Homilies on The Liturgy: Introduction to the Series

I said earlier that I would post my liturgy homilies on this blog.  I was going to put them into essay form, but that takes longer than I anticipated.  Therefore, I will post in the homilies in the outline form that I use them as I give my homily.  I still have not figured out how to post a sound file.


                       Homily on the Liturgy

                       Week 1: December 4, 2010

                       Introduction to the Series

1. About 50 years ago Pope John XXIII took a serious look at our church and he thought that we could be serving God in a much better way. So he called the second Vatican Council.

     A. He wanted to open the windows of the church and let in some fresh air.

     B. He wanted to renew the Church so that every Catholic would be excited about their baptismal mission to serve God and bring faith, hope and love to the world.

     C. This was the defining council of our age and it touched on almost every topic in our Church from divine revelation to the use of mass media.

     D. However, there were 3 themes that dominated the council and all its documents.

     E. The first idea was the Universal Call to Holiness. Every Catholic is called to live the Christian life of Holiness.

          1. For some reason many people thought that priests and nuns were called to be holy and that it was impossible to live holiness in the normal life.

          2. However, we are all called to be holy. We are called to be set apart for God and live a life of faith, hope and love.

          3. From the youngest to the oldest we are called to be holy according to our state of life.

     F. The second idea of the council was to discuss the role of the Laity in the world.

          1. The role of the priest is to help the laity(those who are not priests and sisters) grow in holiness through prayer, liturgy, the sacraments and a virtuous life.

          2. Then it is role of the laity to go into the world and sanctify the world. The place of contact of the Church and the World is in our homes, in our work places, the government, the media, and in our stores.

          3. This means that the place of conversion, where people will change lives is in the life of the Laity. It is the role of the laity to bring the gospel to the world.

     G. The last major theme of the council is the renewal of the Liturgy: To renew the Mass.

          1. The council fathers thought that if people knew what the Mass was about, if they knew what was happening and why we would do it, then it would help them to grow in faith.

          2. Through the Liturgy people would know that profound conversion to Christ, and bring the gospel to the world.

          3. Through the Liturgy people have a profound experience of the Glorious God of Power and Majesty, the intimacy of God who came into the world as a child, the God who knows us more than we know ourselves, then salvation would be brought to all the world.

2. This was a great plan. However, there is one problem. Today we are 50 years out from the council and 70% - 80% of the parishioners of our parish do not worship with us on any given weekend.

     A. The Mass is seen as unimportant, or even unnecessary. People often do not understand what is happening, and we may not even know how to participate.

     B. The Second Vatican Council reminds us that Mass is the source of everything we do as Christians.

          1. It is at Mass where we encounter Jesus Christ, who is our Lord and savior. Through that encounter we receive the grace to live the holiness we are called to.

          2. It is only through the grace of Christ that we serve the poor, love as we should, and offer our lives to Christ in a saving way.

     C. Mass is not only the source, but it is also the summit of all we do. It is the goal.

          1. Our life is a constant process of conversion as we move closer to Christ. We are on a pilgrimage to the New, and Holy Jerusalem which is heaven.

          2. Every time we come to Mass we renew the covenant with Christ and take one more step on our pilgrimage to God. See the goal and move towards it.

          3. As we look into the sanctuary at Mass, we look into heaven itself and we know why we were created. The summit of our life is God.

3. The liturgy is central to the Christian life. As we receive the body of Christ in the Eucharist, we become the body of Christ, the Church. It is at Mass where we are most Catholic

     A. Recognizing the importance of Mass, I will be doing a homily series in order to explain what the Mass is,

          1. What happens at Mass

          2. What we should be thinking and doing at Mass

          3. and why we do the things we do.

          4. I have many reasons for doing this homily series:

     A. First, I thought of a 10 week adult class, but then I recognized that only a few people would come to that. In my homily, I will reach over a 1000 people every weekend.

     B. This is so important that I would like the entire parish to know about the liturgy. As I said, it is the source and summit of our Christian life.

     C. Another reason for this series is that one year from now we will receive a new English translation of the Mass. I want everyone to know and understand the liturgy so that we will know the reason for this translation.

     D. I will mention some things that will be changed in my talks.

     E. I will make audio recording the homilies so that we can put them online. If you are at another church you will be able to listen to them online. OR if you have people who are not at church, you can point the talks out to them.

     F. I am beginning this series during Advent because this is the season where we celebrate the ‘Coming of the Lord’.

     G. Jesus comes to us every week at Mass. It is Mass and the sacraments that we directly experience Christ on a regular basis.

5. I have planned all the talks for this series and I have posted them on-line.

     A. If you want to see the topics, please visit our website or my blog. As they become available I will also put the links on my facebook page.

     B. Mass is the most important thing we do as Christians. It is important that we know what is happening.

END OF HOMILY