January 30, 2008
Presenter Fr. Ed Jocson
Part II: Liturgy & Life
Liturgy celebrates the “Pascal Mystery”.
A. LITURGY: public work or work done on behalf of the people.
It encompasses all official public prayer life of the Church.
Every liturgical celebration is an action of Christ the High Priest and of His Mystical Body (which is the Church). It requires the participation of the People of God in the work of God.
Liturgy is both a visible and hidden mystery. Jesus’ death and resurrection are hidden now in the eternity of God, but Jesus Christ calls us to share in them through the Liturgy of the Church. That is, by the visible gathering of the community for worship and remembrance of what God has done for us.
The Liturgy and worship of the Church have much to do with shaping responsible citizens (of this world) with moral character and with a willingness to contribute to the wellbeing of society.
· At divine worship, people receive the grace to help them be formed ever more closely to Christ. Through the Sacraments (receiving the saving grace of Christ) we are helped to live more perfectly Christ’s truth and virtue (like love, justice, money and compassion).
· We are led to witness in our everyday lives to the love of God and neighbor and the moral implication of the Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments. Liturgical experience ought to provide a unique spiritual vision and strength for making this a better world.
· Saints and the lives they have lived provide ample evidence to the power that comes from prayer and above all from the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
Visible reality: the outward expression, the form they take, and the way in which they are administered and received.
Invisible reality: God’s grace, His gracious initiative in redeeming us through the death and Resurrection of His Son.
The Sacraments are an efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which life is dispensed to us through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Efficacious sign: Christ used sacramental signs to confer His life and grace. They reveal and make present the reality they signify.
*Christ instituted the Sacraments.
*Jesus entrusted the Sacraments to the Church.
*Sacraments transmit divine life
through grace.
Fruitful reception of the Sacraments always produces grace. The amount of faith we have depends on how much of the fullness we receive. We are given the total fullness but cannot appreciate all of the grace. The more we know the more we can appreciate.
JESUS’ EARTHLY MINISTRY: He preached and taught with authority and performed powerful healings and miracles through which He forgave sins and healed wounds of Sin.
Through the Sacraments of the Church, Christ continues the saving work through the Church offering to each of us the saving power of God in Jesus Christ for the healing of our whole person – spirit, soul, mind and body, as we journey in faith with the community of believers.
* Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist are steps
toward union with Christ and the Church.
* Sacraments of Healing: Confession/Reconciliation; Anointing of the sick
heals the soul, mind and body.
* Sacraments of Service: Holy Orders; Matrimony are given for the service of
the Church and the world.
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In the Sacraments, the Church “celebrates” above all the Paschal Mystery by which Christ accomplished the work of our salvation.
The purpose of the Sacraments:
To sanctify us
To build up the Body of Christ
To give worship to God
To nourish, strengthen and express faith.
We celebrate the Sacraments:
· With signs and symbols
· With words and actions
· With singing and music
· In “Liturgical time.”
Who Celebrates the Sacraments?
· The entire Body of Christ, animated by to Holy Spirit, celebrates the Liturgy. Liturgy is a public act of worship by the faithful gathered together by the power of the Spirit under the authority of the Bishop (teacher and shepherd).
· 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.
· The ordained have unique function of service within the assembly. They are chosen and consecrated by the Holy Spirit to act in the person of Christ the Head, for the service of all the members of the Church.
How do we celebrate the Sacraments?
· The Church celebrates the Liturgy using an abundance of signs and symbols, and rituals.
· We celebrate in a holy environment which speaks of the mystery of God and divine transcendence on the one hand, and the unity of God with the worshipping community on the other.
· The Liturgy of the Word is meant to awaken a response of faith in the listener. The combination of word and action helps make visible the invisible action of Christ and the Holy Spirit to open the hearts of the assembly to the grace of the particular sacramental celebration.
When do we celebrate the Sacraments?
Sunday (the Lord’s Day). The day of Christ’s Resurrection. The Lord’s Day is Saturday at sundown until Sunday at sundown.
Liturgical Year:
Celebrating the whole mystery of Christ from the Incarnation until the day of Pentecost and the expectation of Christ’s second coming.
Cycle of Saints:
Liturgy of the Hours: (when ordained) Morning and Evening prayers said in name of the whole Church. Pray nine times a day.
Where do we celebrate the Sacraments?