave the Church this mystery at the cross. John 19:26-27; 34
o “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.”
§ Mary is an image of the Church
o “…But one of the soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
· “The Church celebrates in the liturgy above all the Paschal mystery by which Christ accomplishes the work of salvation” (CCC 1067).
¶1068. In every liturgical action the Church celebrates and manifests her espousal union with Christ. Read Paragraph in CCC
· The Church is the New Jerusalem (Revelations 21)
· Isaiah 61:10-62:5 God’s promise to Jerusalem
o “You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the Lord, a royal diadem held by your God…you shall be called my delight and your land “Espoused.” For the Lord delights in you, and makes your land his spouse. As a young man marries a virgin, your builder shall marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride so shall your God rejoice in you.”
· The liturgical actions are the external manifestation of Christ’s union with the Church. The love of Christ for the Church becomes visible every time the Church celebrates and bears witness of her union with Christ and proclaims it to the ends of the world.
· Read Vatican II’s Sacrosanctum Concilium #2 as it appears in CCC ¶1068
What does the liturgy mean?
¶1069. Liturgy is the participation of the people of God in the work of God.
· John 17:4
o “I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.”
· In, with and through the Church, the wife of Christ, the Lord “continues the work of our redemption.”
o Christ is intimately united to the Church by the power of the Holy Spirit.
· The Preface for the Mass at Pentecost sums up this mystery:
o “Today you sent the Holy Spirit on those marked out to be your children by sharing the life of your Son, and so you brought the paschal mystery to its completion. Today we celebrate the great beginning of your Church when the Holy Spirit made known to all peoples the one true God, and created from the many languages of man one voice to profess one faith.”
· The prayer over the gifts at Pentecost says,
o “Lord, may the Spirit you promised lead us into all truth and reveal to us the full meaning of this sacrifice. Grant this through Christ our Lord.”
· The external actions of the Church both: bear witness and effective the actions of Christ, with whom she lives in complete union.
· The Liturgy is the work of Christ.
¶1070. The New Testament’s meaning of liturgy:
· Not only ceremonial but teaches the Gospel and promotes charity.
o Zechariah had a profound liturgical experience when the Lord spoke to him in the sanctuary of the Lord. “When he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained muted. Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home” (Lk 1:21-23).
o The Holy Spirit speaks during the liturgy
o Acts 13:2
§ “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
o Romans 15:16
§ “To be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in performing the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”
o 2 Corinthians 9:12
§ “…for the administration of this public service is not only supplying the needs of the holy ones but is also overflowing in many acts of thanksgiving to God”
· Eukaristia = thanksgiving
o Philippians 2:14-17.
§ “Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. But even if I am poured out as a libation upon the sacrificial service of your faith.”
· This shows that liturgical participation must take place within the context of love.
· “The Church is servant of the image of her Lord.”
o Leiturgos = Minister that is the one who does God’s work.
o Hebrews 8:2, 6.
§ Jesus is “a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up…Now he has obtained so much more excellent a ministry as he is mediator of a better covenant, enacted on better promises.”
o All liturgical actions in the Church are God’s work and not man. They belong to the whole Church and not to a particular person.
o They cannot be labeled as “private” or “personal” or “innovative”, for they all belong to the acts of God.
· Our participation in the liturgy must be guided by the same spirit of obedience that led Christ to the altar of the Cross. The Church must also remain obedient to her husband.
· All liturgy must be guided and interpret by the whole Church.
Liturgy as source of life
¶1071. The liturgy is the action of Christ and the Church
· Makes the Church’s mission visible
o The unity between God and men in Christ is celebrated
· All Christians find life in the liturgy because they are immersed in full participation. They are fed from the spring to salvation.
· But we need,
o Conscious participation
o Active participation
§ According to vocational state in life: clerics and laymen
o Fruitful participation
¶1072. Sacred Liturgy is the manifestation of all the Church’s activities. It cannot be empty of meaning.
· Thus we need,
o Evangelization, faith and conversion.
o So that it may produce fruits in the lives of the faithful.
· If not, it may be perceived by the faithful as only a ceremony and we may fall into ritualism.
· For homework read Jeremiah Chapter 7 and see how God desires that we do not fall into hypocritical ritualism.
Prayer and liturgy
¶1073. The liturgy is our participation in Christ’s prayers.
· All prayer is TO THE FATHER, THROUGH THE SON, AND IN THE HOLY SPIRIT.
· Ephesians 3:14-17
o “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”
Catechesis and the liturgy
¶1074. The liturgy is the summit and source of the Church’s activity.
· It is the place of catechizing the people of God
· John Paul II, Catechesi Tradendae, 23
o Read John Paul II’s quote in CCC. Also the following
o “Authentic practice of the sacraments is bound to have a catechetical aspect. In other words, sacramental life is impoverished and very soon turns into hollow ritualism if it is not based on serious knowledge of the meaning of the sacraments, and catechesis becomes intellectualized if it fails to come alive in the sacramental practice.”
· The Church avoids the two extremes in liturgical practice:
o Intellectualism of Catechesis
o Comprehension and apprehension of liturgical actions is more important than the grace it signifies.
o E.g. If we feel we need to explain things all the time, or make things easily apprehensible, to the expense of the growth towards the mystery.
o Sometimes we see this at Masses for Children: We lower the expectation of children’s understanding.
o Ritualism of liturgy
o We do actions, which have no theological meaning or tradition, just for the sake of doing them.
o E.g. The unity candle at weddings. It has not theological or spiritual meaning.
¶1075. Through the liturgy we initiate people into the mystery of Christ.
· A movement from the visible to the invisible
· From sign to the thing signified
· From Sacraments to the mysteries they contain and effect