Liturgical Year & Sacramental Life: Wenxuan Yuan

JMJ
Liturgical Year
&
Sacramental Life
Wenxuan Yuan
Side A
LITURGICAL YEAR
- Solving the “Problem” of Time

Side A – Section 1
Rethinking Feast
<Case: My first Thanksgiving>

Feast:
A break in time
The justification of ALL time
<Case: Celebrating
Christmas>
[What my mom thinks I am
celebrating]
“Long, long ago…”

[What I am actually celebrating]
• Beyond time: Eternal birth from the Father
• Past: First coming as a baby
• Current: Comes again (and again) to out heart
• Future: Second coming in glory
-- All these form a SINGLE act of God’s redemption.

Sum: Time COLLAPSES
on a feast
Side A - Section 2
LITURGICAL YEAR
[what my mom thinks I am
talking about]
“Another calendar?”
Liturgical Seasons (in their
colors!)
- Advent
- Christmas
- Ordinary Time - 1
- Lent
- Easter
- Ordinary Time - 2
Advent (“Coming”)
“Let’s pretend…”
Advent
“Let’s pretend…”
The Church NEVER just “fake it”

Advent
Today , the coming of the only-begotten Son
lights in us the lamp of true knowledge ,
that is , the knowledge that the Lord will
come again.
- St. Bernard
Advent
O, that You would tear open the

heavens and come down!
( Isaiah 64:1 )
Christmas #QuizTime
Beyond time:
Past:
Current:
Future:
Christmas
Ends at Jan 6th, the Feast of Epiphany
(=“manifestation”)
From a Sermon on Epiphany:
Christ is baptized , not to be made holy by the water , but

to make the water holy…. For when the Savior is washed ,
all water for our baptism is made clean... Christ is the
first to be baptized , so that Christians will follow after
him with confidence.
- Bishop Maximus of Turin

Ordinary Time - 1
“It doesn’t sound extraordinary…”
Ordinary = “ordered”  step by step!

Ordinary Time - 1
• Christ’s manifestation in the world

--> WE live as “christs” in the world
• Christ's growth
--> OUR growth in holiness
Lent
- Starts on Ash Wednesday
“You are dust , and to dust you shall return . ”

(Genesis 3:19)
Lent : A season of Conversion
“She turned back and saw Jesus”

Lent : A Season of Reconciliation
Do you fast ? Give me proof of it by your works.

If you see a poor man , take pity on him .
If you see an enemy , be reconciled to him .
If you see a friend gaining honor , do not envy .
…
- John Chrysostom
EASTER!!!
There are LOTS of
things going on this
“Crown of All Feasts”
…
but today, we are
talking about only one
thing: the Cross.

EASTER
Hell seized a body , and met God.
It seized earth , and encountered heaven .
It seized that which was seen , and fell upon the unseen .
O Death , where is your sting ?
O Hell , where is your victory ?
Christ is risen , and you are overthrown .
…
Christ is risen , and not one dead remains in the grave.
- St. John Chrysostom
EASTER
The 40th day of Easter: The Feast of Ascension
Men of Galilee , why do you stand looking up

toward heaven ? He who has been taken up from
you into heaven will come in the same way as you
saw him go into heaven.
(Acts 1 : 11)
EASTER
Jesus reigns , adored by angels,
Man with God is on the throne.
Mighty Lord , in thine ascension,
We by faith behold our own .
- From the Hymn “See, the Conqueror

Mounts in Triumph”
EASTER
The 50th day of Easter: The Pentecost
When You send Your Spirit … You renew

the face of the earth.
(Psalm 104:30)
Ordinary Time - 2
New Life
in the Holy Spirit
Ordinary Time - 2
Ends with the Feast of Christ the King
.
.
.
who will come again in glory!

[Back to the theme of Advent]
We become what we
celebrate.
“You will be like God.” ( Genesis 3:5 )

[what I am actually talking
about]
Another Calendar
Living the life of Christ

Handout: Holy Days of
Obligation
“Go! To!! Mass!!!”

Why do I mean so much to you, that
you should COMMAND me to love you?
- St. Augustine, Confession

Side B
SACRAMENTAL LIFE
- Solving the “Problem” of the

Created World
<Case: “Give me LOVE and
nothing else!!”>
We are part of a similar story…
The world is God’s gift to us.
The world is both
1) a visible sign and
2) an efficacious channel of the invisible presence,

wisdom, love, and revelation of God.
We call such a sign “SACRAMENT”

- other sacraments that you can
think of?
Rethinking Liturgy
Liturgy
Sacraments
Rethinking Liturgy
- Liturgy as the Church’s universal ministry

Rethinking Liturgy
- Liturgy as returning the world to God
<Case: water blessing>

Rethinking Liturgy
- We are “A Priestly People”

Rethinking Liturgy
- The beauty of liturgy

The Seven Sacraments
Seven Sacraments
Liturgy
Sacraments
SUMMARY
<Story: Gnosticism never dies!>

“We are spiritual, but we are not religious.”
 A rejection to feast (time) and liturgy (world) 

Vanity of vanities! All is vanity…
That which has been is that which will be,
And that which has been done is that which will be done.
There is nothing new under the sun.
(Ecclesiastes 1:2b, 9)
A Christian Response
• Salvation OF time and OF the world
• A theology of CONTRADICTIONS
The Ultimate Contradiction is
THE PERSON OF CHRIST,

who is both God and man.
And the One seated on the throne said,
“BEHOLD, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW.”
(Revelation 21:5)

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JMJ

- Solving the “Problem” of Time

<Case: My first Thanksgiving>

“Long, long ago…”

-- All these form a SINGLE act of God’s redemption.

The Church NEVER just “fake it”

O, that You would tear open the

Christ is baptized , not to be made holy by the water , but

- Bishop Maximus of Turin

“It doesn’t sound extraordinary…”

Ordinary = “ordered”  step by step!

• Christ’s manifestation in the world

“You are dust , and to dust you shall return . ”

“She turned back and saw Jesus”

Do you fast ? Give me proof of it by your works.

thing: the Cross.

The 40th day of Easter: The Feast of Ascension

Men of Galilee , why do you stand looking up

- From the Hymn “See, the Conqueror

When You send Your Spirit … You renew

who will come again in glory!

“You will be like God.” ( Genesis 3:5 )

Living the life of Christ

“Go! To!! Mass!!!”

you should COMMAND me to love you?

- St. Augustine, Confession

- Solving the “Problem” of the

1) a visible sign and

2) an efficacious channel of the invisible presence,

We call such a sign “SACRAMENT”

- Liturgy as the Church’s universal ministry

- Liturgy as returning the world to God

<Case: water blessing>

- We are “A Priestly People”

- The beauty of liturgy

<Story: Gnosticism never dies!>

 A rejection to feast (time) and liturgy (world) 

• Salvation OF time and OF the world

THE PERSON OF CHRIST,

“BEHOLD, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW.”

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