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At the beginning of Mass we sign ourselves with the cross as we
sing or say, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit." The people answer, "Amen." The cross reminds us
that it is the whole Christ, head and members, who celebrates
the liturgy and in whose name we gather, both ordained and lay.
The Preface for Ordination affirms this: "For Christ not only
adorns with a royal priesthood / the people he has made his
own, / but with a brother's kindness he also chooses men / to
become sharers in his sacred ministry / through the laying on
of hands."1
The vertical arm of the cross reminds us that through
Christ earth and heaven are united. The transcendent God
becomes immanent, one with humanity so that humanity might
become one with God. The horizontal arm reminds us that
through Christ we become one with each other. The liturgy
summons us to praise the transcendent God, who is immanent
in our midst. The members of the body of Christ are called to
live in relationship with God and each other. Sacrosanctum
Concilium (SC), 7, puts it this way:
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In the liturgy, by means of signs perceptible to the senses,
human sanctification is signified and brought about in ways
proper to each of these signs; in the liturgy the whole public
worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus
Christ, that is, by the Head and his members. |
We preside at a liturgy that is a both/and reality. Liturgy
celebrates God's transcendence and immanence. We join ourselves
to Christ, both head and members. We gather as the baptized
who are members of the ministerial priesthood and the
common priesthood of the faithful. Liturgical spirituality is a
spirituality of Jesus Christ, in whose name we gather, whose
presence we manifest, to whose offering we join ourselves, and
in whose name we pray. As the Preface for Ordination states, the
ordained "strive to be conformed to the image of Christ himself,
/ and offer you a constant witness of faith and love."2
SC, 7, states: "Christ always truly associates the Church with
himself in this great work wherein God is perfectly glorified and
the recipients made holy." The liturgy both glorifies God and
sanctifies God's people. The liturgy expresses both transcendence
and immanence. The new translation of the Sanctus,
"Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts," recalls Isaiah 6:3 and
Revelation 4:8. We glorify God (transcendence). "Heaven and
earth are full of your glory." Earth is sanctified by the one "who
comes in the name of the Lord" (immanence). We end by glorifying
God again, saying, "Hosanna in the highest." The pattern
of the hymn is transcendence, immanence, and transcendence.
Christ, both head and members, celebrates liturgy:
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The whole Church, the Body of Christ, prays and offers herself
‘through him, with him, and in him,' in the unity of the
Holy Spirit, to God the Father." (Catechism of the Catholic
Church [CCC], 1553) |
In other words, our spirituality as priest celebrants reflects
our belonging to Jesus Christ, in whom the transcendent God
became immanent in human flesh. In the whole Christ, head
and members, the liturgy seeks to glorify God and sanctify
God's people. Our spirituality as priest celebrants must keep
these both/and elements in a healthy tension, especially in a time
when the familiar words of the liturgy will change for all the
liturgical assembly, but especially in the prayers we pray in the
people's name.
That change entails sacrifice, the total offering of self to the people
in Christ's name, and to God in Christ's name. In the new
translation of the Doxology of the Eucharistic Prayer we proclaim,
"Through him, and with him, and in him, / O God,
almighty Father, / in the unity of the Holy Spirit, / all glory and
honor is yours, / for ever and ever." The General Instruction of
the Roman Missal (GIRM) reminds us:
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The priest invites the people to lift up their hearts to the
Lord in prayer and thanksgiving; he unites the congregation
with himself in the prayer that he addresses in the name of
the entire community to God the Father through Jesus
Christ in the Holy Spirit . . . the entire congregation of the
faithful should join itself with Christ in confessing the great
deeds of God and in the offering of Sacrifice." (GIRM, 78) |
A new translation will mean letting go of familiar phrases.
At the same time the words will invite deeper meaning as they
become familiar to us and the assembly.
Because liturgical spirituality conforms us to Jesus Christ,
"in the celebration of Mass, in which the Sacrifice of the Cross is
perpetuated, Christ is really present in the very liturgical assembly
gathered in his name, in the person of the minister, in his
word, and indeed substantially and continuously under the
Eucharistic species" (GIRM, 27). The sacrifice of praying with
new words, images, and melodies will invite us to unite ourselves
to that Sacrifice of the Cross. United with Christ, we
become icons of Christ. Our witness will help or hinder the
reception of these new words by our people.
We will need to take time to pray the new words to convey
the "living presence of Christ" during the liturgy. Making the
liturgical texts our food for prayer and preaching will help us
"pray in the name of the Church and of the assembled community."
Our prayer leadership can help the faithful deepen their
openness to new words, images, and melodies.
How we preside makes a difference. People notice what we
do. They notice whether we sing and attend to the other ministers.
The first time I presided at a parish, a number of people
mentioned that I sang and carried the hymnal in procession.
I paid attention to the lector and psalmist. I made eye contact
during the dialogues. I note these comments to emphasize the
importance of how we participate. Our example can draw people
into (or inhibit) their celebration of the liturgy, and through the
liturgy draw them to Jesus Christ. Priestly spirituality involves
giving example, modeling participation, and becoming an icon
that directs all to Christ: "[We] are to renew in his name the sacrifice
of human redemption, to set before your children the paschal
banquet, to lead your holy people in charity, to nourish them
with your word and strengthen them with the Sacraments."3
An icon is a representation of Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a
saint. Icon writers have taught me that one looks through the
representation to connect with the personage it represents. One
looks through the image to offer praise, glory, prayer, or petition
to the Almighty. Eyes in an icon seem to follow the viewer, drawing
us beyond the image to Almighty God. As priest celebrants
we do the same. We draw others to God, through Christ, in the
power of the Holy Spirit.
As representatives of Christ, we help the assembly of God's
faithful connect to God, through Christ. With the other members
of the liturgical assembly, we give praise and thanks to God,
offer intercession, and stand in awe and wonder before God's
presence, to become what we see, the body and blood of Christ.4
As icons of Jesus Christ, our ministry does not draw attention to
ourselves, but through us to the one in whose name we gather
and in whom we live and move and have our being.
Since the liturgy is celebrated by the whole Christ, we need to
collaborate with and pay attention to one another. The GIRM
reflects this when it addresses dialogues:
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Since the celebration of Mass by its nature has a "communitarian"
character, both the dialogues between the priest
and the faithful gathered together, and the acclamations
are of great significance; in fact, they are not simply outward
signs of communal celebration but foster and bring
about communion between priest and people. (GIRM, 34) |
I am reminded of what scholastic theology says about the
sacraments: they effect what they signify. The dialogues effect
what they signify. Linguists call this performative language, that
is, language that affects reality. Telling a friend "I love you"
expresses and deepens our relationship. Liturgical dialogues do
the same. They express our mutual belonging in the Christ we
put on in Baptism. They deepen our communion with the rest of
the liturgical assembly. The dialogues reflect the mutuality and
reciprocity in the body of Christ. They nourish and express a
spirituality that calls us to pay attention to one another by looking
at the congregation as we sing the invitation to which they
respond or await their response before beginning the next part
of a dialogue, prayer, or reading that follows.
The dialogues also remind us that celebrating the liturgy
calls for collaboration: The pastoral effectiveness of a celebration
will be greatly increased if the texts of the readings, prayers, and
liturgical songs correspond as closely as possible to the needs,
spiritual preparation, and culture of those taking part. This is
achieved by appropriate use of the wide options described below.
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The priest, therefore, in preparing for the celebration of
Mass, should have in mind the common spiritual good of the
people of God, rather than his own inclinations. He should,
moreover, remember that the selection of different parts is
to be made in agreement with those who have some role in
the celebration, including the faithful, in regard to the parts
that more directly pertain to each. . . . Harmonious planning
and carrying out of the rites will be of great assistance
in disposing the faithful to participate in the Eucharist.
(GIRM, 352) |
Could a Church document be any clearer about the need
to listen and speak honestly, pay attention to all members of the
liturgical assembly (including our own role in the assembly), and
attend to what the rites of the Church ask of us? The rhythm of
dialogue—call-response, speaking-listening, sound-silence—is
the rhythm of the liturgy. The common spiritual good of the
people of God requires that we put our inclinations aside
at times, yet both require our attention. To quote from the
Priesthood Preface again, "As they give up their lives for you /
and for the salvation of their brothers and sisters, / they strive to
be conformed to the image of Christ himself, / and offer you a
constant witness of faith and love."5
Attention to our inclinations
in dialogue with the common spiritual good of the people
and the rites of the Church is one way we give up our lives for
Christ and the salvation of our brothers and sisters. In this way
we foster and bring about communion with the people, the local
worshiping community, and the universal Church.
Our spirituality follows the example of Christ's encounter
with the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus invites her to dialogue
by asking for a drink, placing her spiritual good above his
own reputation. He listens to her truth and speaks his. Paying
attention to her spiritual good, he broke down barriers. She listened
to him and spoke honestly in return. Through dialogue
she recognized him as the awaited Messiah. Transformed, she
who was afraid to be seen in public proclaims her experience to
her people. She becomes an icon that leads others to Christ. We
are called to do the same.
Why do we stand before the people of God? Why do we enter
into a dialogue that can make us vulnerable? Why become icons
that draw others to God, through Christ, by the way we model
participation in the liturgy? Why embrace the healthy tension
that is reflected in the both/and reality of the liturgy? Why
embrace the changes in translation that will be ours November
27, 2011? I believe that we do these things to be faithful to the
mandate of the Second Vatican Council:
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The Church earnestly desires that all the faithful be led to
that full, conscious, and active participation in liturgical
celebrations called for by the very nature of the liturgy.
Such participation by the Christian people as "a chosen
race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people"
[1 Peter 2:9; see 2:4–5] is their right and duty by reason of
their baptism. (SC, 14) |
As we draw people to full, active, and conscious participation,
we draw them closer to Christ. We need to realize to always
be aware of how we are to show the face of Christ. It is the face of
Christ that we are to manifest more clearly. It is the face of
Christ that we are to take into the world.
In the new translation of the Missal, among the Dismissals
the priest will say are "Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord"
and "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life."
The "true Christian spirit" in which the liturgy forms us,
sends us out to continue the mission of manifesting Jesus by
announcing the Gospel and glorifying the Lord through our
words, deeds, and attitudes. We are to "zealously strive in all
[our] pastoral work to achieve such participation," not only in
the liturgy but also in life (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 20) For the
liturgy to be effective in our lives, we must celebrate it well:
"Faith grows when it is well expressed in celebration. Good celebrations
can foster and nourish faith. Poor celebrations may
weaken it" (STL, 5). Full, active, and conscious participation by
modeling attentiveness to word and sacrament, transcendence
and immanence, and the common spiritual good of the people,
will manifest the face of Christ more clearly and help all the baptized
live Christ in the world.
I return to the Sign of the Cross: "In the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." The liturgy begins and ends
with the cross, too. Priest celebrants need a spirituality of a both
/ and liturgy that celebrates the transcendent and immanent
God with the whole Christ, head and members. We are icons of
Jesus Christ who express and deepen communion with him and
the people of God through dialogue and collaboration. Modeling
the face of Christ through full, active, and conscious participation
in the liturgy we empower the
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Charity, justice, and evangelization . . . [that are] the normal
consequences of liturgical celebration. Particularly
inspired by sung participation, the body of the Word
Incarnate goes forth to spread the Gospel with full force
and compassion. In this way, the Church leads men and
women to the faith, freedom and peace of Christ by the
example of its life and teaching, by the sacraments and
other means of grace. Its aim is to open up for all men [and
women] a free and sure path to full participation in the
mystery of Christ. (STL, 9) |
As priest were charged at ordination: "Receive the oblation
of the holy people, to be offered to God. Understand what you
do, imitate what you celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery
of the Lord's cross" (Rite of Ordination of a Priest). Taking
these words to heart will help priest celebrants at all times, but
especially when celebrating the liturgy in a time of change.
Notes
- Preface, The Priesthood of Christ and the Ministry of Priests, The Roman Missal, third typical edition.
- Ibid., Preface, The Priesthood of Christ and the Ministry of Priests.
- Ibid., Preface, The Priesthood of Christ and the Ministry of Priests.
- Sermon 272, Saint Augustine of Hippo, http://www.americancatholictruthsociety.com/docs/augustine/sermon272.htm
- Ibid., Preface, The Priesthood of Christ and the Ministry of Priests.
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