The Liturgy

The Liturgy Our Worship of God and his Gifts to Us

What is the Liturgy?
A Greek word
“public work or work done on behalf of the people”
Liturgy always referred to an organized community. A work, then, done by an individual or a group was a liturgy on behalf of the larger community. (USCCA, 167)
What work are we talking about?

Christian Liturgy
In Christian tradition [liturgy] means the participation of the People of God in “the work of God.” (Jn 17:4) Through the liturgy Christ, our redeemer and high priest, continues the work of our redemption in, with, and through his Church. (CCC 1069)
As Vatican II said it requires the full, conscious and active participation of all the faithful
It is both a right and an obligation

Importance of the Liturgy
The sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church. Before men come to the liturgy they must be called to faith and to conversion. (SC 9)
Nevertheless the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows. (SC 10)

Liturgy from the Bible
Old Testament examples:
The Passover (Exodus 12)
The Tabernacle and other rituals (Exodus 25-30; cf. 25:8-9 and 27:20-21)
The building of the Temple and its Rededication
New Testament examples:
Institution narratives (Mt 26:26-30; Mk 14.22—26; Lk 22.14—23)
Acts 2:42
Paul’s instruction (1 Cor 11.23—26)

Action of the Holy Trinity
The Father:
Through the liturgy the Father fills us with his blessings in the Word made flesh who died and rose for us and pours into our hearts the Holy Spirit. At the same time, the Church blesses the Father by her worship, praise, and thanksgiving and begs him for the gift of his Son and the Holy Spirit. (CCCC 221)

The Son:
Christ signifies and makes present his paschal mystery. By giving the Holy Spirit to his apostles he entrusted to them . . . the power to make present the work of salvation through the Eucharistic sacrifice and the sacraments,
He himself acts to communicate his grace to the faithful of all times and places throughout the world. (CCCC 222)

The Holy Spirit:
The very closest cooperation is at work in the liturgy between the Holy Spirit and the Church. The Holy Spirit prepares the Church to encounter her Lord. He recalls and manifests Christ to the faith of the assembly. He makes the mystery of Christ really present. He unites the Church to the life and mission of Christ and makes the gift of communion bear fruit in the Church. (CCCC 223)
Another fruit in the lives of the faithful: new life in the Spirit. (CCC 1072)

Elements of the Liturgy
The Seven Sacraments
Sacraments of Initiation
Baptism
Confirmation
Eucharist
Sacraments of Healing
Penance
Anointing of the Sick

Elements of the Liturgy
Sacraments at the Service of Communion and Mission
Matrimony
Holy Orders
Two sacraments, Holy Orders and Matrimony, confer a special grace for a particular mission in the Church to serve and build up the People of God. These sacraments contribute in a special way to ecclesial communion and to the salvation of others. (CCCC 321)

The Lord’s Day
"By a tradition handed down from the apostles which took its origin from the very day of Christ's Resurrection, the Church celebrates the Paschal mystery every seventh day, which day is appropriately called the Lord's Day or Sunday."
The day of Christ's Resurrection is both the first day of the week, the memorial of the first day of creation, and the "eighth day," on which Christ after his "rest" on the great sabbath inaugurates the "day that the Lord has made," the "day that knows no evening."

The Lord’s Day
The Lord's Supper is its center, for there the whole community of the faithful encounters the risen Lord who invites them to his banquet. (CCC 1166)
Sunday is the pre-eminent day for the liturgical assembly, when the faithful gather “to listen to the word of God and take part in the Eucharist, thus calling to mind the Passion, Resurrection, and glory of the Lord Jesus, and giving thanks to God who 'has begotten them again, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead' unto a living hope.” (CCC 1167)

The Liturgical Year
In the liturgical year the Church celebrates the whole mystery of Christ from his Incarnation to his return in glory. On set days the Church venerates with special love the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. The Church also keeps the memorials of saints who lived for Christ, who suffered with him, and who live with him in glory. (CCCC 242)

The Liturgical Year
The seasons:
Advent
Christmas
Lent
Holy Week
Easter
Ordinary Time

The Liturgical Year
Solemnities of the Lord
Trinity Sunday
Corpus Christi
Sacred Heart
Christ the King
Solemnities of Mary
Mary’s feasts call us to admire and praise her as the outstanding fruit of Christ’s redemption. Mary is the pure image of the discipleship we hope to attain. (USCCA, p. 173)

Mary and the Saints
January 1: Mary the Mother of God
March 25: Annuciation
August 15: Assumption
December 8: Immaculate Conception
Solemnities of the Saints
March 19: St. Joseph, Husband of Mary
June 24: Birth of John the Baptist
June 29: Peter and Paul, Apostles
November 1: All Saints

The Liturgy of Heaven and Earth
In the liturgy it is the whole Christ ( Christus Totus ) who acts, Head and Body. As our High Priest he celebrates with his body, which is the Church in heaven and on earth. (CCCC 233)
The heavenly liturgy is celebrated by the angels, by the saints of the Old and New Testament, particularly the Mother of God, by the Apostles, by the martyrs, and by the “great multitude which no one could number from every nation, race, people, and tongue.” ( Revelation 7:9). When we celebrate the mystery of our salvation in the sacraments we participate in this eternal liturgy. (CCCC 234)

How do I participate?
Full, conscious and active participation
Knowledge of the Faith
The faithful are called to come to the liturgy consciously prepared to make their thoughts agree with what they say and hear, and to cooperate with divine grace. (USCCA, p. 171)
The Liturgy of the Word is part of all sacramental celebrations. The reading of Sacred Scripture is meant to awaken a response of faith in the listeners. (USCCA, p. 171)

Self offering
The baptized offer themselves in a spiritual sacrifice. (CCCC 235)
What do you offer?
For all their works, prayers, and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit - indeed even the hardships of life if patiently born - all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

In the celebration of the Eucharist these may most fittingly be offered to the Father along with the body of the Lord. And so, worshipping everywhere by their holy actions, the laity consecrate the world itself to God, everywhere offering worship by the holiness of their lives.“
Pray!
The sacramental liturgy of the Church . . .is continued in the heart that prays. the spiritual writers sometimes compare the heart to an altar. Prayer internalizes and assimilates the liturgy during and after its celebration. (CCC 2655)

How do I participate
Read the Scriptures!
Serve!
The liturgy has united us to Jesus’ mission.
We offer our share in the ‘work’ of salvation even as Jesus offered himself to complete that ‘work’.
Out of love we share what we receive in the liturgy – God’s grace.

A practice
Celebrate your important liturgical dates
Your baptism
Your confirmation
Your first reconciliation and first communion
Your wedding day
Buy or make a liturgical calendar
Know where you’re at each day
Apply it’s lessons to your daily life

The Liturgy

by Sean Wenger on Dec 15, 2007

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The Liturgy — Presentation Transcript