My most humble astute comments first:
One of the misinterpretations of SC is the modality of the “real presence” of Christ in the Mass, makes all four “means” of the “real presence” equal, a false egalitarianism.
Pope Leo clears that up immediately. Yes, during Mass, Christ is present as High Priest in the Mass when the Word is proclaimed (not in the Book by the way), in the gathered community, in the ministers who celebrate (i.e. priest) and IN THE HIGHEST DEGREE IN THE EUCHARIST.
As I have noted before, in the 1970’s the false teaching that the Word and Sacrament are equal in status, sanctuaries were re-ordered to have the Ambo and Altar (table) equally placed, meaning neither in the center (except the priest’s chair, of course).
Today, I have seen a non-rubrical addition to the proclamation of the Gospel, when the deacon takes the Book from the altar to go to the Ambo, he stands and shows the book to everyone in an arch of movement from center to side and side. What the heck?
And then once the Gospel is proclaimed and the page of the Gospel is kissed, the Book of the gospel is processed to its enthronement, usually on an older altar. What the heck?
I can remember lectors raising the lectionary at the end of their reading and saying in a bold voice and gesturing with the lectionary to the congregation, “THIS is the WORD OF THE LORD!”
That along with the additional things deacons do with the Book of the Gospels are actions of creativity and non-rubrical and should be purified from the Mass. It is the proclamation of the Word, by a lector or the Gospel that Christ is present. The Book of the Gospel is not the same as the Consecrated Host!
Pope Leo’s Catechesis. The Documents of the Second Vatican Council. III. Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium. 1. The liturgy in the mystery of the Church:
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!
Today we are beginning a new series of catecheses on the first Document issued by the Second Vatican Council: the Constitution on the sacred liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC).
In drafting this Constitution, the Council Fathers sought not only to undertake a reform of the rites, but to lead the Church to contemplate and deepen that living bond which constitutes and unites her: the mystery of Christ. Indeed, the liturgy touches the very heart of this mystery: it is at once the space, the time and the context in which the Church receives her very life from Christ. For in the liturgy, “the work of our redemption is accomplished” (SC, 2), which makes us a chosen lineage, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people whom God has acquired for Himself (cf. 1 Pet 2:9).
As manifested by the threefold renewal – biblical, patristic and liturgical – that the Church underwent through the course of the twentieth century, the Mystery in question does not designate an obscure reality, but God’s salvific plan, hidden from all eternity and revealed in Christ, according to Saint Paul’s affirmation (cf. Eph 3:2-6). Here, then, is the Christian Mystery: the Paschal event, that is to say, the passion, death, resurrection and glorification of Christ, which is made sacramentally present to us precisely in the liturgy, so that every time we take part in the assembly gathered “in his name” (cf. Mt 18:20) we are immersed in this Mystery.
Christ Himself is the inner source of the mystery of the Church, the holy people of God, born from His side pierced on the cross. In the holy liturgy, through the power of His Spirit, He continues to act. He sanctifies and unites the Church, His bride, to His offering to the Father. He exercises His utterly unique priesthood, He who is present in the proclaimed Word, in the sacraments, in the ministers who celebrate, in the gathered community and, in the highest degree, in the Eucharist (cf. SC, 7). Thus, according to Saint Augustine (cf. Sermon, 277), in celebrating the Eucharist the Church “receives the Body of the Lord and becomes what she receives”: she becomes the Body of Christ, “a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph 2:22). This is the “work of our redemption”, which conforms us to Christ and builds us up in communion.
In the holy liturgy, this communion is achieved through “rites and prayers” (SC, 48). The rituality of the Church expresses her faith – in accordance with the familiar saying lex orandi, lex credendi– and at the same time shapes ecclesial identity: the proclaimed Word, the celebration of the Sacrament, the gestures, the silences, the space – all this represents and gives form to the people gathered by the Father, the Body of Christ, the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Every celebration thus becomes a true epiphany of the Church in prayer, as Saint John Paul II recalled (Apostolic Letter Vicesimus quintus annus, 9).
If the liturgy is at the service of the mystery of Christ, one understands why it has been defined as “the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed … the font from which all her power flows” (SC, 10). It is true that the action of the Church is not limited to the liturgy alone; however, all her activity (preaching, service to the poor, the accompaniment of human realities) converges towards this “summit”). Conversely, the liturgy sustains the faithful by immersing them ever and anew in the Pasch of the Lord and, thus, through the proclamation of the Word, the celebration of the sacraments and communal prayer, they are refreshed, encouraged and renewed in their commitment to faith and in their mission. In other words, the participation of the faithful in the liturgical action is at once “internal” and “external”.
This also means that it is called to unfold in a tangible way throughout daily life, in an ethical and spiritual dynamic, so that the liturgy celebrated is translated into life and demands a faithful existence, capable of making concrete what has been experienced in the celebration: it is in this way that our life becomes a “living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God”, fulfilling our “spiritual worship” (Rom 12:1).
In this way, “the liturgy daily builds up those who are within into a holy temple of the Lord” (SC, 2), and forms an open community, welcoming to all. Indeed, it is inhabited by the Holy Spirit, it introduces us into the life of Christ, it makes us His Body and, in all its dimensions, it represents a sign of the unity of the entire human race in Christ. As Pope Francis said, “the world still does not know it, but everyone is invited to the supper of the wedding of the Lamb (Rev 19:9)” (Apostolic Letter Desiderio desideravi, 5).
Dear friends, let us allow ourselves to be shaped inwardly by the rites, symbols, gestures and above all the living presence of Christ in the liturgy, which we will have the opportunity to explore in the coming Catecheses.
2 comments:
You are correct. Christ is present in the Word, Celebrant and community. These convey Him. The Eucharist IS Him. We venerate the Gospel book but Adore the Eucharist. We don't worship the book, but honor it even as we honor an icon of Christ, not adore. I
Many deacons over-do the carrying of the Gospel book. Maybe because they want to make a big production of what they as deacons can do.
We bow down and worship the Blessed Sacrament. We honor the Gospel book, the altar and the priest (as standing in persona Christi).
When on Sabbatical at Pope Leo's alma mater, the Chicago Theological Union (CTU), in 2004, some of the Africans planned what was, I think, the house's Thanksgiving liturgy. There were about 30 of us there for sabbaticals, but CTU was the major theologate for many religious orders, including the pope's Augustinians. There were also a TON of Divine Word seminarians from SE Asia.
In the Thanksgiving liturgy, the Book of the Gospels was placed in a cloth satchel and carried to the altar on the back of the book bearer who gently danced with the others in the procession. BEARING the Gospel was powerfully enacted.
Post a Comment