Just what is Liturgy?

'I've never really seen the point to historical liturgy.'

These words were spoken by a very good friend of mine a few days ago and they have repeated on my mind on and off since then as I have tried to understand and to be able to articulate why the phrasing didn't sit well with me. I hasten to point out that they were spoken in friendly tones as part of a discussion we were having about the different preferences for worship styles that we and another friend of ours have. It was simply an expression of his own feeling on the matter and not any sort of criticism of mine - I say that because this isn't very clear with the words quoted out of context.

My friend is Roman Catholic and describes his spirituality as charismatic. He has an appreciation for tradition but finds his home in freer, meditative styles of worship with modern music, and without what he might perceive as too much rigidity as far as rubrics and such like go. I think that is a fair assessment, although I ask his forgiveness and hope that he will correct me if it is not.

As readers and anybody who knows me will be aware, I am very much of the view that it is right and proper that our worship be in continuity with and a development of that of those before us, as an expression of the same faith held by those before us. The elements that we have inherited only have any meaning and purpose within the entire organic unit of which they are part, which is the liturgical whole that has come down to us. It occurs to me that this is why I was not happy with the reference to "historical" liturgy. To my understanding, this is not "historical liturgy", as though it were some sort of archaeological exercise, dredging up something that is outdated and from the past. They are living rites with a rich heritage and in use today.

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Our Father

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of his disciples said to Him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.' So He said to them, 'When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'

- Luke 11:1-4

I love the Lord's Prayer but I know that, as with anything familiar, it is easy to come to disregard its significance and to treat is as something ordinary and commonplace. I have been saying these words now for twenty... something (cough) years and it is certainly a failing of mine. I have become more keenly aware of it since having been made a reader because now I am responsible not just for my own prayers but also for those who are gathered with me. When I lead the Trisagion prayers or the Hours, and I get caught up in the rhythm, I sometimes find myself rattling them off, but when I get to the Lord's Prayer, I am reminded of what I am saying, what the words mean, and to Whom I am addressing them, and it acts as a call back to the reverence and awe with which we must approach God.

The prayer is loaded with theological meaning which others will be far better at understanding or explaining than I, and there are numerous papers written on the subject. My focus is simply on the opening words and what they mean for us.

When we call upon God as "Our Father", we are claiming our place within the family of God, affirming our Baptism and our sealing with the Holy Spirit in Chrismation, through which we receive the adoption as children of the same heavenly Father and become joint heirs with Christ, into Whose Body we are grafted. In the Divine Liturgy, the priest introduces the prayer by asking that God may grant that, 'with boldness and without condemnation, we may dare to call upon Thee, the heavenly God, as Father'. We begin the prayer by signing ourselves with the Cross of Christ, and we prostrate ourselves towards the east, acknowledging that we share in the inheritance of Christ, and that it is only through God's grace and through no worthiness of our own that we may presume to call God our Father. We are mere temporal beings, of which the psalmist writes:

As for man, his days are as the grass, as a flower of the field, so shall he blossom forth. For when the wind is passed over it, then it shall be gone, and no longer will it know the place thereof.

- from Psalm 102

Yet the great God of heaven, the eternal God, Who is beyond space, time, language, speech, and comprehension, Who is Creator and Maker of all that is - this God adopts us as his children and calls us his sons and daughters through our Baptism into the Body of his Son. This is what we are saying when we dare to call Him Father. I find this astounding, and not something that ought to be taken lightly.

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

- Romans 8:12-17

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in Whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of his glory.

- Ephesians 1:3-14

In their treatises on the subject of prayer, Tertulian and St Cyprian of Carthage both express this link between Baptism and the ability to call upon God in prayer as Father. St Cyprian tells us that this was the first prayer said by the newly-baptised upon emerging from the font. They also emphasise the corporate nature of it: that we do not approach God in prayer as individuals but as part of God's family, through our common Baptism and our common faith.

Dearest brothers, we should turn our minds and understand not only that we call Him "Father, Who is in heaven," but that we add to this and say: "Our Father," that is of those who believe, of those who have begun to be children of God, sanctified through Him and restored by a birth of spiritual grace...

- St Cyprian, "On the Lord's Prayer"

It is for this reason that the unbaptised were, for many centuries, not permitted to even be present at the corporate prayer of the Eucharist, when the Church actualises the fullest possible expression on earth of the New Covenant in the Body of Christ, and its relationship to the Father. A number of the Church's canons very forcefully forbid us from joining in prayer with those who are not united with us in faith, and it is also the reason why, to this day, our catechumens, who have publicly affirmed their obedience to the Church, are dismissed from the Eucharistic assembly until such time as they are baptised. From the Liturgy of St James:

Let none of the catechumens, let none of the uninitiated, let none of those who are not able to join with us in prayer remain.

- The Dismissal of the Catechumens

We can see how serious it is when we stand with our brothers and sisters at the Eucharist and call upon God as Father. The placement of the Lord's Prayer between the Anaphora and Communion is no accident, and is common to most, if not all, ancient rites. One is the great offering back to the Father of all that He has given us, along with the saving death, Resurrection, and Ascension of his Son, and the other is our nourishment with that very risen and ascended Body and Blood of his Son and our communion with God and each other.



What does that mean for us? Have we lived in such a way as to strengthen that baptismal bond? Have we entered into prayer regularly? Have we looked after the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of God's children? Are we really in such a state that we can, with clear conscience, easily say the Lord's Prayer? Or have we sinned and damaged that relationship so that we need to ask forgiveness of God and our brothers and sisters? Have we professed things contrary to the saving Faith? If so, then we should not be afraid to confess and receive absolution. These are the things to think about in our daily lives and when we come to Communion, and indeed whenever we pray. So if, like me, others of you find yourselves sometimes breezing through the prayers out of habit, or perhaps because you want to get them over with so you can get on with other things, perhaps we should let the words Our Father call us back and cause us to think about what we are saying, so that, once we have made our prostration, we may stand tall, adopted and redeemed, as "sons of light and sons of the day", and with boldness and without condemnation, call upon the heavenly God as Father, and say:

Our Father, Who art in the heavens,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from the evil one.

Preparation for Communion

For understandable reasons, people are generally quiet about their own devotions. The means whereby people prepare for Communion is a very private affair, best kept among God, the communicant, and the communicant's spiritual father or mother. Because of that, it is very easy to assume that what we do as inidividuals is the norm, without giving it a second thought. I realised a few days ago that I had fallen into the same trap when, on two separate occasions, I was put to shame by two people who innocently made their apologies as they absented themselves to make their particular preparations which made mine appear paltry by comparison. I know that the aim of these devotions and prayers is not to try to appear before God to be holier than another - after all, we know the story of the Publican and the Pharisee - but rather to humble ourselves before our Lord and God. I know that there is no question of contest or anything like that but I know that there are times when I could benefit from more rigorous preparation and I wonder whether I am perhaps too lax sometimes. I have thought about this a little more since a recent exchange on another blog.

I wonder whether I may put upon readers to take part in a poll about your own practice. It is entirely anonymous and if you choose to comment on the post with or without having taken part in the poll, you mustn't feel under any obligation to share the detail of your own practice. However, I think it may be useful for us to see how what we do compares to the custom of others, and to perhaps stir us to question ourselves about whether what we do truly is most beneficial for us. Perhaps, as well, we should remember that some work full time while others do not, some have children while others do not, some drive long distances to get to church while others do not, and that while others may do much more than we do, it may not necessarily be reflective of any lack of desire for Christ in our own hearts.

So here it is. The answers come from the rule of preparation in the Old Rite prayer book, with the exception of the penultimate one, which I think is a monastic practice but which I have heard of being insisted upon by some parish clergy.

How do you prepare for Communion? » ProProfs Poll
Tags : religion christianity communion

A Communion Prayer of St Symeon the New Theologian

From sullied lips, from an abominable heart,
from an unclean tongue, out of a polluted soul,
receive my prayer, O my Christ.
Reject me not, nor my words, nor my ways,
nor even my shamelessness,
but give me courage to say what I desire, my Christ.
And even more, teach me what to do and say.
I have sinned more than the harlot who,
on learning where Thou wast lodging,
bought myrrh, and dared to come and anoint thy feet,
my Christ, my Lord, and my God.
As Thou didst not repulse her
when she drew near from her heart,
neither, O Word, abominate me,
but grant me thy feet to clasp and kiss,
and with a flood of tears as with most precious myrrh dare to anoint them.
Wash me with my tears and purify me with them, O Word.
Forgive my sins and grant me pardon.
Thou knowest the multitude of my evil-doings,
Thou knowest also my wounds,
and Thou seest my bruises.
But also Thou knowest my faith,
And Thou beholdest my willingness,
And Thou hearest my sighs.
Nothing escapes Thee,
my God, my Maker, my Redeemer,
Not even a teardrop nor part of a drop.
Thine eyes know what I have not achieved,
And in thy book things not yet done are written by Thee.
See my depression,
see how great is my trouble,
and all my sins take from me, O God of all,
that with a clean heart,  a trembling mind, and a contrite spirit
I may partake of thy pure and All-holy Mysteries
by Which all who eat and drink Thee with sincerity of heart
are enlivened and deified.
For Thou, my Lord, hast said:
‘Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
abides in Me and I in Him.’
Entirely true is the word of my Lord and God!
For whoever partakes of thy divine and deifying Gifts
certainly is not alone, but is with Thee, my Christ,
Light of the Triune Sun Which enlightens the world.
And that I may not remain alone without Thee, the Giver of Life,
my Breath, my Life, my Joy,
the Salvation of the world,
therefore I have drawn near to Thee as Thou seest,
with tears and with a contrite spirit.
Ransom of my offences,
I beseech Thee to receive me,
and that I may partake without condemnation
of thy life-giving and perfect Mysteries,
that Thou mayest remain, as Thou hast said, with me,
thrice-wretched as I am,
lest the tempter may find me without thy grace
and craftily seize me,
and having deceived me, may seduce me,
from thy deifying words.
Therefore I fall at thy feet and fervently cry to Thee:
As Thou receivedst the Prodigal
and the Harlot who drew near to Thee,
so have compassion and receive me,
the profligate and the prodigal,
as with contrite spirit
I now draw near to Thee.
I know, O Saviour,
that no other has sinned against Thee as I,
nor has done the deeds that I have committed.
But this again I know:
that not the greatness of my offences
nor the multitude of my sins
surpasses the great patience of my God
and his extreme love for mankind.
But with the oil of compassion
Thou purifiest and enlightenest
those who fervently repent
and makest them children of the light
and sharers of thy Divine Nature.
And Thou dost act most generously,
for – strange to Angels and to the minds of men –
often Thou speakest to them as to thy true friends.
These things make me bold, my Christ,
these things give me wings,
And I take courage from the wealth
of thy goodness to us.
And rejoicing and trembling at once,
I who am straw partake of fire,
And, strange wonder!
I am indescribably bedewed,
like the bush of old which burnt without being consumed.
Therefore with thankful mind and with thankful heart,
and with thankfulness in all the members of my soul and body,
I worship, and magnify, and glorify Thee, my God,
for Thou art blessed now and throughout the ages. Amen.