By DON FIER
When the question “Who celebrates the liturgy?” is posed by the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), we saw last week that it identifies two groups: “Those who even now celebrate it without signs [who] are already in the heavenly liturgy” (n. 1136) and those who are “celebrants of the sacramental liturgy” (n. 1040).
It likewise emphasizes that “it is the whole Christ (Christus totus) who acts, Head and Body,…which is the Church in heaven and on earth” (Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCCC], n. 233). Thus, whenever we celebrate the sacraments, we participate in the unceasing heavenly liturgy in union with the angels and saints.
We also saw last week that the Second Vatican Council renewed the Church’s call that all members of the faithful have a “fully conscious and active participation in liturgical celebrations which…is their right and duty by reason of their baptism” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 14). For laypersons, this does not refer principally to outward activity, but rather to entering interiorly in faith into the sacramental mystery, to “offer themselves in a spiritual sacrifice” (CCCC, n. 235).
Concomitantly, “ordained ministers celebrate according to the Order they received for the service of all members of the Church; the bishops and priests act in the Person of Christ the Head” (ibid.). “In a liturgical celebration,” the Catechism therefore teaches, “the whole assembly is leitourgos, each member according to his own function” (n. 1188).
The Catechism now focuses its attention on addressing the question: “How is the liturgy of the Church celebrated?” In answer, it speaks first of the origin of signs and symbols in God’s creation and also of their role in the redemption of mankind throughout the course of salvation history (CCC, nn. 1145-1152). This is followed by a discussion of their liturgical expression in words and actions, singing and music, and holy images (CCC, nn. 1153-1162).
“A sacramental celebration is woven from signs and symbols,” teaches the Catechism. “Their meaning is rooted in the work of creation and in human culture, specified by the events of the Old Covenant and fully revealed in the person and work of Christ” (CCC, n. 1145). But why is it that signs and symbols are so important for liturgical expression?
As discussed earlier in this series, as a composite being with a corporeal body animated by a spiritual soul, man “expresses and perceives spiritual realities through physical signs and symbols” (CCC, n. 1146). It is through sensibly perceptible stimuli that we are not only able to live and learn, but to communicate with one another through language, gestures, and actions.
Similarly, outside of mystical experiences, it is normally through our senses that we are able to gain knowledge of our Creator, for “God speaks to man through the visible creation….Light and darkness, wind and fire, water and earth, the tree and its fruit speak of God and symbolize both his greatness and his nearness” (CCC, n. 1147).
The same can be said for each of the sacraments, most especially the Eucharist: “Perceptible realities can become means of expressing the action of God who sanctifies men, and the action of men who offer worship to God” (CCC, n. 1148).
In Living the Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Sacraments (LC-S), Christoph Cardinal Schönborn makes reference to a marvelous little book entitled Sacred Signs that was originally published in 1927 by Fr. Romano Guardini (d. 1968). [Note: A prolific writer, Fr. Guardini published a slim volume entitled The Spirit of the Liturgy in 1918, a work that Pope Benedict XVI cites in the preface of his outstanding book of 2000 that borrowed the same title.]
In Sacred Signs, Fr. Guardini writes about “kneeling and standing, steps and doors, holy water and incense, candles and bells, bread and wine, chalice and paten” (LC-S, p. 32) among many other simple gestures, signs, and symbols that are associated with the liturgy. He gives vivid exposition to the underlying meaning of each and emphasizes that respecting their uses with great reverence helps us enter more fully into the mystery they symbolize.
For example, consider making the Sign of the Cross as one enters the church, a gesture that is repeated during the course of the liturgy. Fr. Guardini beautifully describes the reverence with which the sacred gesture should be made:
“When we cross ourselves, let it be with a real sign of the cross. Instead of a small cramped gesture that gives no notion of its meaning, let us make a large unhurried sign, from forehead to breast, from shoulder to shoulder, consciously feeling how it includes the whole of us, our thoughts, our attitudes, our body and soul, every part of us at once, how it consecrates and sanctifies us.”
How often do we find ourselves making the Sign of the Cross in a haphazard, unconscious manner? Is the sacred gesture not then stripped of its intended purpose (i.e., to recall Christ’s redemptive act on the cross on Calvary), thus depriving us of a visible aid which assists us in fixing our minds and hearts and wills upon God?
The Catechism reminds us there are three dimensions of all sacramental signs.
First, they are “signs of the human world” (CCC, n. 1146). For example, reflect on the words spoken over bread and wine at the Offertory: “fruit of the earth/vine and work of human hands.”
Second, they are “signs of the covenant” (CCC, n. 1150). Here we are speaking of liturgical signs of the Old Covenant that prefigure sacramental signs of the New Covenant: “circumcision, anointing and consecration of kings and priests, laying on of hands, sacrifices, and above all the Passover” (ibid.).
Third, they are “signs taken up by Christ” (CCC, n. 1151) that can be natural (e.g., in His healings) or from the Old Covenant (e.g., at the Last Supper). “Both acquire a new meaning: they become his signs, he himself speaks and is at work in them” (LC-S, p. 33).
“In the Church’s sacraments,” says Cardinal Schönborn, “these three dimensions are always present” (LC-S, p. 33). He goes on to suggest that in order to deepen our understanding of the sacraments, it would be good to ask ourselves how conscious we are of them and how clearly they are expressed in preparatory catechesis and during the liturgical celebration itself.
Upon reading this, I recalled the Baptism of a grandchild in an East Coast parish of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, a society that celebrates the liturgy according to the Traditional Roman Rite as it existed prior to Vatican II. On that Sunday, my grandson was the only baby being baptized and the priest who performed the ceremony was not pressed for time. As he celebrated the sacrament in Latin, he paused before each step and provided to those in attendance a detailed catechesis on the meaning of each sacramental sign and symbol.
The Baptism, as I recall, took over an hour to celebrate, but what a wonderful educational experience it was.
The Catechism goes on to explain that ever since His coming at Pentecost, “it is through the sacramental signs of his Church that the Holy Spirit carries on the work of sanctification” (CCC, n. 1152). The signs and symbols that are manifestly evident in the created universe and in social interactions among the faithful are not abolished, but purified and integrated in all their richness. “They fulfill the types and figures of the Old Covenant, signify and make actively present the salvation wrought by Christ, and prefigure and anticipate the glory of heaven” (ibid.).
The Liturgy Of The Word
Words and actions, the next subtopic taken up by the Catechism, are constitutive elements of a liturgical celebration which is, in essence, “a meeting of God’s children with their Father, in Christ and the Holy Spirit” (CCC, n. 1153). Actions and words must be attendant to the signs and symbols of which we have been speaking. Moreover, “even if the symbolic actions are already in themselves a language, it is necessary that the words of the [sacramental] rite accompany and give life to these actions” (CCCC, n. 238).
It is for this reason that “the liturgy of the Word is an integral part of sacramental celebrations” (CCC, n. 1154). To emphasize its underlying importance, the Catechism teaches that the signs which accompany it (the book of the Word, the lectern from which it is proclaimed, candles, incense, clearly audible reading of the Word, responses of those participating, instructive homilies, etc.) should be given special attention.
As explained by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, it is the role of the Liturgy of the Word “to serve as a channel of instruction by the Holy Spirit, which leads to the fruitful reception of the sacraments” (The Faith, p. 108).
We will continue our discussion of how the liturgy is celebrated next week by examining the importance of the roles served by singing and music as well as sacred images.
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(Don Fier serves on the board of directors for The Catholic Servant, a Minneapolis-based monthly publication. He and his wife are the parents of seven children. Fier is a 2009 graduate of Ave Maria University’s Institute for Pastoral Theology. He is doing research for writing a definitive biography of Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)
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