Jun 11 Thu
What is the Liturgy?
The Pope recently began a new series of catecheses focused on the Liturgy.
“The Council Fathers sought not only to undertake a reform of the rites, but to lead the Church to contemplate and deepen that living bond which constitutes and unites her: the mystery of Christ. Indeed, the liturgy touches the very heart of this mystery: it is at once the space, the time, and the context in which the Church receives her very life from Christ."
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.
“In the liturgy, ‘the work of our redemption is accomplished’, which makes us a chosen lineage, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people whom God has acquired for Himself."
“The passion, death, resurrection and glorification of Christ is made sacramentally present to us precisely in the liturgy, so that every time we take part in the assembly gathered ‘in his name’ (cf. Mt 18:20) we are immersed in this Mystery."
“In celebrating the Eucharist, the Church ‘receives the Body of the Lord and becomes what she receives’: she becomes the Body of Christ, ‘a dwelling place of God in the Spirit’ (Eph 2:22). This is the ‘work of our redemption’, which conforms us to Christ and builds us up in communion."
“This also means that it is called to unfold in a tangible way throughout daily life, in an ethical and spiritual dynamic, so that the liturgy celebrated is translated into life and demands a faithful existence, capable of making concrete what has been experienced in the celebration: it is in this way that our life becomes a ‘living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God’, fulfilling our ‘spiritual worship’ (Rom 12:1)."
“In this way, ‘the Liturgy daily builds up those who are within into a holy temple of the Lord’ (SC, 2), and forms an open community, welcoming to all. Indeed, it is inhabited by the Holy Spirit, it introduces us into the life of Christ, it makes us His Body, and, in all its dimensions, it represents a sign of the unity of the entire human race in Christ. As Pope Francis said, ‘the world still does not know it, but everyone is invited to the supper of the wedding of the Lamb (Rev 19:9)’"
“Dear friends, let us allow ourselves to be shaped inwardly by the rites, symbols, gestures, and above all, the living presence of Christ in the Liturgy."
Illustration: This chalice is a piece of Romanesque art donated by Queen Urraca of Zamora (1033-1101), daughter of the king Fernando of León.