Primer on Liturgical Catechesis Leigh E Sterten

1. Primer on Liturgical Catechesis Leigh E Sterten

2. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) reminds us that the term, “liturgy,” “... originally meant a ‘public work’ or a ‘service in the name of/on behalf of the people’” (1069).

3. Unfortunately, it often seems that if liturgy is the work of the people, then many of us should be collecting unemployment!

4. While the priest presides, it is indeed the community present that is necessary for complete celebration. Christ is present to those gathered for liturgy in four ways: in the person of the priest, in the word, in the Eucharist, and in the assembly.

5. Without our full, active, and conscious participation, the celebration suffers.

6. Liturgical Catechesis

7. The Second Vatican Council document, Sacrosanctumconcilium, is very clear about the place liturgy holds in the church: “The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; it is also the font from which all her power flows” (10).

8. In the National Directory for Catechesis we read, “Catechesis both precedes the Liturgy and springs from it” (33).

9. Pope John Paul II wrote these words in CatechesiTradendae in 1979, which help us understand the previous statement: “In other words, sacramental life is impoverished and very soon turns into hollow ritualism if it is not based on serious knowledge of the meaning of the sacraments, and catechesis becomes intellectualized if it fails to come alive in sacramental practice” (23).

10. The Catechism concludes that because liturgy is the source and summit of the church, “It is therefore the privileged place for catechizing the people of God” (1074).

11. The aim of liturgical catechesis is to draw people ever more fully into the mystery of Christ, “by proceeding from the visible to the invisible, from the sign to the thing signified, from the ‘sacraments’ to the ‘mysteries’” (1075).

12. The Introductory Rites

13. The Mass consists of two parts, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist (GIRM 28).

14. The Introductory Rites begin the Mass in its entirety, but also specifically the Liturgy of the Word. The purpose of these rites is to “… ensure that the faithful who come together as one establish communion and dispose themselves properly…” (46).

15. It follows, therefore, that the Entrance hymn serves not only to begin the celebration, but to gather the assembly as one, and to focus all on the liturgical season or feast being celebrated (47).

16. The musical selection should reflect these requirements.

17. Upon reaching the altar, all ministers offer reverence with a profound bow (49).

18. When we make a profound bow, our bodies bend forward, from the waist. In a simple bow, as is customary before receiving the body and blood of Christ, we bend from the neck only.

19. Following this, the priest and deacon kiss the altar, and, depending on the character of the celebration, the priest may also incense the altar and the cross (49).

20. The Greeting from the priest, following the Sign of the Cross, “signifies the presence of the Lord to the community gathered there ….

21. By this Greeting and the people’s response, the mystery of the Church gathered together is made manifest” (50).

22. The Act of Penitence begins following a brief period of silence. Through this act, the assembly offers a general confession. Although lacking the efficacy of the sacrament of penance, the act concludes with absolution (51).

23. If not included with the act, the Kyrie Eleison is chanted by the entire assembly.

24. The text of the Gloria is “… a very ancient and venerable hymn in which the Church, gathered together in the Holy Spirit, glorifies and entreats God the Father and the Lamb” (53). As such, the text may not be replaced with anything else.

25. The Introductory Rites conclude with the Collect, the only one used during the Mass. After the priest invites the assembly to pray, there is a period of silence.

26. Some may mistake this pause as the result of a non-observant altar server looking for the Sacramentary, but the silence is intended so that all gathered “may be conscious of the fact that they are in God’s presence and may formulate their petitions mentally” (54).

27. An easy way to remember this purpose is to think of the priest as “collecting” the prayers of the faithful gathered.

28. For reflection and application: How can we connect the Introductory Rites and what takes place during them to the lived experiences of young people? What is most important for young people to understand about the Introductory Rites? How can we assist young people in connecting to the Introductory Rites? Are there games or simulation techniques that may assist us? If young people truly understood and engaged fully in the Introductory Rites, what would that look like?

29. The Liturgy of the Word

30. Before the first reading is proclaimed, a period of silence is to be observed, as well as following each reading, and at the conclusion of the homily, thereby promoting meditation on the word of God, “… and so any sort of haste that hinders recollection [is] avoided” (56)

31. The readings are ordered so as to shed light “… on the unity of both Testaments and of salvation history” (57).

32. The GIRM goes on to say that no other, non-biblical texts may be substituted for the readings and Psalm. Further, “… the readings are always proclaimed from the ambo” (58).

33. The act of proclaiming the readings is ministerial in character, and thus performed by a trained lector, or in the case of the Gospel, by the deacon or the priest (59).

34. “The reading of the Gospel is the high point of the Liturgy of the Word,” therefore it is set off from the other elements (60).

35. An important part of the readings is the responsorial Psalm, which preferably is sung. More than just filler between readings, the Psalm is meant to “foster meditation on the word of God” (61).

36. Following the second reading, or whatever comes immediately before the Gospel, we have the Alleluia (or another chant dictated by the liturgical year).

37. The GIRM gives special attention to this act, saying that it “… constitutes a rite or act in itself, by which the assembly of the faithful welcomes and greets the Lord who is about to speak to them in the Gospel and professes their faith by means of the chant” (62).

38. The priest then offers the homily, which may be assigned to another priest, or perhaps to the deacon, but cannot be assigned to a lay person (66).

39. An “exposition” of the readings, the homily should “… take into account both the mystery being celebrated and the particular needs of the listeners” (65).

40. Again, observing a brief period of silence following the homily is very appropriate and recommended in the GIRM.

41. We come next to the Symbolum, better known as the Creed or Profession of Faith, which is a response to the word of God just proclaimed, as well as a way of reminding ourselves of the great mysteries of the Catholic faith, soon to be realized in the Liturgy of the Eucharist (67).

42. The conclusion of the Liturgy of the Word comes with the Prayer of the Faithful.

43. More than a simple recitation of prayers written by a minister, these prayers allow us to serve out our call in baptism to be a royal priesthood, offering prayers for the salvation of all.

44. In addition to prayers for a specific occasion: “For the needs of the Church; For public authorities and salvation of the whole world; For those burdened by any kind of difficulty; [and] For the local community” (70).

45. For reflection and application: How can we connect the Liturgy of the Word and what takes place during it to the lived experiences of young people? What is most important for young people to understand about the Liturgy of the Word? How can we assist young people in connecting to the Liturgy of the Word, week after week? Are there specific strategies that may assist us? If young people truly understood and engaged fully in the Liturgy of the Word, what would that look like?

46. The Liturgy of the Eucharist

47. Because we recall the Last Supper, “… the Church has arranged the entire celebration of the Liturgy of the Eucharist in parts corresponding to precisely [the] words and actions of Christ…” (72).

48. First, the altar is prepared with the corporal, purificator, Sacramentary, and chalice. The gifts of bread and wine, which symbolize the gifts of the people, are brought forth, as is any money collected, but the latter “are to be put in a suitable place but away from the eucharistic table” (73).

49. After receiving the gifts, the priest “washes his hands at the side of the altar, a rite that is an expression of his desire for interior purification” (76).

50. We conclude the preparation of the gifts with the priest’s Prayer over the Offerings, preparing us next for the Eucharistic Prayer.