Four Questions about the celebration of the seven sacraments:

1. Four Questions about the celebration of the seven sacraments: Who celebrates the liturgy? How is the liturgy celebrated? When is the liturgy celebrated? Where is the liturgy celebrated?

2. Who Celebrates the Liturgy? • The Whole Christ (1136) • The liturgy is celebrated by the "whole Christ," • Celebrants in Heaven (1137-1139) • The Book of Revelation tells that in heaven there is "one seated on the throne" (4:2). The Lamb is "standing, as though it had been slain" (5:6). "The river of the water of life" flows from the throne of the Lamb (22:1). • It speaks of the heavenly powers, all creation, the servants of the Old and New Covenants, the new People of God, the martyrs and the Mother of God, and finally, "a multitude which no one could number."

3. Celebrants on Earth (1140) • Because liturgical services are celebrations of the Church it is actually the whole community celebrates. • The sacraments affect individual members differently, according to their role and actual participation. • All the faithful should actively participate, because they are a "royal priesthood" and have a right and obligation coming from their Baptism (Second Vatican Council). • Various Functions (1143-1144) • There are different functions. Ordained ministers are called by God and consecrated by Holy Orders. They act in the person of Christ. • Others: servers, readers, commentators, choir, are not consecrated by Holy Orders • They exercise some true liturgical functions.

4. How is the liturgy celebrated? • With Signs: • Liturgy uses signs and symbols. Their meanings come from creation, culture, events in the Old Testament and revelation given in the life of Christ. • People express and perceive spiritual realities through physical signs and symbols. • We communicate by language, gestures and actions. • So by these means God speaks to man. Light, word, water, fire, and the earth itself speak of God. • These realities can also express actions by which God makes man holy and also man worships God. • Washing, breaking bread, drinking from a cup can express God's presence and man's thankfulness. • Man has always used these things in religious rites. The Church's liturgy makes them holy and gives them the dignity of signs of Christ's grace.

5. Signs of the Covenant • God gave the Israelites special signs and symbols: circumcision, anointing kings and priests, sacrifices and especially the Passover. • They prefigured sacraments of the New Covenant. • Christ uses signs • Jesus used signs to show the kingdom's mysteries. • He gave new meaning to Old Covenant signs (especially the Exodus and Passover). • Since Pentecost, the Spirit works through signs in the sacraments. Christ's saving power comes this way. They anticipate the glory of heaven.

6. Liturgy's Word and Action • In the liturgy of the Word, the signs nourish faith: • The veneration of the book • a prominent place for the lectern/ ambo • the reading • the homily • the response

7. Music • Sacred music and words form are part of the liturgy • The Old Covenant had the singing of inspired psalms. T • he Church continues also makes “melody to the Lord’ (Eph 5:19). • "He who sings prays twice" (St. Augustine). Three Criteria for Music • Beauty suitable for prayer • Participation of the assembly • Reflect the solemn character of the celebration • This harmony of songs, music, words, and actions are expressed in the cultural richness of people. • The texts reflect Catholic doctrine • They are chiefly taken from the Scripture and liturgical texts

8. Icons of Christ • Christian icons express the Gospel message in images. • This can be done because God became a real human being. He is not imaginary. • Icons of Mary • Images of the Mother of God and of the saints manifest the "cloud of witnesses" (Heb 12:1) to Jesus Christ. • The Second Council of Nicaea : "the figures of Christ, Our Lady, angels, and saints can be exhibited in the holy churches of God, in houses and on streets." • The beauty of the images can move people to contemplation. (cf. St. John Damascene).

9. When is the Liturgy celebrated? • Feasts Throughout the Year • Every Sunday, the Church recalls the memory of Christ's Resurrection. • Once a year, she recalls his Passion and Resurrection. • Throughout the year, the Church makes present the riches of Christ's power and merits so that people may be filled with saving grace. • The Israelites kept feasts to commemorate God's actions, to give thanks, and to teach new generations. • So also does the Church • Today • The Church's prayer often uses the Word "today." • Man is called to enter into this "today," • It is "the hour" of Jesus' Passover which underlies all history. • "This is the mystical Passover, a day which is never blotted out" (St. Hippolytus).

10. Sunday - The First and Eighth Day • The Church celebrates Christ's death and rising on Sunday. • It is also the first day of creation and the eighth day of creation. • On Sunday the faithful gather to thank God who "has begotten them again by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ"

11. Easter - "The Feast of Feasts" • The brilliance of the Resurrection fills the whole liturgical year. The year is transfigured by the liturgy because God is at work. • Easter is the "Feast of feasts" (just as the Eucharist is the "Sacrament of sacraments"). Easter is "the Great Sunday" (St. Athanasius) and Holy Week is "the Great Week." • The Resurrection permeates our history until all is subject to him at the end of time.

12. The Liturgical Year • Easter is celebrated on the Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. • Another cycle of feasts (Annunciation, Christmas, and Epiphany) surround Christ's birth, which commemorates the beginning of our salvation. • Honoring the Saints • The annual liturgical year also honours the Blessed Mary, Mother of God, because she is so linked with her Son's redeeming work. • "In Mary, the Church contemplates the faultless image which she desires to be“ • Liturgical feasts of martyrs and saints proclaim Christ's death and rising in those faithful servants.

13. The Divine Office • Sanctifying the Whole Day • In the "divine office" the mystery of Christ permeates the whole day. • The divine office "makes the whole course of the day and night holy by praise of God. • The Liturgy of the Hours is the prayer of the whole People of God (priests, religious, and laity), all should participate. • Pastors should see that vespers be said in Church on Sundays and on more solemn feasts. The laity are encouraged to say the divine office.

14. Meditating on the Word • The Liturgy uses hymns and litanies according to the liturgical season. • Readings from the Word and the writings from spiritual masters reveal the mystery being celebrated. • Meditating upon God's Word (LectioDivina) is rooted in the liturgy.

15. Where is the Liturgy celebrated? Anywhere • The whole earth is sacred. Christians can worship everywhere. • Constructing Churches • Christians construct churches to make visible God’s presence among men. • Churches need to be built in good taste, as Christ is present and active. • Church Furnishings • The altar is the Lord's Cross, the table of Our Lord, and a symbol of Christ's tomb. • The tabernacle should be in the most worthy place, fostering adoration. • The sacred chrism, the oils of catechumens and of the sick are be reserved and venerated in the sanctuary. • The chair of the priest reflects his role of presiding over the assembly. • The lectern (ambo) should provide a suitable place for proclaiming God's Word.

16. Places for Sacraments • There must be a place for the celebration of Baptism and for fostering a remembrance of Baptism (holy water fonts). • There must be a place for the sacrament of Penance • There must be a place for silent prayer. • Crossing the Threshold (1186) • By entering the church, the person crosses the threshold from a world wounded by sin into the world of Christ's new life. The visible church is a symbol of the Father's house, open and welcoming to all God's children.