How “Catholic” is the Sacred Liturgy? Or: A Mass for the Masses

Abstract

How “Catholic” is the Sacred Liturgy? Or: A Mass for the Masses Paul Jerome Keller, O.P. If “catholic” means universal, is the Sacred Liturgy, or what Roman Catholics refer to as the Mass, for everyone? Do we really mean that it is universal, that is for each and every person, regardless of country, race, age, practices or beliefs? Or, is it, as many take the Liturgy to be, reserved only for those who are baptized Catholics or Orthodox?1 Or can we go even further and say that the Sacred Liturgy is to be limited only to those faithful Catholics and Orthodox who truly hold what the Church holds regarding the contents of the faith and the morals that the Church teaches? Should, then, those who find themselves in disagreement with the Church’s dogmatic and moral teachings, or even the Church’s cultic practices, all take themselves elsewhere to worship? In this article, I will argue that the Sacred, or Divine, Liturgy is truly catholic or universal. It is meant for every person as the most excellent way to worship God. Indeed, no one is excluded from the Sacred Liturgy; rather, it is the only universally true form of divine worship valid for everyone.2 This is an important truth during the Year of Faith announced by Pope Benedict XVI as “a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Savior of the world.”3 Moreover, the love of Christ, the pope 1 Throughout this article, although I refer to “Catholic,” it is my concern not to exclude Orthodox Christians from the conversation, given that our respective liturgies are both Eucharistic and sacrificial. 2 It is understood, of course, that, in order to most fully participate in the Mass is to also receive Holy Communion, an act reserved to those who fully accept all the doctrinal and moral teachings of the Catholic Church and are in a state of grace. Nevertheless, even a Catholic who is prevented from receiving Holy Communion is still obliged to worship at Mass on the prescribed days of the year, pointing to the fact of the supreme importance of worship at the Sacred Liturgy, which I treat below. 3 Benedict XVI, Apostolic Letter motu proprio data Porta Fidei (11 October 2011) 6. Antiphon 17.3 (2013): 212–224 213 How “Catholic” is the Sacred Liturgy? Or: A Mass for the Masses says, “fills our hearts and impels us to evangelize…,” sent by Christ “through the highways of the world to proclaim his Gospel to all the peoples of the earth (cf. Mt 28:19).”4 This year, he instructs, is “a good opportunity to intensify the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist, which is ‘the summit towards which the activity of the Church is directed…and also the source from which all its power flows.’”5 My argument runs as follows. The worship of God is a necessary (though not the whole) part of what fulfills human beings. God has revealed how best to worship him in order that we might be happy, most especially through the Incarnation of his Son, Jesus Christ. Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist as the supreme act of worship. Since God desires all people to be saved, that is, find eternal happiness, all are called to worship God through the supreme act of worship instituted by Christ, which takes place in the Sacred Liturgy. Made for Paradise As the Catechism of the Catholic Church points out, “God put us in the world to know, to love, and to serve him, and so come to paradise.”6 Adam and Eve, in the first paradise before their fall, enjoyed the realm of creation that God had given them, but more so, they enjoyed perfect friendship with God. God’s plan for them was that they would collaborate with him “in perfecting the visible creation.”7 Most important, however, was that their entire existence, their work, their rest, their mutual relations, consisted in a delight, a profound happiness that resulted from the joy of friendship with God. By the grace of original justice, Adam and Eve honored and loved God for himself...