Where Is The Liturgy Celebrated?

• 8 years ago

By DON FIER

The Liturgy of the Hours, as we saw last week, is the Church’s response to the Lord’s command to pray without ceasing. Just as St. Paul exhorted the Thessalonians, so too are the faithful encouraged to “rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:16-18).

“Composed mainly of psalms, other biblical texts, and readings from the Fathers and spiritual masters,” explains the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “the Liturgy of the Hours…is the public and common prayer of the Church, the prayer of Christ with his body, the Church” (n. 243).

Prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Liturgy of the Hours was considered, almost exclusively, to be the prayer of the clergy and consecrated religious. Many revisions were made in the aftermath of the council to make it more accessible to the laity: The psalms are now recited over a four-week cycle rather than weekly, vernacular language was encouraged, additional variation was included in Scripture readings, and the arrangement of liturgical hours was revised to more closely correspond to the seasons of the liturgical year of the Church.

Blessed Paul VI expressed an ardent desire that the Liturgy of the Hours become “the prayer of the whole people of God” (Laudis Canticum, n. 1).

Likewise, Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI heartily promoted the Liturgy of the Hours for the laity. From 2003 until 2006, they devoted 79 general audiences to catechesis on the psalms and canticles that form the greater part of Morning Prayer (Lauds) and Evening Prayer (Vespers), which are considered “the two hinges on which the daily office turns” (Sacrosanctum Concilium [SC], n. 89).

Having addressed the “who, how, and when” of liturgical expression in the Church, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) now considers the question: “Where is the liturgy celebrated?” Immediately, a declaration is made that “the worship ‘in Spirit and in truth’ (John 4:24) of the New Covenant is not tied exclusively to any one place. The whole earth is sacred and entrusted to the children of men” (CCC, n. 1179).

In other words, of more importance than the particular place where the faithful meet is that they themselves are “living stones” gathered to be “built into a spiritual house . . . to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4-5). By analogy, the People of God (the Church) is likened to a spiritual building which has Christ as its cornerstone that supports the entire edifice. As expressed by St. Paul, so great is our dignity that when we are in the state of sanctifying grace, “we are the temple of the living God” (2 Cor. 6:16).

Practically speaking, however, “since we men are not merely spiritual but also have a body, we need to see, hear, and feel one another; we need a specific place if we want to meet so as to be the Body of Christ” (YOUCAT, n. 189). Therefore, “when the exercise of religious liberty is not thwarted (cf. Dignitatis Humanae, n. 4), Christians construct buildings for divine worship” (CCC, n. 1180). Furthermore, due to the sublime importance of what takes place there, church buildings should be beautiful places that inspire prayer and a sense of the sacred — they are not simply gathering places or meeting halls.

In the Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, the Vatican II Fathers described the church building as a “house of prayer in which the Most Holy Eucharist is celebrated and reserved, where the faithful gather, and where the presence of the Son of God, our Savior, offered for us on the altar of sacrifice bestows strength and blessings on the faithful, [which] must be spotless and suitable for prayer and sacred functions” (Presbyterorum Ordinis, n. 5 § 5).

Vatican II is clear in its teaching concerning the construction of churches: “Let great care be taken that they should be suitable for the celebration of liturgical services and for the participation of the faithful” (SC, n. 124 § 3). The same is true for sacred art that adorns the church: noble beauty rather than sumptuous display should be sought.

So important is this that bishops are instructed to “carefully remove from the house of God . . . those works of artists which are repugnant to faith, morals, and Christian piety, and which offend true religious sense either by depraved forms or by lack of artistic worth, mediocrity, and pretense” (ibid., § 2).

Dr. Peter Kreeft makes an interesting observation in his work entitled Catholic Christianity with regard to the aesthetic difference between Protestant churches and Catholic churches:

“It is natural for Catholic churches to be more ornate and magnificent than Protestant churches. A Protestant church building exists primarily for man to pray and worship in, but a Catholic church exists primarily to house and glorify God in the Eucharist. That is why the great cathedrals are so heavenly” (p. 293).

Yet, as pointed out by Pope Benedict XVI in The Spirit of the Liturgy, it is the true presence of God in the Blessed Sacrament that dwells among us in all Catholic churches — “in the humblest parish church no less than the grandest cathedral” (p. 89).

The Catechism next treats the altar, which is described “as the Lord’s Cross (cf. Heb. 13:10), from which the sacraments of the Paschal mystery flow” (CCC, n. 1182). Whereas the crucifix symbolizes the cross, the altar is the cross, for during the celebration of the sacred mysteries of our redemption Christ becomes present on it.

“The heart of every church is the altar,” says Christoph Cardinal Schönborn. “It is a symbol, a sign of Christ Himself. Christ is the central point of every church, and it is around him that the congregation assembles” (Living the Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Sacraments, pp. 50-51). But as explained in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), the altar “is also the table of the Lord to which the People of God is called together to participate in the Mass, as well as the center of the thanksgiving that is accomplished through the Eucharist” (n. 296).

Another essential element of the furnishings of a Catholic church is the tabernacle, which should be situated “in a most worthy place with the greatest honor” (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei [1965], n. 66). In the instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum, approved by St. John Paul II on March 19, 2004, this teaching was amplified: “The Most Holy Sacrament is to be reserved in a tabernacle in a part of the church that is noble, prominent, readily visible, and adorned in a dignified manner” (n. 130).

Furthermore, “the dignity, placing, and security of the Eucharistic tabernacle should foster adoration before the Lord really present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar” (cf. SC, n. 128; as cited in CCC, n. 1183). Near the tabernacle is located the so-called perpetual lamp which, when burning, indicates that the Eucharistic Lord is present within.

Recollection

And Silent Prayer

The Catechism goes on to specifically mention several other principal furnishings of a Catholic church. As summarized by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, they include: the sacred chrism, in the sanctuary, for the holy oils of catechumens and the sick; the chair of the bishop (or priest), to express his office of presiding over the assembly; the lectern (ambo), for reading the Word of God and delivering the homily; the baptistry and holy water font; and the confessional for administering the Sacrament of Penance in which we acknowledge our guilt and receive forgiveness (cf. The Faith, p. 109).

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal specifies that candles “are required at every liturgical service out of reverence and on account of the festiveness of the celebration, [and] are to be appropriately placed either on or around the altar in a way suited to the design of the altar and the sanctuary” (GIRM, n. 307). Likewise, “There is also to be a cross, with the figure of Christ crucified upon it, either on the altar or near it” (GIRM, n. 308).

Places for participants at liturgical celebrations “should be arranged with appropriate care for the faithful so that they are able to participate in the sacred celebrations visually and spiritually, in the proper manner” (GIRM, n. 311). Most important, a Catholic church must “be a space that invites us to the recollection and silent prayer that extend and internalize the great prayer of the Eucharist” (CCC, n. 1185).

To close this section, the Catechism reminds us that the church has an eschatological (i.e., referring to the Four Last Things) significance:

“To enter into the house of God, we must cross a threshold, which symbolizes passing from the world wounded by sin to the world of the new Life to which all men are called. The visible church is a symbol of the Father’s house toward which the People of God is journeying and where the Father ‘will wipe every tear from their eyes’ (Rev. 21:4)” (CCC, n. 1186).

It is a reminder of the final homeland to which we aspire.

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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.)