In the liturgy of the Church, Christ honors God and saves the world
The Church of Christ confesses and proclaims the teaching of Jesus Christ. Is that all there is, what the Church of Christ does ? Is Christianity just the teaching of Jesus Christ ? In other words - does the Church only proclaim the Gospel as a science of salvation? ? Through the Church, Christ not only communicates the word of God, but he is present in it and continues to do his work. How it is done, when and under what circumstances ?
Christ lives in the communion of the Church
People, who heard the Gospel from the mouths of the Apostles and received it with faith, they did not stop at meeting the word of God. They were baptized with faith and entered the life of the Church. On the second Sunday after Easter (year A) we are reading the story of St.. Luke, which describes the life of the first Christian community :
“They devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles and to the community, in breaking bread and in prayer. Everyone was overwhelmed by the self-self, for the apostles performed many signs and wonders. All of you, what they believed, they stayed together and had everything in common. They sold property and goods and distributed them to everyone as needed. They were unanimous in the temple every day, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their meals with joy and simplicity of heart. They worshiped God, and all the people were kind to them. And the Lord added to them every day, who were saved " (Dz 2, 42-47). The early Christians felt as one family, they were distinguished by a love of community. They gathered to "break bread" and believed, that they then meet Christ, who, after his resurrection, lives a new life in the Church. In the Eucharistic Congregation, Christ makes present his sacrifice of salvation and worship. As the only priest, he always glorifies the Father and sanctifies the world. From the sending of the Holy Spirit, Christ joins the Church to himself. In every activity of the Church, who is the priestly People of God, Christ himself is present and works with the Church. We call these sacred activities of Christ and of the Church the liturgy.
The center and the heart of the liturgy is the Eucharistic Congregation of the Church, i.e. the Holy Mass. The other sacraments of St.. and with it they are at the heart of the Church's liturgical life (by. KL 6). Also other liturgical rites, not sacramental, called sacramentals, they belong to the liturgy of the Church. Christ commanded the Apostles and the Church not only to proclaim his teaching and to tell about his passion and death. He also ordered to create a community of believers, make the work of salvation present in the liturgy and celebrate it through the sacraments of St.. - especially through the Eucharistic Sacrifice (by. KL 6).
The sacraments are the center of the liturgy and the whole life of the Church
During his earthly life, Jesus Christ worshiped the Father with prayer, faithfully doing his will, love and trust. He honored the Father most fully during his passion and death on the cross. For in her he showed the greatest love, obedience and trust, and thus glorified God most perfectly.
The day before the Passion, during the common Passover Supper in the Upper Room, he has already made his victim present. He then instituted the sacrifice of the New Covenant, and he commanded the Apostles to make it present among the people with words : "Do this in remembrance of me". From now on, the Apostles, and then the Church, they began celebrating the Eucharist, which is now the most perfect worship of God and the richest source of salvation, grace, holiness and eternal life. Christ himself speaks about it :
Who eats my flesh and drinks my blood, has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day… Who eats my flesh and drinks my blood, abides in me, and I am in him… Who eats me, he will live because of me " (J 6, 54. 56-57).
Baptized people participate in the Eucharist. Through Baptism, people are grafted onto the paschal mystery of Christ and incorporated into the community of the Church. They can henceforth, as the priestly People of God, worship God and participate in salvation with Christ. Therefore, Christ, who wants to save everyone, instructed the Church :
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit " (Mt 28, 19).
By Christ's will, in the Church, apart from Baptism and the Eucharist, there are other sacraments : confirmation, fine, Anointing of the Sick, priesthood and marriage. Christ is present in all these sacraments, though in different ways. In each of them, Christ, together with the Church, glorifies the Father and gives people holiness and salvation. In Confirmation, he makes Christians mature members of the Church. He gives them his power, that they testify about Him and feel responsible for the faith and the Church. Some baptized and confirmed people are called by Christ to celebrate the Eucharist and administer the sacraments., that all the faithful, thanks to their ministry, they glorified God and could be saved and sanctified. For this they are given authority through the sacrament of the priesthood, which is given by the bishop.
In the sacrament of penance, thanks to the ministry of a priest, Christ restores them to union with God and with the Church, who, through sin, have separated themselves from God and from the community. In times of illness, Christ himself comes to Christians through the ministry of a priest. Through the sacrament of anointing, he enables the sick to share in his saving suffering, for the glory of the Father, for his own salvation and for the good of the Church. In the sacrament of marriage, Christ gives grace to the spouses, that they may sanctify one another and transmit their lives to children and introduce them to the community of the People of God, that is, to the Church.
Thus, through the sacraments of St.. Christ glorifies the Father and sanctifies people.
The liturgy opens the Church to the needs of the world
Faithful, who take part in the liturgy, they cannot think only of themselves, about your salvation and sanctification. For the liturgy is "the exercise of the priestly office of Christ" and the fulfillment of his mission. How Christ was sent into the world for all people, so Christians gathered for the sacred liturgy are to embrace the whole world with their prayers and care, all people and their needs. Through the liturgy, ever more closely united with Christ the Savior and with fellow human beings, they return to their activities with a heart more open to the needs of others and more ready to sacrifice. Christ's love makes them see all people and their needs, especially those closest to me, with whom they meet on a daily basis. Sacramental life enlivens their thirst, that all people may enter the community of the Church and, by participating in the liturgy, may worship the Father with them and obtain Christ's salvation.
“The liturgy is the pinnacle, to which the activity of the Church is heading, and at the same time is the source, from which all his power flows. The liturgy stirs up the faithful, that they may be "filled with the Easter sacraments", «They lived in perfect unity… »From the liturgy, therefore, mainly from the Eucharist, as from the source, grace flows out on us and through it the sanctification of man in Christ is achieved with the greatest efficiency and the glorification of God, which is the goal of all the works of the Church " (KL 10).
How will I answer God ?
Christ stayed with us, so that you can meet Him in His Church. He himself chose the methods of this meeting. He instituted the sacraments of St.. You met Him for the first time in the sacrament of baptism, you meet Him more often in the sacrament of penance. The heart of the liturgy is the Eucharistic Assembly, i.e. the Holy Mass. Christ's love gathers the faithful and he himself is present among them. You will also meet him there.
Consider ! Do you remember, that your participation in the Sunday Mass. is necessary ? Do you meet Christ more often ? Do your encounters with Christ make, that you become more open to people and their needs ?
I express my gratitude with the words of prayer :
"Father infinitely good ! You through Christ, Our Lord, you continually create all these goods, you sanctify, you revive and give them to us !
Through Christ, with Christ and in Christ, God almighty to you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, let there be all honor and glory, for all ages and ages ! Amen”
(According to the first Eucharistic Prayer).
■ Think :
1. Why do believers in Christ gather together so often ?
2. Who is present in the liturgical assembly of the Church, among the people gathered there ?
3. What Christ does in every liturgical assembly of the Church ?
4. What is the purpose of the sacraments of St.. ?
5. How the liturgy opens a Christian to the needs of the whole world ?
■ Remember:
65. What is the liturgy of the Church ?
The liturgy is "the exercise of the priestly office of Christ" in the Church.
86. Which is the center of all liturgical life ?
The center of all liturgical life is the Mass., also known as the Eucharistic Assembly, and other holy sacraments.
67. What does Christ do in the sacraments of St.. ?
Christ in the sacraments of St.. worships God and saves people.
68. How many sacraments are there?. in the church ?
There are seven sacraments of St.. in the church: baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, fine, Anointing of the Sick, priesthood, marriage.
■ Task :
Read one of the Eucharistic Prayers and demonstrate, that Christ celebrates the Eucharist.