Joseph Ratzinger , The Spirit of the Liturgy.
‘The
Spirit of the Liturgy’ was the title of Romano Guardini’s book published in
1918. This little book inaugurated a Liturgical movement in Germany. It led to
a striving for the celebration of the liturgy ‘more substantially’. The liturgy
is the prayer of the Church, moved and guided by the Holy spirit.
This
volume by Joseph Ratzinger looks for a contemporary genuine renewal of the
sacred Liturgy and its role in the renewal of the Church and Her role in the
world today.
About the Author: The
author Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany is now Pope Benedict-XVI. He has
served the Catholic Church in various capacities. For over two decades he was the
Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith under Pope John Paul II.
He is a renowned theologian and author of several works like Introduction to Christianity, Salt of the
Earth, God is Near Us, etc.
The
book is divided into four parts. Each part has some chapters that shed light
upon the whole.
The Essence of the
Liturgy
i)
Liturgy
and Life: The place of the Liturgy in Reality: This
chapter deals with the basic questions relating to liturgy. What is the
liturgy? What kind of reality does a participant encounter in the liturgy? He
uses some analogies to explain these. On the one side they show the
insufficiency of human actions in recreating the divine story on the other
bring us closer to the essence of the liturgy including a kind of anticipation
and a prelude for the eternal life to come. The analogy of the freedom of
Israelites from Egypt is a movement with a goal. “Let my people go, that they
may serve me in the wilderness.” This motive of the Exodus sheds a new light at
the God given liberation and Israelite history. The service of God. The
Israelites journey of faith towards the Promised Land is ultimately directed
towards the future with God. The land becomes a real gift and a promise
fulfilled when it is the place where God reigns. By the process of the
wilderness journey they learn to worship God as He Himself wants. Cult, liturgy
and life according to the will of God are indispensable part of true worship. Liturgy
is not ‘doing what you please’ (dramatically evident in the evident in the
narrative of the golden calf). Liturgy implies a real relationship with God,
who reveals himself to us and gives our existence a new direction.
ii)
Liturgy-Cosmos-History:
It is widely accepted that in most of
the non theistic and nature religions, the cult is focused on the cosmos;
whereas in the Old Testament and Christianity the orientation is towards
History. However the idea of worship being cosmic or historical is not fully
mutually exclusive. Christian worship at the same time, is about faith in the
Redeemer as well as faith in the Creator. Man and the whole creation move
towards the Sabbath. In which they participate in the rest and freedom of God.
Thus Sabbath is a sign of covenant between God and man. This covenant of love is
the goal of creation as well as worship. Only in the covenant with God does man
become free. Man’s response of gratitude to God’s goodness is worship. The
creation is the space for the covenant where God and man meet, thus it is the
place of worship. The goal of worship and creation are the same, a world of
freedom and love in God.
iii)
From
Old Testament to New: The Fundamental Form of the Christian Liturgy-Its
Determination by Biblical Faith: The basic
definition of worship is marked by an awareness of man’s fall and estrangement
and the struggle for atonement, forgiveness and reconciliation. Thus worship is
an attempt found at every stage in history to overcome guilt and bring back
one’s own life and the world in the right order. How is one supposed to make valid
atonement? These ideas of atonement and representation were behind most of the
world’s sacrificial religions, including Israel’s. The uniqueness in Israel’s
worship was that, it was addressed to the one true God. Adoration is due to God
alone was the first commandment, this worship was offered through an extensive
sacrificial system. But when we read the Jewish Torah carefully we see another
element. Leviticus 26 presents the threat of exile and promise of new blessings
this shows that the present form was not an eternally valid form of worship.
This gave the opening for the coming of Christ and the new covenant. The old
temple was the body of exclusion as it was a particular expression of Jewish
faith. Jesus in the destruction of His body showed the end of the old order
(temple) and with His resurrection the beginning of the new. The living body of
Jesus that stood in the sight of God, not made of human hands. Into this body
all humans are incorporated.
Time and Space in the
Liturgy
i)
The
Relationship of the Liturgy to Time and Space: Some Preliminary Questions: There
has been a strong question regarding the importance of a holy place and holy
time within Christianity. Whether such separate times are there or isn’t all
time and space made sanctified by Christ. This however totally overlooks the
eschatological dimension of Christian faith and talks as if the new heaven and
earth are already come. The Church though believes in the present nature of the
Kingdom of God, still waits for its final consummation in God’s time. The
liturgy is the means by which the earthly time and space are inserted into the
time and space of Jesus Christ, the turning point in the redemption process.
ii)
Sacred
Places-The Significance of the Church Building: Church
buildings are accepted by all as the space that makes possible the gathering of
Christians for liturgy. The Christian house of worship came in continuity with
the Jewish synagogue closely related in architectural as well as liturgical
structure. However the significance of praying towards the east, the altar at
the East wall (because of the idea of Jesus coming as glorious as the rising
sun) are particular to the Christian church. The synagogue didn’t allow women they had separate galleries this
practice is discontinued in the church.
iii)
The
Altar and the Direction of Liturgical Prayer: There
has been a reshaping of the Jewish synagogue for Christian worship. Therefore
there is both newness and a historical continuity. In Christendom the direction
of the liturgical prayer is turning towards the East. It is a fundamental
expression of Christian understanding of the cosmos and history, of being
rooted in the once for all salvation history and going out to meet the Lord who
will come again in the east.
iv)
The
Reservation of the Blessed Sacrament. The
Eucharistic celebration is the prime event in the life of the Christian Church.
For St. Paul the bread and the wine became the Body and blood of Christ. St.
John’s gospel with vigour upholds the idea of real presence. The Eucharist
upholds the corporate nature of the community and its worship and also contains
dynamism for the transformation of the whole humankind. The church understands
the presence of Christ in the sacrament as mystery. The setting of the
tabernacle and altar all play important role in its proper expression.
v)
Sacred
Time: All time is God’s time, we are well
aware of this fact. When the eternal Word assumed human existence at
incarnation, He also attained temporality. He drew time into the sphere of
eternity by entering in to it. Thus the time of the church is a “between” time,
between shadow and reality. Time is a cosmic reality determined by the cycles
of the sun, moon and earth. The coming together of these two determines the
liturgical festivals and the allocation of sacred time.
Art and Liturgy
i)
The
Question of Images: The first commandment
of the Decalogue gives instruction about the uniqueness of God and prohibits
making of idols. How then do we justify all the grottos, crucifix and so many
other images of apostles and Saints? Images and icons have an important role in
appealing to the senses and bringing in inner transformation. St. Thomas’ usage
of “My Lord and My God” is with a Trinitarian image. The Son could only become
incarnate as man; as man had already been planned in relation to him who
himself was the image of God.
ii)
Music
and Liturgy: Biblical religion gives a prominent
place to singing and music. In desperate situations it has an overwhelming
experience of God’s saving power. Liturgical singing has a prominent place in
both scriptural as well as early church traditions.
Liturgical Form
i)
Rite:
This chapter leads us to the real
understanding of the meaning of the term Rite, freeing it from the baggage of
contemporary use in a negative sense.
ii)
The
Body and Liturgy: In this chapter we come
across various signs, symbols, body gestures which are used in the liturgical
practices, and their significance.
Conclusion
This work is considered by many scholars as the
greatest work by Cardinal Ratzinger on Liturgy. The author places Liturgy at
the very centre of Christian life, ecclesiastical as well as personal. The author has been successful in presenting
the spiritual wealth of the Liturgy in a fresh appealing way to the 21st
Century Christian without losing any of its traditional value and well
supported by the Scripture. However the author is presenting a Catholic
perspective and many of the interpretations are not applicable in case of
Eastern Church. Keeping this little fact in mind the book is good reading with
depth and providing lot of meaningful insights helpful in understanding the
richness of traditional Liturgy.
