Categories: spiritual-writings, other-churches
Date: 11 May 2006 09:20:34
Tha Crìosd air èiridh!
[last entry: Navajo - Christ daaztsáádéé' náádiidzáá!; response: T'áá aaníí, daaztsáádéé' náádiidzáá!]
From The Spirit of the Liturgy, by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (written when he was Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger):
...Christian liturgy is a liturgy of promise fulfilled, of a quest, the religious quest of human history, reaching its goal. But it remains a liturgy of hope. It, too, bears within it the mark of impermanence. The new Temple, not made by human hands, does exist, but it is also still under construction. The great gesture of embrace emanating from the Crucified has not yet reached its goal; it has only just begun. Christian liturgy is liturgy on the way, a liturgy of pilgrimage toward the transfiguration of the world, which will only take place when God is "all in all".I bought The Spirit of the Liturgy in November last year, and have just begun it. I am glad I have. I've only read three chapters, but I am finding it a truly wonderful and illuminating book. The quote above concludes a chapter that deals with Old Testament worship: Pope Benedict covers Israel's special form of worship when compared to the nations around her, and then goes on to describes its impermanence: its pointing towards something, Someone, greater. And he describes Christian Liturgy, of which the Eucharist is the summit, in such wonderful terms, such as those above, and:p. 50, Ignatius Press, 2000
...to celebrate the Eucharist means to enter into the openness effected by the Cross and Resurrection. Christian liturgy is never just an event organized by a particular group or set of people or even by a particular local Church. Mankind's movement towards Christ meets Christ's movement toward men.Mankind's movement towards Christ meets Christ's movement toward men: sublime.p. 49, Ignatius Press, 2000