Sunday, April 29, 2012
223. How does the Holy Spirit work in the liturgy of the Church? (part 6) (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 1107) The Holy Spirit's transforming power in the
liturgy hastens the coming of the kingdom and the consummation of the mystery of
salvation. While we wait in hope he causes us really to anticipate the fullness
of communion with the Holy Trinity. Sent by the Father who hears the epiclesis
of the Church, the Spirit gives life to those who accept him and is, even now,
the "guarantee" of their inheritance (Cf. Eph 1:14; 2 Cor 1:22). (CCC
1108) In every liturgical action the Holy Spirit is sent in order to bring us
into communion with Christ and so to form his Body. The Holy Spirit is like the
sap of the Father's vine which bears fruit on its branches (Cf. Jn 15:1-17; Gal
5:22). The most intimate cooperation of the Holy Spirit and the Church is
achieved in the liturgy. The Spirit who is the Spirit of communion, abides
indefectibly in the Church. For this reason the Church is the great sacrament
of divine communion which gathers God's scattered children together. Communion
with the Holy Trinity and fraternal communion are inseparably the fruit of the
Spirit in the liturgy (Cf. Jn 1:3-7).
On reflection
(CCC 1109) The epiclesis is also a prayer for the full
effect of the assembly's communion with the mystery of Christ. "The grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit" (2 Cor 13:13) have to remain with us always and bear fruit beyond
the Eucharistic celebration. The Church therefore asks the Father to send the
Holy Spirit to make the lives of the faithful a living sacrifice to God by
their spiritual transformation into the image of Christ, by concern for the
Church's unity, and by taking part in her mission through the witness and
service of charity. [END]
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