Catechism of the Catholic Church
PART TWO:
THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY
Liturgical seasons
1163 "Holy Mother Church believes that she should celebrate the saving
work of her divine Spouse in a sacred commemoration on certain days
throughout the course of the year. Once each week, on the day which she
has called the Lord's Day, she keeps the memory of the Lord's
resurrection. She also celebrates it once every year, together with his
blessed Passion, at Easter, that most solemn of all feasts. In the course
of the year, moreover, she unfolds the whole mystery of Christ .... Thus
recalling the mysteries of the redemption, she opens up to the faithful
the riches of her Lord's powers and merits, so that these are in some way
made present in every age; the faithful lay hold of them and are filled
with saving grace."[33]
1164 From the time of the Mosaic law, the People of God have observed
fixed feasts, beginning with Passover, to commemorate the astonishing
actions of the Savior God, to give him thanks for them, to perpetuate
their remembrance, and to teach new generations to conform their conduct
to them. In the age of the Church, between the Passover of Christ already
accomplished once for all, and its consummation in the kingdom of God, the
liturgy celebrated on fixed days bears the imprint of the newness of the
mystery of Christ.
1165 When the Church celebrates the mystery of Christ, there is a word
that marks her prayer: "Today!" - a word echoing the prayer her Lord
taught her and the call of the Holy Spirit.[34] This "today" of the living
God which man is called to enter is "the hour" of Jesus' Passover, which
reaches across and underlies all history:
Life extends over all beings and fills them with unlimited light; the
Orient of orients pervades the universe, and he who was "before the
daystar" and before the heavenly bodies, immortal and vast, the great
Christ, shines over all beings more brightly than the sun. Therefore a day
of long, eternal light is ushered in for us who believe in him, a day
which is never blotted out: the mystical Passover.[35]
The Lord's day
1166 "By a tradition handed down from the apostles which took its origin
from the very day of Christ's Resurrection, the Church celebrates the
Paschal mystery every seventh day, which day is appropriately called the
Lord's Day or Sunday."[36] The day of Christ's Resurrection is both the
first day of the week, the memorial of the first day of creation, and the
"eighth day," on which Christ after his "rest" on the great sabbath
inaugurates the "day that the Lord has made," the "day that knows no
evening."[37] The Lord's Supper is its center, for there the whole community
of the faithful encounters the risen Lord who invites them to his
banquet:[38]
The Lord's day, the day of Resurrection, the day of Christians, is our
day. It is called the Lord's day because on it the Lord rose victorious to
the Father. If pagans call it the "day of the sun," we willingly agree,
for today the light of the world is raised, today is revealed the sun of
justice with healing in his rays.[39]
1167 Sunday is the pre-eminent day for the liturgical assembly, when the
faithful gather "to listen to the word of God and take part in the
Eucharist, thus calling to mind the Passion, Resurrection, and glory of
the Lord Jesus, and giving thanks to God who 'has begotten them again, by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead' unto a living hope":[40]
When we ponder, O Christ, the marvels accomplished on this day, the Sunday
of your holy resurrection, we say: "Blessed is Sunday, for on it began
creation . . . the world's salvation ... the renewal of the human race
.... On Sunday heaven and earth
rejoiced and the whole universe was filled with light. Blessed is Sunday,
for on it were opened the gates of paradise so that Adam and all the
exiles might enter it without fear.[41]
The liturgical year
1168 Beginning with the Easter Triduum as its source of light, the new age
of the Resurrection fills the whole liturgical year with its brilliance.
Gradually, on either side of this source, the year is transfigured by the
liturgy. It really is a "year of the Lord's favor."[42] The economy of
salvation is at work within the framework of time, but since its
fulfillment in the Passover of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit, the culmination of history is anticipated "as a foretaste," and
the kingdom of God enters into our time.
1169 Therefore Easter is not simply one feast among others, but the "Feast
of feasts," the "Solemnity of solemnities," just as the Eucharist is the
"Sacrament of sacraments" (the Great Sacrament). St. Athanasius calls
Easter "the Great Sunday"[43] and the Eastern Churches call Holy Week "the
Great Week." The mystery of the Resurrection, in which Christ crushed
death, permeates with its powerful energy our old time, until all is
subjected to him.
1170 At the Council of Nicaea in 325, all the Churches agreed that Easter,
the Christian Passover, should be celebrated on the Sunday following the
first full moon (14 Nisan) after the vernal equinox. The reform of the
Western calendar, called "Gregorian" after Pope Gregory XIII (1582),
caused a discrepancy of several days with the Eastern calendar. Today, the
Western and Eastern Churches are seeking an agreement in order once again
to celebrate the day of the Lord's Resurrection on a common date.
1171 In the liturgical year the various aspects of the one Paschal mystery
unfold. This is also the case with the cycle of feasts surrounding the
mystery of the incarnation (Annunciation, Christmas, Epiphany). They
commemorate the beginning of our salvation and communicate to us the first
fruits of the Paschal mystery.
The sanctoral in the liturgical year
1172 "In celebrating this annual cycle of the mysteries of Christ, Holy
Church honors the Blessed Mary, Mother of God, with a special love. She is
inseparably linked with the saving work of her Son. In her the Church
admires and exalts the most excellent fruit of redemption and joyfully
contemplates, as in a faultless image, that which she herself desires and
hopes wholly to be."[44]
1173 When the Church keeps the memorials of martyrs and other saints
during the annual cycle, she proclaims the Paschal mystery in those "who
have suffered and have been glorified with Christ. She proposes them to
the faithful as examples who draw all men to the Father through Christ,
and through their merits she begs for God's favors."[45]
The Liturgy of the Hours
1174 The mystery of Christ, his Incarnation and Passover, which we
celebrate in the Eucharist especially at the Sunday assembly, permeates
and transfigures the time of each day, through the celebration of the
Liturgy of the Hours, "the divine office."[46] This celebration, faithful to
the apostolic exhortations to "pray constantly," is "so devised that the
whole course of the day and night is made holy by the praise of God."[47] In
this "public prayer of the Church,"[48] the faithful (clergy, religious, and
lay people) exercise the royal priesthood of the baptized. Celebrated in
"the form approved" by the Church, the Liturgy of the Hours "is truly the
voice of the Bride herself addressed to her Bridegroom. It is the very
prayer which Christ himself together with his Body addresses to the
Father.[49]
1175 The Liturgy of the Hours is intended to become the prayer of the
whole People of God. In it Christ himself "continues his priestly work
through his Church."[50] His members participate according to their own
place in the Church and the circumstances of their lives: priests devoted
to the pastoral ministry, because they are called to remain diligent in
prayer and the service of the word; religious, by the charism of their
consecrated lives; all the faithful as much as possible: "Pastors of souls
should see to it that the principal hours, especially Vespers, are
celebrated in common in church on Sundays and on the more solemn feasts.
The laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office, either with
the priests, or among themselves, or even individually."[51]
1176 The celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours demands not only
harmonizing the voice with the praying heart, but also a deeper
"understanding of the liturgy and of the Bible, especially of the
Psalms."[52]
1177 The hymns and litanies of the Liturgy of the Hours integrate the
prayer of the psalms into the age of the Church, expressing the symbolism
of the time of day, the liturgical season, or the feast being celebrated.
Moreover, the reading from the Word of God at each Hour (with the
subsequent responses or troparia) and readings from the Fathers and
spiritual masters at certain Hours, reveal more deeply the meaning of the
mystery being celebrated, assist in understanding the psalms, and prepare
for silent prayer. The lectio divina, where the Word of God is so read and
meditated that it becomes prayer, is thus rooted in the liturgical
celebration.
1178 The Liturgy of the Hours, which is like an extension of the
Eucharistic celebration, does not exclude but rather in a complementary
way calls forth the various devotions of the People of God, especially
adoration and worship of the Blessed Sacrament.
1179 The worship "in Spirit and in truth"[53] of the New Covenant is not
tied exclusively to any one place. The whole earth is sacred and entrusted
to the children of men. What matters above all is that, when the faithful
assemble in the same place, they are the "living stones," gathered to be
"built into a spiritual house."[54] For the Body of the risen Christ is the
spiritual temple from which the source of living water springs forth:
incorporated into Christ by the Holy Spirit, "we are the temple of the
living God."[55]
1180 When the exercise of religious liberty is not thwarted,[56] Christians
construct buildings for divine worship. These visible churches are not
simply gathering places but signify and make visible the Church living in
this place, the dwelling of God with men reconciled and united in Christ.
1181 A church, "a house of prayer in which the Eucharist is celebrated and
reserved, where the faithful assemble, and where is worshipped the
presence of the Son of God our Savior, offered for us on the sacrificial
altar for the help and consolation of the faithful - this house ought to
be in good taste and a worthy place for prayer and sacred ceremonial."[57]
In this "house of God" the truth and the harmony of the signs that make it
up should show Christ to be present and active in this place.[58]
1182 The altar of the New Covenant is the Lord's Cross,[59] from which the
sacraments of the Paschal mystery flow. On the altar, which is the center
of the church, the sacrifice of the Cross is made present under
sacramental signs. The altar is also the table of the Lord, to which the
People of God are invited.[60] In certain Eastern liturgies, the altar is
also the symbol of the tomb (Christ truly died and is truly risen).
1183 The tabernacle is to be situated "in churches in a most worthy place
with the greatest honor."[61] The dignity, placing, and security of the
Eucharistic tabernacle should foster adoration before the Lord really
present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.[62]
The sacred chrism (myron), used in anointings as the sacramental sign of
the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, is traditionally reserved and
venerated in a secure place in the sanctuary. The oil of catechumens and
the oil of the sick may also be placed there.
1184 The chair (cathedra) of the bishop or the priest "should express his
office of presiding over the assembly and of directing prayer."[63]
The lectern (ambo): "The dignity of the Word of God requires the church to
have a suitable place for announcing his message so that the attention of
the people may be easily directed to that place during the liturgy of the
Word."[64]
1185 The gathering of the People of God begins with Baptism; a church must
have a place for the celebration of Baptism (baptistry) and for fostering
remembrance of the baptismal promises (holy water font).
The renewal of the baptismal life requires penance. A church, then, must
lend itself to the expression of repentance and the reception of
forgiveness, which requires an appropriate place to receive penitents.
A church must also be a space that invites us to the recollection and
silent prayer that extend and internalize the great prayer of the
Eucharist.
1186 Finally, the church has an eschatological significance. To enter into
the house of God, we must cross a threshold, which symbolizes passing from
the world wounded by sin to the world of the new Life to which all men are
called. The visible church is a symbol of the Father's house toward which
the People of God is journeying and where the Father "will wipe every tear
from their eyes."[65] Also for this reason, the Church is the house of all
God's children, open and welcoming.
IN BRIEF
1187 The liturgy is the work of the whole Christ, head and body. Our high
priest celebrates it unceasingly in the heavenly liturgy, with the holy
Mother of God, the apostles, all the saints, and the multitude of those
who have already entered the kingdom.
1188 In a liturgical celebration, the whole assembly is leitourgos, each
member according to his own function. The baptismal priesthood is that of
the whole Body of Christ. But some of the faithful are ordained through
the sacrament of Holy Orders to represent Christ as head of the Body.
1189 The liturgical celebration involves signs and symbols relating to
creation (candles, water, fire), human life (washing, anointing, breaking
bread) and the history of salvation (the rites of the Passover).
Integrated into the world of faith and taken up by the power of the Holy
Spirit, these cosmic elements, human rituals, and gestures of remembrance
of God become bearers of the saving and sanctifying action of Christ.
1190 The Liturgy of the Word is an integral part of the celebration. The
meaning of the celebration is expressed by the Word of God which is
proclaimed and by the response of faith to it.
1191 Song and music are closely connected with the liturgical action. The
criteria for their proper use are the beauty expressive of prayer, the
unanimous participation of the assembly, and the sacred character of the
celebration.
1192 Sacred images in our churches and homes are intended to awaken and
nourish our faith in the mystery of Christ. Through the icon of Christ and
his works of salvation, it is he whom we adore. Through sacred images of
the holy Mother of God, of the angels and of the saints, we venerate the
persons represented.
1193 Sunday, the "Lord's Day," is the principal day for the celebration of
the Eucharist because it is the day of the Resurrection. It is the
pre-eminent day of the liturgical assembly, the day of the Christian
family, and the day of joy and rest from work. Sunday is "the foundation
and kernel of the whole liturgical year" (SC 106).
1194 The Church, "in the course of the year, . . . unfolds the whole
mystery of Christ from his Incarnation and Nativity through his Ascension,
to Pentecost and the expectation of the blessed hope of the coming of the
Lord" (SC 102 # 2).
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1195 By keeping the memorials of the saints - first of all the holy Mother
of God, then the apostles, the martyrs, and other saints - on fixed days
of the liturgical year, the Church on earth shows that she is united with
the liturgy of heaven. She gives glory to Christ for having accomplished
his salvation in his glorified members; their example encourages her on
her way to the Father.
1196 The faithful who celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours are united to
Christ our high priest, by the prayer of the Psalms, meditation on the
Word of God, and canticles and blessings, in order to be joined with his
unceasing and universal prayer that gives glory to the Father and implores
the gift of the Holy Spirit on the whole world.
1198 In its earthly state the Church needs places where the community can
gather together. Our visible churches, holy places, are images of the holy
city, the heavenly Jerusalem, toward which we are making our way on
pilgrimage.
1199 It is in these churches that the Church celebrates public worship to
the glory of the Holy Trinity, hears the word of God and sings his praise,
lifts up her prayer, and offers the sacrifice of Christ sacramentally
present in the midst of the assembly. These churches are also places of
recollection and personal prayer.
Liturgical traditions and the catholicity of the Church
1200 From the first community of Jerusalem until the parousia, it is the
same Paschal mystery that the Churches of God, faithful to the apostolic
faith, celebrate in every place. The mystery celebrated in the liturgy is
one, but the forms of its celebration are diverse.
1201 The mystery of Christ is so unfathomably rich that it cannot be
exhausted by its expression in any single liturgical tradition. The
history of the blossoming and development of these rites witnesses to a
remarkable complementarity. When the Churches lived their respective
liturgical traditions in the communion of the faith and the sacraments of
the faith, they enriched one another and grew in fidelity to Tradition and
to the common mission of the whole Church.[66]
1202 The diverse liturgical traditions have arisen by very reason of the
Church's mission. Churches of the same geographical and cultural area came
to celebrate the mystery of Christ through particular expressions
characterized by the culture: in the tradition of the "deposit of
faith,"[67] in liturgical symbolism, in the organization of fraternal
communion, in the theological understanding of the mysteries, and in
various forms of holiness. Through the liturgical life of a local church,
Christ, the light and salvation of all peoples, is made manifest to the
particular people and culture to which that Church is sent and in which
she is rooted. The Church is catholic, capable of integrating into her
unity, while purifying them, all the authentic riches of cultures.[68]
1203 The liturgical traditions or rites presently in use in the Church are
the Latin (principally the Roman rite, but also the rites of certain local
churches, such as the Ambrosian rite, or those of certain religious
orders) and the Byzantine, Alexandrian or Coptic, Syriac, Armenian,
Maronite and Chaldean rites. In "faithful obedience to tradition, the
sacred Council declares that Holy Mother Church holds all lawfully
recognized rites to be of equal right and dignity, and that she wishes to
preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way."[69]
Liturgy and culture
1204 The celebration of the liturgy, therefore, should correspond to the
genius and culture of the different peoples.[70] In order that the mystery
of Christ be "made known to all the nations . . . to bring about the
obedience of faith,"[71] it must be proclaimed, celebrated, and lived in all
cultures in such a way that they themselves are not abolished by it, but
redeemed and fulfilled:[72] It is with and through their own human culture,
assumed and transfigured by Christ, that the multitude of God's children
has access to the Father, in order to glorify him in the one Spirit.
1205 "In the liturgy, above all that of the sacraments, there is an
immutable part, a part that is divinely instituted and of which the Church
is the guardian, and parts that can be changed, which the Church has the
power and on occasion also the duty to adapt to the cultures of recently
evangelized peoples."[73]
1206 "Liturgical diversity can be a source of enrichment, but it can also
provoke tensions, mutual misunderstandings, and even schisms. In this
matter it is clear that diversity must not damage unity. It must express
only fidelity to the common faith, to the sacramental signs that the
Church has received from Christ, and to hierarchical communion. Cultural
adaptation also requires a conversion of heart and even, where necessary,
a breaking with ancestral customs incompatible with the Catholic faith."[74]
IN BRIEF
1207 It is fitting that liturgical celebration tends to express itself in
the culture of the people where the Church finds herself, though without
being submissive to it. Moreover, the liturgy itself generates cultures
and shapes them.
1208 The diverse liturgical traditions or rites, legitimately recognized,
manifest the catholicity of the Church, because they signify and
communicate the same mystery of Christ.
1209 The criterion that assures unity amid the diversity of liturgical
traditions is fidelity to apostolic Tradition, i e., the communion in the
faith and the sacraments received from the apostles, a communion that is
both signified and guaranteed by apostolic succession.
ENDNOTES
1 Rev 4:2, 8; Isa 6:1; cf. Ezek 1:26-28.
2 Rev 5:6; Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Anaphora; cf. Jn 1:29; Heb
4:14-15; 10:19-2.
3 Rev 22:1; cf. 21:6; Jn 4:10-14.
4 Cf. Rev 4-5; 7:1-8; 14:1; Isa 6:2-3.
5 Rev 6:9-11; Rev 21:9; cf. 12.
6 Rev 7:9.
7 SC 26.
8 SC 27.
9 LG 10; cf. 1 Pet 2:4-5.
10 Cf. LG 10; 34; PO 2.
11 SC 14; Cf. 1 Pet 2:9; 2:4-5.
12 Rom 12:4.
13 Cf. PO 2; 15.
14 SC 29.
15 SC 28.
16 Cf. Wis 13:1; Rom 1:19f; Acts 14:17.
17 Cf. Lk 8:10.
18 Cf. Jn 9:6; Mk 7:33ff.; 8:22ff.
19 Cf. Lk 9:31; 22:7-20.
20 SC 112.
21 Eph 5:19; St. Augustine, En. in Ps. 72,1: PL 36, 914; cf. Col 3:16.
22 SC 112 # 3.
23 Cf. SC 112.
24 St. Augustine, Conf. 9, 6, 14: PL 32, 769-770.
25 Cf. SC 119.
26 SC 118; 121.
27 St. John Damascene, De imag. 1, 16: PG 96: 1245-1248.
28 Council of Nicaea II (787): COD 111.
29 Heb 12:1.
30 Cf. Rom 8:29; 1 Jn 3:2.
31 Council of Nicaea II: DS 600.
32 St. John Damascene, De imag. 1, 27: PG 94, 1268A, B.
33 SC 102.
34 Cf. Mt 6:11; Heb 3:7-4:11; Ps 95:7.
35 St. Hippolytus, De pasch. 1-2 SCh 27, 117.
36 SC 106.
37 Byzantine liturgy.
38 Cf. Jn 21:12; Lk 24:30.
39 St. Jerome, Pasch.: CCL 78, 550.
40 SC 106.
41 Fanqith, The Syriac Office of Antioch, vol. VI, first part of Summer,
193 B.
42 Lk 4:19.
43 St. Athanasius (ad 329) ep. fest. 1: PG 24, 1366.
44 SC 103.
45 SC 104; cf. SC 108, 111.
46 Cf. SC, Ch. IV, 83-101.
47 SC 84; 1 Thess 5:17; Eph 6:18.
48 SC 98.
49 SC 84.
50 SC 83.
51 SC 100; Cf. 86; 96; 98; PO 5.
52 SC 90.
53 Jn 4:24.
54 1 Pet 2:4-5.
55 2 Cor 6:16.
56 Cf. DH 4.
57 PO 5; Cf. SC 122-127.
58 Cf. SC 7.
59 Cf. Heb 13:10.
60 Cf. GIRM 259.
61 Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei: AAS (1965) 771.
62 Cf. SC 128.
63 GIRM 271.
64 GIRM 272.
65 Rev 21:4.
66 Cf. Paul VI, EN 63-64.
67 2 Tim 1:14 (Vulg.).
68 Cf. LG 23; UR 4.
69 SC 4.
70 Cf. SC 37-40.
71 Rom 16:26.
72 Cf. CT 53.
73 John Paul II, Vicesimus quintus annus, 16; cf. SC 21.
74 John Paul 11, Vicesimus quintus annus, 16.
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