Christ, not priest or faithful, is at center of the liturgy per Francis

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EvangelCatholic

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The more I read Pope Francis’ statements the more I am encouraged that he is leading the entire Church toward unity in Christ. These statements from a recent homily illustrates Francis’ centrality of Christ.

**ncronline.org/news/theology/christ-not-priest-or-faithful-center-liturgy-pope-says

"In his catechesis, the pope said, “If in the celebration (of Mass) the centrality of Christ does not emerge, we won’t have Christian liturgy, totally dependent on the Lord,” who supports it with his presence.

It’s not the action of the individual – whether the priest or one of the faithful – or the group gathered in the pews “that celebrates the liturgy, but it is primarily the action of God through the church, which has its own history, rich tradition and creativity.”**

The second paragraph sounds very Lutheran.

Any thoughts?
 
No very Catholic. Christ is always at the center of the Mass.
The true action of the priest and congregation is the action of Christ Himself.
It is Christ who offers the Mass to the Father .
The priest’s action is through the Person of Christ.

“The One that offers Sacrifice is the same One who, after having sacrificed himself on the Cross…to obtain for us eternal redemption…offers Himself now by the ministry of the priest; there is no difference except in the manner of offering.” [Council of Trent, S. 22, c.2]

“For in it Christ perpetuates in an unbloody manner the sacrifice offered on the Cross, offering Himself to the Father for the world’s salvation through the ministry of priests.” [Vatican 2 Documents.9:3]

“The Eucharistic Sacrifice is the source and summit of the whole of the Church’s worship and of Christian life. The faithful participate more fully in the sacrament of thanksgiving, propitiation, petition and praise not only when they wholeheartedly offer the sacred Victim, and in it themselves to the Father with the priest, but also when they receive this same Victim sacramentally.” [Vatican 2 Documents :9]

“The other sacraments, as indeed every ministry of the church and every work of the apostolate, are linked with the Eucharist and are directed towards it. For the Eucharist contains the entire spiritual good of the Church, namely, Christ Himself, our Passover and living bread, offering through His flesh, living and life-giving in the Spirit, life to all who are thus invited and led on to offer themselves, their labours, and all created things together with Him.” [Vatican 2 Documents.9:6]

Our beloved Savior is the center of the Mass and of the life of the Liturgy and the Church.
 
Second that. The priest celebrant is in fact an alter Christus, “another Christ”, or more precisely, Christ working in him. Check this out.

One of the benefits of the old custom of having the priest face east for the Eucharistic prayers is that one more easily sees past the priest to Christ working through him.
 
I might add…very joyfully Catholic! Wonderful post Trishie.
 
This is precisely why the ad Orientem posture has been traditional within the Church.
 
Come time to the papal election, the concern was the proper updating of the Liturgy, our top prelate, Cardinal Wuerl openly expressing his concern, same as Emeritus Pope Benedict. Abuses of the liturgy took the focus over to the participation of the laity…some thought the priest was becoming more like a celebrity.

Ironically, Martin Luther was reacting to the clericalism of the Church, where the laity could not even see the Mass being celebrated, the Eucharist being raised above this partition so that most would encounter Christ visually in spiritual communion and reflection, but not actual reception. The big surprise was how many hundreds of years this was happening before the Reformation.

The Church is a pendulum going back and forth to express Christ to the particular needs of believers in their times.

Cardinal Ratzinger’s ‘Spirit of the Liturgy’ is an attempt to restore the altar facing east…the Risen Christ coming to us to renew the new day and all of creation as the Rising Sun.

EvangelCatholic, alot of the contention within the Church these past 40 years was devout laity driving many miles to a parish where the Mass was celebrated with the focus on Christ.

The Mass is ‘set up’ to focus on Christ, but the gathering …coming up to begin Mass, different lay people doing functions at the altar during Mass, some types of music not befitting Christ physically present before us where the posture of Mass is adoration, skimpy and immodest dress at Mass, people talking in the Church as a meeting hall, some priests deviating from the Church teachings, the pulpit used as a political stand, all this caused great distress in the Church.

Too much lay participation of the Mass brought the spirit of the world into the Church in many ways beyond the Mass, and now with the internet and mass media and the indoctrination of our college children to be godless, as Cardinal Wuerl said at that same time, it is as if a tsunami of the world has come over the Church.

The remedy is poverty and return to the sense of the sacred in liturgy.

So we must pray for proper renewal of the liturgy by ecclesiastics, who alone have the proper authority to make any changes to the Mass.
 
I just attended a funeral Mass at another Parish. Before it began, I spoke with the adult altar server about the Mass that was going to take place. He informed me that his pastor just recieved a letter from our bishop relating to the funeral Mass. I noticed something nostalgic about the Priest before Mass, he approached the tabernacle prayed with his back to the people at different times, while facing East. And when the priest was confecting the Eucharist, I noticed the altar servers left the altar area all together, when only the Priest was visible during the Eucharistic prayers concluded.

It made me wonder if Pope Francis has made a statement to all the bishops regarding the Mass. This thread confirmed it.

When non-catholic Christians and protestants come to realize that Christ has always been the main celebrant of the Mass. This is not something new Pope Francis is teaching. Pope Francis is waking us up to the importance of the Mass, and inform our separated brethren to what they left behind (no pun intended on the left behind series).

If Catholics can regain this reality including myself, we would never want to miss another Mass. If protestants and non-catholic christians come to learn the Mass for what it really is, their love for Jesus would flood the gates of the Mass.

Just don’t attend our 10 am Mass we are busting out the sides and standing room only.
 
EvangelCatholic;10966909]The more I read Pope Francis’ statements the more I am encouraged that he is leading the entire Church toward unity in Christ. These statements from a recent homily illustrates Francis’ centrality of Christ.
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My thoughts are for all our separated brethren who hold to a “sola scriptura” doctrine. Pope Francis is calling all the faithful of Jesus Christ to come into His real and true substantial presence, where we celebrate our wedding feast of the Lamb to consume from the two tables of the Lord in both the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the “real presence” in the Eucharist.

As St.Thomas Aquainas quotes the old testament, “What great nation we are to have (the real presence of) God in our midst”…(paranthesis mine).

And a reminder to me and my fellow Catholics from Vatican II Dei Verbum ch.6. “It must not happen that any of them becomes “an empty preacher of the word of God outwardly, who is not a listener inwardly”, when it is their duty to be sharing the abundant riches of the divine word with the faithful entrusted to their care, especially in the sacred Lituryg”…
 
I agree with Evangel, it does sound rather Lutheran. But, this does not mean that it doesn’t sound Catholic. Perhaps we agree on this particular issue?

Cue rants from Catholics about apostolic succession.
 
ndismyhome said:
I agree with Evangel, it does sound rather Lutheran. But, this does not mean that it doesn’t sound Catholic. Perhaps we agree on this particular issue?
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I find it very inspiring that both Lutherans and Catholics take joy in Pope Francis’ and his teaching.

I remember one day I was telling on of my Catholic friends (who’s now the godfather of my third child) that I really loved Pope Benedict XVI - his retort was “Of course you do! He’s almost Lutheran!”

The idea of the good Pope being almost Lutheran got a chuckle out the other Catholics in attendance. More beer was served! 🙂
 
I am very inspired by Francis. There was an article In ‘The Lutheran’ magazine addressing the fact that some Lutherans refer to him as “our pope” just as they did with Benedict. And John 23rd is commemorated in the Lutheran calendar.

But Francis is different than any recent pope, in my opinion, for following the example of St Francis of Assisi, a saint many many Protestants revere.
 
Yes, Christ is the focus.

Abuses of Vatican II got away from Christ as atonement for sin, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I remember as a child the Roman missals in church, one side of missal in Latin, the other in English. One day the pastor came in and was constructing things at the altar, and then we had Vatican II Mass.

The transition for me was nothing. But my grandmother became very upset. The pulpit began to be used as a political statement. We had one particular priest who was trying so hard to live the gospel, went about town on a bicycle, but some how my grandmother didn’t see St. Francis reflected in the priest’s intentions. I heard recently that he is in prison, 40 years of protesting the government. God bless him.

I worked in the Italian missions and saw so much humanity in their Catholicism, that when I got back the American church looked neurotic and turned in on itself, and in this head trip, very bureaucratic. I told my grandmother I wanted to leave this American church.

I didn’t tell her either I wanted to consider myself Roman Catholic, meaning wholesome Catholic.

She told me she has a very hard time with the goings on, this about 1976. My grandmother told me she goes to Mass to hear the Word of God and receive the sacraments and keep her eyes away from looking at the priests.

The Church goes back and forth and in some places in even more directions than that. The key is believing and seeing the witness of Christ as the life of the Church and keep one’s eyes from looking too much at priests, even the good ones. They are all human and they serve the Body of Christ, and not just a few or certain particular ones.

We have to discover Christ in the Church. He is the lifeblood of the Church. He is the One present when the Holy Father speaks His will before the world, Who gives life, power, and goodness to the words of the Holy Father.
 
EvangelCatholic said:
Oops, thanks for pointing out the mistake. 😊
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Meh…I’ve done the same thing, no biggie. You can ask the mod to adjust the title.

I gotta tell you though, when I saw the quote:
Christ, not priest or faithful, is at center of the liturgy
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My reaction was. Yeah…and…?
Any Catholic who understands his faith should know that, even a clueless pew-warmer. 😃
 
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EvangelCatholic:
The more I read Pope Francis’ statements the more I am encouraged that he is leading the entire Church toward unity in Christ. These statements from a recent homily illustrates Francis’ centrality of Christ.

ncronline.org/news/theology/c…urgy-pope-says

"In his catechesis, the pope said, “If in the celebration (of Mass) the centrality of Christ does not emerge, we won’t have Christian liturgy, totally dependent on the Lord,” who supports it with his presence.

It’s not the action of the individual – whether the priest or one of the faithful – or the group gathered in the pews “that celebrates the liturgy, but it is primarily the action of God through the church, which has its own history, rich tradition and creativity.”

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
this has ALWAYS been. Nothing new here…

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EvangelCatholic said:
The more I read Pope Francis’ statements the more I am encouraged that he is leading the entire Church toward unity in Christ. These statements from a recent homily illustrates Francis’ centrality of Christ.

ncronline.org/news/theology/christ-not-priest-or-faithful-center-liturgy-pope-says

"In his catechesis, the pope said, “If in the celebration (of Mass) the centrality of Christ does not emerge, we won’t have Christian liturgy, totally dependent on the Lord,” who supports it with his presence.

It’s not the action of the individual – whether the priest or one of the faithful – or the group gathered in the pews “that celebrates the liturgy, but it is primarily the action of God through the church, which has its own history, rich tradition and creativity.”

The second paragraph sounds very Lutheran.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
This is the first indication that our Holy Father is being urged into conforming with the Whitehall bureaus of the Vatican. His advisors have advised him that he should moderate his language. This is an vital indication of the fact that we pray for our Holy Father and give him the courage to sack all of the Cardinals that rule the Vatican.
Benedict fell hook line an sinker for their ploy and had to abdicate because he knew that they had forced him into becoming a political Pontiff. Francis is now also being made to fall into the same trap. Our only hope is that being a Jesuit, Francis is bluffing. That he shall continue to send out his original message of the poor church for the poor regardless of internal politics.
Ave Papa
 
Why aren’t Catholics like God?

Why do Catholics take such a long time to forgive?

Why do we Catholics take ages to become friends?

Why do we have to see ourselves as being trustworthy before we can see those that are seeking our trustworthiness?

It’s obvious to me. Take that plank out of your eye and you can then look at God.
 
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