杏MAP导航 at Audience: Liturgy and prayer unite us to Christ
By Devin Watkins
Speaking from the library of the Apostolic Palace, 杏MAP导航 Francis held his Wednesday General Audience which was live-streamed to the faithful around the world.
In his continuing catechesis on Christian prayer, the 杏MAP导航 spoke about how the Church鈥檚 liturgical celebrations make Christ present in our lives.
He began by noting that Christian history is rife with movements which pushed liturgical rites aside.
鈥淥ften,鈥� he said, 鈥渢his tendency claimed the supposed greater purity of a religiousness that did not depend on external ceremonies, which were considered a useless or harmful burden.鈥�
Many modern Catholics, he added, attend Mass on Sunday but feed their own spirituality through various personal devotions.
Liturgy and life
杏MAP导航 Francis went on to say that the Church has made much progress in recent decades regarding the centrality of the liturgy in the life of faith.
Christian prayer, he said, is closely linked to concrete expressions of faith, such as Sacred Scripture, the Sacraments, and liturgical rites.
鈥淚n Christian life, the corporeal and material sphere may not be dispensed with, because in Jesus Christ it became the way of salvation,鈥� he said.
Prayer based in liturgy
Liturgy, said the 杏MAP导航, is more than just spontaneous prayer. 鈥淚t is an act that founds the whole Christian experience and, therefore, also prayer. It is event, it is happening, it is presence, it is an encounter with Christ.鈥�
He said Jesus Christ 鈥渕akes himself present in the Holy Spirit through the sacramental signs.鈥�
鈥淐hristianity without a liturgy is a Christianity without Christ,鈥� he stressed.
Heartfelt participation
The 杏MAP导航 continued by saying the liturgy, by its very nature, invites us to participate fully, so that we might receive the grace God offers through it.
鈥淢any Christian prayers do not originate from the liturgy,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut all of them, if they are Christian, presuppose the liturgy, that is, the sacramental mediation of Jesus Christ.鈥�
Christ, he added, is present every time a Sacrament is celebrated.
鈥楥elebrating鈥� the liturgy
杏MAP导航 Francis said prayer is what allows us to interiorize Jesus鈥� sacramental presence. 鈥淲hat is external to us becomes part of us鈥�, a reality expressed in the natural action of eating.
鈥淭he Mass cannot simply be 鈥榣istened to鈥�," he pointed out, "as if we were merely spectators of something that slips away without our involvement. The Mass is always celebrated, and not only by the priest who presides over it, but by all Christians who experience it.鈥�
Christ is the center
The 杏MAP导航 concluded his catechesis noting that Christ is the centre of the liturgy, and that every Christian is invited to participate wholeheartedly in the Sacraments.
鈥淟ife is called to become worship to God, but this cannot happen without prayer, especially liturgical prayer.鈥�
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