O COME LET US ADORE HIM

There is an old clerical joke: What is the difference between a liturgist (someone who studies/teaches liturgy) and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist! Liturgy, which is our public worship of God, is important. It is important because it is the action of Jesus, our High Priest. The liturgy is not the possession of any one person, it belongs to the Body of Christ, the Church. That is why it is regulated by the Church for the good of all.  The liturgy is that place where we ‘kiss’ God, so to speak, where we come into intimate contact with him. In the liturgy we join together as brothers and sisters to worship and adore God, our Father. The liturgy is not about how I feel or what I get out of it, rather, it should be about my effort to praise God, to go out of my way to worship him.  But God can never be outdone in giving; whenever we offer him praise we are the ones who benefit, the blessing rebounds upon us. The cry that ‘I am bored at Mass,’ means that someone is not tuned in to what is going on, the awesome action of Calvary played out on our altars in sacramental fashion.

It is so important that we celebrate liturgy to the best of our ability, and everyone has a part to play in that.  Even if you don’t have an obvious active role, you can arrive in good time to prepare yourself in prayer and by reading the scripture for the day. The atmosphere of the church should be reflective, quiet; of course you should greet your fellow parishioners and be concerned for them; but full blow conversations are for another time, coming together for coffee after Mass.  Habitually coming late for Mass can be a distraction to others trying to listen to the Word or be at prayer; of course anyone can be late from time to time, these things happen. So it is not just Readers, Servers, Musicians, Priests, Greeters and Eucharistic Ministers who need to follow their rotas and be in good time, no, it is all of us, for we are all called to participate in the great prayer of Christ that we call the liturgy.

From time to time it is important to take stock of our liturgical celebrations; how well we are doing them, the times that we are celebrating, how, if at all, we can improve and so on. In all these things, one guiding principle is the Jesuit motto: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. All that we do should be done for The Greater Glory of God.