Saturday, April 28, 2012
223. How does the Holy Spirit work in the liturgy of the Church? (part 5) (continuation)
(Comp
223 repetition) The very closest cooperation is at work in the liturgy between
the Holy Spirit and the Church. The Holy Spirit prepares the Church to
encounter her Lord. He recalls and manifests Christ to the faith of the
assembly. He makes the mystery of Christ really present. He unites the Church
to the life and mission of Christ and makes the gift of communion bear fruit in
the Church.
“In brief”
(CCC 1112) The mission of the Holy Spirit in the liturgy of
the Church is to prepare the assembly to encounter Christ; to recall and
manifest Christ to the faith of the assembly; to make the saving work of Christ
present and active by his transforming power; and to make the gift of communion
bear fruit in the Church.
To deepen and explain
(CCC 1103) Anamnesis.
The liturgical celebration always refers to God's saving interventions in
history. "The economy of Revelation is realized by deeds and words which
are intrinsically bound up with each other.... [T]he words for their part
proclaim the works and bring to light the mystery they contain" (DV 2). In
the Liturgy of the Word the Holy Spirit "recalls" to the assembly all
that Christ has done for us. In keeping with the nature of liturgical actions
and the ritual traditions of the churches, the celebration "makes a
remembrance" of the marvelous works of God in an anamnesis which may be
more or less developed. The Holy Spirit who thus awakens the memory of the
Church then inspires thanksgiving and praise (doxology). (CCC 1104) Christian liturgy not only recalls the events
that saved us but actualizes them, makes them present. The Paschal mystery of
Christ is celebrated, not repeated. It is the celebrations that are repeated,
and in each celebration there is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that makes
the unique mystery present.
On reflection
(CCC 1105) The Epiclesis
("invocation upon") is the intercession in which the priest begs the
Father to send the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, so that the offerings may become
the body and blood of Christ and that the faithful by receiving them, may
themselves become a living offering to God (Cf. Rom 12:1). (CCC 1106) Together
with the anamnesis, the epiclesis is at the heart of each sacramental
celebration, most especially of the Eucharist: You ask how the bread becomes
the Body of Christ, and the wine… the Blood of Christ I shall tell you: the
Holy Spirit comes upon them and accomplishes what surpasses every word and
thought…. Let it be enough for you to understand that it is by the Holy Spirit,
just as it was of the Holy Virgin and by the Holy Spirit that the Lord, through
and in himself, took flesh (St. John Damascene, De fide orth. 4, 13: PG 94, 1145A). [IT CONTINUES]
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