 |
| Part ofa series on the |
| Catholic Church |
|---|
 St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City |
| Overview |
Miscellaneous |
Links and resources |
 Catholic Church portal |
Catholic liturgy means the whole complex of officialliturgical worship, including all therites, ceremonies,prayers, and sacraments of theChurch, as opposed to private or collective devotions. In this sense the arrangement of all these services in certain set forms (including thecanonical hours, administration of sacraments, etc.) is meant. Liturgy encompasses the entire service: prayer, reading and proclamation of thescriptures, singing, gestures, movement andvestments,liturgical colours, symbols and symbolic actions, the administration ofsacraments andsacramentals.
Liturgy (fromGreek:leitourgia) is a composite word meaning originally a public duty, a service to the state undertaken by a citizen. Aleitourgos was "a man who performs a public duty", "a public servant",leitourgeo was "to do such a duty",leitourgema its performance, andleitourgia, the public duty itself.[1] So in the use of liturgy meant the public official service of the Church, that corresponded to the official service of the Temple in theOld Law.
Catholic liturgies are broadly categorized as theLatin liturgical rites of theLatin Church and theEastern Catholic liturgies of theEastern Catholic Churches.
The Catholic Church understands liturgy not only to mean the celebration of theHoly Mass, but also the celebration of theLiturgy of the Hours, bible services,[2]: Section 35(4) and the administration ofsacraments and manysacramentals.
At theSecond Vatican Council, the Council Fathers proclaimed theConstitution on the Sacred Liturgy,Sacrosanctum Concilium. There it says:
For the liturgy, "through which the work of ourredemption is accomplished", most of all in the divine sacrifice of theEucharist, is the outstanding means whereby the faithful may express in their lives, and manifest to others, the mystery ofChrist and the real nature of the true Church.[2]: Section 2
The liturgy is considered as an exercise of thepriestly office of Jesus Christ.[2]: Section 7
In the liturgy, the whole public worship is performed by theMystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and His members.[2]: Section 7
The principle of cultural adaptation was put forward in the constitution, whereby "the genius and talents of the various races and peoples" are recognised, studied sympathetically and (where appropriate) reflected in local liturgical practices.[2]: Section 37
Numerous ecclesiastical documents call the Eucharist and the celebration of the Holy Mass the supreme act of worship and as the center of the liturgical life of the Church, as Jesus Christ is the center of Catholic life and worship. The Council called the Eucharist the center and the summit: "The celebration of Mass, as the action of Christ and of the People of God arrayed hierarchically, is the center of the whole of Christian life for the Church both universal and local, as well as for each of the faithful individually."[3]
TheGeneral Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours states that, "as well as praising God, the Church's liturgy expresses the hopes and prayers of all the Christian faithful and intercedes before Christ and through him beforethe Father for the salvation of the whole world.[4]
As a result, the Catholic understanding of liturgy is not primarily about the precise regulation of individual sequences of rites, but rather about the essence of the church. Thus theConstitution on the Sacred Liturgy directs that
Pastors of souls must ... realize that, when the liturgy is celebrated, something more is required than the mere observation of the laws governing valid and licit celebration; it is their duty also to ensure that the faithful take part fully aware of what they are doing, actively engaged in the rite, and enriched by its effects.[2]: Section 11
TheCodex Iuris Canonici, reflecting key principles from theConstitution on the Sacred Liturgy, expresses this in the following way:
The Church fulfills its sanctifying function in a particular way through the sacred liturgy, which is an exercise of the priestly function of Jesus Christ. In the sacred liturgy the sanctification of humanity is signified through sensible signs and effected in a manner proper to each sign. In the sacred liturgy, the whole public worship of God is carried out by the Head and members of the mystical Body of Jesus Christ.[5]
TheDirectory on popular piety and the liturgy sees liturgy and life as inseparable, "Were the Liturgy not to have its effects on life, it would become void and displeasing to God".[6] TheCatechism of the Catholic Church explains:
Liturgy is an "action" of the whole Christ(Christus totus). Those who even now celebrate it without signs are already in the heavenly liturgy, where celebration is wholly communion and feast.[7]
Ecclesiastical writerAnselm Schott OSB compares theliturgical year to a church building: as the liturgical service is limited in space by the walls of the church, so the church year it is enclosed by certain holy times. The liturgical year is made up of holy seasons, weeks and days. "The exact determination of the holy times is a basic condition of communal liturgical celebration, because only the determination of the day and hour makes the union for worship possible. The establishment of holy times for worship is part of the original structure of the liturgy, and observing them is considered a primary Christian duty."[8]
Apart from the liturgical seasons of the church year, the catholic liturgy knowsember days,rogation days andprocessions, services in the Romanstation churches,votive masses and the feasts of Christ and hissaints.
In addition toordained ministers, theConstitution on the Sacred Liturgy affirmed that liturgical participation by all the faithful is both a right and a duty.[2]: Section 14 Roles highlighted include those ofaltar servers,lectors, commentators, and members of thechoir, who all exercise "genuine liturgical functions".[2]: Section 29 The role of a commentator is provided for in theGeneral Instruction of the Roman Missal and was of greater importance when the revised liturgy was introduced after the Council, to explain what is happening and promote more active participation by members of the congregation; since the revised liturgy has become more familiar, such instruction is now less important.[9]
Since the days of theapostles, singing has always transfigured the Christian liturgy.Gregorian chant, which "bears the stamp of holiness", is typical of the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church.Pope Pius X andPope Pius XI encouraged the singing of Gregorian chant by the people, "in order that the faithful may more actively participate in divine worship".[10]
The 1967 documentMusicam sacram, which implemented theConstitution on the Sacred Liturgy, repeatedly mentions facilitating the full, active participation of thecongregation as called for by the Council,[2]: Section 114 [11] so that "unity of hearts is more profoundly achieved by the union of voices".[12]Musicam Sacram states: "One cannot find anything more religious and more joyful in sacred celebrations than a whole congregation expressing its faith and devotion in song. Therefore the active participation of the whole people, which is shown in singing, is to be carefully promoted."[13] It calls for fostering this congregational participation through attention to choice of song directors,[12] to choice of songs,[14] and to the nature of the congregation.[15] It mentions the duty to achieve this participation on the part of choirs, choirs directors, pastors, organists, and instrumentalists.[16]
To achieve full, active participation of the congregation, great restraint in introducing new hymns has proven most helpful.[17] To this end also, theGeneral Instruction of the Roman Missal recommends use of seasonal responsorialpsalms and also keeping to a song that all can sing while processing toCommunion, to "express the communicants' union in spirit by means of the unity of their voices, to show joy of heart, and to highlight more clearly the 'communitarian' nature of the procession to receive Communion".[18]
TheLiturgy of the Hours consecrates the whole course of day and night to God.Lauds andVespers andMatins are major hours, little hours areTerce,Sext andNone; theCompline is the lastcanonical hour of the day.
Members of theconsecrated life are officially assigned by the church to intone the liturgy of the hours. They, as well as bishops, priests, and deacons, are obliged to pray at least the main parts of the Liturgy of the Hours vicariously for the faithful. Communities ofcontemplative orders are obliged to pray the liturgy of hours in choir.
The forms used in the Latin Church for the individual celebrations can be found in theliturgical books of theRoman Rite (Roman Missal,Rituale Romanum,Book of Hours, theCeremonial of Bishops etc.) which were revised as part of the liturgical reform (and translated into the national languages). The Catholic liturgy also includes the liturgies of the various Eastern churches in communion with Rome, which follow their own oriental rites. TheConstitution on the Sacred Liturgy also acknowledged scope for "legitimate variations and adaptations to different groups, regions, and peoples, especially inmission lands, provided that the substantial unity of the Roman rite is preserved".[2]: Section 38 Furthermore, there are special forms of the Roman rite in various religious orders, for example theCarthusian Rite, theCistercian Rite, the rite of theDominicans and thePremonstratensians.[citation needed]
| Sacraments | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eucharistic liturgies | |||||||||||
| Canonical hours, Liturgical hours | |||||||||||
| Other liturgical services | |||||||||||
| Liturgical literature | |||||||||||
| Liturgical language | |||||||||||
| Liturgical rites |
| ||||||||||
| General |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| People |
| ||||
| Benedictine- establishments | |||||
| Papal documents | |||||
| Architecture | |||||
| Issues | |||||
| See also | |||||
