What is the Liturgy?

“For the liturgy, “through which the work of our redemption is accomplished,” most of all in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, is the outstanding means whereby the faithful may express in their lives, and manifest to others, the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church. It is of the essence of the Church that she be both human and divine, visible and yet invisibly equipped, eager to act and yet intent on contemplation, present in this world and yet not at home in it; and she is all these things in such wise that in her the human is directed and subordinated to the divine, the visible likewise to the invisible, action to contemplation, and this present world to that city yet to come, which we seek. While the liturgy daily builds up those who are within into a holy temple of the Lord, into a dwelling place for God in the Spirit, to the mature measure of the fullness of Christ, at the same time it marvellously strengthens their power to preach Christ, and thus shows forth the Church to those who are outside as a sign lifted up among the nations under which the scattered children of God may be gathered together, until there is one sheepfold and one shepherd”.

Constitution on The Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium

Sacrosanctum Concilium was one of the most significant measures enacted by the Second Vatican Council. It was approved by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,147 to 4 and promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 4, 1963. The full text in English is available on the Vatican website –

www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html

For more information on the liturgy and the Church in England and Wales, please go to  www.liturgyoffice.org.uk /  www.catholicchurch.org.uk

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 The “O” Antiphons of Advent

The Antiphons of the last week of Advent lead us gradually deeper into the Mystery and Joy of the Nativity.

The seven “O Antiphons” (also called the “Greater Antiphons” or “Major Antiphons”) are prayers that come from the Breviary’s Vespers during the Octave before Christmas Eve, a time which is called the “Golden Nights.” They are also repeated in the Mass of the same days, as the verse greeting the Gospel.

Each Antiphon begins with “O” and addresses Jesus with a unique title which comes from the prophecies of Isaiah and Micheas (Micah), and whose initials, when read backwards, form an acrostic for the Latin “Ero Cras” which means “Tomorrow I come.” Those titles for Christ are:

Sapientia
Adonai
Radix Jesse
Clavis David
Oriens
Rex Gentium
Emmanuel 

These glorious titles in more detail:

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The 40th Anniversary of Sacrosanctum Concilium was marked by a Conference organised by the Department for Christian Life and Worship of the Bishops’ Conference together with Heythrop College. The day began with the following introductory words from Bishop Mark Jabale, former Bishop of Menevia, and Chair of the Department. 

On December 4th, 40th Anniversary of Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Holy Father issued an Apostolic letter to mark this important occasion. In it he tells us that in the Constitution on the Liturgy the Holy Spirit has spoken to the Church, giving constant guidance for the Lord’s Disciples to the full and complete truth; and he adds that with the passage of time, in the light of the fruits borne by it, the importance of Sacrosanctum Concilium has become ever more evident.

The Pope points out that the Liturgical perspective of the Council did not limit itself to a merely intra-ecclesial scope but that it opened itself to all human beings – Christ in his prayer to the Father gathers in the whole of mankind through the praying mission of the Church.

The Eucharist is central to the life of all Christians; it is potentially the greatest source of spiritual strength which we have available to us, since it is the sacrament of unity, linking us to God and to each other. Sadly, at the same time, it has often been misused and misunderstood, with appalling consequences. The Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium addressed the vital importance of this greatest of all sacraments to provide the fully illuminating and energising effect upon the lives of all the faithful that it should have.

Hence, this Anniversary is well worth celebrating. The fruits of the Liturgical Reform are everywhere obvious. Some of the most obvious examples are the use of the vernacular, a deeper understanding of scripture, a liturgy in which it is much easier for God’s people to participate, the development of lay ministries, to name but a few.

A parish community which is genuinely united around the Eucharist is a potential source of strength for all its members; they support and strengthen each other, so that no one is forced to go it alone, so to speak, in a self-enclosed, atomistic, individualistic way.

To surrender our personal prejudices and preferences in order to unite with a community means that we can begin to get the experience of ecstasy in the etymological sense of the word; that is standing outside of oneself, rising above oneself. When we do this sincerely and genuinely, we can experience a deep inner peace and happiness, as well as radiate it.

There is a particular need to hear once more the words of Sacrosanctum Concilium because of the way that again and again the liturgy has been the focus of controversy in the Church, a battleground between left and right. Sadly, it is easy to lose one’s bearings, to go off at a tangent and to forget the centrality of the Liturgy in the life of every Christian. Sacrosanctum Concilium reaffirmed in a practical and concrete way the awesome depth of it all, the benefits to be gained from it and the total surrender which is required in order to reap its benefits. Today, then, gives us all an opportunity to take bearings to see how far we have gone along the road in our understanding of this great document, and what still remains for us to understand and strive for.

The Pope tells us that we must move from renewal to deepening – and so we need to ask ourselves some questions:

Do we see Liturgy as the core and the summit of ecclesial life, as Sacrosanctum Concilium asks us to do?

Has the rediscovery of God’s word through the Liturgy produced a positive response in our celebrations? How far and deep has it entered into the lives of individual ecclesial communities?

Is it understood as the way to holiness and inward strength for the missionary Church?

Then, he adds that in spite of increasing secularisation and a diminishing interest in the Gospel a thirst for spirituality is evident and points out that this can best be satisfied through the Liturgy.

He concludes by hoping that at the beginning of this millennium there should develop what he calls a “Liturgical Spirituality” which allows us to see Christ as the first Liturgist, who never stops working in the Church and in the world through the Paschal Mystery which is celebrated.