This “regular” column began with a brief review of “liturgy” by which we are formed and built up as members of Christ’s body. It is in and through the liturgy that salvation and our sanctification occur and God is glorified (CSL, 7).
The liturgy guides and shapes us within the framework of the liturgical year through which Christ’s ministry and paschal mystery are made present. Not only are we instructed and formed by our Lord through the prayers and Scriptures spoken and unpacked but we are drawn into his very life. In the liturgy we are actively engaged with the Word of God not simply as story from long ago but as God’s word spoken to us today.
The recent 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time serves as an example. Moses told the people (and us) that the Lord will raise up a prophet who will speak for the Lord to whom we are to listen. Making the words of Psalm 95 our own we responded, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart.” St. Paul then asked where our attention and motivation lie. Is the Lord the motivation for all we do? Are we anxious about the things of the world? Do we follow the Lord without distraction? Finally, through Saint Mark we were reminded that even evil spirits recognize and obey the Lord.
As the liturgical year continued its course, the next day we celebrated the feast of the Presentation of the Lord also known as Candlemas. This day, the fortieth since Christmas, is rich in meaning and history. With Simeon, we went out to meet the Lord and acclaimed him as the “Light of revelation to the nations.” We asked in the blessing of the candles we held that we would “carry them to praise [God’s] glory, walk in the path of goodness and come to the light that shines for ever.” The Church taught us that we are “to walk as children of the light in [our] entire way of life, because [we] have a duty to show the light of Christ to all by acting in the works that we do as lighted lamps” (CB, 241).
Much more could be said but we must move on to Feb 3, the feast of St. Blase, when we asked to be freed “from every disease of the throat and from every other illness” so that illness would not distract us from Christ. St. Blase, like all the saints, “walked as children of the light” allowing God’s light to shine through them allowing others to see Christ. How well the first reading on this feast summed up the idea behind this look at the liturgical year. “We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus” (Heb 12:1). Through the vehicle of the liturgical year we journey daily in an ever deepening active relationship with Christ who shapes and teaches us. The liturgy and the liturgical year enable us to accept the rhythm of Christ. Our challenge for living liturgy is to accept this rhythm of Christian life.
The liturgy guides and shapes us within the framework of the liturgical year through which Christ’s ministry and paschal mystery are made present. Not only are we instructed and formed by our Lord through the prayers and Scriptures spoken and unpacked but we are drawn into his very life. In the liturgy we are actively engaged with the Word of God not simply as story from long ago but as God’s word spoken to us today.
The recent 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time serves as an example. Moses told the people (and us) that the Lord will raise up a prophet who will speak for the Lord to whom we are to listen. Making the words of Psalm 95 our own we responded, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart.” St. Paul then asked where our attention and motivation lie. Is the Lord the motivation for all we do? Are we anxious about the things of the world? Do we follow the Lord without distraction? Finally, through Saint Mark we were reminded that even evil spirits recognize and obey the Lord.
As the liturgical year continued its course, the next day we celebrated the feast of the Presentation of the Lord also known as Candlemas. This day, the fortieth since Christmas, is rich in meaning and history. With Simeon, we went out to meet the Lord and acclaimed him as the “Light of revelation to the nations.” We asked in the blessing of the candles we held that we would “carry them to praise [God’s] glory, walk in the path of goodness and come to the light that shines for ever.” The Church taught us that we are “to walk as children of the light in [our] entire way of life, because [we] have a duty to show the light of Christ to all by acting in the works that we do as lighted lamps” (CB, 241).
Much more could be said but we must move on to Feb 3, the feast of St. Blase, when we asked to be freed “from every disease of the throat and from every other illness” so that illness would not distract us from Christ. St. Blase, like all the saints, “walked as children of the light” allowing God’s light to shine through them allowing others to see Christ. How well the first reading on this feast summed up the idea behind this look at the liturgical year. “We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus” (Heb 12:1). Through the vehicle of the liturgical year we journey daily in an ever deepening active relationship with Christ who shapes and teaches us. The liturgy and the liturgical year enable us to accept the rhythm of Christ. Our challenge for living liturgy is to accept this rhythm of Christian life.
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