235. How does the Church on earth celebrate the liturgy? (part 1)

 

235. How does the Church on earth celebrate the liturgy? (part 1)     

(Comp 235) The Church on earth celebrates the liturgy as a priestly people in which each one acts according to his proper function in the unity of the Holy Spirit. The baptized offer themselves in a spiritual sacrifice; the ordained ministers celebrate according to the Order they received for the service of all the members of the Church; the bishops and priests act in the Person of Christ the Head.

“In brief”

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. 

 To deepen and explain

(CCC 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" (SC 26). 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 quasi-privately" (SC 27).  

On reflection

 (CCC 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 Chrisian men they may offer spiritual sacrifices" (LG 10; cf. 1 Pet 2:4-5). This "common priesthood" is that of Christ the sole priest, in which all his members participate (Cf. LG 10; 34; PO 2): 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 (SC 14; Cf. 1 Pet 2:9; 2:4-5). [IT CONTINUES]   

 

 (The question: “How does the Church on earth celebrate the liturgy?” continues)