May 29 Thu
What is the Liturgy?
Liturgy is the priestly action of Jesus Christ, continued in and by the Church under the direction of the Holy Spirit. In the Liturgy, the Holy Spirit brings about his work of salvation through effective signs, thus giving both a perfect reverence to God and salvation to mankind.
The concept of Liturgy includes:
• The worship of God, blessing him for all his gifts,
• The presence of Christ, He is the Priest in the liturgical action,
• The action of the Holy Spirit in the Church’s Liturgy,
• The history of salvation that is continued and brought about through effective signs in the Liturgy,
• The sanctification of mankind is realized through the liturgical action.
The Liturgy is a work of the Blessed Trinity:
• God the Father is the origin and end of the Liturgy.
• The glorified Christ is present in the earthly Liturgy of the Church of the apostles, which participates in the heavenly Liturgy.
• God the Holy Spirit brings about the mystery of Christ in the Church’s Liturgy.
The Liturgy is a work of God the Father:
God the Father blesses us in his Son and gives us, as his children, the Spirit of adoption.
In the Apostolic times, Christ instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist—the center of the Liturgy—within the ritual Jewish supper of Passover on Holy Thursday. The oldest account of the Last Supper is given by St. Paul (cf. 1 Cor 11:23-29) and was written at Ephesus in either A.D. 55 or 56.
In the narrative, the command is given to the apostles (and implicitly to their successors) to celebrate the Eucharist until the day when Christ returns in the full glory of his second coming. St. Luke’s account (cf. Lk 22:14-20) is very similar, as might be expected from the disciple and companion of St. Paul.
St. Matthew and St. Mark (cf. Mt 26:26-29; Mk 14:22-25) give a similar narrative of the events.
The Acts of the Apostles and the epistles of St. Paul describe the primitive community as already “devoted … to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).
“Prayers” and the “breaking of bread” constituted the Liturgy of the earliest Mass. It used the Jewish ritual of religious gatherings. To the prayers and readings inherited from the synagogue, it added the Eucharist—the work of salvation realized by Christ.
The Didache, or Doctrine of the Apostles (a valuable short treatise from the first half of the second century), gives evidence of a real meal (a love feast, or agape) connected with the celebration of the Eucharist. The connection between the Eucharistic celebration and the agape did not continue for long. It still existed at Corinth in the time of St. Paul. There, the faithful brought provisions to the supper but did not always share them in common, to the Apostle’s great chagrin. The agape was soon relegated to a position of secondary importance before it disappeared altogether. At that time, the term “Eucharist” had replaced the terms “the Lord’s Supper” and “Breaking of Bread.”
The term Eucharist means “thanksgiving” and takes its name from the prayer of consecration pronounced by the main celebrant. The early Christians did not merely attend the Mass; they participated and offered it with their bishop and priests. They took an active part, answered the response, said their part aloud in chorus, contributed gifts, answered the celebrant’s invitation, gave the kiss of peace, and, when the celebrant ended the consecration, they all responded in a solemn “Amen” of assent. All Christians, even the absent ones (thanks to the deacons), received the Eucharist.
Illustration: This chalice of is a piece of Romanesque art donated by the queen Urraca of Zamora (1033-1101), daughter of the king Fernando of León.