liturgy history

8/13/2019 Liturgy History

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Fundamentally, the liturgy is a structured

worship ritual. The Church has always

been liturgicalin its worship. The wordliturgyis derived from the Greek word

leitourgiameaning "public work". It has its

roots well before the ancient Church to the

Jewish people. The liturgy was originally

used in reference to the "public work" or

"work" of the people of the Temple in the

Old Law. For Christians, a newerunderstanding of liturgy is given form with

reference to Christ.


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The word leitourgiabecame associated with

worship practices when the Old Testament

was translated from Hebrew into Greek, ina translation called the Septuagint. The

only Greek word that the translators could

use to refer to worship practices in the

temple was orgia, which was a reference tothe practices at pagan temples, and has

the same connotations in Greek that it has

today in English. The word leitourgiawas

substituted because corporate worship is a

public activity that we all participate in

individually.


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The liturgy is illustrated by the heavenlyliturgy described in the book of

Revelation, where the multitudes aregathered around the Altar where theLamb of God "stands as though it hadbeen slain." Liturgical worship is

centered fundamentally on thethemes of sacrifice (Christ's onesacrifice), communion (fellowship ofthe community), and covenant(remembrance of covenant). Theearliest liturgies had a great amountof Jewish liturgical influence.


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The Church did not receive a

ready-made mass from Jesus.

It was, and still is, up to thechurch as to how the mass will

express itself.


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From 100 AD to 313 AD, the

church was forced to live a secret

life because of persecution

against Christians.

In 313 AD, Emperor Constantine

converted to Christianity and thechurch then flourished.


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During the time from 604 AD to 1517 AD,

many changes were made to the liturgy. For

example, the host became small, round, and

white. People received it on the tongue.People went to communion less and less

often, and preferred to see the Eucharist.

Communion rails were added, and the priests

turned their backs to the people to say mass.

None of these practices were part of the

traditions of the early church. The mass

became very solemn and dignified. Peoplewere no longer participants in the liturgy, but

became spectators. Gregorian chant was

sung by the priest and the choir, and the

people had no role in it.


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The two basic elements of the mass

- the sacrifice and the gift of Jesus

as food - were undisputed realitiesfor Christians in the Middle Ages.

Pope Paul III called the Council of Trent in1542 and it shaped Catholicism for the next

400 years. Trent affirmed that: Christ

remains in the consecrated host even after

the mass is over; adoration of the BlessedSacrament is legitimate, and the mass is

truly the sacrifice of Christ.


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A new missal for the mass was made official

in 1570 by Pope Pius V. The missal was

obligatory for the entire church and nothingcould be changed or improvised in the liturgy.

It was forbidden to use any language other

than Latin.

In January 1959, Pope John

XXIII first talked about a second

Vatican council. Liturgical reformwas talking place in the half-

century leading up to Vatican II.


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The Constitution of the Liturgy was adopted

by the council and it emphasized the real

presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. It alsosaid that the liturgy is an action of Christ, the

priest, and of his body which is the church.

Vatican II saw liturgy as the "summit towardwhich the activity of the church is directed; at

the same time it is the font from which all her

power flows."

A keyword in the Vatican II documents on the

liturgy is "participation." The faithful are

called to full, active, and conscious

participation in the liturgy.


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The Last Supper was never named that by

Jesus. "Do this as a remembrance of me"

(Luke 22:19) was the only term the gospelsgave to the first Eucharist which took place on

the eve of Jesus' passion and death.

Because Jesus did not give the apostles astrict formula for celebrating the "Breakingof the Bread" the apostles had to decidehow often they were going to carry outChrist's mandate. How often would they

celebrate it? Once a year with Passover ormore often? Would it be a rite? Whatwould be the ceremonial pattern? Matterslike these needed to be settled by thechurch.


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The early church's task was to give

the mass form and expression. It

was and still is up to the CatholicChurch to decide how the liturgy will

express itself.

The church has divided the mass into two

parts: the liturgy of the word and the liturgy

of the Eucharist. The liturgy of the word

comes from the Jewish word service, whilethe roots of the liturgy of the Eucharist can

be traced to the Last Supper.


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The liturgy of the word is divided

into two parts: gather and

procla im. There are also two partsto the liturgy of the Eucharist: break

and send .


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The purpose of the gathering rite is to help

people become a worshipping community by

being ready to hear the Word of God, receiveJesus in the Eucharist, and be Christ to one

another.

The church proclaims the Word of God

during the liturgy in the midst of the

assembly in order to assist the faithful in

experiencing the life-giving presence ofJesus in his word. Proclamation in the

midst of the assembly is the first purpose of

all scripture.


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Styled after the Jewish table blessing prayer,

the Eucharistic prayer - which is the prayer of

the church - is the story of all that God hasdone for his people with an emphasis on

Christ's death and resurrection.

The assembly prays the Eucharistic prayerover bread and wine with the belief thatthrough this prayer the elements of breadand wine become the Body and Blood of

Jesus. Following the presider's words ofconsecration, Jesus is fully present in thebread and wine.


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The Catholic Church offers the

Eucharistic prayer in the powerof the Holy Spirit. Not only is the

bread and wine transformed into

Christ's body and blood, but it isthe hope of the church that

people's hearts are transformed

in Jesus as well.


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The dismissal or sending rite sends

each member of the community to

go forth to do good works while

giving praise and thanksgiving to

God. The goal at the end of the

liturgy is not to get out of the

parking lot as soon as possible. We

are commissioned and blessed tobring the gospel message of Christ

to a waiting world.


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Vatican II tells us that the Eucharistic

response of the assembly does not stop when

mass is over. The ultimate and most

important Eucharistic response is what is

done after one goes home.

As the assembly we are sent out as theLord's disciples, not just individuals,but as "church" to proclaim the Good

News of Jesus' love for all. EachCatholic at liturgy has a role inevangelization.


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In summary, the Mass can be thought of as:

-Prefigured by the sacrifice of the Passover lamb,

slain and then eaten in remembrance of Covenant.

-A representation of and participation in Christ's (theLamb of God) once and for all sacrifice, a perpetual

sacrifice.

-A communion of His Body, the Church.

-A remembrance of the New Covenant of Christ,

through His once and for all Sacrifice.-A participation in the Liturgy of Heaven.

-A participation in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

-where Christ's death is proclaimed, His resurrection

confessed, and He is remembered until He comesagain.

-Finally, a sending forth of the Body of Christ into the

World, after having been nourished at the Lord's table

with His own Body and Blood.


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The word liturgy comes from the Greek which

means the people's work. It is a public work

done for the service of others. In ancientGreek, it originally meant the cooperation of

all citizens to make society work.

The Catholic church defines liturgy asthe public worship for the service of

others. Liturgy is public prayer andritual; it is communal in nature. Thereis nothing private about the mass.


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As Christians we are called to be

Christ to others. We are called by

Jesus to be of service, and this

attitude is required of us at liturgy.

The specific purpose of the mass is to servethe community. We come to mass to be ofservice, to give praise and worship to God,and to bring others to Christ. As Catholicswe do not come to liturgy just for ourselves,but for others, so that others canexperience Jesus through the Word, theEucharist and us. Like Jesus, it is in ourdoing that others experience new life.


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The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy

desires that all the faithful would be led to full,

active, conscious, and active participation in

liturgical celebrations (14), and yet if one wereto observe the assembly during liturgy, there

are still many Catholics who are not singing or

participating in the liturgy.Full participation means that a person does

not mentally weave in and out of the liturgy.

Our duty is not just to be present; our dutyis to be fully present. The songs are meant

for singing (Gather Faithfully Together, 91,

92).


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The Catholic Church asks that our liturgies be

life-giving and that each of us play a vital role

in it. We do this by being on time for mass,

reaching out to others in a spirit of Christian

hospitality, actively praying and singing, and

staying for the entire liturgy.

The goal of liturgy is the transformationof people's lives to Jesus. It is about

the conversion of hearts. The CatholicChurch teaches that good liturgybuilds faith, and poor liturgy destroysit. (Music in Catholic Worship, 6).


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The importance of the liturgical

environment is vital to good liturgy.

From where one sings and participatesduring the liturgy greatly enhances or

distracts from the celebration.

In the minds of many modern Christians, the

Gothic cathedral represents the ideal

architectural form for worship. The liturgy it

makes possible differs greatly from thechurch's present understanding of itself

and liturgical theology.


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The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy

says that when churches are built, great

care must be taken so that they aresuitable for the celebration of liturgical

services and for the active participation

of the faithful. (124).

The primary symbols of the liturgy -- theassembly, the altar, the ambo, and

the presider's chair -- should bepositioned in a way so they areprominent.


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Narthex or vestibule of the Church

Baptismal fontAmbo

Presiders chair

The AltarTabernacle

Ambry

Reconciliation chapelSaints


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The liturgical traditions or rites presently inuse in the Church are the Latin (principally

the Roman rite, but also the rites of certainlocal churches, such as the Ambrosian rite,or those of certain religious orders) and theByzantine, Alexandrian or Coptic, Syriac,

Armenian, Maronite and Chaldean rites. In"faithful obedience to tradition, the sacredCouncil declares that Holy Mother Churchholds all lawfully recognized rites to be of

equal right and dignity, and that she wishesto preserve them in the future and to fosterthem in every way."[69]


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That in all things, Godmay be glorified!

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