How We Can Strive for Active Participation in the Liturgy
The Catholic liturgy is a profound and mystical experience that often gets overlooked and taken for granted. As Catholics, we are exposed weekly (if not daily) to rituals steeped in historical, scriptural, and spiritual significance. Our liturgy is meant to captivate us, engaging the whole person: body and soul. It engages our senses with sounds, sights, smells, tastes, and touches and lifts our souls through worship, prayer, and the sacramental graces of the Eucharist. The Church envisions a congregation of disciples offering themselves completely in union with the eternal choirs of heaven worshiping our Father. Oftentimes our experience of the Mass doesn’t quite meet this description. Sometimes, instead of beautiful music that helps us dive deeper into prayer, it’s distracting and off-key. Instead of the mystical and elevated experience the Church describes, what we find is a room of crying babies, exhausted parents, and people waiting to leave to watch “the big game”. When our experiences seem to contradict the significance of what’s being articulated, we can become numb to what’s happening in reality. However, in the midst of all of this, the Church sees the liturgy as beautiful because of our humanity, not in spite of it. As the laity, we have a part to play, a role to fill in the liturgical celebration. Here is your friendly reminder.
The Second Vatican Council's document, Sacrosanctum Concilium, played a pivotal role in reinvigorating the liturgy in the 20th Century and emphasizing the active participation of the congregation. In one of its key statements, it declares that "The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; it is also the font from which all her power flows." (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10) This puts the liturgy at the front and center of the action of the Church, and we as the laity are invited in. The Mass doesn’t exist in a vacuum that excludes the world and its members. The Mass is meant to be celebrated among all of God’s people. If the liturgy is where “all her power flows”, then it is reasonable to ask the question where does the power flow to? I would submit that the answer is all those who receive the Eucharist. By the power of the liturgy, the Church empowers us and feeds us with the Body of Christ, to go out into the world to be the Body of Christ. Remember when I said “all who receive the Eucharist,” the power of God that is received is not just for priests and religious, the liturgy is the place for us laity to get energized by the power of God as well.
So our first responsibility as the laity is to be there! "Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy." (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 14). It is here the Church beautifully describes our responsibility in the liturgy proper. Notably, this topic is of huge significance and there’s no way to unpack all of it here. Simply put, when we look at the idea of active participation, the Church is talking about all the parts in the liturgy the laity has parts in. This means all the sitting, standing, kneeling, speaking, and yes - singing. She clearly states, "active participation by the faithful is to be desired, and promoted above all in the sung Mass." (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 54). As the congregation actively listens, prays, and responds during the liturgy, it becomes a transformative experience for all involved. When the congregation sings together, it becomes a symbol of the Church's unity and universality, transcending differences of language and culture. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal encourages the assembly to sing the parts of the Mass that pertain to them, fostering a sense of communal worship. Our singing and responding unifies us as one Body of Christ. A huge part of the effort we put into our worship is our willingness to respond and participate.
Active participation also extends beyond physical actions; it encompasses the interior disposition of the faithful as well. Active participation should not be seen as a mere external activity but should be grounded in a deep understanding of the liturgical actions and their significance. It encourages the faithful to "be instructed by God's word, and be nourished at the table of the Lord's body" to fully grasp the meaning of the liturgical celebration. (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 48). This is arguably the hardest work we have to do as the laity within the context of our role in the liturgy.. It is the participation that is “fully conscious' '. This part of our responsibility is done outside the walls of our churches. We cannot have fully conscious participation in something we know nothing about. It is through our own personal study and pursuit of knowledge that we come to participate more fully. As we come to know the liturgy more deeply, we become more ready to participate.
We know this to be true in our own experience. It is impossible to invest in, or participate in the festivities surrounding watching a good sporting event if you know nothing about it. Watching a college football game while not knowing the teams, the rules, how to score, or even how to win would be intimidating and also not any fun. All the fun happens once you begin to know how to win, what’s at stake, the team's rivalry history etc. In the same way, we must know our liturgy. This means we need to know what we’re doing and why. We need to know the readings ahead of time. We need to know what the Eucharist is and why it’s important. If we have a responsibility to participate in Mass in a way that is fully conscious, then we have a responsibility to learn. Learning more about the liturgy means you need resources! Here are some we recommend:
The Spirit of the Liturgy by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Romano Guardini
Though it may seem like there is a chasm between what the Church describes, what is happening in the Mass and our own experience of it, bridging the gap between those two realities is not an insurmountable task. While of course there are things outside of our control that can hinder our experience of the liturgy, there is something within our control, namely ourselves. We can determine how we experience the liturgy insofar as we are willing to have a fully conscious and active role in it. This responsibility truly falls on us as the laity. We need to show up, participate, and learn more. If you found this article to be helpful in any way, please share it with a friend, family member, or church family member, who may need it! Please know that I am praying for your journey to fully understand and participate in the Mass, please pray the same for me.
By: Steven Joubert