GOD’S WORK AND OUR WORK:
“Christ, indeed, always associates the Church with himself in this great work in which God is perfectly glorified and men are sanctified.” (SC, 7)
One Saturday morning, I happened to talk to a friend and discussed with her the nature of prayer and its importance in the life of every Christian. Along with that conversation was reminding her to attend the Sunday Mass that was to be on the following day. Since she is not really a practicing Catholic, hence very seldom goes to mass, she arrogantly tossed me this question: “Why is it that I still need to go to mass since I can pray to God alone at home, in my room? As long as I keep that day holy, I’m fulfilling the Commandment of God.” After some seconds of reflection over her query and view, I finally succumbed myself into silence, with a modified question in my mind: “Why is participation in Sunday Eucharist, indeed, so important for us, Catholics?”
In the first chapter of Vatican II’s “Constitution on Sacred Liturgy” (Sacrosanctum Concilium), the nature of the sacred liturgy and its importance in the life of the Church were discussed with great ardor and clarity. As we all know that the Church then was on her way of reforming the kind of liturgy that she was having – where little participation from the faithful were drawn out; where only the ministers were ones directly involved in almost all liturgical celebrations; where the people of God did not literally understand what was happening in the liturgy; where the things that they only knew were to stand, kneel and sit when necessary and to listen to the “sermon” of the priest with his loud voice uttering terrifying words about hell and condemning sinners. Vatican II’s response to this liturgical condition was the Sacrosanctum Concilium.
Considering the past liturgical ambiance, as I look at it, Christians would prefer more private praying in their daily Christian living rather than indulging themselves to public worship in view of the fact that in this private act they can substantially express that due worship to the Lord, which they believed was best fulfilled I their “own way.” Besides, during the celebration of the Eucharist then, it was that same private praying that they made use of since the language employed in the liturgy was a stranger to them (it was in Latin), if not they only understood some of the words and memorized responses, and what they only do during the course of the celebration was “to do their own” individual way – some prayed the rosary; others prayed with their personal novenas; and worse so, most of the people inside the church enjoyed chitchatting and watching the whole celebration as if they were part of the audience in a theatre show. Thus, for them, private praying is enough to be considered a believing Christian.
I believe that to pray privately is spiritually-enriching; however, it is not enough, because we are also a Church, a community gathered in the name of the Lord. The whole Church must pray as one, because the whole Church lives with the life of Jesus on earth. When the assembly of the people of God prays together with the properly appointed ministers to lead them, and in forms approved by the Church, we call this prayer “liturgy” which is derived from the Greek leitourgia, meaning “the work of the people.” Such liturgical celebration has existed since the time of the apostles and the central act of the Church’s liturgy is the community celebration of the EUCHARIST. The gathering together for the ritual meal was, from the very start, the meeting point for the Christian community, the celebration that most expressed the presence of the Lord among them and gathered them as one, as a Church. If liturgy is “the work of the people” then it is not only the priest’s job. Liturgy means that the community must be actively part of the prayer and the ceremonies that mark this form of public worship. They are not to be merely audience at a liturgical “performance.” The matter is noticeably put by Vatican II in reference to the Eucharist, but applies equally well to all liturgical celebration.
As with private prayer, public worship is also a Tradition in the Church; it is an indispensable feature of the Church’s existence. A believing Christian cannot opt out of community worship and honestly still assert to be a Christian. One’s faith must be articulated in “doing”; to speak one has faith and do nothing about it is a form of self-delusion. In other words, as with private prayer, prayer with the community is not a choice for the believing Christians: it is a necessity and a commitment – an obligation. The Catholic Church has insisted that this obligation be satisfied by active participation in the Eucharistic liturgy on Sundays.
It should go without saying that active participation in the celebration of the liturgy is required, particularly in the Eucharist and the other sacraments. In no sense should we be onlookers, bystanders, part of the audience, while the sacraments are being “done” or “administered” by a priest or deacon. We do not go to the liturgy to be entertained but to meet the Lord. Therefore, some exertion on our part is essential to carry on this meeting with God. The liturgy is our work, too.
Given, that liturgy is our work, we must take into consideration some points so that we would appreciate more our being part of the liturgical celebration. First, we must know and, as far as possible, understand what is going on in the liturgy; we may need to undertake some study and reflection on this. Sacrosanctum Concilium emphasized that the bishops and priests have the central responsibility to educate the faithful concerning liturgy simply because of competence. Through continuous education or catechesis, the whole people of God would consequently become authentic worshippers both in mind and in body. Secondly, we should know something about the symbols used in the celebration and their significance; some examples of these are the baptismal candle and white garment, the flowing water, the oil of Confirmation and the laying of the hands. The same applies to the actual ritual celebration; it is not haphazard, it has meaning and purpose. A conscious effort to participate will mean joining in the common prayers and singing, listening to the readings and their explanation and trying to focus our minds and hearts on the celebration.
Moreover, the liturgy, then, is rightly seen as “an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ. It involves the presentation of man’s sanctification under the guise of signs perceptible by the senses and its accomplishment in ways appropriate to each of these signs. In it full public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and his members.” (SC, 7)
I can still remember what my liturgy professor taught us then during my college formation years, that liturgy has two fundamental and essential dimensions – the “upward” dimension and the “downward” dimension. The “upward” dimension refers to the act of worship we give to the Lord, the glorification of our almighty God. This is expressed by our full, active and conscious participation in each liturgical celebration. On the other hand, the “downward” dimension refers to the act proper to God as His response to our sublime act of worship. This “downward” dimension is none other than our own sanctification, the outpouring of God’s grace on us, His beloved children. It is through our full, active and conscious participation that we are drawn towards a closer union and greater intimacy with our Lord, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist where our Lord and Savior is truly and substantially present under the appearance of the bread and wine. I can, therefore, say that in the liturgy, the “work of the people” is brought into perfection through “God’s work.” Liturgy, for that reason, is our response to God’s invitation to holiness and God’s response to our cooperation in his salvific plan.
Vatican II’s Sacrosanctum Concilium is indeed an opportunity of encounter with the living God. Through its theological, spiritual and pastoral implications, the people of God becomes a part of God’s story, not apart of it, or a part of the audience, but each Christian becomes a protagonist in God’s great story of salvation. All we need to do is to respond positively to this sublime invitation.
The challenge for us, then, in every liturgical celebration that we take part of is to share the fruits of what we have experienced. This is our mission as a Church; this is really the fulfillment of “our work” and the “work of God” for the building of His Kingdom here on earth.
The rule is quite simple: we shall get out of the liturgy what we put into it.
One Saturday morning, I happened to talk to a friend and discussed with her the nature of prayer and its importance in the life of every Christian. Along with that conversation was reminding her to attend the Sunday Mass that was to be on the following day. Since she is not really a practicing Catholic, hence very seldom goes to mass, she arrogantly tossed me this question: “Why is it that I still need to go to mass since I can pray to God alone at home, in my room? As long as I keep that day holy, I’m fulfilling the Commandment of God.” After some seconds of reflection over her query and view, I finally succumbed myself into silence, with a modified question in my mind: “Why is participation in Sunday Eucharist, indeed, so important for us, Catholics?”
In the first chapter of Vatican II’s “Constitution on Sacred Liturgy” (Sacrosanctum Concilium), the nature of the sacred liturgy and its importance in the life of the Church were discussed with great ardor and clarity. As we all know that the Church then was on her way of reforming the kind of liturgy that she was having – where little participation from the faithful were drawn out; where only the ministers were ones directly involved in almost all liturgical celebrations; where the people of God did not literally understand what was happening in the liturgy; where the things that they only knew were to stand, kneel and sit when necessary and to listen to the “sermon” of the priest with his loud voice uttering terrifying words about hell and condemning sinners. Vatican II’s response to this liturgical condition was the Sacrosanctum Concilium.
Considering the past liturgical ambiance, as I look at it, Christians would prefer more private praying in their daily Christian living rather than indulging themselves to public worship in view of the fact that in this private act they can substantially express that due worship to the Lord, which they believed was best fulfilled I their “own way.” Besides, during the celebration of the Eucharist then, it was that same private praying that they made use of since the language employed in the liturgy was a stranger to them (it was in Latin), if not they only understood some of the words and memorized responses, and what they only do during the course of the celebration was “to do their own” individual way – some prayed the rosary; others prayed with their personal novenas; and worse so, most of the people inside the church enjoyed chitchatting and watching the whole celebration as if they were part of the audience in a theatre show. Thus, for them, private praying is enough to be considered a believing Christian.
I believe that to pray privately is spiritually-enriching; however, it is not enough, because we are also a Church, a community gathered in the name of the Lord. The whole Church must pray as one, because the whole Church lives with the life of Jesus on earth. When the assembly of the people of God prays together with the properly appointed ministers to lead them, and in forms approved by the Church, we call this prayer “liturgy” which is derived from the Greek leitourgia, meaning “the work of the people.” Such liturgical celebration has existed since the time of the apostles and the central act of the Church’s liturgy is the community celebration of the EUCHARIST. The gathering together for the ritual meal was, from the very start, the meeting point for the Christian community, the celebration that most expressed the presence of the Lord among them and gathered them as one, as a Church. If liturgy is “the work of the people” then it is not only the priest’s job. Liturgy means that the community must be actively part of the prayer and the ceremonies that mark this form of public worship. They are not to be merely audience at a liturgical “performance.” The matter is noticeably put by Vatican II in reference to the Eucharist, but applies equally well to all liturgical celebration.
As with private prayer, public worship is also a Tradition in the Church; it is an indispensable feature of the Church’s existence. A believing Christian cannot opt out of community worship and honestly still assert to be a Christian. One’s faith must be articulated in “doing”; to speak one has faith and do nothing about it is a form of self-delusion. In other words, as with private prayer, prayer with the community is not a choice for the believing Christians: it is a necessity and a commitment – an obligation. The Catholic Church has insisted that this obligation be satisfied by active participation in the Eucharistic liturgy on Sundays.
It should go without saying that active participation in the celebration of the liturgy is required, particularly in the Eucharist and the other sacraments. In no sense should we be onlookers, bystanders, part of the audience, while the sacraments are being “done” or “administered” by a priest or deacon. We do not go to the liturgy to be entertained but to meet the Lord. Therefore, some exertion on our part is essential to carry on this meeting with God. The liturgy is our work, too.
Given, that liturgy is our work, we must take into consideration some points so that we would appreciate more our being part of the liturgical celebration. First, we must know and, as far as possible, understand what is going on in the liturgy; we may need to undertake some study and reflection on this. Sacrosanctum Concilium emphasized that the bishops and priests have the central responsibility to educate the faithful concerning liturgy simply because of competence. Through continuous education or catechesis, the whole people of God would consequently become authentic worshippers both in mind and in body. Secondly, we should know something about the symbols used in the celebration and their significance; some examples of these are the baptismal candle and white garment, the flowing water, the oil of Confirmation and the laying of the hands. The same applies to the actual ritual celebration; it is not haphazard, it has meaning and purpose. A conscious effort to participate will mean joining in the common prayers and singing, listening to the readings and their explanation and trying to focus our minds and hearts on the celebration.
Moreover, the liturgy, then, is rightly seen as “an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ. It involves the presentation of man’s sanctification under the guise of signs perceptible by the senses and its accomplishment in ways appropriate to each of these signs. In it full public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and his members.” (SC, 7)
I can still remember what my liturgy professor taught us then during my college formation years, that liturgy has two fundamental and essential dimensions – the “upward” dimension and the “downward” dimension. The “upward” dimension refers to the act of worship we give to the Lord, the glorification of our almighty God. This is expressed by our full, active and conscious participation in each liturgical celebration. On the other hand, the “downward” dimension refers to the act proper to God as His response to our sublime act of worship. This “downward” dimension is none other than our own sanctification, the outpouring of God’s grace on us, His beloved children. It is through our full, active and conscious participation that we are drawn towards a closer union and greater intimacy with our Lord, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist where our Lord and Savior is truly and substantially present under the appearance of the bread and wine. I can, therefore, say that in the liturgy, the “work of the people” is brought into perfection through “God’s work.” Liturgy, for that reason, is our response to God’s invitation to holiness and God’s response to our cooperation in his salvific plan.
Vatican II’s Sacrosanctum Concilium is indeed an opportunity of encounter with the living God. Through its theological, spiritual and pastoral implications, the people of God becomes a part of God’s story, not apart of it, or a part of the audience, but each Christian becomes a protagonist in God’s great story of salvation. All we need to do is to respond positively to this sublime invitation.
The challenge for us, then, in every liturgical celebration that we take part of is to share the fruits of what we have experienced. This is our mission as a Church; this is really the fulfillment of “our work” and the “work of God” for the building of His Kingdom here on earth.
The rule is quite simple: we shall get out of the liturgy what we put into it.
posted by Veritas at 7:04 PM
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