EUCHARIST:

CHANGING ME

TO CHANGE

THE

WORLD

Qev. MichaelA. 8aporito

Pastor8t. Joseph

Maplewood

This issue of Word on Worship contains the text oftwo talks. The first, "Eucharist: Changing Me toChange the World," was given by a priest of theArchdiocese of Newark, Rev. Michael Saporito, atthe Festival of Faith in Newark on September 29,2007. The second, "Liturgy Forty YearsAfter theCouncil," was given by Cardinal GodfriedDanneels on April 17, 2007, at Boston College.

Howmany times have we all walked down the aisles of our Churcheswaiting in line to receive Communion, taken Christ in the Eucharistand walked back to our place as a matter of routine? We may say a

quick prayer, if we even do that; and then rush to let ourselves get back to thereal business of life, if we even stay in the pew. How many times have priestscelebrated Masses, hurriedly unprepared or in a habit of rote recitation? I wantto light the fire within us again to realize that receiving Communion is not justabout taking the sacred species or receiving it because that's what "Catholicsdo." Hardly! Christ lives and this gift of Eucharist holds so much potential forus and for the world in which we live. Eucharist is an amazing gift!

This story which was adapted from an article in Connections reflects on thepower of the Eucharist:

"Every week she would bring Communion to Frank, a member of the parish.Frank had been critically ill with leukemia. The prognosis for Frank was notgood. Over the course of the next few months, he courageously tackled bothhis disease and chemotherapy. Frank was a person of much prayer and faith,but sometimes it all became too much for him. "God, why me?" had becomethe core of much of his prayer. Sometimes Frank's discourse would overwhelmhim.

Another parishioner was added to her Communion list at some point afterbringing Communion to Frank. Ben was also diagnosed with leukemia. Onher next visit, she told Frank about Ben's leukemia - the same type as Frank's.Each week during their Communion service, they would offer prayers for Benand Ben's family. Praying for Ben had quite an effect on Frank. It gave himnew perspective and a renewed outlook. When she arrived with Communion,Frank would immediately ask how Ben was doing. Frank began finding appre-elation for all the good things God had given him in his long life. His prayerbegan to focus on Ben's recovery, even before his own.

And each week, during her visit with Ben, they would always offer a prayer forFrank and his family.

After several months of prayers for each other, Frank and Ben finally had theopportunity to meet. Ben ran to meet Frank when he came to the door. Thetwo hugged like old friends. Then Ben took Frank by the hand to show him hisroom, replete with Tonka trucks, toy model cars and other prized possessions.Seven-year-old Ben had much to share with 75 year-old Frank, as Frank hadshared so much with his little brother in Christ!" I

In this issue:• Eucharist: Changing Me to Change the World • Liturgy Forty Years After the Council

Have you ever stopped in the middle ofdoing something to ask, "What am Idoing?" As we celebrate our Catholicidentity, what really identifies us moststrongly as Catholic Christians? It is ourbelief that the Lord Jesus lives with us inthe Eucharist!

How many times have we heard in thecourse of talks about the Eucharist the fol-lowing line quoted from the Vatican IIdocument, The Constitution on the SacredLiturgy Paragraph 10 begins, "The litur-gy is the summit toward which the activi-ty of the Church is directed; it is also thesource from which all its power flows.:"This is an incredible statement! If this istrue, why do so many people stay away?The answer to that question is not simple,but I would like to suggest one. The con-nection between what we say we believeand what goes on in our lives is far tootenuous. Liturgy and life need to beclearly linked together. The more they arecorrelated, the more true to the Council'sstatement the liturgy will become.

Fr. Bill Bausch, preaching on theSolemnity of the Most Holy Body andBlood of Christ, declared, "The real pres-ence in the Eucharist exists only to makethe real presence in the world. If youbreak that connection, you wind up withempty, in-house piety and the absence ofJesus' mission in the world." This feast,he says, "is less about what the Eucharistis than what we who celebrate it and sharein it - do with it!'"

Good liturgy not only respects the properfollowing of rubrics, it ignites us torespond with lives poured out for Christand for others. Is this what goes on inyour parish? Is this what goes on withinall of us as we attend Mass? When wasthe last time - priest or assembly - thatthrough our participation in the Eucharistwe were inspired to really do something;that we could not wait to make that a real-ity in our lives? Consider the openingstory about "Communion." Eucharist andfaith opened up Frank to look past hisown concerns to those of Ben, and offeredhim a new perspective and outlook.Meeting and talking together, actuallyexpressing the mutual support thenbecame necessary. Regardless of age dif-ference, there is unity. There is friendshipwhere it did not exist before and, right

16

there in the middle of it all, is the livingpresence of Jesus in the Eucharist. It wasnot just belief in principles that broughtthese two together. It was action - theaction of faith!

And so, let us all contemplate changing -first ourselves - and then making thosereal life connections that can bring changeto the world.

FIVE CONSIDERATIONS TO LINKLITURGY AND LIFE

FIRST - BRING AN ATTITUDE OF FAITH:

The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgystates, "Before people can come to theliturgy, they must be called to faith andconversion.?' This is why local parishesoften try to encourage people to cultivatea spiritual life in addition to attendingMass. Bible study groups, prayer andfaith experiences, and participation insmall faith sharing groups are promoted inorder to build a living faith. We are calledto worship a God whom we know onsome level. Last Lent, our parish held amission and the most memorable parts ofthat mission were not the talks or thewords that were preached. Rather, themost unforgettable moments were the ritu-al actions that gave expression to thefaith. They involved the people by mak-ing them put their whole self, their bodies,minds and hearts to work. The ritualsengaged them and the participants remem-bered the actions with great clarity.

"Who do you say that I am?" Christ asks.We must personally answer that question.Often Catholics are scared or offended byother Christians who want to know "Areyou saved?" or "Is Jesus your personalLord and Savior?" While Catholics mayuse different terminology, the question isvery important for each of us to answer.What part is Christ going to take in mylife? One needs to desire communionwith the Lord. We have to be ready,searching for it, being excited by it, andseeking the inspiration we need. We showup at sporting events early, wearing ourteam colors, and filled with anticipation.We long to see a play we have heardabout or go to a movie shaped by afavorite book that we have read. In otherwords, we bring something to theencounter. We invest ourselves and oursenses in what is going to take place. We

show it in different ways. Where is oureagerness at Mass? Are we ready to comeand gather at Eucharist because we longto encounter the power and inspiration ofChrist? An attitude of faith is essential.

SECOND - RECLAIM THE IMPORTANCE OFSUNDAY

Pope Benedict XVI in SacramentumCaritatis asserts, "On the Lord's Day,each Christian rediscovers the communaldimension of his life as one who has beenredeemed. Taking part in the Liturgy andreceiving the Body and Blood of Christintensifies and deepens our belonging tothe one who died for us. .. Communionalways and inseparably has both a verticaland horizontal sense. It is communionwith God and communion with our broth-ers and sisters."

It's important that we are present to honorthe Lord on Sunday but active, consciousparticipation involves more. It involvesus deepening our bonds as his chosen peo-ple. We gather as a people redeemed.Therefore, the lives of the people thatform our parish communities take onadded significance. They are not justbodies that fill seats but relatives in faith.This bond brings with it the responsibilityof genuine caring and concern. We canwalk in and out of Mass as a matter ofduty but are we aware of the others in ourcommunity? Do we welcome thestranger? Do we miss the ones we havenot seen in a while? Are we concernedabout the mission of the community? Inwhat ways are we actively supporting thatmission with the gift of our selves?Someone recently reminded me that theirprayer list contained the names of manypeople, most of whom were obtainedbecause they had come together at thetable of the Lord and shared their story orasked for prayer. Let us not forget the ori-gins of the gathering together, to tell thestories of faith and to support each otherin living the faith.

We cannot make our faith relevant to ourlives if we have chosen to relegate it tothe margins of our existence. The cultureof Sunday needs to be chosen and cher-ished. Today, youth sports, which almostnever took place on Sunday morning, nowdo. Our personal errands and shoppingare done on weekends. Commitment to ajob requires some people to work even on

weekends. Attending Mass can seem likean extra something done only if there istime, only if there is nothing more impor-tant to be accomplished. I have oftenfound that as busy as we all are, we willalways find time for those things we thinkare important. We need to reclaim theimportance of Sunday worship, not as anextra, but as an essential element of link-ing liturgy and life. Sports, daily duties,work schedules - choose to reclaimSunday!

THIRD - Do THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OFME

More than the simple recollection of pastevents, this invitation from the Lord callsfor a response. Christ offers himself to usanew in every Eucharist. Do what inremembrance? Observe religious ritual?No! We are invited to offer ourselves toGod through Christ! Why should weoffer ourselves? We must communicategratitude as an outward expression of ouracceptance of the Lord's invitation. Howshould we offer ourselves? We should befilled with exuberance and joyful accept-ance and awe at what Christ's gift meansto us. This concept changes the reason

why we welcome each other at Mass, whywe create an atmosphere of hospitalityand why we try to create an environmentwhere the Word of the Lord is proclaimedand heard. In addition, it clarifies why weshould be working hard to preach inspira-tional messages and engage one another inmeaningful reflection, and why care andreverence are important, as we share atthe eucharistic table. Also, it defines whymusic that is well chosen and easily sung,as well as an environment creatively andtastefully decorated, mean so much. Allof these considerations collectively con-nect us to Christ in very tangible ways.

We validate this insight from the Gospelof John where the focus of the LastSupper is not on the institution narrative,but on service. It is here that we see Jesuswash the feet of his disciples. Every HolyThursday, we renew that intimate connec-tion that Christ made with his apostles.Chapter 13 begins, "Now before the festi-val of Passover, Jesus knew that his hourhad come to depart from this world andgo to the Father. Having loved his ownwho were in the world, he loved them tothe end." 5 Make no mistake about it.

This encounter withChrist was deeplyimprinted on thehearts of those whowere present, and as aresult, their heartsstirred to go out anddo as he had done!Jesus could not havebeen more clear whenhe said, "You call meteacher and Lord -and you are right, forthat is what I am. Soif I, your Lord andTeacher, have washedyour feet, you alsoought to wash oneanother's feet. For Ihave set you anexample that you alsoshould do as I havedone to you!" 7

No one who encoun-ters Christ remainspassive. When theLord touches our life,our response is freelyand energetically cho-sen. Becoming active

requires little coercion. Effectiveeucharistic celebrations thrust us into act-ing and into responding to what we havereceived. We cannot limit ourselves tojust celebrating Eucharist. We mustbecome Eucharist for others!

FOURTH - EMBRACE THE AUTHENTIC

EUCHARISTIC MISSION

Times of change, uncertainty and crisisforce us to consider what we are really allabout. To come together about where weare and what we really believe is impor-tant! Sometimes, that means being radi-cal! Did you ever consider how thosefirst Christians succeeded? They wereoutnumbered, lacked any real power, andwere mocked by those who thought, atbest, that they had come up with a greatstory about resurrection from the dead.How did they convince people to leavepaganism behind and to follow Christ?Their beliefs were very obvious by whatthey were doing with their lives.

In recent years, the Church as an institu-tion has suffered damage and lost some ofits credibility. Our young people andyoung adults are a major concern becausethey see the Church as irrelevant andremain indifferent or apathetic about ourfaith. We are struggling with outdatedmodels of religious education; we aregrappling with those for whom faith isimportant, but feel that the Church isunnecessary. What will restore confi-dence among the people? Faithfulness tothe mission will.

Benedict XVI in his ApostolicExhortation, Sacramentum Carita tis,Paragraph 89 affirms, "The union ofChrist brought about by the Eucharist alsobrings newness to our social relations... Icannot possess Christ for myself, I canonly belong to him in union with all thosewho have become, or who will become,his own. The relationship between theEucharistic Mystery and social commit-ment must be made explicit." 8

This past summer at my parish, a visitingpriest spoke, requesting funds for the mis-sions. He gave an outstanding talk and, asa result, a youth mission trip waslaunched. God touched people's heartsand activity flowed from that stroke. Thefaithful came hungry and left satisfied andready to do for others. We need to tell

17

[

these stories. We need to make the pres-ence of Christ unequivocal. People willvalue their eucharistic experience withmuch more fervor than just, "I'm going toMass," when the experience is committedto tangible results.

The Gospel of Luke, 19, tells the amazingstory of Jesus and Zaccheus. After havingreceived the unmerited presence of theLord when Jesus exclaimed, "I want todine with you, Zaccheus;" his life com-pletely changes. His encounter withChrist leads him to give half his posses-sions to the poor. Further, Luke'sEmmaus story describes hearts burningwhen there was a realization of who wasspeaking, and a drive to tell others. Thereare so many narratives that fill the pagesof Scripture with this simple formula: anencounter with Christ leads to action.The link is evident. Therefore, theeucharistic meal takes on greater meaningand significance.

FIFTH - SHARE OUR EUCHARISTIC LIFE

Evangelization is a way of life now. It isour responsibility. What we receive in theEucharist is the living God, not just ablessed and holy object. In John'seucharistic discourse in Chapter 6 of hisGospel, he reveals, "Jesus said to them,Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eatthe flesh of the Son of Man and drink hisblood, you do not have life within you.Whoever eats my flesh and drinks myblood remains in me and I in him. Just asthe living Father sent me and I have lifebecause of the Father, so also the one whofeeds on me will have life because ofme," 10

Vatican II illuminated the role of theChurch in its Decree on the Apostolate ofLay People, stating that "The Church wasfounded so that by spreading Christ'skingdom throughout the world to theglory of God the Father, every man andwoman may share in the saving work ofredemption so that through them theentire world may truly be directed towardsChrist.""

Therefore, we not only receive somethingsimply to take it, but we are also givenreal life now and for all eternity. That lifecalls us to active involvement. No flour-ishing relationship can be satisfied byone-sided taking. There is always a give18

and take, a sharing that defines a solidbond. In the Eucharist, we are fed withreal life at the altar so that we can take itfrom the table. That is why we processtoward the altar during Communion in theact of receiving, and proceed from thetable back to the assembly to take that lifeto the world in which we live. We cancarry it into our homes, which need tobecome faith centered again; to our jobs;to our communities. What are the issuesthat plague our communities? Violence,gangs, drugs, hatred, a lack of safe placesfor children to play - you can identifythem. How can people filled with the lifeof Christ creatively assist and help thebetterment of others?

The document continues, "In the Churchthere is diversity of ministry, but unity ofmission. To the apostles and their succes-sors, Christ has entrusted the office ofteaching, sanctifying and governing in hisname and by his power. Lay people,too ... play their part in the mission of thewhole people of God in the Church and inthe world. In the concrete, their aposto-late is exercised when they work, to evan-gelize others and make them holy; it isexercised too when they endeavor to havethe Gospel spirit permeate and improvethe temporal order... Charity, which isthe soul of the apostolate, is given to themand nourished in them by the sacramentsand especially the Eucharist'?"

How often have you heard the mantra,Time, Talent, Treasure? Stewardshipefforts in our parishes over the years getus all to look at our lives through the lensof faith. We have been given much forwhich to be thankful. This ongoing effortis not just about more volunteers for ourChurch programs or more money to payour bills, but it is about our responsibilityto use what the Lord has given us. Howmany of us sit back and criticize famouspeople or wealthy sports figures, demand-ing that they offer some of their bigmoney to others? In fact, some do andthat gesture garners a lot of publicity.Some corporations involve their employ-ees; some even require their employees tobe engaged in community service. Attimes, publicity on television and on theinternet lures people to give and getinvolved.

Going to Church often leads to a differentexperience. Why go to Church? When

we are there, we can seem listless, dis-tracted, and overly concerned about our-selves and our plight. But somethingmore is waiting for us. Faithful to ourbaptismal call, we can use the gift of lifethat Christ gives in the Eucharist to com-mit ourselves to others, changing theirlives. People can be of assistance to thebereaved, the divorced, caretakers, thosewho deal with disabilities, those who lackhope, the fearful, those who need love,and those who are truly poor. People areliving longer and support for our elderlyand their families can be such a blessing.These are real life gifts to others that flowfrom our connection to the living presenceof Christ!

Eucharist is not simply an event we attendto watch, to seek entertainment, to discerna commentary on life. We must go toreceive and to have our time with theLord so that we can answer the challengewith enthusiasm. Eucharist is a call toaction! We are transformed to be moreand more like Christ. .. to change our-selves to change the world.

Let us all bring our fervor, our hope, ourfailings, our suffering, and our lives tooffer to the one who can make impossiblethings happen. Christ lives in theEucharist. Christ lives through theEucharist. And he is alive through allwho will go out into the deep and followevery day!

1 Adapted from Connections, ed by MediaWorks, Londonderry, New Hampshire;(personal copy)

2 "Sacrosanctum Concilium" in The BasicSixteen Documents Vatican 1I, ed AustinFlannery, O.P. (New York; CostelloPublishing, 1996); pg. 122: 10

3 William J. Bausch, Brave New ChurchConnecticut: Twenty- Third Publications2001;pg.231

4 Flannery, pg. 122 : 95 Benedict XVI, Post- Synodal Apostolic

Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis (22February 2007); 76

6 John 13:1 (New Revised Standard Version,Catholic Edition)

7 John 13: 13-15 (NRSV)8 Benedict XVI; 899 Luke 19: 510 John 6: 53-5711 "Apostolicarn Actuositatem" in The Basic

Sixteen Documents Vatican 1I, ed AustinFlannery, O.P. (New York; CostelloPublishing, 1996); pg. 405: 2

12 Ibid pg. 405-406: 2-3

LITURGY

FORTY

YEARS

AFTER THE

COUNCILCodlricd Danneels

Cardinal Archbishop of

Mechelen-Brussels, Bel&um

Boston College Canisius Lecture:April 27, 2007 by Godfried Danneels

August 27,2007.

Reprinted from America, August 27,2007with permission of America Press, Inc.,

© 2007. All rights reserved. For subscrip-.tion information, call 1-800-627-9533 or

visit www.americamagazine.org.

Itmust be difficult to imagine, forthose who have not experienced it forthemselves, just how much liturgical

praxis has changed in less than half a cen-tury. The evolution which has taken placein the last thirty years is barely percepti-ble nowadays since the new liturgicalmodel is considered evident practicallyeverywhere. Such a situation is certainlygratifying but does it mean that the pro-found intentions of SacrosanctumConcilium have thereby been realized?Perhaps now is the appropriate momentfor an evaluation.

It is evident that the last half century hasbrought about a major change in the rela-tionship between the minister and thepeople in the liturgy. The situation mightbe roughly stated as follows: prior to theliturgical reforms the distance betweenthe minister and the people was clearlydesignated. This was even given materialexpression in the ordering of churchbuildings: the distinct choir area reservedto the priest, the altar oriented to the East,priest and people separated by a commun-ion rail. Even more questionable than thefeatures of church architecture was theparallel configuration of the celebration:it being frequently the case that the priestcelebrated the official liturgy while at oneand the same time the people set abouttheir personal devotions. The use of Latin,of course, had a significant role to play inthis parallel configuration.

The consequence of all this was the factthat the liturgy came to be considereduntouchable, an entity regulated byrubrics to be performed with great obedi-ence and respect. Liturgy was simply agiven, and a good liturgist was seen forthe most part as an observant performer.The people assisted, of course, but tooklittle or no part in the liturgy itself.

ACTIVE PARTICIPATION

From its very beginnings, the aim of theliturgical movement, which originated inBelgium in 1909, was to close the gapbetween the official liturgy of the priestand that of the people. The term 'activeparticipation' was born out of this move-ment and has since become part of ourcommon usage. It became a key term inthe liturgical constitution of Vatican II.Active participation was first promotedthrough the circulation of the people's

missals which contained the Sunday litur-gy: the faithful were at least able to fol-low along. Before long, however, a desirefor more than just following in the bookemerged: people wanted to participate andjoin in. Vatican II satisfied this desire byintroducing the use of the vernacular, bysimplifying liturgical symbolism to makeit more transparent, by returning to thepraxis of the early church and droppingelements which had later come to over-shadow the essentials, and by a correctdistribution of roles in the service of theliturgy. The result was a far greaterinvolvement of the people, even to thevery heart of the liturgy.

FROM RUBRICISM TO MANIPULATION

The active involvement of the people inthe liturgy is, of course, an unparalleledgift from the Council to the People ofGod. As with every worthy reform, how-ever, there is a shadow side. Active par-ticipation in the liturgy, preparing togeth-er, concern to get as close as possible tothe culture and sensitivity of the faithfulcan lead imperceptibly to a sort of takingpossession of the liturgy. Participationand mutual celebration can lead to a sub-tle form of manipulation. In such an eventthe liturgy is not only set free of itsuntouchable quality-which in itself isnot a bad thing-but it becomes in asense the property of those who celebrate,a terrain given over to their "creativity."Those who serve the liturgy - both priestsand laity-become its "owners." In somecases this can even lead to a sort of litur-gical "coup" in which the sacred is elimi-nated, the language trivialized and thecult turned into a social event. In a word,the real subject of the liturgy is no longerthe Christ who through the Spirit wor-ships the Father and sanctifies the peoplein a symbolic act. The real subject is thehuman person or the celebrating commu-nity. The exaggerated emphasis frombefore the 1950's on discipline, obedi-ence, fidelity to the rubrics, the receptionand entering of a pre-existent entity isreplaced by self-will and by the elimina-tion of every sense of mystery in the litur-gy. In this case the liturgy is no longer"leit-ourgia": the work of the people andfor the people with respect to their rela-tionship with God, it becomes a purelyhuman activity.

Fortunately, the trend we have outlined is

not universal. Nevertheless, any attemptto evaluate liturgical praxis in our timewould be wrong to ignore it.

THE LITURGY Is BEYOND Us

There is a liturgical ground rule whichruns as follows: the liturgy is first "God'swork on us" before being our work onGod. Liturgy is datum or prior given in itsvery essence: it is beyond us and hasalready existed for a long time, longbefore we could participate in it. The act-ing subject of the liturgy is the risenChrist He is the first and only HighPriest, the only one who is competent tobring worship to God and to sanctify thepeople. This is not only an abstract theo-logical truth: it must become evident andvisible in the liturgy. The core of the litur-gy is already given in the Lord's acts ofinstitution. This does not mean that theindividual and the celebrating communityare neither capable nor permitted to makea creative contribution. The community iscreative, but it is not an "instance of cre-ation." Otherwise the liturgy would nolonger be the epiphany of the Christianmysteries through the service of theChurch, the continuation of his incarna-tion, crucifixion and resurrection, the"incarnation" of a divine project in historyand in the world of human persons viasacred symbols. In such a situation theliturgy would become nothing more thanthe community celebrating itself.

The liturgy "pre-exists": the celebratingcommunity enters into it as into a pre-established, divine and spiritual architec-ture. To a certain degree this is also deter-mined by the historical location of Christand his sacred mysteries. The Eucharist assuch is not a "religious meal" but ratherthe making present of a particular meal:that of Christ with his disciples on thenight before he suffered. So, we are notcreators, we are servants and guardians ofthe mysteries. We do not own them nordid we author them.

THE FUNDAMENTAL ATTITUDE OF THE

'HOMO LITURGICUS'

This entails that the fundamental attitudeof the "homo liturgicus" - both individu-ally and collectively - is one of receptivi-ty, readiness to listen, self-giving and self-relativizing. It is the attitude of faith andof faithful obedience. It is not because a20

particular caricature of this attitude ofobedience led at one time to slavish andnonsensical dressage and rubricism, thatthe sense of "entering in to what tran-scends us" has to be so diminished.

The "homo liturgicus" does not manipu-late, nor is his or her action restricted toself-expression or auto-realization. It is anattitude of orientation towards God, readi-ness to listen, obedience, grateful recep-tion, wonder, adoration and praise. It is anattitude of listening and seeing, of whatGuardini called "contemplating," an atti-tude so alien to the "homo faber" in manyof us. In short, the fundamental attitude ofthe "homo liturgicus" is none other thanan attitude of prayer, of handing ourselvesover to God and letting his will be done inus.

It should not surprise us, then, that in aperiod of history like our own, with itsactive intervention in everyday reality andits submission of that reality to our scien-tific thinking and our technologicalexpertise, it will be particularly difficult tobe genuinely liturgically-minded. The"contemplative" dimension of the humanperson is no longer evident these days.This being the case, the core of the liturgyis even less evident. Active participation,therefore, has to be situated within this"contemplative" attitude, in which case itmust also bear the particular characteris-tics of such an attitude.

THE INcOMPREHENSmILITY OF THE LITURGY

One of the primary concerns of Vatican IIand of the Church is and remains that theliturgy be understood by the celebratingcommunity. Every reform proposed by theConstitution is rooted in that concern."Understand what you do" is a basicdemand of everything we do, includingwhat we do in the liturgy.

The incomprehensibility of the liturgy wasblamed, in the first place, on language.Immediately after the introduction of thevernacular, however, it became apparentthat it had to do with more than justIan-guage usage: the content of the liturgyitself was equally unfamiliar.

The liturgy, of course, is almost entirelystructured on the bible. It is said that theHebrew Bible or Old Testament is particu-larly unfamiliar to us. Everything takesplace in an agrarian context which barely

applies nowadays in many parts of theworld. At the same time, the biblical textsare rooted in a rural culture, and a pecu-liarly Mediterranean one at that. Manyimages, such as shepherds, flocks or waterwells are no longer part of the day to dayvista of the modem city dweller. In otherwords, the bible uses a language from abygone era.

The non-biblical texts in the liturgy arealso strange, however. The Latin collectswith their succinct and metrical structureare simply un-translatable, not so muchbecause the words cannot be transposedinto a modern language but because thementality and culture from which theystem has disappeared. A great many texts,when detached from their musical setting,end up seeming extremely archaic; think,for example, of the Salve Regina and theDies Irae or even the ordinary sungGregorian Introits and CommunionAntiphons leaving aside the archaic imageof God which such texts maintain (theGod who sleeps, the God of wrath etc.)

Certain symbols - although secondary-no longer seem to function: the drop ofwater in the chalice, mixing a particle ofthe host with the wine, the lavabo, thewashing of the feet. One frequently hearsreproaches such as "old fashioned,""passe," "medieval" and "monastic."

ABBREVIATE OR ELIMINATE?

People often opt for a short term solution,which barely touches on the real problem.In the case of the liturgy certain termswere replaced with other more under-standable terms. There are biblical terms,however, which cannot be replaced. Whatdo we do, for example, with words like"resurrection," "Easter," "Eucharist,""metanoia," "sin"? They are part of a sortof biblical and liturgical "mother tongue"which simply cannot be replaced. Theyhave to be learned. It is hard to imaginean orthodox Jew using nowadays a differ-ent term for "shabbat" or "pesach."

r--

Certain biblical images are, indeed, barelyperceptible in our modern urban culture.The sight of shepherds and flocks is nolonger an every day occurrence. Does thismean, however, that such images are nolonger comprehensible in themselves? Isit because no one has ever met a seraphthat the metaphorical power of this angel-ic messenger no longer speaks to us? Half

of the poetry ever written makes use ofimages and terms which are not part ofthe daily life and environment of the read-er. A great many symbols from medievalGerman culture were taken up in theRoman Pontifical.

People sometimes opt for alternative,poetic texts, especially for weddings andbaptisms. Leaving aside the fact that thereis a profound theological distinction to bemade between an aesthetically valuabletext and a biblical text, it is also true thatmany such texts belong to an even morelimited culture than the bible which, itwould appear, possesses a much greateruni versality.

The remedy employed in most cases oftendoes not help. Most of the time it is limit-ed to questions such as: "What can wedrop?" "How can we abbreviate?" "Whatwould function better to express what isgoing on in our lives as individuals and asa community?" Is the latter question justi-fied, however? What precisely do we haveto say in the first instance? What is goingon in our lives? Or what God is saying tous? In a manner, of course, which we canunderstand.

There appears to be only one solution: ifthe liturgy is not simply a structuring ofcommon human religiosity, but rather theepiphany of God in human history (fromAbraham to Christ), then we cannot avoidthe need for catechesis and initiation.Liturgy demands schooling because it isboth proclamation and celebration of mys-teries, mysteries which have occurred inthe history of Judaism and Christianity.

WHAT IS UNDERSTANDING?

What exactly is understanding? It is evi-dent that if the liturgy is the epiphany ofGod's dealings with his Church then thedeepest core or heart of the liturgy willnever completely be open to our grasp.There is indeed a hard core in the litur-gy - the mystery - which is ungraspable.One can only enter into it in faith.

There is more to say about understanding,however. Our contemporaries often con-ceive understanding as the ability to graspat first hearing. Something is understand-able if we can grasp it immediately. Suchan approach is valid for the ordinaryobjects of our knowledge which can onlybe grasped at a purely cognitive level but

this is more a question of registering thanunderstanding. Where the depths ofhuman-and divine-reality are con-cerned this approach does not work. Love,death, joy, solidarity, knowledge of God,can never be grasped at once and on firstinspection. In these cases, understandingis more a question of the biblical notion of"knowing-penetrating." It is a lengthy andprogressive process of becoming familiarwith a particular reality. The same is truefor the liturgy. It is not an object ofknowledge in the commonplace sense ofthe word. It is not an object of knowledgeat all, rather it is a source of knowledge, asource of understanding. This is whyanalysis is out of place here, only a pro-longed listening and familiarization isappropriate. This implies also that theliturgy will only be open to understandingfrom a perspective of "empathy." Theliturgy lets itself be understood only bythose who have faith in and who love it.For this reason it remains inaccessible andincomprehensible outside of the faith.

In addition, the liturgy is only understand-able with a certain repetitiveness.Profound realities only gradually yieldtheir full significance. This is why wehave the phenomenon of "ritual" in theliturgy; and whoever speaks of "ritual"speaks of repetition.

Many changes in the liturgy in order tomake it understandable have been ineffi-cient because they focused on the immedi-ate, cognitive, informative aspect ofunderstanding. They wanted to explaineverything, to provide commentary, toanalyze. They never lead to familiaritywith the liturgy. They are surgical andmedical interventions (abbreviating,replacing, scrapping, describing) on adying reality, a sort of palliative carewhich can never heal the sick individual.The only approach is the "dialogical"approach: allowing the liturgy time to saywhat it has to say; listening attentively toits harmonics and allowing its deepermeaning to unfold; not looking for analternative but letting the liturgy speak foritself and expose its own virtualities.

OUR DISRUPTED RELATIONSIllP WITH THE

LITURGY

The incomprehensibility of the liturgy isnot so much due to the unintelligibility ofits major symbols. Indeed, all of us are

well able to grasp the deep fascinationwhich flows forth from symbols such asfire, light, water, bread, wine, laying on ofhands, anointing. These major (natural)symbols speak to us all in our archetypalimagination. Secondary symbols can, ofcourse, be more problematic. At the sametime, however, they are of lesser impor-tance and Vatican II correctly discarded anumber of them.

A more significant contributor to theproblem of understanding is the fact thatthe symbolic universe within which suchsymbols functioned has been lost.Removed from its proper context, a litur-gical symbol is like a fish out of water,and is left bereft of much of its vitality.Proof of this fact can best be found inwhat one might call "contrary" situations,where the symbolic universe continues tothrive even today. Why is it so that shortLatin phrases and Gregorian refrains con-tinue to function in Taize but not in theparishes? Because they are in their properplace within the religious community ofTaize and its monastic liturgical life. Whyis it that the symbols we have been dis-cussing continue to function in theabbeys, the monastery churches and thecharismatic communities? For the samereason! Why does a Gregorian requiemfunction well at a funeral? Liturgical com-prehensibility also depends on a numberof non-liturgical surrounding elements. Itis our entire relationship with the litur-gy-even outside the cultic celebration-that makes so much possible.

The incomprehensibility of the liturgy isnot only due to the liturgy itself but inpart to us. Our own attitude needs to beworked on. We need to examine our glob-al relationship with God, our faith, ourlifestyle, etc. Does the liturgy give mean-ing to these dimensions of our life or doesit turn them into a corpus extraneum? Weneed to be aware of the fact that under-standing the liturgy is far more than acognitive exercise; it is a loving "enteringin." At the same time our vision or con-templative gaze is weak. Since theRenaissance we have lost our disinterest-ed contemplative ability; it was pushedaside to make way for analytic observa-tion.

(Continued in the next issue of Word on Worship)

21

A CHALLENGING REFORMIn these pages Archbishop Piero Marini reveals the vision, courage, and faith of the pastors andscholars who struggled to implement the Second Vatican Council's teachings on the liturgy. Whilein some circles it is fashionable to propose "a reform of the liturgical reform," any such revisionneeds to take into account the history of the cons ilium - the organism established by the Holy Seeto carry out the initial liturgical changes. This story of the work of the consilium offers afascinating glimpse into the struggles and tensions that accompanied therealization of the council'sdream to promote the "full, conscious and active participation" ofthe faithful in Roman Catholicworship.

Piero Marini was ordained on June 27, 1965. He became the personal secretary for ArchbishopAnnibale Bugnini in 1975 and in 1987 was appointed the head of the Office for the LiturgicalCelebrations of the Supreme Pontiff. In 2003, Marini was appointed Titular Archbishop ofMartirano. He also served as the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations from 1987-2007.Paper, 224 pp., 6 x 9 .

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