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§1100
The Word of God. the Holy Spirit first recalls the meaning of the salvation
event to the liturgical assembly by giving life to the Word of God, which is
proclaimed so that it may be received and lived:
In the celebration of the liturgy, Sacred Scripture is extremely important. From it come the lessons that are read and explained in the homily and the psalms that are sung. It is from the Scriptures that the prayers, collects, and hymns draw their inspiration and their force, and that actions and signs derive their meaning.20
§1101
The Holy Spirit gives a spiritual understanding of the Word of God to those who
read or hear it, according to the dispositions of their hearts. By means of the
words, actions, and symbols that form the structure of a celebration, the
Spirit puts both the faithful and the ministers into a living relationship with
Christ, the Word and Image of the Father, so that they can live out the meaning
of what they hear, contemplate, and do in the celebration.
§1102
«By the saving word of God, faith . . . is nourished in the hearts of
believers. By this faith then the congregation of the faithful begins and
grows.» 21 The proclamation does not stop with a teaching; it
elicits the response of faith as consent and commitment, directed at the covenant
between God and his people. Once again it is the Holy Spirit who gives the
grace of faith, strengthens it and makes it grow in the community. the
liturgical assembly is first of all a communion in faith.
§1103
Anamnesis. the liturgical celebration always refers to God's saving
interventions in history. «The economy of Revelation is realized by deeds
and words which are intrinsically bound up with each other.... (The) words for
their part proclaim the works and bring to light the mystery they
contain.» 22 In the Liturgy of the Word the Holy Spirit
«recalls» to the assembly all that Christ has done for us. In keeping
with the nature of liturgical actions and the ritual traditions of the
churches, the celebration «makes a remembrance» of the marvelous
works of God in an anamnesis which may be more or less developed. the Holy
Spirit who thus awakens the memory of the Church then inspires thanksgiving and
praise (doxology).
The Holy Spirit makes present the mystery of Christ
§1104
Christian liturgy not only recalls the events that saved us but actualizes
them, makes them present. the Paschal mystery of Christ is celebrated, not
repeated. It is the celebrations that are repeated, and in each celebration
there is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that makes the unique mystery
present.
§1105
The Epiclesis ("invocation upon») is the intercession in which the
priest begs the Father to send the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, so that the
offerings may become the body and blood of Christ and that the faithful by
receiving them, may themselves become a living offering to God.23
§1106
Together with the anamnesis, the epiclesis is at the heart of each sacramental
celebration, most especially of the Eucharist:
You ask how the bread becomes the Body of Christ, and the wine . . . the Blood of Christ I shall tell you: the Holy Spirit comes upon them and accomplishes what surpasses every word and thought . . . Let it be enough for you to understand that it is by the Holy Spirit, just as it was of the Holy Virgin and by the Holy Spirit that the Lord, through and in himself, took flesh.24
§1107
The Holy Spirit's transforming power in the liturgy hastens the coming of the
kingdom and the consummation of the mystery of salvation. While we wait in hope
he causes us really to anticipate the fullness of communion with the Holy
Trinity. Sent by the Father who hears the epiclesis of the Church, the Spirit
gives life to those who accept him and is, even now, the «guarantee"
of their inheritance.25
The communion of the Holy Spirit
§1108
In every liturgical action the Holy Spirit is sent in order to bring us into
communion with Christ and so to form his Body. the Holy Spirit is like the sap
of the Father's vine which bears fruit on its branches.26 The most
intimate cooperation of the Holy Spirit and the Church is achieved in the
liturgy. the Spirit who is the Spirit of communion, abides indefectibly in the
Church. For this reason the Church is the great sacrament of divine communion
which gathers God's scattered children together. Communion with the Holy
Trinity and fraternal communion are inseparably the fruit of the Spirit in the
liturgy.27
§1109
The epiclesis is also a prayer for the full effect of the assembly's communion
with the mystery of Christ. «The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the
love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit» 28 have to
remain with us always and bear fruit beyond the Eucharistic celebration. the
Church therefore asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit to make the lives of
the faithful a living sacrifice to God by their spiritual transformation into
the image of Christ, by concern for the Church's unity, and by taking part in
her mission through the witness and service of charity.
IN BRIEF
§1110
In the liturgy of the Church,
God the Father is blessed and adored as the source of all the blessings of
creation and salvation with which he has blessed us in his Son, in order to
give us the Spirit of filial adoption.
§1111
Christ's work in the
liturgy is sacramental: because his mystery of salvation is made present there
by the power of his Holy Spirit; because his Body, which is the Church, is like
a sacrament (sign and instrument) in which the Holy Spirit dispenses the
mystery of salvation; and because through her liturgical actions the pilgrim
Church already participates, as by a foretaste, in the heavenly liturgy.
§1112
The mission of the Holy
Spirit in the liturgy of the Church is to prepare the assembly to encounter
Christ; to recall and manifest Christ to the faith of the assembly; to make the
saving work of Christ present and active by his transforming power; and to make
the gift of communion bear fruit in the Church.
THE PASCHAL MYSTERY IN THE CHURCH'S SACRAMENTS
§1113
The whole liturgical life of the Church revolves around the Eucharistic
sacrifice and the sacraments.29 There are seven sacraments in the
Church: Baptism, Confirmation or Chrismation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of
the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.30 This article will discuss what
is common to the Church's seven sacraments from a doctrinal point of view. What
is common to them in terms of their celebration will be presented in the second
chapter, and what is distinctive about each will be the topic of the Section
Two.
I. The Sacraments of Christ
§1114
«Adhering to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, to the apostolic
traditions, and to the consensus . . . of the Fathers,» we profess that
«the sacraments of the new law were . . . all instituted by Jesus Christ
our Lord.» 31
§1115
Jesus' words and actions during his hidden life and public ministry were
already salvific, for they anticipated the power of his Paschal mystery. They
announced and prepared what he was going to give the Church when all was
accomplished. the mysteries of Christ's life are the foundations of what he
would henceforth dispense in the sacraments, through the ministers of his
Church, for «what was visible in our Savior has passed over into his
mysteries.» 32
§1116
Sacraments are «powers that comes forth» from the Body of
Christ,33 which is ever-living and life-giving. They are actions of the
Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. They are «the masterworks of
God» in the new and everlasting covenant.
II. The Sacraments of the Church
§1117
As she has done for the canon of Sacred Scripture and for the doctrine of the
faith, the Church, by the power of the Spirit who guides her «into all
truth,» has gradually recognized this treasure received from Christ and,
as the faithful steward of God's mysteries, has determined its «dispensation.» 34
Thus the Church has discerned over the centuries that among liturgical
celebrations there are seven that are, in the strict sense of the term,
sacraments instituted by the Lord.
§1118
The sacraments are «of the Church» in the double sense that they are
«by her» and «for her.» They are «by the Church,"
for she is the sacrament of Christ's action at work in her through the mission
of the Holy Spirit. They are «for the Church» in the sense that «the
sacraments make the Church,» 35 since they manifest and communicate
to men, above all in the Eucharist, the mystery of communion with the God who
is love, One in three persons.
§1119
Forming «as it were, one mystical person» with Christ the head, the
Church acts in the sacraments as «an organically structured priestly
community.» 36 Through Baptism and Confirmation the pRiestly people
is enabled to celebrate the liturgy, while those of the faithful «who have
received Holy Orders, are appointed to nourish the Church with the word and
grace of God in the name of Christ.» 37
§1120
The ordained ministry or ministerial priesthood is at the service of the
baptismal priesthood.38 The ordained priesthood guarantees that it
really is Christ who acts in the sacraments through the Holy Spirit for the
Church. the saving mission entrusted by the Father to his incarnate Son was
committed to the apostles and through them to their successors: they receive
the Spirit of Jesus to act in his name and in his person.39 The
ordained minister is the sacramental bond that ties the liturgical action to
what the apostles said and did and, through them, to the words and actions of
Christ, the source and foundation of the sacraments.
§1121
The three sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders confer, in
addition to grace, a sacramental character or «seal» by which the
Christian shares in Christ's priesthood and is made a member of the Church
according to different states and functions. This configuration to Christ and
to the Church, brought about by the Spirit, is indelible,40 it remains
for ever in the Christian as a positive disposition for grace, a promise and
guarantee of divine protection, and as a vocation to divine worship and to the
service of the Church. Therefore these sacraments can never be repeated.
III. The Sacraments of Faith
§1122
Christ sent his apostles so that «repentance and forgiveness of sins
should be preached in his name to all nations.» 41 «Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.» 42 The mission to
baptize, and so the sacramental mission, is implied in the mission to
evangelize, because the sacrament is prepared for by the word of God and by the
faith which is assent to this word:
The People of God is formed into one in the first place by the Word of the living God.... the preaching of the Word is required for the sacramental ministry itself, since the sacraments are sacraments of faith, drawing their origin and nourishment from the Word.43
§1123
«The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the Body of
Christ and, finally, to give worship to God. Because they are signs they also
instruct. They not only presuppose faith, but by words and objects they also
nourish, strengthen, and express it. That is why they are called 'sacraments of
faith."'44
§1124
The Church's faith precedes the faith of the believer who is invited to adhere
to it. When the Church celebrates the sacraments, she confesses the faith
received from the apostles - whence the ancient saying: lex orandi, lex
credendi (or: legem credendi lex statuat supplicandi according to Prosper of
Aquitaine [5th cent.]).45 The law of prayer is the law of faith: the
Church believes as she prays. Liturgy is a constitutive element of the holy and
living Tradition.46
§1125
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 the obedience of faith and with
religious respect for the mystery of the liturgy.
§1126
Likewise, since the sacraments express and develop the communion of faith in
the Church, the lex orandi is one of the essential criteria of the dialogue
that seeks to restore the unity of Christians.47
IV. The Sacraments of Salvation
§1127
Celebrated worthily in faith, the sacraments confer the grace that they
signify.48 They are efficacious because in them Christ himself is at
work: it is he who baptizes, he who acts in his sacraments in order to
communicate the grace that each sacrament signifies. the Father always hears
the prayer of his Son's Church which, in the epiclesis of each sacrament,
expresses her faith in the power of the Spirit. As fire transforms into itself
everything it touches, so the Holy Spirit transforms into the divine life
whatever is subjected to his power.
§1128
This is the meaning of the Church's affirmation49 that the sacraments
act ex opere operato (literally: «by the very fact of the action's being
performed»), i.e., by virtue of the saving work of Christ, accomplished
once for all. It follows that «the sacrament is not wrought by the
righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient, but by the power of
God.» 50 From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated in
accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his Spirit
acts in and through it, independently of the personal holiness of the minister.
Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of
the one who receives them.
§1129
The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are
necessary for salvation.51 «Sacramental grace» is the grace
of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. the Spirit
heals and transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of
God. the fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the
faithful partakers in the divine nature52 by uniting them in a living
union with the only Son, the Savior.
V. The Sacraments of Eternal Life
§1130
The Church celebrates the mystery of her Lord «until he comes,» when
God will be «everything to everyone.» 53 Since the apostolic
age the liturgy has been drawn toward its goal by the Spirit's groaning in the
Church: Marana tha!54 The liturgy thus shares in Jesus' desire: «I
have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you . . . until it is
fulfilled in the kingdom of God.» 55 In the sacraments of Christ
the Church already receives the guarantee of her inheritance and even now
shares in everlasting life, while «awaiting our blessed hope, the
appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ
Jesus.» 56 The «Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come . . . Come, Lord Jesus!"'57
St. Thomas sums up the various aspects of sacramental signs: «Therefore a sacrament is a sign that commemorates what precedes it - Christ's Passion; demonstrates what is accomplished in us through Christ's Passion - grace; and prefigures what that Passion pledges to us - future glory.» 58
IN BRIEF
§1131
The sacraments are
efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church,
by which divine life is dispensed to us. the visible rites by which the
sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each
sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required
dispositions.
§1132
The Church celebrates
the sacraments as a priestly community structured by the baptismal priesthood
and the priesthood of ordained ministers.
§1133
The Holy Spirit prepares
the faithful for the sacraments by the Word of God and the faith which welcomes
that word in well-disposed hearts. Thus the sacraments strengthen faith and
express it.
§1134
The fruit of sacramental
life is both personal and ecclesial. For every one of the faithful an the one
hand, this fruit is life for God in Christ Jesus; for the Church, on the other,
it is an increase in charity and in her mission of witness.
THE SACRAMENTAL CELEBRATION OF THE PASCHAL MYSTERY
§1135
The catechesis of the liturgy entails first of all an understanding of the
sacramental economy (Chapter One). In this light, the innovation of its
celebration is revealed. This chapter will therefore treat of the celebration
of the sacraments of the Church. It will consider that which, through the
diversity of liturgical traditions, is common to the celebration of the seven
sacraments. What is proper to each will be treated later. This fundamental
catechesis on the sacramental celebrations responds to the first questions
posed by the faithful regarding this subject:
- Who celebrates the liturgy?
- How is the liturgy celebrated?
- When is the liturgy celebrated?
- Where is the liturgy celebrated?
CELEBRATING THE CHURCH'S LITURGY
I. Who Celebrates?
§1136
Liturgy is an «action» of the whole Christ (Christus totus). Those
who even now celebrate it without signs are already in the heavenly liturgy,
where celebration is wholly communion and feast
The celebrants of the heavenly liturgy
§1137
The book of Revelation of St. John, read in the Church's liturgy, first reveals
to us, «A throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne":
«the Lord God.» 1 It then shows the Lamb, «standing, as
though it had been slain": Christ crucified and risen, the one high priest
of the true sanctuary, the same one «who offers and is offered, who gives
and is given.» 2 Finally it presents «the river of the water
of life . . . flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb,» one of most
beautiful symbols of the Holy Spirit.3
§1138
«Recapitulated in Christ,» these are the ones who take part in the
service of the praise of God and the fulfillment of his plan: the heavenly
powers, all creation (the four living beings), the servants of the Old and New
Covenants (the twenty-four elders), the new People of God (the one hundred and
forty-four thousand),4 especially the martyrs «slain for the word
of God,» and the all-holy Mother of God (the Woman), the Bride of the
Lamb,5 and finally «a great multitude which no one could number,
from every nation, from all tribes, and peoples and tongues.» 6
§1139
It is in this eternal liturgy that the Spirit and the Church enable us to
participate whenever we celebrate the mystery of salvation in the sacraments.
The celebrants of the sacramental liturgy
§1140
It is the whole community, the Body of Christ united with its Head, that
celebrates. «Liturgical services are not private functions but are
celebrations of the Church which is 'the sacrament of unity,' namely, the holy
people united and organized under the authority of the bishops. Therefore,
liturgical services pertain to the whole Body of the Church. They manifest it,
and have effects upon it. But they touch individual members of the Church in
different ways, depending on their orders, their role in the liturgical
services, and their actual participation in them.» 7 For this
reason, «rites which are meant to be celebrated in common, with the
faithful present and actively participating, should as far as possible be celebrated
in that way rather than by an individual and quasi-privately.» 8
§1141
The celebrating assembly is the community of the baptized who, «by
regeneration and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are consecrated to be a
spiritual house and a holy priesthood, that . . . they may offer spiritual
sacrifices.» 9 This «common priesthood» is that of Christ
the sole priest, in which all his members participate:10
Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that full, conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy, and to which the Christian people, «a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people,» have a right and an obligation by reason of their Baptism.11
§1142
But «the members do not all have the same function.» 12
Certain members are called by God, in and through the Church, to a special
service of the community. These servants are chosen and consecrated by the
sacrament of Holy Orders, by which the Holy Spirit enables them to act in the
person of Christ the head, for the service of all the members of the
Church.13 The ordained minister is, as it were, an «icon» of
Christ the priest. Since it is in the Eucharist that the sacrament of the
Church is made fully visible, it is in his presiding at the Eucharist that the
bishop's ministry is most evident, as well as, in communion with him, the
ministry of priests and deacons.
§1143
For the purpose of assisting the work of the common priesthood of the faithful,
other particular ministries also exist, not consecrated by the sacrament of
Holy Orders; their functions are determined by the bishops, in accord with liturgical
traditions and pastoral needs. «Servers, readers, commentators, and
members of the choir also exercise a genuine liturgical
function.» 14
§1144
In the celebration of the sacraments it is thus the whole assembly that is
leitourgos, each according to his function, but in the «unity of the
Spirit» who acts in all. «In liturgical celebrations each person,
minister or layman, who has an office to perform, should carry out all and only
those parts which pertain to his office by the nature of the rite and the norms
of the liturgy.» 15
II. How is the Liturgy Celebrated?
Signs and symbols
§1145
A sacramental celebration is woven from signs and symbols. In keeping with the
divine pedagogy of salvation, their meaning is rooted in the work of creation
and in human culture, specified by the events of the Old Covenant and fully
revealed in the person and work of Christ.
§1146
Signs of the human world. In human life, signs and symbols occupy an important
place. As a being at once body and spirit, man expresses and perceives
spiritual realities through physical signs and symbols. As a social being, man
needs signs and symbols to communicate with others, through language, gestures,
and actions. the same holds true for his relationship with God.
§1147
God speaks to man through the visible creation. the material cosmos is so
presented to man's intelligence that he can read there traces of its
Creator.16 Light and darkness, wind and fire, water and earth, the tree
and its fruit speak of God and symbolize both his greatness and his nearness.
§1148
Inasmuch as they are creatures, these perceptible realities can become means of
expressing the action of God who sanctifies men, and the action of men who
offer worship to God. the same is true of signs and symbols taken from the
social life of man: washing and anointing, breaking bread and sharing the cup
can express the sanctifying presence of God and man's gratitude toward his
Creator.
§1149
The great religions of mankind witness, often impressively, to this cosmic and
symbolic meaning of religious rites. the liturgy of the Church presupposes,
integrates and sanctifies elements from creation and human culture, conferring
on them the dignity of signs of grace, of the new creation in Jesus Christ.
§1150
Signs of the covenant. the Chosen People received from God distinctive signs
and symbols that marked its liturgical life. These are no longer solely
celebrations of cosmic cycles and social gestures, but signs of the covenant,
symbols of God's mighty deeds for his people. Among these liturgical signs from
the Old Covenant are circumcision, anointing and consecration of kings and
priests, laying on of hands, sacrifices, and above all the Passover. the Church
sees in these signs a prefiguring of the sacraments of the New Covenant.
§1151
Signs taken up by Christ. In his preaching the Lord Jesus often makes use of
the signs of creation to make known the mysteries of the Kingdom of
God.17 He performs healings and illustrates his preaching with physical
signs or symbolic gestures.18 He gives new meaning to the deeds and
signs of the Old Covenant, above all to the Exodus and the Passover,19
for he himself is the meaning of all these signs.
§1152
Sacramental signs. Since Pentecost, it is through the sacramental signs of his
Church that the Holy Spirit carries on the work of sanctification. the
sacraments of the Church do not abolish but purify and integrate all the
richness of the signs and symbols of the cosmos and of social life. Further,
they fulfill the types and figures of the Old Covenant, signify and make
actively present the salvation wrought by Christ, and prefigure and anticipate
the glory of heaven. Words and actions
§1153
A sacramental celebration is a meeting of God's children with their Father, in
Christ and the Holy Spirit; this meeting takes the form of a dialogue, through
actions and words. Admittedly, the symbolic actions are already a language, but
the Word of God and the response of faith have to accompany and give life to
them, so that the seed of the Kingdom can bear its fruit in good soil. the
liturgical actions signify what the Word of God expresses: both his free
initiative and his people's response of faith.
§1154
The liturgy of the Word is an integral part of sacramental celebrations. To
nourish the faith of believers, the signs which accompany the Word of God
should be emphasized: the book of the Word (a lectionary or a book of the
Gospels), its veneration (procession, incense, candles), the place of its
proclamation (lectern or ambo), its audible and intelligible reading, the
minister's homily which extends its proclamation, and the responses of the
assembly (acclamations, meditation psalms, litanies, and profession of faith).
§1155
The liturgical word and action are inseparable both insofar as they are signs
and instruction and insofar as they accomplish what they signify. When the Holy
Spirit awakens faith, he not only gives an understanding of the Word of God,
but through the sacraments also makes present the «wonders» of God
which it proclaims. the Spirit makes present and communicates the Father's
work, fulfilled by the beloved Son.
Singing and music
§1156
«The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of
inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art. the main reason for
this pre-eminence is that, as a combination of sacred music and words, it forms
a necessary or integral part of solemn liturgy.» 20 The composition
and singing of inspired psalms, often accompanied by musical instruments, were already
closely linked to the liturgical celebrations of the Old Covenant. the Church
continues and develops this tradition: «Address . . . one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord
with all your heart.» «He who sings prays twice.» 21
§1157
Song and music fulfill their function as signs in a manner all the more
significant when they are «more closely connected . . . with the
liturgical action,» 22 according to three principal criteria:
beauty expressive of prayer, the unanimous participation of the assembly at the
designated moments, and the solemn character of the celebration. In this way
they participate in the purpose of the liturgical words and actions: the glory
of God and the sanctification of the faithful:23
How I wept, deeply moved by your hymns, songs, and the voices that echoed through your Church! What emotion I experienced in them! Those sounds flowed into my ears distilling the truth in my heart. A feeling of devotion surged within me, and tears streamed down my face - tears that did me good.24
§1158
The harmony of signs (song, music, words, and actions) is all the more expressive
and fruitful when expressed in the cultural richness of the People of God who
celebrate.25 Hence «religious singing by the faithful is to be
intelligently fostered so that in devotions and sacred exercises as well as in
liturgical services,» in conformity with the Church's norms, «the
voices of the faithful may be heard.» But «the texts intended to be
sung must always be in conformity with Catholic doctrine. Indeed they should be
drawn chiefly from the Sacred Scripture and from liturgical
sources.» 26
Holy images
§1159
The sacred image, the liturgical icon, principally represents Christ. It cannot
represent the invisible and incomprehensible God, but the incarnation of the
Son of God has ushered in a new «economy» of images:
Previously God, who has neither a body nor a face, absolutely could not be represented by an image. But now that he has made himself visible in the flesh and has lived with men, I can make an image of what I have seen of God . . . and contemplate the glory of the Lord, his face unveiled.27
§1160
Christian iconography expresses in images the same Gospel message that
Scripture communicates by words. Image and word illuminate each other:
We declare that we preserve intact all the written and unwritten traditions of the Church which have been entrusted to us. One of these traditions consists in the production of representational artwork, which accords with the history of the preaching of the Gospel. For it confirms that the incarnation of the Word of God was real and not imaginary, and to our benefit as well, for realities that illustrate each other undoubtedly reflect each other's meaning.28
§1161
All the signs in the liturgical celebrations are related to Christ: as are
sacred images of the holy Mother of God and of the saints as well. They truly
signify Christ, who is glorified in them. They make manifest the «cloud of
witnesses» 29 who continue to participate in the salvation of the
world and to whom we are united, above all in sacramental celebrations. Through
their icons, it is man «in the image of God,» finally transfigured
«into his likeness,» 30 who is revealed to our faith. So too
are the angels, who also are recapitulated in Christ:
Following the divinely inspired teaching of our holy Fathers and the tradition of the Catholic Church (for we know that this tradition comes from the Holy Spirit who dwells in her) we rightly define with full certainty and correctness that, like the figure of the precious and life-giving cross, venerable and holy images of our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ, our inviolate Lady, the holy Mother of God, and the venerated angels, all the saints and the just, whether painted or made of mosaic or another suitable material, are to be exhibited in the holy churches of God, on sacred vessels and vestments, walls and panels, in houses and on streets.31
§1162
«The beauty of the images moves me to contemplation, as a meadow delights
the eyes and subtly infuses the soul with the glory of God.» 32
Similarly, the contemplation of sacred icons, united with meditation on the
Word of God and the singing of liturgical hymns, enters into the harmony of the
signs of celebration so that the mystery celebrated is imprinted in the heart's
memory and is then expressed in the new life of the faithful.
III. When is the Liturgy Celebrated?
Liturgical seasons
§1163
«Holy Mother Church believes that she should celebrate the saving work of
her divine Spouse in a sacred commemoration on certain days throughout the
course of the year. Once each week, on the day which she has called the Lord's
Day, she keeps the memory of the Lord's resurrection. She also celebrates it
once every year, together with his blessed Passion, at Easter, that most solemn
of all feasts. In the course of the year, moreover, she unfolds the whole
mystery of Christ .... Thus recalling the mysteries of the redemption, she
opens up to the faithful the riches of her Lord's powers and merits, so that
these are in some way made present in every age; the faithful lay hold of them
and are filled with saving grace.» 33
§1164
From the time of the Mosaic law, the People of God have observed fixed feasts,
beginning with Passover, to commemorate the astonishing actions of the Savior
God, to give him thanks for them, to perpetuate their remembrance, and to teach
new generations to conform their conduct to them. In the age of the Church,
between the Passover of Christ already accomplished once for all, and its
consummation in the kingdom of God, the liturgy celebrated on fixed days bears
the imprint of the newness of the mystery of Christ.
§1165
When the Church celebrates the mystery of Christ, there is a word that marks
her prayer: «Today!» - a word echoing the prayer her Lord taught her
and the call of the Holy Spirit.34 This «today» of the living
God which man is called to enter is «the hour» of Jesus' Passover,
which reaches across and underlies all history:
Life extends over all beings and fills them with unlimited light; the Orient of orients pervades the universe, and he who was «before the daystar» and before the heavenly bodies, immortal and vast, the great Christ, shines over all beings more brightly than the sun. Therefore a day of long, eternal light is ushered in for us who believe in him, a day which is never blotted out: the mystical Passover.35
The Lord's day
§1166
«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.» 36 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.» 37 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:38
The Lord's day, the day of Resurrection, the day of Christians, is our day. It is called the Lord's day because on it the Lord rose victorious to the Father. If pagans call it the «day of the sun,» we willingly agree, for today the light of the world is raised, today is revealed the sun of justice with healing in his rays.39
§1167
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":40
When we ponder, O Christ, the marvels accomplished on this day, the Sunday of your holy resurrection, we say: «Blessed is Sunday, for on it began creation . . . the world's salvation ... the renewal of the human race .... On Sunday heaven and earth rejoiced and the whole universe was filled with light. Blessed is Sunday, for on it were opened the gates of paradise so that Adam and all the exiles might enter it without fear.41
The liturgical year
§1168
Beginning with the Easter Triduum as its source of light, the new age of the
Resurrection fills the whole liturgical year with its brilliance. Gradually, on
either side of this source, the year is transfigured by the liturgy. It really
is a «year of the Lord's favor.» 42 The economy of salvation
is at work within the framework of time, but since its fulfillment in the
Passover of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the culmination of
history is anticipated «as a foretaste,» and the kingdom of God
enters into our time.
§1169
Therefore Easter is not simply one feast among others, but the «Feast of
feasts,» the «Solemnity of solemnities,» just as the Eucharist
is the «Sacrament of sacraments» (the Great Sacrament). St.
Athanasius calls Easter «the Great Sunday» 43 and the Eastern
Churches call Holy Week «the Great Week.» the mystery of the
Resurrection, in which Christ crushed death, permeates with its powerful energy
our old time, until all is subjected to him.
§1170
At the
Council of Nicaea in 325, all the Churches agreed that Easter, the Christian
Passover, should be celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon (14
Nisan) after the vernal equinox. the reform of the Western calendar, called
«Gregorian» after Pope Gregory XIII (1582), caused a discrepancy of
several days with the Eastern calendar. Today, the Western and Eastern Churches
are seeking an agreement in order once again to celebrate the day of the Lord's
Resurrection on a common date.
§1171
In the liturgical year the various aspects of the one Paschal mystery unfold.
This is also the case with the cycle of feasts surrounding the mystery of the
incarnation (Annunciation, Christmas, Epiphany). They commemorate the beginning
of our salvation and communicate to us the first fruits of the Paschal mystery.
The sanctoral in the liturgical year
§1172
«In celebrating this annual cycle of the mysteries of Christ, Holy Church
honors the Blessed Mary, Mother of God, with a special love. She is inseparably
linked with the saving work of her Son. In her the Church admires and exalts
the most excellent fruit of redemption and joyfully contemplates, as in a
faultless image, that which she herself desires and hopes wholly to
be.» 44
§1173
When the Church keeps the memorials of martyrs and other saints during the
annual cycle, she proclaims the Paschal mystery in those «who have
suffered and have been glorified with Christ. She proposes them to the faithful
as examples who draw all men to the Father through Christ, and through their
merits she begs for God's favors.» 45
The Liturgy of the Hours
§1174
The mystery of Christ, his Incarnation and Passover, which we celebrate in the
Eucharist especially at the Sunday assembly, permeates and transfigures the
time of each day, through the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours,
«the divine office.» 46 This celebration, faithful to the
apostolic exhortations to «pray constantly,» is «so devised that
the whole course of the day and night is made holy by the praise of
God.» 47 In this «public prayer of the Church,» 48
The faithful (clergy, religious, and lay people) exercise the royal priesthood
of the baptized. Celebrated in «the form approved» by the Church, the
Liturgy of the Hours «is truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to
her Bridegroom. It is the very prayer which Christ himself together with his
Body addresses to the Father.49
§1175
The
Liturgy of the Hours is intended to become the prayer of the whole People of
God. In it Christ himself «continues his priestly work through his
Church.» 50 His members participate according to their own place in
the Church and the circumstances of their lives: priests devoted to the
pastoral ministry, because they are called to remain diligent in prayer and the
service of the word; religious, by the charism of their consecrated lives; all
the faithful as much as possible: «Pastors of souls should see to it that
the principal hours, especially Vespers, are celebrated in common in church on
Sundays and on the more solemn feasts. the laity, too, are encouraged to recite
the divine office, either with the priests, or among themselves, or even
individually.» 51
§1176
The celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours demands not only harmonizing the
voice with the praying heart, but also a deeper «understanding of the
liturgy and of the Bible, especially of the Psalms.» 52
§1177
The hymns and litanies of the Liturgy of the Hours integrate the prayer of the
psalms into the age of the Church, expressing the symbolism of the time of day,
the liturgical season, or the feast being celebrated. Moreover, the reading
from the Word of God at each Hour (with the subsequent responses or troparia)
and readings from the Fathers and spiritual masters at certain Hours, reveal
more deeply the meaning of the mystery being celebrated, assist in
understanding the psalms, and prepare for silent prayer. the lectio divina,
where the Word of God is so read and meditated that it becomes prayer, is thus
rooted in the liturgical celebration.
§1178
The Liturgy of the Hours, which is like an extension of the Eucharistic
celebration, does not exclude but rather in a complementary way calls forth the
various devotions of the People of God, especially adoration and worship of the
Blessed Sacrament.
IV. Where is the Liturgy Celebrated?
§1179
The worship «in Spirit and in truth» 53 of the New Covenant is
not tied exclusively to any one place. the whole earth is sacred and entrusted
to the children of men. What matters above all is that, when the faithful
assemble in the same place, they are the «living stones,» gathered to
be «built into a spiritual house.» 54 For the Body of the
risen Christ is the spiritual temple from which the source of living water
springs forth: incorporated into Christ by the Holy Spirit, «we are the
temple of the living God.» 55
§1180
When the exercise of religious liberty is not thwarted,56 Christians
construct buildings for divine worship. These visible churches are not simply
gathering places but signify and make visible the Church living in this place,
the dwelling of God with men reconciled and united in Christ.
§1181
A church, «a house of prayer in which the Eucharist is celebrated and
reserved, where the faithful assemble, and where is worshipped the presence of
the Son of God our Savior, offered for us on the sacrificial altar for the help
and consolation of the faithful - this house ought to be in good taste and a
worthy place for prayer and sacred ceremonial.» 57 In this
«house of God» the truth and the harmony of the signs that make it up
should show Christ to be present and active in this place.58
§1182
The
altar of the New Covenant is the Lord's Cross,59 from which the
sacraments of the Paschal mystery flow. On the altar, which is the center of
the church, the sacrifice of the Cross is made present under sacramental signs.
the altar is also the table of the Lord, to which the People of God are
invited.60 In certain Eastern liturgies, the altar is also the symbol
of the tomb (Christ truly died and is truly risen).
§1183
The
tabernacle is to be situated «in churches in a most worthy place with the
greatest honor.» 61 The dignity, placing, and security of the
Eucharistic tabernacle should foster adoration before the Lord really present
in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.62
The sacred chrism (myron), used in anointings as the sacramental sign of the
seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, is traditionally reserved and venerated in
a secure place in the sanctuary. the oil of catechumens and the oil of the sick
may also be placed there.
§1184
The
chair (cathedra) of the bishop or the priest «should express his office of
presiding over the assembly and of directing prayer.» 63
The lectern (ambo): «The dignity of the Word of God requires the church to
have a suitable place for announcing his message so that the attention of the
people may be easily directed to that place during the liturgy of the
Word.» 64
§1185
The
gathering of the People of God begins with Baptism; a church must have a place
for the celebration of Baptism (baptistry) and for fostering remembrance of the
baptismal promises (holy water font).
The renewal of the baptismal life requires penance. A church, then, must lend
itself to the expression of repentance and the reception of forgiveness, which
requires an appropriate place to receive penitents.
A church must also be a space that invites us to the recollection and silent
prayer that extend and internalize the great prayer of the Eucharist.
§1186
Finally, the church has an eschatological significance. To enter into the house
of God, we must cross a threshold, which symbolizes passing from the world
wounded by sin to the world of the new Life to which all men are called. the
visible church is a symbol of the Father's house toward which the People of God
is journeying and where the Father «will wipe every tear from their
eyes.» 65 Also for this reason, the Church is the house of all
God's children, open and welcoming.
IN BRIEF
§1187
The liturgy is the work
of the whole Christ, head and body. Our high priest celebrates it unceasingly
in the heavenly liturgy, with the holy Mother of God, the apostles, all the
saints, and the multitude of those who have already entered the kingdom.
§1188
In a liturgical
celebration, the whole assembly is leitourgos, each member according to his own
function. the baptismal priesthood is that of the whole Body of Christ. But
some of the faithful are ordained through the sacrament of Holy Orders to
represent Christ as head of the Body.
§1189
The liturgical
celebration involves signs and symbols relating to creation (candles, water,
fire), human life (washing, anointing, breaking bread) and the history of
salvation (the rites of the Passover). Integrated into the world of faith and
taken up by the power of the Holy Spirit, these cosmic elements, human rituals,
and gestures of remembrance of God become bearers of the saving and sanctifying
action of Christ.
§1190
The Liturgy of the Word
is an integral part of the celebration. the meaning of the celebration is
expressed by the Word of God which is proclaimed and by the response of faith
to it.
§1191
Song and music are
closely connected with the liturgical action. the criteria for their proper use
are the beauty expressive of prayer, the unanimous participation of the
assembly, and the sacred character of the celebration.
§1192
Sacred images in our
churches and homes are intended to awaken and nourish our faith in the mystery
of Christ. Through the icon of Christ and his works of salvation, it is he whom
we adore. Through sacred images of the holy Mother of God, of the angels and of
the saints, we venerate the persons represented.
§1193
Sunday, the «Lord's
Day,» is the principal day for the celebration of the Eucharist because it
is the day of the Resurrection. It is the pre-eminent day of the liturgical
assembly, the day of the Christian family, and the day of joy and rest from
work. Sunday is «the foundation and kernel of the whole liturgical
year» (SC 106).
§1194
The Church, «in the
course of the year, . . . unfolds the whole mystery of Christ from his
Incarnation and Nativity through his Ascension, to Pentecost and the
expectation of the blessed hope of the coming of the Lord» (SC 102 # 2).
§1195
By keeping the memorials
of the saints - first of all the holy Mother of God, then the apostles, the
martyrs, and other saints - on fixed days of the liturgical year, the Church on
earth shows that she is united with the liturgy of heaven. She gives glory to
Christ for having accomplished his salvation in his glorified members; their
example encourages her on her way to the Father.
§1196
The faithful who
celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours are united to Christ our high priest, by the
prayer of the Psalms, meditation on the Word of God, and canticles and
blessings, in order to be joined with his unceasing and universal prayer that
gives glory to the Father and implores the gift of the Holy Spirit on the whole
world.
1197 Christ is the true temple of God, «the place where his glory dwells»; by the grace of God, Christians also become the temples of the Holy Spirit, living stones out of which the Church is built.
§1198
In its earthly state the
Church needs places where the community can gather together. Our visible churches,
holy places, are images of the holy city, the heavenly Jerusalem, toward which
we are making our way on pilgrimage.
§1199
It is in these churches
that the Church celebrates public worship to the glory of the Holy Trinity,
hears the word of God and sings his praise, lifts up her prayer, and offers the
sacrifice of Christ sacramentally present in the midst of the assembly. These
churches are also places of recollection and personal prayer.
Catéchisme de l'Église catholique © Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1992.
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