| Liturgical
Spirituality
KAY MURDY
Among all the voices that assault us daily, how are we to decide which
is the voice of truth? The Bible’s answer is to listen intently to what
God is telling us through the word and the community of faith. God’s voice
gives meaning to our lives. Listening is not enough; we must also be willing
to obey what we hear. That means being submissive to God’s word, being
a servant even at the cost of suffering for our obedience. That is the
way that Jesus learned God’s will. That is the way all sons and daughters
of God learn to love and serve as Jesus did.
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 16
Prv 9:1–6; Ps 34:2–3, 4–5,
6–7; Eph 5:15–20; Jn 6:51–58
“Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord”
(Ps 34:11). Wisdom invites us to a wonderful banquet where we are fed and
nourished by God. Folly invites us to loneliness and alienation. We are
free to go to the table we choose. However, we are warned not to be foolish
but to be wise and moderate in all our choices. We are urged to “be filled
with the Spirit” (Eph 5:18) rather than being intoxicated with the ways
of the world. Joined by God’s Spirit, we are exhorted always and everywhere
to sing praise and give thanks to God for every good gift.
Jesus is the teacher of God’s ways: God’s wisdom personified. He invites
us to a banquet of unity and harmony where divisions and quarrels are healed.
Jesus explains in a metaphor of food and drink the intimate relationship
that exists between the believer and himself. While the people in the desert
were nourished by the manna that fell from the heavens, Jesus is living
bread that comes directly from the hand of God to feed us. The life he
gives is not merely symbolic but “flesh and blood” — real food and real
drink. Jesus is among the community that prays and celebrates God’s presence
in word and sacrament.
For Reflection: Do I nourish others in my community with Christ’s
mercy and compassion?
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 23
Jos 24:1–2, 15–17, 18; Ps
34:2–3, 16–17, 18–19, 20–21, 22–23; Eph 5:21–32; Jn 6:60–69
Before they crossed over into the Promised Land, Joshua gathered all
the people and challenged them to make a decision. Would they serve the
gods of the world or the true God of Israel? Fidelity to God is not easy.
We must think carefully before taking on such an obligation. We must decide
not only today but tomorrow and the next day. We hope that we will say,
as Joshua did: “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (24:15).
But can I decide for others when my own faith commitment may be fragile?
Can I make such a commitment for my loved ones — spouses who do not believe,
children who are disinterested? We must not impose our faith on others
but rather defer to one another, waiting patiently for the Spirit to stir
each heart to make a decision.
Jesus knows how weak our human flesh is. He knows we sometimes fail
to take his words seriously. We murmur in protest at his hard words, even
though we know the promise they contain: “The words that I have spoken
to you are spirit and life” (Jn 6:63b). Jesus knows there are some among
us who do not believe. “Do you want to leave me too?” he asks. “To whom
can we go?” we cry. “You have the words of eternal life” (v 68b).
For Reflection: Have I pledged my faithful commitment to the
Lord today?
22 Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 30
Dt 4:1–2, 6–8; Ps 15:2–3,
3–4, 4–5; Jas 1:17–18, 21–22, 27; Mk 7:1–8, 14–15, 21–23
The Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai contained
statutes and ordinances that the people of God were required to observe.
These were not ten choices to obey or disregard as they chose. The people
were not to add or subtract from the divine word (Hebrew, dabar).
If God’s people obeyed God’s commands, everyone would recognize God’s wisdom.
James asks us to welcome God’s word as a perfect gift from above. We
must have the humility to know that God’s wisdom surpasses our own limited
intelligence. God’s word is life-giving; it has the power to save us. But
simply hearing God’s word is not enough; we must allow it to take root
in our lives so that we can act on what we hear. We are deceiving ourselves
if we fail to obey God’s commands.
Jesus echoes the words of the prophet Isaiah 29:13, “This people honors
me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Mk 7:6). Jesus summons
us to ignore those who obscure the will of God with their human traditions
and listen to his voice. Murder, greed, envy, deceit, and lust are all
arrogant blasphemies against God’s word. Jesus commands: “Hear me, all
of you, and understand” (v 14b).
For Reflection: Do I merely hear God’s word, or do I truly listen
and then act on it?
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, September
6
Is 35:4–7; Ps 146:7, 8–9,
9–10; Jas 2:1–5; Mk 7:31–37
In bondage for a generation, the people of God did not hear Isaiah’s
message of hope. But God was trustworthy! God secured justice for the oppressed
and set the captives free. Then their eyes were opened to God’s mercy,
and their ears could hear God’s commands.
James declared: “Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters” (2:5). We
may be poor in the sight of the world, yet God chose us, welcomed us into
the kingdom and made us rich in faith. If God has been so gracious to us,
we must not show favoritism to the rich and powerful. Since God has liberated
us from a life of sin, we must not be oppressive toward those who are powerless
and defenseless. Discrimination has no place in hearts that have been set
free.
God’s saving mercy was fully revealed in Jesus Christ. To those who
have not heard God’s voice, Jesus says, “Ephphatha! Be opened!” To those
unable to sing God’s praises, Jesus says, “Ephphatha!” To hearts and minds
closed to the needs of the poor and the suffering in the world, Jesus says,
“Ephphatha!” With ears opened and tongue released, we sing, “Praise the
Lord, my soul!”
For Reflection: Are my ears open to hear God’s truth? Am I able
to see Christ in the disadvantaged?
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September
13
Is 50:4–9; Ps 116:1–2, 3–4,
5–6, 8–9; Jas 2:14–18; Mk 8:27–35
How often we fail to see the suffering of people around us. We shut
our ears, refusing to listen to their anguished pleas. The prophet Isaiah
was able to speak God’s words only because he first listened. Hearing also
implies obeying. Isaiah paid a price for answering God’s call, yet he did
not rebel or turn back. He knew that God would not allow him to be put
to shame.
James challenges us to hear and obey God’s voice in the cries of our
suffering brothers and sisters. “What good is it to profess your faith
without practicing it?” he asks. Faith and works are not mutually exclusive.
“Show me your faith apart from your works,” James demands, “and I by my
works will show you my faith” (v 18b).
As Jesus’s disciples, we have seen his works and heard his words. But
do we really understand who he is and what his message contains? Peter
speaks decisively, “You are the Messiah,” and then just as quickly shows
that he has misunderstood. We are judging by the world’s standards if we
think that Jesus’s mission is only one of power and glory. God’s anointed
one is fully revealed on the cross. Like the master, the servant must take
up the cross so that the world can see and hear the good news of the gospel.
For Reflection: In what ways is my faith demonstrated in the
work that I do?
Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September
14
Nm 21:4b–9; Ps 78:1–2, 34–35,
36–37, 38; Phil 2:6–11; Jn 3:13–17
On the Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land, they had neither bread
nor water, and they blamed God and Moses for their plight. As punishment
for their sins, many of the people were bitten by poisonous snakes and
died. Moses interceded for the people and God commanded him to take a staff
and mount a bronze image of a serpent (ancient symbol of evil [Gn 3:1];
the medical symbol is the staff of Asklepios, the god of medicine). All
who looked on it were healed.
Moses lifted up the bronze serpent over the people, foreshadowing the
saving power of Jesus when he was lifted up on the cross. Jesus himself
made this analogy when Nicodemus, a respected leader in the community,
came to him by night.
The cross is at the heart of the Christian message. It is the intersection
of the human and the divine, the arms of God outstretched to embrace suffering
humankind. Good Friday is dedicated to the passion of Christ and the crucifixion.
Exaltation of the Holy Cross celebrates the cross itself as the instrument
of salvation. It empowers Christians to raise up Christ in all their activities.
For Reflection: Make the sign of the cross slowly and deliberately
to help fix your mind and heart on Jesus’s gift of salvation.
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September
20
Wis 2:12, 17–20; Ps 54:3–4,
5, 6–8; Jas 3:16—4:3; Mk 9:30–37
The world doesn’t listen readily to prophets. It is much easier to kill
the messenger than to make the changes that the prophet demands. “Let us
see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end
of his life” (Wis 2:17). The psalmist upholds the faithfulness of God.
If we offer a life of sacrifice to God, we can be confident that God will
save us.
James declares that the “harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for
those who make peace” (3:18). Two thousand years later, Pope Paul VI echoed
James’s words, “If you want peace, work for justice!” James suggests that
before we start pointing the finger at others, we look into our own hearts
to determine where the conflicts and disputes originate.
We are Jesus’s disciples, yet we argue who is the most important among
us. Jesus tells us that if we are to be truly great, we must be servants
first. He illustrates this by embracing a child, the least important member
in the community. A child is powerless and defenseless in the face of injustice.
“Welcome these little ones,” Jesus tells us, “and you will be welcoming
the one who sent me.” We fall silent when confronted with these words of
truth.
For Reflection: How do I proclaim peace and justice to my community?
Ritually Speaking
DARREN M. HENSON
Singing the Gloria
It takes a lot of effort to get a Catholic Mass off the ground and going.
Specifically, it takes a lot of singing! We sing an opening song as the
assembly gathers and the ministers process to the altar. Some words are
spoken, and the assembly finds themselves singing again, this time for
God’s mercy. Just when all seems done, it’s not. The Gloria is intoned,
yet another hymn ensuing. In the Easter season, more music accompanies
the sprinkling rite preceding the Gloria. And all this takes place even
before the assembly hears the words, “Let us pray” — the very thing they
gathered to do in the first place.
In the face of this, pastoral musicians are quick to recite the famous
quotation, perhaps from St. Augustine: “To sing is to pray twice.” The
Gloria is a lovely hymn, yet some may ask, “Where does it come from?” and
“Why do we sing it?”
Attention to singing the Gloria was renewed when the 2002 General
Instruction of the Roman Missal stated, “The Gloria is a very ancient
and venerable hymn in which the Church, gathered together in the Holy Spirit,
glorifies and entreats God the Father and the Lamb” (53). Because it is
a hymn, it is best sung. When not sung, it may be recited but not omitted
on days that it is prescribed. It is presumed for every Sunday outside
of Advent and Lent and at all solemnities, feasts, and other solemn celebrations.
The hymn begins with the song of the angels at the nativity. Not surprisingly,
it has ties with the Christmas celebration. Pontifical history shows that
Pope Telesphorus (128–139?) wanted an angelic hymn (Gloria in Excelsis
Deo) sung at the feast of the incarnation. Pope Symmachus (498–514)
wanted the angelic hymn to precede every Sunday eucharistic sacrifice and
all the feasts of martyrs. As a preferred hymn of the popes, it gradually
became associated with liturgies in which the bishop presided. By the 11th
century, two modifications emerged. First, many priests had begun to recite
the Gloria before offering the sacrifice of the Mass; hence it became commonplace
at every liturgy. Second, the practice of reciting a hymn rather than singing
it established a precedent.
Reciting a hymn is about as exciting as speaking the “Happy Birthday”
song, which is really difficult to do without at least breaking into a
rhythmic cadence. This is why in recent years, renewed efforts have been
made to sing this nearly two-millennia-old hymn. Our glory is magnified
to God when the Gloria is sung with melody, voices, and resounding organ.
A new document by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reexamining
pastoral music, entitled Sing to the Lord, includes some notes on
the Gloria. This hymn, once exclusive to a pontifical Mass, has now evolved
to a point where “it is sung by all, by the people alternately with the
choir or cantor, or by the choir alone. If not sung, it is recited either
by all together or by two parts of the congregation in alternation” (149).
Composers of liturgical music today confess that the Gloria is the most
difficult part of the Mass texts to set to music. It is one long hymn.
Yet many assemblies find music more accommodating when there is a common
refrain that they can sing, leaving the more technical verses to a cantor
or choir. Sing to the Lord addresses this more current development
in the praxis of the Gloria as it states, “While through-composed settings
of the Gloria give clearest expression to the text, the addition
of refrains is permitted, provided the refrains encourage congregational
participation” (149). A last point made by the U.S. bishops regards the
location of the Gloria within the Mass. It may not be moved, nor can it
replace the entrance song or be sung while enacting a sprinkling rite (150).
After the gathered faithful admit their sin, this magnificent hymn is
unleashed. It expresses that when God is given the highest place, when
God is the central authority in one’s life and among a gathered body of
worshipers, a sweet heavenly peace comes. The Gloria also foretells that
the Eucharist that is about to unfold is exactly how we as humans give
our glory to God. Only through this communion among individuals and God
can peace be realized. This eloquent hymn prayer includes worship, praise,
blessing, glorifying, and giving thanks to God. Its praise is addressed
to each of the three persons of the Trinity. It acknowledges God as the
Holy One, the Lord, and the Most High.
As it was once used to highlight the feast of the Incarnation, the Gloria
is now a useful hymn prayer to recall for the gathered assembly how the
sacramental life of the church, particularly the Eucharist, prolongs the
incarnation in the world today. God is really with us in word and in sacrament.
This is reason for us to give glory to God, and singing the Gloria is a
fitting way for us to enter into prayer for feasts and all Sundays. ML
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