01 Sacred Liturgy in Gods Plan of Salvation

REV: 206
Christian Worship (Liturgy and Sacraments)
Topic 1
SACRED LITURGY IN GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION
Rev. Fr. Cris C. De Asis, SSL
1. What is Liturgy?
• Hellenistic – any public work performed for the common good.
• OT – works performed by the tribes of Levi – Levitical priests. Other good public works
are called latreia or douleia
• Early Christians – more focus on “mystery, sacrament, worship in spirit and in truth”
• Later Christians – the people of God participate in the mission or the works of God
• Common: Liturgy is the priestly action of Jesus Christ, continued in and by the Church
under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
2. Liturgy as the work of the Blessed Trinity
• A work of the Father

o Father is the origin and end of liturgy. God blesses the faithful (origin) and
produces effects on them. In turn, the praise and glory the Father (end).
o This is what is happening in the liturgy.
• A work of Christ the Priest
o Christ acts as the priest and mediator between God and man.
o He is present in the Liturgy:
▪ Christ is present in his Church when she prays.
▪ Christ is present in the Church as she performs works of mercy
▪ Christ is present in the Church as she travels on her pilgrimage, for he is
he dwells in our hearts through faith, and who instills charity in us
▪ Christ is present in the Church as she preaches
▪ Christ is present in the Church as she rules and governs the people of
God
▪ Christ is present in the liturgy of the Church as she administers the
sacraments
▪ Christ is present in his Church in a still more sublime manner as she
offers the sacrifice of the Mass
▪ The divine Founder of the Church is present in the Mass in the person
of his minister
▪ He is really and sacramentally present under the Eucharistic species.
o 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.
o The Paschal Mystery of Christ Becomes Present in the Liturgy
• A Work of the Holy Spirit
o HS prepares the people of God for their meeting with Christ.
▪ By bringing about the figures of the Old Covenant in the sacraments,
readings and Psalms, the HS prepares the hearts of the people to
receive Christ
▪ What was a symbol is now a reality.
o The Holy Spirit manifests the mystery of Christ, eliciting the faith of the
believers.
▪ Ananmesis (bringing the past back)
1
• HS disposes the people to listen and make it a part of their
lives.
▪ Doxology
• Recalling leads not only to information but a response of faith
(to glorify God).
o Through his own transforming power, the Holy Spirit makes present and brings
about the work of Christ’s salvation.
▪ Epiclesis
• priest intercedes to transform The bread and wine into the
body and blood of Christ The faithful to become living gift to
God.
o The Holy Spirit unites the Church to the life and mission of Christ.
▪ The Holy Spirit implants in the Church the spirit of communion of
people among themselves and with the Blessed Trinity
▪ Producing fruits: New Life in the Spirit, Committed to the Mission and
Service to unity (=works of Christ)
3. Liturgy is a Sanctifying, Sacramental and Didactic reality.
• A Sanctifying Reality
o It is an error to think that the liturgy is only the outward or visible part of divine
worship, or that it is just an ornamental ceremony with a list of laws and
prescriptions.
o The major element of the Christian liturgy is not what man does, but what God
accomplishes in Jesus Christ through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
o The liturgy is the most efficacious means of achieving sanctity.
• A Sacramental Reality
o Theoretically, human salvation could have been accomplished through
subjective relations of God and mankind
o In reality, God wanted to dispense his salvation through objective and symbolic
(i.e., sacramental) realities wherein God communicates his life and salvation to
mankind, and mankind has access to God.
o The sacraments are sensible signs (words and actions) that actually confer the
grace that they signify, instituted by Christ.
o Christ acts now through the sacraments.
o Christ’s body (the Church) is a kind of sacrament (i.e., sign and instrument) in
which and through which the Holy Spirit bestows the mystery of salvation.
• A Didactic Reality
o The liturgy has always been an ecclesial school to nourish faith and foster the
formation of the Christian people.
o The religious formation of a significant part of the faithful takes place through their
participation in Sunday Mass, baptismal, funeral, and matrimonial liturgy.
o pedagogical aspect of the liturgy
▪ CONTENT: the great themes of the history of salvation and revelation are
offered.
▪ STRUCTURE: the Liturgy of the Word (readings and homily) prepares the
faithful to understand the essence of the sacrament.
▪ LANGUAGE, addresses the entire person (intelligence, will, emotions, and
intuition) through various elements (words, songs, meditation, postures,
gestures, movements, vestments, and colors)
▪ “CLIMATE” OF PRAYER AND ACTIVE PARTICIPATION, which helps to elicit,
transmit, and strengthen the faith.

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REV: 206

Christian Worship (Liturgy and Sacraments)

2. Liturgy as the work of the Blessed Trinity

• A work of the Father

3. Liturgy is a Sanctifying, Sacramental and Didactic reality.

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