11/27/2022

The Liturgy (especially the Eucharist) is at the heart of our faith. By the Liturgy we are led into the depths of the “Sacred Mysteries” of our faith. “Sacred Mysteries” (sometimes called Paschal Mystery) refers to the Incarnation, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ followed by the descent of the Holy Spirit. These mysteries were anticipated in the Old Testament, fulfilled in the New Testament, and are repeatedly celebrated in this time of “Mystery” as we await the second coming of Christ in “Majesty.” Collectively we refer to these mysteries as our “Redemption” from the fall of mankind by Adam and Eve. If you are not able to connect what happens at Mass with these “Sacred Mysteries,” then you have not begun to plunge the depths of what is happening at Mass. But that is also the job of the Liturgy – to form/educate us into the depths of our faith. Catholics are formed FOR the Liturgy so that we can be formed BY the Liturgy.
Catholics are formed FOR the Liturgy by being baptized, by learning the Liturgical cycle of feasts for the year, by learning how the Biblical texts are ordered and explain the Paschal Mystery, and by coming to an appreciation of how to understand symbols. For example the gestures and structure of the Mass, the colors, the indicators of what season it is all have significance.
The first question to ask in understanding the Mass is, “Who is celebrating, and especially who is the primary celebrant?” That would be Jesus Christ, the High Priest, offering Himself to the Father. What about us? We who are baptized are also celebrants. By being plunged into the waters of Baptism, we become part of the Body of Christ, and it is the Body of Christ which celebrates the Eucharist. We are participants to a degree in Christ’s Priesthood, and we exercise that priesthood by offering the Sacrifice of the Mass. But it is really the total self-gift of Christ to his Father in heaven that is happening, and we have been invited to be part of that dynamic of love. We may add our own sacrifices, intentions, prayers, works, etc. as signs of our desire to be part of that exchange of love precisely because we are baptized. Non-baptized do not have that privilege because they are not part of the Body of Christ. The good news is that Christ wants absolutely EVERYONE to be part of His Body. That is part of our job – to invite others, all others, to share this wonderful, privileged experience.
Coming to terms with the privilege of being able to offer Mass and then understanding the symbols and structure are some of the ways to be formed FOR the Liturgy. It is an ongoing process. Coming to terms with formation BY the Liturgy is ongoing as well. We bring our new experiences, new awareness, life events to Mass each week or even each day, and integrate them into our relationship with Christ. The formation BY the Liturgy focuses on our relationship with Christ and how the events of our lives impact that relationship. Ultimately, our participation in the Eucharist should make us “become what we eat.” It is existential, not just rational. It involves more than just knowledge, but an experience. The signs of bread, wine, fire, words, music, silences, bread, wine, etc. all are concrete physical signs of spiritual realities. All these go to communicate the love of God that comes through His saving action at that Passover, Resurrection, Ascension, and Pentecost over two thousand years ago. That same sacrifice is what we partake in, bring ourselves and our lives to encounter, as it is made present to us in the Eucharist. The Eucharist changes all, integrates all, engulfs all, but it does it through symbols. If we don’t understand symbols, we won’t begin to understand what is going on in the Eucharist. The symbols are the windows through which we see the spiritual realities of our Redemption. I say this because our culture is quickly becoming incapable of reading symbols, but also because we are both body and soul, physical and spiritual. If we cannot connect the two, we cannot understand ourselves or our salvation.
That is one reason that we are doing the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. If you go into our cafeteria in the parish hall, you will see figures of sheep with the names of our students on them. The students listened to the passages about the Good Shepherd read to them. It says, “I am the Good Shepherd.” They easily guess that Jesus is the Good Shepherd when asked. But then when asked who the sheep are, they don’t always get it right off, and have to process it, sometimes for weeks. It is a great moment when they get it, both because it defines their relationship to Christ, but also because they are beginning to understand how to read symbols, to understand how symbols connect them with an invisible world. Someday they will understand more profoundly the Eucharist which they celebrate so often. They are being formed FOR the Liturgy – it is one of the greatest skills we can give them.

Father Albert, O.S.B.