RE 113/Liturgy_VEGA

LITURGY (CFC 1502-1516)

Grounding: It is the summit towards which all the activity of the Church is directed, and the fountain from
which all her power flows (SC 10).

Meaning of Liturgy
Liturgy is the official worship of the Church.
It is the source and summit of our total life of prayer.

The center of the Church’s liturgy is the EUCHARIST which commemorates the Paschal Mystery of our
Lord Jesus Christ -
his Passion, Death, Resurrection, Ascension. Through this Mystery the power of God’s salvation is
offered to all.

Essential qualities of the Liturgy

1. Trinitarian and Paschal
2. Ecclesial
3. Sacramental
4. Ethically-oriented
5. Eschatological

SACRAMENTAL CELEBRATION
A sacramental celebration is an encounter (meeting) of God’s children with their God in the form of
a dialogue, through actions and words.

The Constituent Parts of the Sacramental Sign

The outward sign of the sacraments is composed of two essential parts: thing (matter) and word
(form).

Thing (eye)
1. Matter
Action (eye)

2. Form Word {the spoken word} (ear)

Nature of the Liturgy

The liturgy is:
the official public worship of the Blessed Trinity
by the whole Church
through the celebration of Christ’s Paschal Mystery
with moral/ethical links
in an eschatological orientation toward perfect fulfillment in the future.

Mother Church desires that all the faithful be led to full, conscious, and active participation in liturgical
celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy, and to which the Christian people have
a right and obligation by reason of their baptism. (SC 14)

Components of Liturgy
1. Liturgical Year - It is the annual cycle in which the various aspects of Christ’s Paschal Mystery
unfold.
Sunday is the day of Christ’s Resurrection, the Lord’s Day, the new Sabbath.
Liturgical seasons: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Ordinary Time.
The Sanctoral: the memorials of martyrs and other saints.
2. Liturgy of the Hours - To sanctify the hours of the day, the Liturgy of the Hours is intended to become
the prayer of the whole People of God.
In it, Christ “continues his priestly work through his Church.”
Lauds, mid-morning prayer, midday prayer, mid-afternoon prayer, Vespers, night
prayer
3. Seven Ritual Sacraments
4. Sacramentals - are sacred signs/symbols which signify some spiritual effect which is realized
through the action of the Church.
blessings (homes, cars, field)
actions (kneeling, bowing)
words (litanies, novena prayers, pious invocations)
objects (ashes, candles, crucifix, rosaries, statues)
RE 113/Liturgy_VEGA

places (churches, shrines)

time (liturgical seasons)

MARIAN DEVOTIONS
What is the basis for Marian devotions?

“Mary has by grace been exalted above all angels and persons as the most holy Mother of God who was
involved in the mysteries of Christ. Hence the Church appropriately honors her with special reverence.”
Authentic Marian piety leads directly to Christ and the Blessed Trinity. (Lumen Gentium, 67)