NATHAN MARCH
TRS 640 INTRO TO LITURGY AND SACRAMENTS
DR. MARK M. MOROZOWICH
TAKE HOME FINAL
I. 1. Illustrate
several of the key themes in Robert Taft’s article, “Toward a theology of the
Christian Feast,” in Beyond East and West (Washington, DC Pastoral Press,
1984), 15-29. What is the point of celebrating a feast in the church?
The liturgical theology of Robert Taft’s article is based on an analogy with the biblical understanding of history. He notes that the essence of the biblical understanding of history is that history is teleological, with the sense that the events of history are guided by God towards a final end. Within the biblical context, the events of history are viewed as a sequence of encounters with God. Further, the biblical analogy reveals that the memorial of these events is a means of overcoming the separation of time and space, to encounter salvation anew and respond to it. The analogy with the biblical understanding of history reveals three key concepts of liturgical theology that address the problem of time and event: 1.) liturgy is anamnesis, a memorial, of the past events that made manifest the dynamic power of God; 2.) it is a memorial in the present, in the fullness of time, orientated toward the present encounter with God; 3.) the purpose of liturgy is the building up of the Body of Christ, and participation in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Although the liturgy is a memorial of past events, Taft considers the present encounter with God the reason for it. He notes that the historical events are ephapax, or once for all events. The purpose of recalling them is not to return to the past or recreate them but to enter into a dialectical relationship between God’s concrete actions in history and the present reality of salvation in our lives. The memorial of God’s salvific actions in the past are relevant to us today, they initiate an experience of God in the present moment, and solicit a response in faith. The reality signified by these events is ever present and available to us at every moment of our lives.
Taft says that the ritual moment is a synthesis of past, present, and future. As such it is what he calls, “God’s Time”, the fullness of time. It is a new existence, a new aeon, ushered in by the Christ-event. Taft refers to it as a “new existence”; immanent parousia, the end is present now. For Taft, the eschaton is not a thing, but the person of Christ who recapitulates or sums up in himself the whole of salvation history. Thus, as a memorial, liturgy is orientated toward the present encounter with God.
Such an understanding of liturgy has implications on the lived experience of the Christian. The new aeon ushered in is characterized by a life lived “in Christ” the experience of his life in us and entails ever greater conversion into Christ. The victory of Christ must be repeated in the life of every Christian. Christ does not so much replace all other previous forms of worship as supercede them such that true worship, worship pleasing to the Father, is found in the obedient life, death, and resurrection of the Son. Worship becomes a means not only of praising God but of offering sacrifice, the worship in spirit and truth, the offering of one’s whole life, the complete gift of self in love to God and others, lived after the pattern of Christ. As such the purpose of liturgy is to build up the Body of Christ so as to form a new temple, liturgy and priesthood where the sanctuary, offering and the one who offers are the same.
Within
this understanding of liturgy Robert Taft further develops his presentation of
liturgical feasts. Liturgical feasts function through the use of anamnesis as a
sign not of the past but of the present reality of our lives in God. Liturgical
feasts aim at the encounter with the person of Jesus Christ and our conversion
into his life, toward the deeper appropriation of his life in us. It is
successful insofar as it builds up the Body of Christ into a holy people, a
spiritual temple, and a royal priesthood. As an example, he illustrates that
the feast of Christmas is not so much about the coming of the Christ to
II. 2. What is the role of art and architecture in
worship? What is the theology that illustrates this position? Is this an
important aspect? Why?
As far as architecture is concerned, the church building is both a domus dei and domus ecclesiae. It is both the house of God on earth and the house fit for the prayer of the holy ones of God. As such it is the place where the community gathers, encounters God present in their midst and responds in faith in a liturgical act of worship. Similarly, art is orientated toward encounter with God. It evokes and glorifies the transcendent mystery of God and thus has a mediating role which brings the divine to the level of the human senses and raises the mind to God.
The
word church has two meanings. It can refer to the edifice, the building. It
also can refer to the assembled gathering of believers. As a living temple the
Church is understood as composed of the holy people God has called out and
formed into a temple of living stones where God is worshiped in spirit and
truth. In this sense, whenever the Church is gathered, the members are unified
and animated by the Holy Spirit, and transcending space and time are joined to
Christ the High Priest to participate in the eternal Heavenly liturgy. In this
context, the church building is a sign of the
The theology of church as a living temple, a temple composed of living stones, impacts the understanding and interpretation of church art and architecture. Art and architecture should be evaluated on a different set of criteria that of Christian worship, rather than contemporary merely human aesthetic standards. As such they must be more than just made well or aesthetically pleasing. Further they have to go beyond the merely utilitarian, they are more than teaching tools, and their purpose is more than the enlightenment of the mind. Their primary purpose should be to draw people more and more into communion with God. As such they should prepare the heart and lead to worship. They should enhance liturgical prayer and encourage conversion of heart.
III.1 What is the reason that we celebrate the liturgy of the
hours? Where is the normative place of their celebration? Are these important
to the spiritual life of the church?
The reason we celebrate the liturgy of the hours is inseparably tied to our relationship as the Body of Christ to our Head, Jesus Christ the High Priest. Christ assumed a human nature, and as Mediator Dei and Sacrosanctum Concillium remark, he introduced into earthly human existence the hymn which is sung throughout the ages in heaven. Having ascended to heaven, the High Priest continues his priestly work through the Church. The liturgy of the hours is the prayer of Christ the High Priest, performed with his Body the Church, unceasingly praising God and interceding for the salvation of the world.
The liturgy of the hours is the public, daily prayer of the Church. As such the normative place for the celebration of the liturgy of the hours is the Church where the assembled gathering of believers, the Body of Christ, prays with Christ’s own voice. The purpose of the liturgy of the hours is the fulfillment of Paul’s exhortation, “to pray without ceasing,” the task of sanctifying the whole of human life, redeeming humanity, and offering praise to God.
This theological understanding of the liturgy of the hours has important implications for the spiritual life of the church. First, this prayer is seen as the prayer of the whole Body of Christ, of all believers, and is therefore not meant for clerics and religious alone. The whole Body of Christ is the spiritual temple and holy priesthood, who empowered by the Holy Spirit offer worship. “Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst.” Thus, the liturgy of the hours is the normative prayer of the whole community of Christian believers.
Second, it is not to be seen as purely a legal obligation, but as the very essence of the Christian worship. One is not meant to pray the liturgy of the hours because one has to. Rather, since one’s identity is as a member of the Body of Christ, one prays it because it is who one is to be part of the community who prays it. Further, the liturgy of the hours is not a private prayer. It is the public prayer on earth of the Church, of the Body of Christ, which is united with its Head, the High Priest, in the eternal heavenly liturgy. It is offered for the salvation of all humanity, not just one’s individual needs. It is the expression of the whole community, not merely one’s own devotional perspective.
Third, the purpose of the liturgy of the hours is the encounter with God. When the church prays, faith is deepened and the mind is lifted to God. The continual offering of prayer results in a constant turning of the mind to God. In terms of spirituality, the liturgy of the hours can be a great source of critiquing and shaping other forms of devotion. We discussed in class the example of the Lesser Hours which have as their goal the continual commemoration of the events of the Lord’s passion. I can’t think of anything more missing from my experience of contemporary worship. What kind of impact would the commemoration of the Lord’s passion have on the life of the faithful? In terms of Irwin’s thesis that context is text and text is context, if the Lord’s passion is not a significant context for the Christian life, how does one understand the mandate to take up one’s cross and follow him? How can Christians grasp the reality of God’s love apart from the complete selfless gift of His death on the Cross? I believe if more Christians were exposed to the Lesser Hours, they would have a more informed faith, and hopefully would respond in faith with greater conversion of heart.