Talk 2 on the Liturgy: Transcendence of God

Homily on the Liturgy

Week 2: December 12, 2010

                          WHO DO WE WORSHIP?: The TRINITY

1. The Liturgy, the Mass, is the Source and the summit of all that we do in our Christian life, because it is in the Liturgy where we encounter God.

     A. Mass is the most important thing we do as Christians. Gathering around the altar of God forms us as the people of God.

     B. Last week I began a Homily series on the Mass. We continue to talk about the titurgy today.

2. John was a disciple of Jesus. In fact, he is called the beloved disciples. We can safely say that Jesus was his close friend.

     A. Years after the resurrection and the ascension John encountered Jesus again.A He tells his story in the book of revelation.

     B. Jesus appeared to John. He did not greet him with a handshake. He didn’t run up to his old friend with a hug or even a chuck on the shoulder. When John saw Jesus, it says: “When I caught sight of him, I fell at his feet as though dead.”

     C. In the presence of Christ John fell on his face in worship.

     D. Later John saw “A vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people and tongue. They stood before the throne”

     E. They were singing: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the Throne and from the lamb.

     F. It says that they prostrated themselves before the throne and worshiped God. This means that they fell on their faces in worship.

3. Throughout the scriptures it shows people’s encounters with God: Abraham, Moses, Isaiah. Every time a person in scripture encounters God they fall on their face, or they fall on their knees. They cover their faces in awe and reverence.

      A. They RECOGNIZE the Glory and power of God. The Lord of All Majesty.

     B. In other words: God is important. Not just important but of Ultimate importance.

     C. When we come for Mass, the first question we need to ask ourselves is: Who do we worship?

     D. The answer is not just a glib and vague: God.

4. It is possible for someone to come into church.

     A. Do a half genuflect, and then drop into the pew. They may pick up a hymnal and sing.

     B. They may listen to the readings as if they were interesting tales. Seem to pay attention and then receive communion.

     C. A person could do all those action and NOT once think of God. They could do that and not even recognize they are in the presence of the God of glory and Majesty.

     D. I know this because I even have to watch myself of this, especially around the 4th Mass I do on any given weekend.

     E. When you arrive in Church I would encourage the first thing you do is to fall on your knees and worship God. I know we don’t have kneelers, but we have carpet and it would not hurt people to kneel.

     F. Recognize who God is and worship God. When we are in the presence of God we should respond in a way similar to those in scripture.

5. But who is the Christian God, who do we worship:

     A. There ONE God, and this ONE God is a Trinity of Persons: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

     B. Because God is Trinity, St. John was able to say: God is love. Within God there is the love between the Father and the Son, and that love is the Holy Spirit.

     C. God is creator: God created the heavens and the earth. God created time and Space. When Moses asked for God’s name God responded: I am who am.

     D. Basically, God said that he is the verb: TO BE. The is the very foundation of all that exists.

     E. God is almighty. He is all powerful. Everything begins and ends in God.

6. Because of this God is the center of all of our prayers. We pray to God. We worship God. God is the center of our life.

     A. Watch how your pray: Some times we begin the prayer with “Oh God”, but then the rest of the prayer is about ME. Do this for me, or do that for me. Then after a long litany of things we want we say ‘Amen’.

     B. Yes, we are to pray for our daily bread. Yes we are to petition God for our needs in our life.

     C. However, our worship should be directed more towards God more than ourselves. When we petition God we should always have in Mind: Thy will be done, not mine.

     D. When we come to Mass our thought should not be: What will I get out of it? Rather it should be: I am here to worship God.

7. So the first important thing about the Mass: It is about worshiping GOD: The God of Glory and Majesty. The God of power and might. God, who is love.

8. Come, let us Worship!

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

NEW LITURGY SERIES OF HOMILIES

Mass is the source and the summit of our Christian life. It is the most important thing we do as Catholics. This is what makes us catholic. If Mass is so important why do 70% of Catholic ignore their obligation to attend Mass every week. There seems to be a real lack of education regarding what is the role of Mass and what happens at Mass.


I thought of having a 10 week series on the Mass in the evenings as part of adult formation, however, these are often not well attended. Since this is the most important thing we do as Christians I have decided to have a homily series where I can touch on every part of the Mass.

The second Vatican Council called for a renewal of the Liturgy. This renewal was good and exciting, but it is now time to learn what the council wanted.

Here is a list of the homily topics and dates. I will also try to record these homilies and place them on my blog and my website for your reference. I hope that this begins a discussion in our parish about Liturgy and prayer.

Homily: Liturgy Topics

December 5, 2010: INTRODUCTION

December 12, 2010: WHO DO WE WORSHIP? THE TRINITY

December 19, 2010: WHO DO WE WORSHIP? GOD INCARNATE.

December 26, 2010: Feast of Holy Family: Break from the series

January 2, 2011: SACRAMENTAL WORLDVIEW (Feast of the Epiphany)

January 9, 2011: MASS: MAKING OUR REDEMPTION PRESENT (Feast of the Baptism of the Lord)

January 16, 2011: MASS: THE PASCHAL MYSTERY

January 23, 2011 MASS: SACRIFICIAL MEAL

January 30, 2011 MASS: OUR PARTICIPATION IN HEAVEN

February 6, 2011 MASS: FULL, CONSCIOUS, ACTIVE PARTICIPATION

February 13, 2011 THE ASSEMBLY

February 20, 2011 THE PRIEST

February 27, 2011 THE CHURCH: BUILT OF LIVING STONES

March 6, 2011: PROCESSIONS

March 13, 2011: SIGN OF THE CROSS

March 20, 2011: DIALOGUES

March 27, 2011: PENTITENTIAL RITE

April 3, 2011: THE GLORIA

April 10, 2011: THE OPENING PRAYER

April 17, 2011: Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion: Break from the series

April 24, 2011: Easter Sunday: Break from the series

May 1, 2011: LITURGY OF THE WORD: Part 1

May 8, 2011: LITURGY OF THE WORD: Part 2

May 15, 2011: LITURGY OF THE WORD: Part 3

May 22, 2011: LITURGY OF THE WORD: Part 4

May 29, 2011: LITURGY OF THE WORD: Part 5

June 5, 2011: LITURGY OF THE WORD: Part 6 (Feast of the Ascension)

June 12, 2011: LITURGY OF THE WORD: Part 7: Homily (Feast of Pentecost)

June 19, 2011: LITURGY OF THE WORD: Part 8: CREED (Feast of the Most Holy Trinity)

June 26, 2011: LITURGY OF THE WORD: Part 9 (Feast of Corpus Christi)

July 3, 2011: LITURGICAL POSTURES: PART 1

July 10, 2011: LITURGICAL POSTURES: PART 2

July 16, 2011: Catholic Heart Work Camp: Visiting Priest

July 24, 2011: SING A NEW SONG: MUSIC AND CATHOLIC WORSHIP
July 31, 2011: EUCHARISTIC PRAYER: PART 1

August 7, 2011: EUCHARISTIC PRAYER: PART 2

August 14, 2011: EUCHARISTIC PRAYER: PART 3

August 21, 2011: EUCHARISTIC PRAYER: PART 4

August 28, 2011: COMMUNION RITE: PART 1

September 4, 2011: COMMUNION RITE: PART 2

September 11, 2011: COMMUNION RITE: PART 3

September 18, 2011: COMMUNION RITE: PART 4

September 25, 2011: DISMISSAL RITE

October 2, 2011: LITURGICAL TIME: ALL LIFE IS LITURGICAL

Professor Peter Kreeft Lectures

Greetings,

Professor Peter Kreeft is on of my favorite speakers.   I have listened many of his talks and read some of his books.  He is a Catholic convert and a professor of philosophy.   I would encourage you to listen to some of his talks.  There are many topics.  You should be able to find one topic that interests you.   There are over 40 talks at this site:

http://www.peterkreeft.com/audio.htm

Why do we need a new translation?

Advent 2011 we will begin using the new translation of the Roman Missal. This will include all of the permanent responses and words at Mass called the ‘ordinary’, and it includes all the prayers that change from week to week known as the ‘propers’. Someone asked me: Father, why do we need a new translation. That is an excellent question. Let’s look at some answers.

1. In 2001 the document Liturgiam authenticam was promulgated. This gave new principles for translastion. In the past, they translated very loosely so it was easy to understand. This was not the most accurate translation. The new principles call to translate words and syntax. The goal is now exact and accurate translation.

2. In 2000 the third edition of the Roman Missal was promulgated by Pope John Paul II. This is the Latin version of the mass. With a new addition we need a new translation.

3. The Current translation strays from the original Latin, so it is not accurate. This also means that the English translation does not match the translations of the other languages of the world. As a universal church our translations should agree.

4. The current translation lacks some of the rich language and imagery, especially biblical language. We should recognize the scriptural references.

5. Some of the language is theologically imprecise and can lead people to errors. We want theological precision to avoid any errors.

Liturgy is central to the life of the Church. Through the liturgy we are made present to Christ’s paschal mystery and renews our baptismal commitment to further the saving ministry of Christ. Our worship and prayer will effect we believe and live as Christians. The words of liturgy matter because they express the faith of the people.

The goal of the new translation is to give a deeper sense of the mystery of God’s presence. It will be an excellent opportunity for fuller catechesis on the Mass and Christian living. It will give a more visible unity among all Roman Rite Catholics. And finally, it will be a time to renew our Eucharistic theology, spirituality and practice.

Here is think to the new translation of the Mass:

http://www.usccb.org/romanmissal/order-of-mass.pdf

New order of Mass is official

Greetings,

The new order of Mass which will be implement in just over a year has been made official.  Here is the Link:

http://www.usccb.org/romanmissal/order-of-mass.pdf

I would encourage you to go and read through the Mass and get a  sense of the differences.  It is a beautiful translation.

peace

Sacred Vs Secular Music: Can you tell the difference

Can you tell the difference?? from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.