ARTICLE 2 - THE PASCHAL MYSTERY IN THE
CHURCH'S SACRAMENTS
1113 The whole liturgical life of the Church revolves around the Eucharistic sacrifice
and the sacraments.[29] There are seven sacraments in the Church: Baptism,
Confirmation or Chrismation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders,
and Matrimony.[30] This article will discuss what is common to the Church's seven
sacraments from a doctrinal point of view. What is common to them in terms of their
celebration will be presented in the second chapter, and what is distinctive about each
will be the topic of the Section Two.
I. THE SACRAMENTS OF CHRIST
1114 "Adhering to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, to the apostolic traditions, and to
the consensus . . . of the Fathers," we profess that "the sacraments of the new law were .
. . all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord."[31]
1115 Jesus' words and actions during his hidden life and public ministry were already
salvific, for they anticipated the power of his Paschal mystery. They announced and
prepared what he was going to give the Church when all was accomplished. The
mysteries of Christ's life are the foundations of what he would henceforth dispense in
the sacraments, through the ministers of his Church, for "what was visible in our Savior
has passed over into his mysteries."[32]
1116 Sacraments are "powers that comes forth" from the Body of Christ,[33] which is
ever-living and life-giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the
Church. They are "the masterworks of God" in the new and everlasting covenant.
II. THE SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
1117 As she has done for the canon of Sacred Scripture and for the doctrine of the faith,
the Church, by the power of the Spirit who guides her "into all truth," has gradually
recognized this treasure received from Christ and, as the faithful steward of God's
mysteries, has determined its "dispensation."[34] Thus the Church has discerned over
the centuries that among liturgical celebrations there are seven that are, in the strict sense
of the term, sacraments instituted by the Lord.
1118 The sacraments are "of the Church" in the double sense that they are "by her" and
"for her." They are "by the Church," for she is the sacrament of Christ's action at work
in her through the mission of the Holy Spirit. They are "for the Church" in the sense
that "the sacraments make the Church,"[35] since they manifest and communicate to
men, above all in the Eucharist, the mystery of communion with the God who is love,
One in three persons.
1119 Forming "as it were, one mystical person" with Christ the head, the Church acts in
the sacraments as "an organically structured priestly community."[36] Through Baptism
and Confirmation the pRiestly people is enabled to celebrate the liturgy, while those of
the faithful "who have received Holy Orders, are appointed to nourish the Church with
the word and grace of God in the name of Christ."[37]
1120 The ordained ministry or ministerial priesthood is at the service of the baptismal
priesthood.[38] The ordained priesthood guarantees that it really is Christ who acts in
the sacraments through the Holy Spirit for the Church. The saving mission entrusted by
the Father to his incarnate Son was committed to the apostles and through them to their
successors: they receive the Spirit of Jesus to act in his name and in his person.[39] The
ordained minister is the sacramental bond that ties the liturgical action to what the
apostles said and did and, through them, to the words and actions of Christ, the source
and foundation of the sacraments.
1121 The three sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders confer, in
addition to grace, a sacramental character or "seal" by which the Christian shares in
Christ's priesthood and is made a member of the Church according to different states
and functions. This configuration to Christ and to the Church, brought about by the
Spirit, is indelible,[40] it remains for ever in the Christian as a positive disposition for
grace, a promise and guarantee of divine protection, and as a vocation to divine worship
and to the service of the Church. Therefore these sacraments can never be repeated.
III. THE SACRAMENTS OF FAITH
1122 Christ sent his apostles so that "repentance and forgiveness of sins should be
preached in his name to all nations."[41] "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."[42]
The mission to baptize, and so the sacramental mission, is implied in the mission to
evangelize, because the sacrament is prepared for by the word of God and by the faith
which is assent to this word:
The People of God is formed into one in the first place by the Word of the living
God.... The preaching of the Word is required for the sacramental ministry itself, since
the sacraments are sacraments of faith, drawing their origin and nourishment from the
Word.[43]
1123 "The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the Body of Christ
and, finally, to give worship to God. Because they are signs they also instruct. They not
only presuppose faith, but by words and objects they also nourish, strengthen, and
express it. That is why they are called 'sacraments of faith."'[44]
1124 The Church's faith precedes the faith of the believer who is invited to adhere to it.
When the Church celebrates the sacraments, she confesses the faith received from the
apostles - whence the ancient saying: lex orandi, lex credendi (or: legem credendi lex
statuat supplicandi according to Prosper of Aquitaine [5th cent.]).[45] The law of prayer
is the law of faith: the Church believes as she prays. Liturgy is a constitutive element of
the holy and living Tradition.[46]
1125 For this reason no sacramental rite may be modified or manipulated at the will of
the minister or the community. Even the supreme authority in the Church may not
change the liturgy arbitrarily, but only in the obedience of faith and with religious respect
for the mystery of the liturgy.
1126 Likewise, since the sacraments express and develop the communion of faith in the
Church, the lex orandi is one of the essential criteria of the dialogue that seeks to restore
the unity of Christians.[47]
IV. THE SACRAMENTS OF SALVATION
1127 Celebrated worthily in faith, the sacraments confer the grace that they signify.[48]
They are efficacious because in them Christ himself is at work: it is he who baptizes, he
who acts in his sacraments in order to communicate the grace that each sacrament
signifies. The Father always hears the prayer of his Son's Church which, in the epiclesis
of each sacrament, expresses her faith in the power of the Spirit. As fire transforms into
itself everything it touches, so the Holy Spirit transforms into the divine life whatever is
subjected to his power.
1128 This is the meaning of the Church's affirmation[49] that the sacraments act ex
opere operato (literally: "by the very fact of the action's being performed"), i.e., by virtue
of the saving work of Christ, accomplished once for all. It follows that "the sacrament is
not wrought by the righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient, but by the
power of God."[50] From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated in accordance with
the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in and through it,
independently of the personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless, the fruits of the
sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them.
1129 The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are
necessary for salvation.[51] "Sacramental grace" is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by
Christ and proper to each sacrament. The Spirit heals and transforms those who receive
him by conforming them to the Son of God. The fruit of the sacramental life is that the
Spirit of adoption makes the faithful partakers in the divine nature[52] by uniting them
in a living union with the only Son, the Savior.
V. THE SACRAMENTS OF ETERNAL LIFE
1130 The Church celebrates the mystery of her Lord "until he comes," when God will
be "everything to everyone."[53] Since the apostolic age the liturgy has been drawn
toward its goal by the Spirit's groaning in the Church: Marana tha![54] The liturgy thus
shares in Jesus' desire: "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you . . . until it
is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."[55] In the sacraments of Christ the Church already
receives the guarantee of her inheritance and even now shares in everlasting life, while
"awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior
Christ Jesus."[56] The "Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come . . . Come, Lord Jesus!"'[57]
St. Thomas sums up the various aspects of sacramental signs: "Therefore a sacrament is
a sign that commemorates what precedes it- Christ's Passion; demonstrates what is
accomplished in us through Christ's Passion - grace; and prefigures what that Passion
pledges to us - future glory."[58]
IN BRIEF
1131 The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to
the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the
sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament.
They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions.
1132 The Church celebrates the sacraments as a priestly community structured by the
baptismal priesthood and the priesthood of ordained ministers.
1133 The Holy Spirit prepares the faithful for the sacraments by the Word of God and
the faith which welcomes that word in well-disposed hearts. Thus the sacraments
strengthen faith and express it.
1134 The fruit of sacramental life is both personal and ecclesial. For every one of the
faithful an the one hand, this fruit is life for God in Christ Jesus; for the Church, on the
other, it is an increase in charity and in her mission of witness.
CHAPTER TWO - THE SACRAMENTAL
CELEBRATION OF THE PASCHAL MYSTERY
1135 The catechesis of the liturgy entails first of all an understanding of the sacramental
economy (Chapter One). In this light, the innovation of its celebration is revealed. This
chapter will therefore treat of the celebration of the sacraments of the Church. It will
consider that which, through the diversity of liturgical traditions, is common to the
celebration of the seven sacraments. What is proper to each will be treated later. This
fundamental catechesis on the sacramental celebrations responds to the first questions
posed by the faithful regarding this subject:
- Who celebrates the liturgy?
- How is the liturgy celebrated?
- When is the liturgy celebrated?
- Where is the liturgy celebrated?
ARTICLE 1 - CELEBRATING THE CHURCH'S
LITURGY
I. WHO CELEBRATES?
1136 Liturgy is an "action" of the whole Christ (Christus totus). Those who even now
celebrate it without signs are already in the heavenly liturgy, where celebration is wholly
communion and feast
The celebrants of the heavenly liturgy
1137 The book of Revelation of St. John, read in the Church's liturgy, first reveals to us,
"A throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne": "the Lord God."[1] It then
shows the Lamb, "standing, as though it had been slain": Christ crucified and risen, the
one high priest of the true sanctuary, the same one "who offers and is offered, who gives
and is given."[2] Finally it presents "the river of the water of life . . . flowing from the
throne of God and of the Lamb," one of most beautiful symbols of the Holy Spirit.[3]
1138 "Recapitulated in Christ," these are the ones who take part in the service of the
praise of God and the fulfillment of his plan: the heavenly powers, all creation (the four
living beings), the servants of the Old and New Covenants (the twenty-four elders), the
new People of God (the one hundred and forty-four thousand),[4] especially the martyrs
"slain for the word of God," and the all-holy Mother of God (the Woman), the Bride of
the Lamb,[5] and finally "a great multitude which no one could number, from every
nation, from all tribes, and peoples and tongues."[6]
1139 It is in this eternal liturgy that the Spirit and the Church enable us to participate
whenever we celebrate the mystery of salvation in the sacraments.
The celebrants of the sacramental liturgy
1140 It is the whole community, the Body of Christ united with its Head, that celebrates.
"Liturgical services are not private functions but are celebrations of the Church which is
'the sacrament of unity,' namely, the holy people united and organized under the
authority of the bishops. Therefore, liturgical services pertain to the whole Body of the
Church. They manifest it, and have effects upon it. But they touch individual members
of the Church in different ways, depending on their orders, their role in the liturgical
services, and their actual participation in them."[7] For this reason, "rites which are
meant to be celebrated in common, with the faithful present and actively participating,
should as far as possible be celebrated in that way rather than by an individual and quasiprivately."[
8]
1141 The celebrating assembly is the community of the baptized who, "by regeneration
and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are consecrated to be a spiritual house and a holy
priesthood, that through all the works of Christian men they may offer spiritual
sacrifices."[9] This "common priesthood" is that of Christ the sole priest, in which all his
members participate:[10]
Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that full,
conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the
very nature of the liturgy, and to which the Christian people, "a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people," have a right and an obligation by reason
of their Baptism.[11]
1142 But "the members do not all have the same function."[12] Certain members are
called by God, in and through the Church, to a special service of the community. These
servants are chosen and consecrated by the sacrament of Holy Orders, by which the
Holy Spirit enables them to act in the person of Christ the head, for the service of all the
members of the Church.[13] The ordained minister is, as it were, an "icon" of Christ the
priest. Since it is in the Eucharist that the sacrament of the Church is made fully visible,
it is in his presiding at the Eucharist that the bishop's ministry is most evident, as well as,
in communion with him, the ministry of priests and deacons.
1143 For the purpose of assisting the work of the common priesthood of the faithful,
other particular ministries also exist, not consecrated by the sacrament of Holy Orders;
their functions are determined by the bishops, in accord with liturgical traditions and
pastoral needs. "Servers, readers, commentators, and members of the choir also exercise
a genuine liturgical function."[14]
1144 In the celebration of the sacraments it is thus the whole assembly that is leitourgos,
each according to his function, but in the "unity of the Spirit" who acts in all. "In
liturgical celebrations each person, minister or layman, who has an office to perform,
should carry out all and only those parts which pertain to his office by the nature of the
rite and the norms of the liturgy."[15]
II. HOW IS THE LITURGY CELEBRATED?
Signs and symbols
1145 A sacramental celebration is woven from signs and symbols. In keeping with the
divine pedagogy of salvation, their meaning is rooted in the work of creation and in
human culture, specified by the events of the Old Covenant and fully revealed in the
person and work of Christ.
1146 Signs of the human world. In human life, signs and symbols occupy an important
place. As a being at once body and spirit, man expresses and perceives spiritual realities
through physical signs and symbols. As a social being, man needs signs and symbols to
communicate with others, through language, gestures, and actions. The same holds true
for his relationship with God.
1147 God speaks to man through the visible creation. The material cosmos is so
presented to man's intelligence that he can read there traces of its Creator.[16] Light and
darkness, wind and fire, water and earth, the tree and its fruit speak of God and
symbolize both his greatness and his nearness.
1148 Inasmuch as they are creatures, these perceptible realities can become means of
expressing the action of God who sanctifies men, and the action of men who offer
worship to God. The same is true of signs and symbols taken from the social life of
man: washing and anointing, breaking bread and sharing the cup can express the
sanctifying presence of God and man's gratitude toward his Creator.
1149 The great religions of mankind witness, often impressively, to this cosmic and
symbolic meaning of religious rites. The liturgy of the Church presupposes, integrates
and sanctifies elements from creation and human culture, conferring on them the dignity
of signs of grace, of the new creation in Jesus Christ.
1150 Signs of the covenant. The Chosen People received from God distinctive signs and
symbols that marked its liturgical life. These are no longer solely celebrations of cosmic
cycles and social gestures, but signs of the covenant, symbols of God's mighty deeds for
his people. Among these liturgical signs from the Old Covenant are circumcision,
anointing and consecration of kings and priests, laying on of hands, sacrifices, and above
all the Passover. The Church sees in these signs a prefiguring of the sacraments of the
New Covenant.
1151 Signs taken up by Christ. In his preaching the Lord Jesus often makes use of the
signs of creation to make known the mysteries of the Kingdom of God.[17] He
performs healings and illustrates his preaching with physical signs or symbolic
gestures.[18] He gives new meaning to the deeds and signs of the Old Covenant, above
all to the Exodus and the Passover,[19] for he himself is the meaning of all these signs.
1152 Sacramental signs. Since Pentecost, it is through the sacramental signs of his
Church that the Holy Spirit carries on the work of sanctification. The sacraments of the
Church do not abolish but purify and integrate all the richness of the signs and symbols
of the cosmos and of social life. Further, they fulfill the types and figures of the Old
Covenant, signify and make actively present the salvation wrought by Christ, and
prefigure and anticipate the glory of heaven. Words and actions
1153 A sacramental celebration is a meeting of God's children with their Father, in
Christ and the Holy Spirit; this meeting takes the form of a dialogue, through actions
and words. Admittedly, the symbolic actions are already a language, but the Word of
God and the response of faith have to accompany and give life to them, so that the seed
of the Kingdom can bear its fruit in good soil. The liturgical actions signify what the
Word of God expresses: both his free initiative and his people's response of faith.
1154 The liturgy of the Word is an integral part of sacramental celebrations. To nourish
the faith of believers, the signs which accompany the Word of God should be
emphasized: the book of the Word (a lectionary or a book of the Gospels), its
veneration (procession, incense, candles), the place of its proclamation (lectern or
ambo), its audible and intelligible reading, the minister's homily which extends its
proclamation, and the responses of the assembly (acclamations, meditation psalms,
litanies, and profession of faith).
1155 The liturgical word and action are inseparable both insofar as they are signs and
instruction and insofar as they accomplish what they signify. When the Holy Spirit
awakens faith, he not only gives an understanding of the Word of God, but through the
sacraments also makes present the "wonders" of God which it proclaims. The Spirit
makes present and communicates the Father's work, fulfilled by the beloved Son.
Singing and music
1156 "The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value,
greater even than that of any other art. The main reason for this pre-eminence is that, as
a combination of sacred music and words, it forms a necessary or integral part of solemn
liturgy."[20] The composition and singing of inspired psalms, often accompanied by
musical instruments, were already closely linked to the liturgical celebrations of the Old
Covenant. The Church continues and develops this tradition: "Address . . . one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all
your heart." "He who sings prays twice."[21]
1157 Song and music fulfill their function as signs in a manner all the more significant
when they are "more closely connected . . . with the liturgical action,"[22] according to
three principal criteria: beauty expressive of prayer, the unanimous participation of the
assembly at the designated moments, and the solemn character of the celebration. In this
way they participate in the purpose of the liturgical words and actions: the glory of God
and the sanctification of the faithful:[23]
How I wept, deeply moved by your hymns, songs, and the voices that echoed through
your Church! What emotion I experienced in them! Those sounds flowed into my ears
distilling the truth in my heart. A feeling of devotion surged within me, and tears
streamed down my face - tears that did me good.[24]
1158 The harmony of signs (song, music, words, and actions) is all the more expressive
and fruitful when expressed in the cultural richness of the People of God who
celebrate.[25] Hence "religious singing by the faithful is to be intelligently fostered so
that in devotions and sacred exercises as well as in liturgical services," in conformity with
the Church's norms, "the voices of the faithful may be heard." But "the texts intended to
be sung must always be in conformity with Catholic doctrine. Indeed they should be
drawn chiefly from the Sacred Scripture and from liturgical sources."[26]
Holy images
1159 The sacred image, the liturgical icon, principally represents Christ. It cannot
represent the invisible and incomprehensible God, but the incarnation of the Son of
God has ushered in a new "economy" of images:
Previously God, who has neither a body nor a face, absolutely could not be represented
by an image. But now that he has made himself visible in the flesh and has lived with
men, I can make an image of what I have seen of God . . . and contemplate the glory of
the Lord, his face unveiled.[27]
1160 Christian iconography expresses in images the same Gospel message that Scripture
communicates by words. Image and word illuminate each other:
We declare that we preserve intact all the written and unwritten traditions of the
Church which have been entrusted to us. One of these traditions consists in the
production of representational artwork, which accords with the history of the preaching
of the Gospel. For it confirms that the incarnation of the Word of God was real and
not imaginary, and to our benefit as well, for realities that illustrate each other
undoubtedly reflect each other's meaning.[28]
1161 All the signs in the liturgical celebrations are related to Christ: as are sacred images
of the holy Mother of God and of the saints as well. They truly signify Christ, who is
glorified in them. They make manifest the "cloud of witnesses"[29] who continue to
participate in the salvation of the world and to whom we are united, above all in
sacramental celebrations. Through their icons, it is man "in the image of God," finally
transfigured "into his likeness,"[30] who is revealed to our faith. So too are the angels,
who also are recapitulated in Christ:
Following the divinely inspired teaching of our holy Fathers and the tradition of the
Catholic Church (for we know that this tradition comes from the Holy Spirit who
dwells in her) we rightly define with full certainty and correctness that, like the figure of
the precious and life-giving cross, venerable and holy images of our Lord and God and
Savior, Jesus Christ, our inviolate Lady, the holy Mother of God, and the venerated
angels, all the saints and the just, whether painted or made of mosaic or another suitable
material, are to be exhibited in the holy churches of God, on sacred vessels and
vestments, walls and panels, in houses and on streets.[31]
1162 "The beauty of the images moves me to contemplation, as a meadow delights the
eyes and subtly infuses the soul with the glory of God."[32] Similarly, the contemplation
of sacred icons, united with meditation on the Word of God and the singing of liturgical
hymns, enters into the harmony of the signs of celebration so that the mystery
celebrated is imprinted in the heart's memory and is then expressed in the new life of the
faithful.
III. WHEN IS THE LITURGY CELEBRATED?
Liturgical seasons
1163 "Holy Mother Church believes that she should celebrate the saving work of her
divine Spouse in a sacred commemoration on certain days throughout the course of the
year. Once each week, on the day which she has called the Lord's Day, she keeps the
memory of the Lord's resurrection. She also celebrates it once every year, together with
his blessed Passion, at Easter, that most solemn of all feasts. In the course of the year,
moreover, she unfolds the whole mystery of Christ .... Thus recalling the mysteries of the
redemption, she opens up to the faithful the riches of her Lord's powers and merits, so
that these are in some way made present in every age; the faithful lay hold of them and
are filled with saving grace."[33]
1164 From the time of the Mosaic law, the People of God have observed fixed feasts,
beginning with Passover, to commemorate the astonishing actions of the Savior God, to
give him thanks for them, to perpetuate their remembrance, and to teach new
generations to conform their conduct to them. In the age of the Church, between the
Passover of Christ already accomplished once for all, and its consummation in the
kingdom of God, the liturgy celebrated on fixed days bears the imprint of the newness
of the mystery of Christ.
1165 When the Church celebrates the mystery of Christ, there is a word that marks her
prayer: "Today!" - a word echoing the prayer her Lord taught her and the call of the
Holy Spirit.[34] This "today" of the living God which man is called to enter is "the hour"
of Jesus' Passover, which reaches across and underlies all history:
Life extends over all beings and fills them with unlimited light; the Orient of orients
pervades the universe, and he who was "before the daystar" and before the heavenly
bodies, immortal and vast, the great Christ, shines over all beings more brightly than
the sun. Therefore a day of long, eternal light is ushered in for us who believe in him, a
day which is never blotted out: the mystical Passover.[35]
The Lord's day
1166 "By a tradition handed down from the apostles which took its origin from the very
day of Christ's Resurrection, the Church celebrates the Paschal mystery every seventh
day, which day is appropriately called the Lord's Day or Sunday."[36] The day of Christ's
Resurrection is both the first day of the week, the memorial of the first day of creation,
and the "eighth day," on which Christ after his "rest" on the great sabbath inaugurates
the "day that the Lord has made," the "day that knows no evening."[37] The Lord's
Supper is its center, for there the whole community of the faithful encounters the risen
Lord who invites them to his banquet:[38]
The Lord's day, the day of Resurrection, the day of Christians, is our day. It is called the
Lord's day because on it the Lord rose victorious to the Father. If pagans call it the "day
of the sun," we willingly agree, for today the light of the world is raised, today is
revealed the sun of justice with healing in his rays.[39]
1167 Sunday is the pre-eminent day for the liturgical assembly, when the faithful gather
"to listen to the word of God and take part in the Eucharist, thus calling to mind the
Passion, Resurrection, and glory of the Lord Jesus, and giving thanks to God who 'has
begotten them again, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead' unto a living
hope":[40]
When we ponder, O Christ, the marvels accomplished on this day, the Sunday of your
holy resurrection, we say: "Blessed is Sunday, for on it began creation . . . the world's
salvation ... the renewal of the human race .... On Sunday heaven and earth rejoiced and
the whole universe was filled with light. Blessed is Sunday, for on it were opened the
gates of paradise so that Adam and all the exiles might enter it without fear.[41]
The liturgical year
1168 Beginning with the Easter Triduum as its source of light, the new age of the
Resurrection fills the whole liturgical year with its brilliance. Gradually, on either side of
this source, the year is transfigured by the liturgy. It really is a "year of the Lord's
favor."[42] The economy of salvation is at work within the framework of time, but since
its fulfillment in the Passover of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the
culmination of history is anticipated "as a foretaste," and the kingdom of God enters
into our time.
1169 Therefore Easter is not simply one feast among others, but the "Feast of feasts,"
the "Solemnity of solemnities," just as the Eucharist is the "Sacrament of sacraments"
(the Great Sacrament). St. Athanasius calls Easter "the Great Sunday"[43] and the
Eastern Churches call Holy Week "the Great Week." The mystery of the Resurrection,
in which Christ crushed death, permeates with its powerful energy our old time, until all
is subjected to him.
1170 At the Council of Nicaea in 325, all the Churches agreed that Easter, the Christian
Passover, should be celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon (14 Nisan)
after the vernal equinox. Because of different methods of calculating the 14 th day of the
month of Nisan, the date of Easter in the Western and Eastern Churches is not always
the same. For this reason, the Churches are currently seeking an agreement in order
once again to celebrate the day of the Lord’s Resurrection on a common date.
1171 In the liturgical year the various aspects of the one Paschal mystery unfold. This is
also the case with the cycle of feasts surrounding the mystery of the incarnation
(Annunciation, Christmas, Epiphany). They commemorate the beginning of our
salvation and communicate to us the first fruits of the Paschal mystery.
The sanctoral in the liturgical year
1172 "In celebrating this annual cycle of the mysteries of Christ, Holy Church honors
the Blessed Mary, Mother of God, with a special love. She is inseparably linked with the
saving work of her Son. In her the Church admires and exalts the most excellent fruit of
redemption and joyfully contemplates, as in a faultless image, that which she herself
desires and hopes wholly to be."[44]
1173 When the Church keeps the memorials of martyrs and other saints during the
annual cycle, she proclaims the Paschal mystery in those "who have suffered and have
been glorified with Christ. She proposes them to the faithful as examples who draw all
men to the Father through Christ, and through their merits she begs for God's
favors."[45]
The Liturgy of the Hours
1174 The mystery of Christ, his Incarnation and Passover, which we celebrate in the
Eucharist especially at the Sunday assembly, permeates and transfigures the time of each
day, through the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, "the divine office."[46] This
celebration, faithful to the apostolic exhortations to "pray constantly," is "so devised that
the whole course of the day and night is made holy by the praise of God."[47] In this
"public prayer of the Church,"[48] the faithful (clergy, religious, and lay people) exercise
the royal priesthood of the baptized. Celebrated in "the form approved" by the Church,
the Liturgy of the Hours "is truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to her
Bridegroom. It is the very prayer which Christ himself together with his Body addresses
to the Father.[49]
1175 The Liturgy of the Hours is intended to become the prayer of the whole People of
God. In it Christ himself "continues his priestly work through his Church."[50] His
members participate according to their own place in the Church and the circumstances
of their lives: priests devoted to the pastoral ministry, because they are called to remain
diligent in prayer and the service of the word; religious, by the charism of their
consecrated lives; all the faithful as much as possible: "Pastors of souls should see to it
that the principal hours, especially Vespers, are celebrated in common in church on
Sundays and on the more solemn feasts. The laity, too, are encouraged to recite the
divine office, either with the priests, or among themselves, or even individually."[51]
1176 The celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours demands not only harmonizing the
voice with the praying heart, but also a deeper "understanding of the liturgy and of the
Bible, especially of the Psalms."[52]
1177 The hymns and litanies of the Liturgy of the Hours integrate the prayer of the
psalms into the age of the Church, expressing the symbolism of the time of day, the
liturgical season, or the feast being celebrated. Moreover, the reading from the Word of
God at each Hour (with the subsequent responses or troparia) and readings from the
Fathers and spiritual masters at certain Hours, reveal more deeply the meaning of the
mystery being celebrated, assist in understanding the psalms, and prepare for silent
prayer. The lectio divina, where the Word of God is so read and meditated that it
becomes prayer, is thus rooted in the liturgical celebration.
1178 The Liturgy of the Hours, which is like an extension of the Eucharistic celebration,
does not exclude but rather in a complementary way calls forth the various devotions of
the People of God, especially adoration and worship of the Blessed Sacrament.
IV. WHERE IS THE LITURGY CELEBRATED?
1179 The worship "in Spirit and in truth"[53] of the New Covenant is not tied
exclusively to any one place. The whole earth is sacred and entrusted to the children of
men. What matters above all is that, when the faithful assemble in the same place, they
are the "living stones," gathered to be "built into a spiritual house."[54] For the Body of
the risen Christ is the spiritual temple from which the source of living water springs
forth: incorporated into Christ by the Holy Spirit, "we are the temple of the living
God."[55]
1180 When the exercise of religious liberty is not thwarted,[56] Christians construct
buildings for divine worship. These visible churches are not simply gathering places but
signify and make visible the Church living in this place, the dwelling of God with men
reconciled and united in Christ.
1181 A church, "a house of prayer in which the Eucharist is celebrated and reserved,
where the faithful assemble, and where is worshipped the presence of the Son of God
our Savior, offered for us on the sacrificial altar for the help and consolation of the
faithful - this house ought to be in good taste and a worthy place for prayer and sacred
ceremonial."[57] In this "house of God" the truth and the harmony of the signs that
make it up should show Christ to be present and active in this place.[58]
1182 The altar of the New Covenant is the Lord's Cross,[59] from which the sacraments
of the Paschal mystery flow. On the altar, which is the center of the church, the sacrifice
of the Cross is made present under sacramental signs. The altar is also the table of the
Lord, to which the People of God are invited.[60] In certain Eastern liturgies, the altar is
also the symbol of the tomb (Christ truly died and is truly risen).
1183 The tabernacle is to be situated "in churches in a most worthy place with the
greatest honor."[61] The dignity, placing, and security of the Eucharistic tabernacle
should foster adoration before the Lord really present in the Blessed Sacrament of the
altar.[62]
The sacred chrism (myron), used in anointings as the sacramental sign of the seal of the
gift of the Holy Spirit, is traditionally reserved and venerated in a secure place in the
sanctuary. The oil of catechumens and the oil of the sick may also be placed there.
1184 The chair of the bishop (cathedra) or that of the priest "should express his office of
presiding over the assembly and of directing prayer."[63]
The lectern (ambo): "The dignity of the Word of God requires the church to have a
suitable place for announcing his message so that the attention of the people may be
easily directed to that place during the liturgy of the Word."[64]
1185 The gathering of the People of God begins with Baptism; a church must have a
place for the celebration of Baptism (baptistry) and for fostering remembrance of the
baptismal promises (holy water font).
The renewal of the baptismal life requires penance. A church, then, must lend itself to
the expression of repentance and the reception of forgiveness, which requires an
appropriate place to receive penitents.
A church must also be a space that invites us to the recollection and silent prayer that
extend and internalize the great prayer of the Eucharist.
1186 Finally, the church has an eschatological significance. To enter into the house of
God, we must cross a threshold, which symbolizes passing from the world wounded by
sin to the world of the new Life to which all men are called. The visible church is a
symbol of the Father's house toward which the People of God is journeying and where
the Father "will wipe every tear from their eyes."[65] Also for this reason, the Church is
the house of all God's children, open and welcoming.
IN BRIEF
1187 The liturgy is the work of the whole Christ, head and body. Our high priest
celebrates it unceasingly in the heavenly liturgy, with the holy Mother of God, the
apostles, all the saints, and the multitude of those who have already entered the
kingdom.
1188 In a liturgical celebration, the whole assembly is leitourgos, each member according
to his own function. The baptismal priesthood is that of the whole Body of Christ. But
some of the faithful are ordained through the sacrament of Holy Orders to represent
Christ as head of the Body.
1189 The liturgical celebration involves signs and symbols relating to creation (candles,
water, fire), human life (washing, anointing, breaking bread) and the history of salvation
(the rites of the Passover). Integrated into the world of faith and taken up by the power
of the Holy Spirit, these cosmic elements, human rituals, and gestures of remembrance
of God become bearers of the saving and sanctifying action of Christ.
1190 The Liturgy of the Word is an integral part of the celebration. The meaning of the
celebration is expressed by the Word of God which is proclaimed and by the response
of faith to it.
1191 Song and music are closely connected with the liturgical action. The criteria for
their proper use are the beauty expressive of prayer, the unanimous participation of the
assembly, and the sacred character of the celebration.
1192 Sacred images in our churches and homes are intended to awaken and nourish our
faith in the mystery of Christ. Through the icon of Christ and his works of salvation, it is
he whom we adore. Through sacred images of the holy Mother of God, of the angels
and of the saints, we venerate the persons represented.
1193 Sunday, the "Lord's Day," is the principal day for the celebration of the Eucharist
because it is the day of the Resurrection. It is the pre-eminent day of the liturgical
assembly, the day of the Christian family, and the day of joy and rest from work. Sunday
is "the foundation and kernel of the whole liturgical year" (SC 106).
1194 The Church, "in the course of the year, . . . unfolds the whole mystery of Christ
from his Incarnation and Nativity through his Ascension, to Pentecost and the
expectation of the blessed hope of the coming of the Lord" (SC 102 # 2). P> 1195 By
keeping the memorials of the saints - first of all the holy Mother of God, then the
apostles, the martyrs, and other saints - on fixed days of the liturgical year, the Church
on earth shows that she is united with the liturgy of heaven. She gives glory to Christ for
having accomplished his salvation in his glorified members; their example encourages
her on her way to the Father.
1196 The faithful who celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours are united to Christ our high
priest, by the prayer of the Psalms, meditation on the Word of God, and canticles and
blessings, in order to be joined with his unceasing and universal prayer that gives glory to
the Father and implores the gift of the Holy Spirit on the whole world.
1198 In its earthly state the Church needs places where the community can gather
together. Our visible churches, holy places, are images of the holy city, the heavenly
Jerusalem, toward which we are making our way on pilgrimage.
1199 It is in these churches that the Church celebrates public worship to the glory of the
Holy Trinity, hears the word of God and sings his praise, lifts up her prayer, and offers
the sacrifice of Christ sacramentally present in the midst of the assembly. These
churches are also places of recollection and personal prayer.
No comments:
Post a Comment