Liturgy

A well-known word that is close in meaning to 'liturgy' is the word 'worship'. But while worship can be done
privately, 'liturgy' is always a public, group activity.
Like many other ‘churchy’ words, ‘liturgy’ comes from the language used by the early church in its worship and
writings – Greek. The word liturgy is derived from “leitourgia” which was used to refer to any public work or function
exercised by the people as a whole. The people who do the work of liturgy are the people of God, all baptized.
A well-known word that is close in meaning to ‘liturgy’ is the word ‘worship’. But while worship can be done
privately, ‘liturgy’ is always a public, group activity.
A working definition of ‘liturgy’ that is helpful is ‘The official, public worship of the Church’.

Some of the best-known forms of liturgy in the Roman Catholic Church are:

1. Mass (or Eucharist)

In the celebration of Eucharist, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. In the early church, the
hallmark of being a Christian was to gather with other believers on the Lord’s Day to celebrate the Breaking of the Bread.
It is the same today: we gather as a community on Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist.

The Mass is central to the life of the Catholic Church. The Mass has two parts of equal importance:

 The Liturgy of the Word which consists of readings, the homily and the prayer of the faithful.
 The Liturgy of the Eucharist in which we do as Christ commanded us at the last Supper.
 At Mass we are nourished by the word of God and by the Body and Blood of Christ.

The purpose of the Mass is to give thanks and praise to God for the greatest gift of all, the gift of our salvation
through the death of God’s son on the cross.
When we celebrate Mass, we hear the story of our faith – the story of Jesus – so that we will not forget it. Our
story is told in the readings from scripture, in the homily, in the words of the Creed and in the Eucharistic Prayer which
always includes the words and actions of Christ at supper with his disciples on the night before his suffering and death. As
we hear again of these past events, the Holy Spirit brings them into the present so that we become part of the story and
participate in it.
When we listen to the Word of God we hear what it is that God demands of us today and how Jesus has shown
us the way. We are called to commit ourselves to God’s vision by living out what we have heard in our daily lives.
In the celebration of Eucharist, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. Those who share the
Body and Blood of Christ at the Lord’s Table become the body of Christ that is sent out to bring the love of Christ to
others.
The word communion comes from the Greek koinonia meaning fellowship or sharing. When we receive
communion at Mass, we are brought into closer relationship with one another as well as with Christ. Receiving the Body of
Christ at Mass calls us to live what we receive and believe, to show that Christ is present in our world through all that we
do and say.

2. Baptism
Because water is essential to all life, the water of baptism symbolises the life-giving grace that sustains those who
have become children of God. Baptism is the first sacrament. It incorporates us into the Church and through it we are
‘reborn’ as daughters and sons of God. Baptism is performed by immersion in or pouring of water and the words ‘I baptise
you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit’. Parents who ask to have their children baptised
accept the responsibility of training them in the practice of the faith and bringing them up to keep God’s commandments.

Baptism Symbols

Water is the central symbol of baptism. Because water is essential to all life, the water of baptism symbolizes the
life-giving grace that sustains those who have become children of God.
Oil is used twice in the ceremony. Before the baptism, the child’s breast is smeared with the oil of catechumens
as a sign of healing and strengthening. Afterwards the crown of the head is anointed with perfumed chrism as a symbol of
joy and thanksgiving. The white garment with which the newly baptized is then clothed symbolizes their new life in Christ
and is “the outward sign of Christian dignity”. A baptismal candle is lit from the paschal candle beside the font and
presented to the new member as a sign of the light of Christ.

When and Where?

 Baptism is about being made a part of the community of faith; it is not a private family occasion. Therefore
baptisms are normally conducted during Sunday Mass or with several other families at another time on Sunday in the
parish church.
Some parishes do not hold baptisms during Lent which is a time of penance and preparation for the
sacraments.Parents sometimes want their baby to be baptised in a school chapel or other place which has some meaning
to them as individuals, but that is not appropriate as it is the local parish community that welcomes new members and
provides the sense of belonging for the children.

Godparents

A godparent has to be at least 16 years old, must have been confirmed and received first Holy Communion, and
needs to live a life of faith which will be an example and support to their godchild.

Contacts

You need to contact your local parish to make enquiries about having your child baptized. Most Parishes conduct
preparation sessions for parents and godparents before the baptism is scheduled.

Confirmation
Marriage
Funerals
Penance (or Confession)

In the Catholic Church, we worship using forms and patterns of worship that have developed during the Church’s
2000-year history. Every day of the year falls into a particular place into the church’s liturgical calendar, and certain
scripture readings and prayers are assigned for use at Mass each day. The celebration of the rites of Baptism, Marriage,
Funerals and so on are set out in the Church’s ritual of books.
Liturgy is always an action, something we do. It is a public action, a ritual action, and a symbolic action. It is the
proclamation of the word that God speaks to us; it is in the breaking of the bread that we recognise Christ. We participate
in the action of the liturgy by responding, singing, listening and joining the gestures.

Liturgical seasons

The worship of the Catholic Church follows a calendar that is based on a cycle of liturgical seasons plus saints’
days celebrated throughout the year.
Just as we mark our lives by anniversaries, the Church celebrates the mysteries of Christ’s life in a recurrent
pattern. Within the cycle of a year the Church remembers and celebrates Christ’s conception, birth, death, resurrection
and sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
During the course of the year we bring to mind past events and people to keep the mystery of faith alive today and
we look forward to Christ’s return in glory at the end of time. As pilgrim people, we are constantly nourished by the story of
Jesus and guided by the saints, our ancestors in the faith, living witness of God’s unchanging love.
In some respects the church’s way of keeping time conflicts with the secular calendar. The new liturgical year
begins on the first Sunday of Advent at the end of November, just as many other things like the academic year are coming
to an end.

The seasons of the liturgical year are:

1. Advent – a period covering the 4 Sundays before Christmas during which we prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth and
anticipate his coming again at the end of time. The liturgical colour for Advent is violet.

2. Christmas – the season of Christmas celebrates Christ’s birth and early manifestations. It runs from 25th December to
until the feast of the Baptism of the Lord on the Sunday after 6th January. The liturgical colour for the Christmas
season is white.

3. Lent – the 6-week time of preparation for the celebration of Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday and finishes on the
evening of Holy Thursday. The liturgical colour for Lent is violet.

4. Easter – the heart of the liturgical year is the Easter Triduum (three days) celebrated from the evening Mass of the
Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday evening. The Easter Vigil is the high-point of the celebration. The
joyful celebration of Christ’s resurrection continues for the 50-day Easter season from Easter Sunday to Pentecost.
The liturgical colour for Easter is white.
 Apart from these seasons, there are 33 or 34 weeks of the year that do not celebrate a particular aspect of
the mystery of Christ but are devoted to the mystery of Christ in all its aspects. This period of the Church calendar is
called Ordinary Time because the weeks are numbered in order. The liturgical colour for Ordinary Time is green.