223. How does the Holy Spirit work in the liturgy of the Church? (part 2) (continuation)
(Comp
223 repetition) The very closest cooperation is at work in the liturgy between
the Holy Spirit and the Church. The Holy Spirit prepares the Church to
encounter her Lord. He recalls and manifests Christ to the faith of the assembly.
He makes the mystery of Christ really present. He unites the Church to the life
and mission of Christ and makes the gift of communion bear fruit in the Church.
“In brief”
(CCC 1112) The mission of the Holy Spirit in the liturgy of
the Church is to prepare the assembly to encounter Christ; to recall and
manifest Christ to the faith of the assembly; to make the saving work of Christ
present and active by his transforming power; and to make the gift of communion
bear fruit in the Church.
To deepen and explain
(CCC 1094) It is on this harmony of the two Testaments that
the Paschal catechesis of the Lord is built (Cf. DV 14-16; Lk 24:13-49), and
then, that of the Apostles and the Fathers of the Church. This catechesis
unveils what lay hidden under the letter of the Old Testament: the mystery of
Christ. It is called "typological" because it reveals the newness of
Christ on the basis of the "figures" (types) which announce him in
the deeds, words, and symbols of the first covenant. By this re-reading in the
Spirit of Truth, starting from Christ, the figures are unveiled (Cf. 2 Cor
3:14-16). Thus the flood and Noah's ark prefigured salvation by Baptism (Cf. 1
Pet 3:21), as did the cloud and the crossing of the Red Sea. Water from the
rock was the figure of the spiritual gifts of Christ, and manna in the desert
prefigured the Eucharist, "the true bread from heaven" (Jn 6:32; cf.
1 Cor 10:1-6). (CCC 1095) For this reason the Church, especially during Advent
and Lent and above all at the Easter Vigil, re-reads and re-lives the great
events of salvation history in the "today" of her liturgy. But this
also demands that catechesis help the faithful to open themselves to this
spiritual understanding of the economy of salvation as the Church's liturgy
reveals it and enables us to live it.
On reflection
(CCC 1096) Jewish
liturgy and Christian liturgy. A better knowledge of the Jewish people's
faith and religious life as professed and lived even now can help our better
understanding of certain aspects of Christian liturgy. For both Jews and
Christians Sacred Scripture is an essential part of their respective liturgies:
in the proclamation of the Word of God, the response to this word, prayer of
praise and intercession for the living and the dead, invocation of God's mercy.
In its characteristic structure the Liturgy of the Word originates in Jewish
prayer. The Liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical texts and formularies, as
well as those of our most venerable prayers, including the Lord's Prayer, have
parallels in Jewish prayer. The Eucharistic Prayers also draw their inspiration
from the Jewish tradition. The relationship between Jewish liturgy and
Christian liturgy, but also their differences in content, are particularly
evident in the great feasts of the liturgical year, such as Passover.
Christians and Jews both celebrate the Passover. For Jews, it is the Passover
of history, tending toward the future; for Christians, it is the Passover
fulfilled in the death and Resurrection of Christ, though always in expectation
of its definitive consummation. [IT CONTINUES]
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