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Introduction
For a long time now I have come across many Catholics who have expressed their desire for a better understanding of the Mass and for the Church's liturgy as a whole. There have been many articles and books written on the subject, but these are not always 'user friendly'. On the other hand, even if they are excellent, they are very often not known to many parishioners. Our parish has recently completed a six-week course entitled "With Hearts and Minds" which is a reflection on the liturgy of the Mass. Perhaps, with many people, the format of the above course i.e. readings, discussion and prayer, is the best way of moving forward in our appreciation of the sacred liturgy of our Church.
What I want to do in this letter is to provide some food for thought about the very nature and importance of the liturgical life of the Church. Why is it there in the first place ? What is its purpose and value ? Is it really necessary for our salvation and happiness ? Who has authority to decide on its content and form ?
These are some of the basic questions that need to be addressed if we are to have that necessary motivation to participate in the fullest way possible. If we are to move from being part of an audience to becoming participants then we need to know what the action is that we are invited to take part in and its purpose. Is our participation a result of a deep conviction that the liturgical life of the Church is the 'life-blood' of our Christian discipleship, or is it merely compliance with an obligation?
All of us are under immense pressure to accept a set of values which either are diametrically opposed to that given to us by Our Lord or are deceptively dangerous in their subtle differences. What is set before us purports to be the way for our happiness, but Our Lord told us that he is the Way, Truth and Life. How, when and where are we given the opportunity to find this true way to our fulfilment and therefore our happiness?
Brian Pointer BA(Div), MA(Theo)
Adult Christian Formation
St.Richard's, Chichester.
I am sure we are all familiar with the comment " You don't need to go to church to be a Christian." This idea, that what makes a Christian is what he or she does in everyday life and not because he or she 'goes to church', is not only prevalent in our wider communities but is also not uncommon among baptised Catholics. It suggests that what we do together as a gathered community in a special place, i.e. our liturgical action, is not as important as what we do in the world at large, and what is more is not really necessary. It is a nice, religious occasion, a pleasing ritual perhaps, a traditional Sunday activity, obliged to attend under pain of sin, but not really necessary for being 'Christian'.
At one time in my life I used to think in that way, but I realised later that I never really understood what the liturgy of the Church was all about. Perhaps we will not be able to fully understand everything but we can come to an understanding of the liturgy's nature and purpose so that we are motivated to participate more fully in what is essentially Christ's loving work of salvation.
At the very beginning of its section entitled "The Sacramental Economy", the Catechism(CCC) sets out the nature and purpose of the liturgical life of the Church:
"The gift of the Spirit ushers in a new era in. the 'dispensation of the mystery' - the age of the Church, during which Christ manifests, rnakes present and communicates his work of salvation through the liturgy of his Church, until he comes." (CCC. 1076)
Those three actions of Our Lord - manifests, makes present, communicates - highlight the central truth about the liturgy of the Church, that is, that this is the way that God's self-communication in the birth of Jesus his Son, his Son's life, death, resurrection and ascension into Heaven is a loving work of reconciliation and salvation, the salvific power and fruits of which are offered to us here and now! What is more, it will always be on offer for those yet to be born, until Our Lord comes at the end of this era of the Church.
The Catechism, quoting from Vatican II's document on the Liturgy, makes the important point that "the sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church" but that "it must be preceded by evangelisation, faith and conversion."(CCC. 1072) The significant word here is 'preceded', for it makes clear that the evangelising mission of the Church leads to participation in the Church's liturgical life. The mission of the Church is to bring people to the truth of Our Lord so that, called in faith, they can receive the saving fruits of Our Lord's work in the sacred liturgy of his Church.
It is in participating in the Sacred Liturgy that we as members of his Church, his Body, are able to continue our conversion to Our Lord. Yet, at the same time, the mission of the Church in calling all people to faith receives its sacramental power to do this from the Sacred Liturgy itself, primarily from its Eucharistic action in the celebration, of the Mass. This is why the Council fathers emphasised that "the liturgy is the summit towards which the activity of the Church is directed it is also the fount from which all her power flows. "(Sacrosanctun concilium, 10 & CCC. 1074)
In other words, there is a two-way action when we gather together to participate in the liturgy of the Church: first of all, God calls us to meet with Him in Christ through the Holy Spirit, and then we respond by coming together in faith to meet Him, to experience in faith that 'touch of God'.
The word 'liturgy' is derived from a Greek word which indicates what an individual or a group actually 'do'. What do Christians do to be 'Christian'? As individual Christians we turn towards God with all our hearts and minds in all aspects of our lives, as a 'People' we turn to God together. It is in gathering together as the 'People of God', as the 'Body of Christ' that we are given the opportunity .to experience in faith the reality of Our Lord's presence!
The reality which the liturgical rites express and which lead us into is the presence of Our Lord and the mystery of salvation. The Presence of Our Lord is the presence of salvation. Our Lord acts through the liturgical life of His Church, His Body - he is present in action. When we gather together to meet him in faith we 'experience' that saving action.
In other words, Our Lord acts through the Liturgy - he is present in action. When we gather to meet him we 'experience' that saving action. How do we experience that saving action ? Through word and sacrament. The sacramental activity becomes saving activity. This saving 'Presence' is the key to understanding the nature of the Church's liturgical life. We gather together to celebrate that presence, "Celebration is the presence, even the epiphany (manifestation) of God in Christ in the worship of the Church" (Odo Casel)
This question is not only important for our full participation in the liturgical life of the Church, but also is relevant to the teaching of the Church's Magisterium concerning participation by non-Catholics. What is the relationship of faith and liturgical participation ?
This relationship has long been expressed in the Latin maxim "lex orandi, lex credendi" - the law of prayer (is) the law of faith. The action of the Church in its liturgy is one of faith, of fully responding to the will of God as expressed in and through his Son, Our Lord, in the 'Paschal Mystery' (his passion, death, resurrection and ascension).
The Church's faith is perfectly expressed in the 'unity of faith', the corporate faith of all its members in the liturgical assembly. This assembly is the gathering of the People of God in the celebration of that Mystery, "When the Church celebrates the sacraments, she confesses the faith received from the Apostles...The law of prayer is the law of faith; the Church believes as she prays. "(CCC.1124)
The Catechism is making the fundamental point that the sacramental life of the Church in the Liturgy cannot be separated from its faith. The Church's faith, both in the individual and corporate sense, is not only the turning of the mind and heart to God but is also assent and loving obedience to the content of revealed truth, to be manifested in the life of each Christian and the Church as a unified body.
The liturgical life of the Church, what we 'do' when we are called together to experience the presence of Our Lord, is held in place by the life and power of the Eucharist at the centre of the sacramental life of the Church, "The whole liturgical life of the Church revolves around the Eucharistic sacrifice and the sacraments." (CCC.1113) The Liturgy as a whole, with its seven sacraments, other rites and prayers, draws its life from the celebration of the Eucharist. It forms an "organic whole" in which the Eucharist occupies a unique place as the 'Sacrament of sacraments; all the other sacraments are ordered to it as their end."'(CCC.1211)
What does this really mean to you and me when we are gathered together in our Church to participate in the celebration of the Mass ? Well, first of all, we know that the celebration of the Eucharist in the liturgy of the Mass is the saving work of Our Lord made present through word and sign i.e. sacramentally. That sacramental action, which brings the life of the kingdom of God to the world, permeates the whole of the liturgical life of the Church, the very life of the Church. The Eucharist is therefore "the beating heart of the Church. " (P. McPartlan "The Eucharist makes the Church" p.273)
Secondly, because of Our Lord's 'saving presence' in the lihirgical life of the Church; we are able to offer thanks to God the Father through that real presence of His Son in word, bread and wine. In this way we are able to offer true worship to God. This worship is not one of adulation for appeasement as in paganism, but signifies devotion, veneration and service. We acknowledge that our standard and model for worship is Our Lord's loving obedience to his Father in life and death. United to Our Lord on the altar we offer our own life and death. From that 'communion' we draw upon Our Lord's own life for spiritual nourishment, that 'partaking' of the divine life of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for our own future fullfllment and happiness.
Bearing in mind that 'the law of prayer is the law of faith', the content and form of present day liturgical life must therefore express the faith of the Church, "Fidelity to the rites and to the authentic texts of the Liturgy is a requirement of the 'lex orandi, which must always be in conformity with 'lex credendi " (John Paul II "Vicesimus quintus annus" 10). This means that the sacramental life of the Liturgy, the 'life-blood' of the Christian life, is therefore the work of God manifested through the faith-filled action of the Church's liturgy. The liturgy of the Church, therefore, is not something which can be added to or altered merely to satisfy a particular liturgical fashion. Also it should not be treated as an aesthetic experience or a therapeutic exercise for spiritual health! As we have seen, the liturgy is not an end in itself but is the means by which God is communicating to us the reality and the fruits of his Son's sacrifice.
Form is there to express and protect that which, at the same time, it supports and encloses. Therefore, the form of the Church's liturgical activity protects the saving work so that it can become operative. In other words, the form must be such that the authentic saving action of Our Lord is expressed and made accessible to all. In this way, worship in the liturgy of the Church becomes the moment of encounter and unity between Our Lord and his People, giving themselves to each other, receiving each other, in the joy and liberty of communion.
This is why the duty of the Church as the guardian of the faith is so important in the context of safeguarding the sacramental liturgy. Deviation from the content of faith results in deviation from the sacramental life of the Church - 'the law of prayer is the law of faith'. On this point the Catechism delivers a strong message, (For this reason no sacramental rite may be modified or manipulated at the will of the minister or the community. Even the supreme authority in the Church may not change the liturgy arbitrarily, but only in obedience of faith and with religious respect for the mystery of the liturgy," (CCC. 1125)
If the faith of the Church is vital for the sacramental life of the liturgy, then the development of' liturgical theology and catechesis is of immense importance if the Vatican II liturgical renewal is to proceed on the right lines. Since Vatican II, there is evidence from around the world that under the guise of 'liturgical renewal' the 'law of prayer' is being divorced from the 'law of faith'. Renewal is regarded as an opportunity, not for faith seeking expression, but a break with the past. Anything is acceptable if it expresses 'modern thinking'.
Some 13 years before the publishing of the new Catechism, the renowned and respected Orthodox theologian, Alexander Schmernann, set out the fundamental principles concerning liturgical renewal, "The Church's life has always been rooted in the 'lex credendi', the rule of faith, theology in the deepest sense of the word; and on the 'lex orandi, her rule of worship, the 'leitourgia (liturgy) which always "makes her what she is", the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit." ("Liturgy and Tradition" p. 52) The liturgical life of the Church is thus inseparably linked to its nature and purpose which , "in Christ, is in the nature of sacrament -a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among mankind." (Vat.II "Lumen gentium" 1)
The thrust of the Catechism's teaching on the Liturgy as the sacramental life of the Church centred on the Eucharist, the mystery of Our Lord made present to his Church, is of immense importance to us as members. The need for a true understanding of the Liturgy is vital if we are to respond to the saving work of Our Lord. That response can only be expressed and manifested by gathering together, the assembling of the People of God, to participate fully in the Liturgy.
Although much progress has been made since Vatican II, the true meaning and the true reality of the sacramental life of the Church as the vital and vitalizing encounter with Our Lord, has not fully permeated the content of catechetical programmes. The 'law of faith' no longer guides the choices in the 'law of prayer' and because of this breakdown of that vital relationship there is often a 'pick-and-mix' type approach, whereby a choice is made as to which parts of the liturgy are worthwhile keeping and which are not.
On the other hand, the form of the liturgical life of the Church must express the dynamism of its reality in such a way that the truth and beauty of that reality will flood into our lives. Not only at the time we are gathered together, but also in our everyday lives where we face many challenges. The power of that truth and faith we encounter in our liturgical worship will inspire and motivate us to respond to Our Lord's call to lifelong conversion. If the form of the Liturgy is such that it tends to obscure the beauty of its truth and power then, indeed, changes need to be made. But those changes must always be made according to the'law of faith'.
"The purpose of the liturgy is that we should enter consciously, with Body and soul with all the activities of our life and work into this work of Christ. That, and only that, is what is really meant by the phrase 'to celebrate the liturgy". (Johannes Pinsk "Towards the Centre of Christian Living" p.217)