The Oxford English Dictionary defines 'liturgy' initially as derived from
the Greek 'leiturgia' :
* Communion office of the Eastern Church
* form of public worship,
* set of formularies for this
* public office or duty (performed originally by rich Athenian)
It has always been a prime concern of the church that the liturgy should
not merely be a 'form of public worship' or a 'set of formularies' but that
it should provide guidelines to emphasise the meaning of the most important
service of worship, namely the Mass. It is as a religious duty to be carried
out, not just by 'rich Athenians' but by the entire people of God, praising
and thanking him learning from him in meeting. Over the centuries and through
many countries the practices have changed, in the prayers said, the arrangement
of the churches, or the form of dress but the attempt is always to look for
new insights and new ways to express eternal truths.
p.59 Every Mass is the celebration of
that sacrament by which the Church lives and grows continuously (St
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theol. III, 1.82) and in which
the Church's own nature is especially manifested. For this reason it is,
more than any other liturgical actions, an action of the entire people of
God organised and acting hierarchically.
The 'breaking of bread' was known in the earliest days of the church as 'eucharist'
or thanksgiving. The priest (or bishop in the early church) is necessarily
the celebrant but he celebrates with, not for the people of
God.
The Mass takes its familiar name from the words said by the priest, originally
in Latin, at the very end of the service, 'Ite, missa est.' - literally,
''Go, it is the sending out.' The Mass does not end there - it is the task
of every Christian to carry the message out to the whole world. They
are not just 'dismissed' but 'sent forth'. Unless the worshippers go to tell
the good news to the rest of the world their attendance at the Mass itself
is meaningless, it is nothing more than the presence at a spectacle or a show.
In the words of the hymn:
"Go the Mass is ended, children of the Lord....
Take his love to others, as you've heard it spoken to you"
The Mass is the central form of worship of the church. There are other liturgies
for the celebration of the sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation, etc but the
subject here is the celebration of the 'Lord's supper', that last supper which
Jesus had with his disciples the night before he was crucified, when he took
the bread and said to them, "This is my body" and then took the
wine, saying "This is my blood. Do this in memory of me." This aspect
of the liturgy is often referred to as 'sacrament', the life-giving element,
the holy food on which the Christian is nourished and strengthened and made
fit to carry the Christian message to the rest of mankind. This 'holy food'
or 'sacrament' should be consumed then and there, as is normal at meal-times,
unless being taken to the sick who are not able to be present. Jesus was not
just inviting us to copy what he did then but to follow him wherever his way
might lead us.
240. The meaning of Communion is signified as clearly
as possible when it is given under both kinds. In this form the meal-aspect
of the Eucharist is more fully manifested, and Christ's intention that the
new and eternal Covenant should be ratified in his Blood is better expressed.
Also the connection between the eucharistic meal and the heavenly banquet
in the Father's kingdom becomes easier to see.
61. C.C.R. Decree Ecclesiae Semper, 7
March 1965: AAS 27 (1965)
The stress on this connection - between the eucharistic meal and the heavenly
banquet - also corrects the tendency to preach Christ crucified without preaching
the Resurrection. While commemorating the death of Jesus as he taught us,
we know that he rose again. If not, our faith is empty and meaningless. We
are the 'Easter people', not the 'Good Friday people'.
Thus the Mass is essentially Word as well as Sacrament. The Second Vatican
Council of 1962-3 reminded us of this as the importance of the Word had been
somewhat obscured over the centuries after the Council of Trent with its concentration
on Sacrament and Sacrifice.
The Mass is made up of two parts, the Liturgy of
the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. They are so closely connected
with each other that together they constitute but one single act of worship...
Constitution
of the Sacred Liturgy Art. 56; S.C.R.
Jesus' message to his disciples was "Go and tell the whole world the
good news". In receiving the sacrament Christians commit themselves
and are sealed in this service of their lord. The first part of the service
is always the proclamation of the Word, involving the reading of the Scriptures,
one each from the Old Testament, the Letters of the Apostles (Epistles) and
the Gospels, followed by a short homily based on the gospel of the day. What
we are committed to is not something to be kept to ourselves in personal and
private devotions but something which essentially involves sharing.We listen
first and then we must act. Unfortunately many of the documents assume a predominantly
male membership of the church. The following extract - with a couple of 'corrections'
- is an excellent summary of the essential involvement of the Christian in
the life of the church:
p.395. Each individual layman (layperson!) must be
a witness before the world to the resurrection and life of the Lord Jesus
and a sign of the living God. All together, and each one to the best of his
(their!) ability, must nourish the world with spiritual fruits. (cf. Gal,
5:22) They must diffuse in the world the spirit which animates those poor,
meek and peace-makers whom the Lord in the Gospel proclaimed blessed (cf.
Mt. 5:3-9). In a word: 'what the soul is in the body, let Christians be in
the world.'
Epist. ad Diognetum, 6: ed. Funk, 1, p.400.
See St John Chrysostom, in Matt. Hom.46 (47) etc
II. 9. When the sacred scriptures are read
in church, God himself is speaking to his people, and Christ, present in
his word, is proclaiming his Gospel.. Hence the readings from God's word
are among the most important elements in the liturgy, and all who are present
should listen to them with reverence...
Ideally no-one except the uninitiated or the very young should simply 'attend'
Mass without partaking. It is also a 'communion', an action of sharing by
the community, a commitment not just to spread the Word, which has just been
heard, but to do it together. For this reason for example a priest is no longer
recommended to say a private Mass with only himself present - the Mass is
not a private affair. It was not by accident that Jesus chose a meal for this
purpose. His disciples 'knew him in the breaking of bread'. It is natural
for people to celebrate the great events in their lives with a meal, to offer
visitors the hospitality of food and drink, and the life of the church demands
no less. It is difficult if not impossible, to 'celebrate' on one's own. It
was only abuse in the early church which caused the meal and the excessive
drinking of wine to be omitted but it should never be forgotten that the Mass
is still a meal, a celebratory meal, in which everyone should share. By the
middle ages the appointment of 'Mass priests' had become very common - priests
being appointed for the sole purpose of saying as many Masses as possible
for the intentions of a patron or for the soul of some benefactor who thought
he could buy his way into heaven, more often than not with no other person
present. It was one of the most important tasks of Vatican II finally to correct
and abolish such liturgical distortion and to ensure that every Mass assists
in the formation of the Christian life.
The prayers said during Mass are designed as far as possible to bring out
the meaning of this celebration, but there is more to consider than just the
form of the words. The various seasons of the church's year are reflected
both in the prayers and in the other arrangements such as the vestments and
their colour. These ideas have evolved over the centuries so that the 'standard'
colour of the vestments is green but they are often red for special feasts,
purple for seasons of penitence such as Advent or Lent, white for feasts like
Whitsun and so on. These elements also help to sustain the sense of solemnity
although they are not essential, only a survival of Roman fashion! Mass can
be just as easily said - and is as valid and important - from the back of
a truck on a windy hillside, with no vestments at all, though a stole is usually
preferred if at all possible to represent the rest which is missing.
In summary, the two revived Rites of the church, of concelebration by priests
rather than individual 'solitary' Masses, and for the celebration of Communion
in normal circumstances under both kinds, bread and wine, were approved
and confirmed by the Pope with the assistance of the Concilium and the Sacred
Congregation of Rites :
p.60 ...speciali modo, in their entirety and
in all parts, in virtue of his authority, in an audience with Cardinal Arcadio
Maria Larraona, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Rites. He ordered it
to be published and to be observed by everybody from Holy Thursday, 16 April,
1965, and to be accurately transcribed into the Pontifical Missal.
Devotions such as the Stations of the Cross or Benediction are not 'liturgical'
and are non-essential. Benediction is a prolongation of the 'elevation' during
the Mass when the host is momentarily held aloft by the priest and the server
rings a bell to announce that this is the body of Christ. In the Mass the
people kneeling and bowing their heads also represent the body of Christ,
the followers who acknowledge their union with him in the sacrament which
they are about to receive. Benediction as a separate service is concerned
with worship and does not implicitly show forth this meaning. As such it is
an aid to prayer which is essentially private even though many people may
be present..
By the
rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion
There on the willow-trees we hung up our harps
for there those who carried us off demanded music and singing,
and our captors called on us to be merry;
'Sing us one of the songs of Zion.'
How could we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither away;
let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy. |
Eucharistic
acclamations
| 1. Christ has died, Christ is risen,
Christ will come again. |
 |
 |
2. Dying you destroyed our death,
rising you restored our life,
Lord Jesus come
in glory |
3. When we eat this bread and drink
this cup,
we proclaim your death Lord Jesus, until you come in glory |
 |
 |
4. Lord, by your cross and resurrection
you have set us free,
you are the
Saviour of the world. |
6.30 p.m.