Week 11: Liturgy and Sacraments (¶1066-1209, 1667-90)

1. What is the Liturgy?

Liturgy is the communal participation in the divine work of redemption that was accomplished in the Paschal mystery of Jesus Christ. Liturgy involves the proclamation of the Gospel, visible signs of communion, and a participation in the triune life of God through prayer and worship. Liturgy does not exhaust the life of the Church but is the heart and soul of the Church’s existence. One might say that liturgy makes the Church.

2. The Trinity and the Liturgy

a) The Father is the one who blesses creation, and thus is the source and ground of the liturgy (¶1077-83)

b) The Son, Jesus Christ, is the one who accomplished redemption in the Paschal event and unites the earthly and heavenly liturgies as the one Mediator between God and humankind (¶1084-90)

c) The Holy Spirit is the active agent within the Church, the one who empowers the liturgy—who prepares, awakens, illumines, vivifies, recalls, actualizes, sanctifies, and transforms all in the service of making Christ present to the people of God (¶1091-112)

3. Different Dimensions of the Sacraments

a) Five dimensions (¶1113-30):

a. Sacraments of Christ
b. Sacraments of the Church
c. Sacraments of Faith
d. Sacraments of Salvation
e. Sacraments of Eternal Life

b) Split up into groups of two or three and come up with a definition of a sacrament on the basis of one of these dimensions. We’ll gather again afterwards to see how each of these five dimensions illuminates the meaning of a sacrament.

4. The Celebration of the Liturgy

a) Who?
b) How?
c) When?
d) Where?