Introduction to the Liturgy: Class Two: A Very Brief History of the Liturgy

 

A Quick Quiz for Introduction to the Liturgy, Class One

CLASS ONE
WHAT IS THE LITURGY?

A QUICK QUIZ

CORRECTED VERSION

1. Pope Benedict XVI has described the Paschal Mystery as “the center of what it is to be Christian.” He attributes this insight to:

A. Sacrosanctum concilium

B. Dei verbum

C. Lumen gentium

D. Missale Romanum

2. The first document of the Second Vatican Council was:

A. The Constitution on the Word of God

B. The Constitution on the Church

C. The Constitution on the Liturgy

D. None of the above

3. As Christ slept the sleep of death upon the Cross, blood and water flowed from his wounded side. Thus, came forth:

A. The wondrous mystery of the Church

B. Symbols of Baptism and Eucharist

C. A sign of his complete sacrifice

D. All of the above

4. Christ acts through the sacrament of:

A. Baptism

B. Eucharist

C. Penance

D. All of the above

5. As the deer longs for running waters, so my soul longs 

A. for the Liturgy

B. for God

C. for the Blessed Sacrament

D. for holiness

6. “In order, however, that full efficacy may the achieved, it is necessary that the faithful come to the Sacred Liturgy with proper____________…” (Sacrosanctum concilium, no. 11)

A. attitudes and dispositions

B. convictions

C. knowledge

D. devotion

7. “A common _______, to be observed by all participants, is a sign of the unity of the members of the Christian community gathered for the sacred Liturgy: it both expresses and fosters the intention and spiritual attitude of the participants.” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 42)

A. devotion

B. posture

C. knowledge

D. intention

8. The verbs used to describe the actions of Christ at the Last Supper are:

A. blessing, thanksgiving, consecration

B. take, bless, break, give

C. epiclesis, anamnesis and metanoia

D. none of the above

9. Christ’s act of GIVING at the Last Supper is reflected in:

A. the breaking of the bread

B. the distribution of holy communion

C. the Eucharistic Prayer

D. the Gospel

10. How do we know the account of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes is Eucharistic?

A. exegesis

B. four action shape

C. its setting

D. the use of baskets

11. One of the earliest name for the cleebration of the Mass in the Scriptures is:

A. The Eucharist

B. This Holy and Living Sacrifice

C. The Breaking of the Bread 

D. The Prayers

12. Our response at Mass “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof” was spoken by

A. Jesus

B. The Pharisee

C. The Centurion

D. Nicodemus

13. The proclamation of scripture and preaching of a Homily came from:

A. Synagogal practice

B. Hellenistic Mystery Religions

C. Roman Temple Practice

D. None of the above

14. A Collect has

A. one part

B. two parts

C. three parts

D. None of the above

15. It is through the Liturgy, and most of all through the Mass that the work of our Redemption is accomplished.

A. true

B. false

16. Justin Martyr tells us in the second century that the Priest prays the Eucharistic Prayer “as best as he is able.”

A. true

B. false

17. Jesus tells us that the “bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of all Christians.”

A. true

B. false

18. At the beginning of each meal, Jesus would take a cup of wine and pass it amoung his disciples.

A. true

B. false

19. The seven day week with a Sabbath comes from Jewish practice.

A. true

B. false

20. Exorcism before anointing in our Baptismal rite comes from Hellenistic Mystery Religions.

A. true

B. false

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SCROLL DOWN FOR THE ANSWER KEY

ANSWER KEY

1 A

2 C

3 D

4 D

5 B

6 A

7 B

8 B

9 B

10 B

11 C

12 C

13 A

14 C

15 A

16 A

17 B

18 B

19 A

20 A

The parts of the body and the flowers in the field...

 

In the second reading this morning, Saint Paul tells us something about being a parish and being a Church. He tells us we are one.

We are like one body, made up of many different parts. Just take a look around you and you will see the many different parts. Some are big and some are small, some are very young and others of us are, well, let’s just say more mature. Some are really good at one thing or another and others are, well, good at other stuff.

It’s just like the body. There’s a head and an eye and a foot. All very different, but all a part of the same body. All very different, but all “given to drink of one Spirit.”

Which makes us all equal and all one. Paul puts it well: If the hand were to say to the eye, I am better than you because I can grasp things and pick them up. The eye could say, “Yeah, watch what happens when I close my eye lids.  Good luck picking. up anything now!”

Or the eye could say to the foot, “See how much better I am than you…way up here on top of the body. All you can do is shuffle through the dirt, but I can see the most beautiful sights in far flung parts of the world. “Oh yeah, the foot might respond,” good luck seeing all those great things, because I am going to stand right here and never move again.”

The parts of the body might well bicker with each other, each believing they are more important than all the others, but each remains a part of the body and each is indispensable to the work of all. And it is only by recognizing their radical unity and equality that they accomplish anything at all.

No one is better than anyone else in the Church, for in the Body of Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew, Slave nor Free, Male nor Female, but all are one in him. There is neither French nor Irish, Bright nor slow, rich nor poor, but all are one in him.

And every time we get up on our high horse and think we are better than “that poor thing over there” we get into trouble. For we forget, as Saint Theresa used to tell us, that it is in our littleness that we find greatness and in loving, not being jealous of others, that we find happiness. Did you ever hear what she wrote about the flowers God gives us in the springtime?

“Our Lord has explained this mystery to me. He showed me the book of nature, and I understood that every flower created by him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would lose its springtime beauty, and the fields would not longer be enameled with lovely colors. And so it is in the world of souls, Our Lord’s living garden. He has been pleased to create great Saints who may be compared to the lily and the rose, but he has also created little ones, who must be content to be daisies or simple violets flowering at his feet, and whose mission it is to gladden his Divine Eyes when he looks down upon them. And the more gladly they do his will the greater their perfection.”

So, through the intercession of Saint Theresa and Saint Paul, may we love all the flowers of God’s Church and cherish the people sitting behind you and in front of you, in the back pew and the front, as truly gifts from God.

Introduction to the Liturgy I: What is the Liturgy?

 

Workbook for A Concise Introduction to the Sacred Liturgy

 Here's the link for the Workbook for our course. 

 Just click here!

First Friday Club - January 2022

WELCOME FIRST FRIDAY CLUB MEMBERS!

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On Mary, Mother of God and the New Year

It is a new year and the first of January, the month which takes its name from the Roman god Janus, the god with two faces, one looking to the past and the other looking to the future. 

Thus it was that recent days have been filled with endless retrospectives of the past year’s events, which no one truly understands, and the projection of New Year’s resolutions which no one really intends to keep.

The reason why neither the retrospectives nor the resolutions have much meaning, however, is that both are largely rooted in self-interest.  What happened to us in this past year and how did world events effect our self interests?  Or what could make my life better in the future and how could 2022 be better for me than 2021?

Our contemplation of past and present is usually rooted, therefore, in “what’s in it for me?”

The Blessed Virgin Mother, by contrast, looks at the past and the future in an entirely different way.  When the shepherds arrive at the manger and report what the angels have told them, we are told that Mary treasured these stories in her heart.  And, again, when in last week’s Gospel the child Jesus grew in wisdom and grace, we are told that Mary treasured all that was happening in her heart.

For the Mother of God, she who bore God’s Word made flesh in her womb, the events of the world were to be treasured and pondered by a heart ever seeking to find God and his Holy Will in the events of yesterday and tomorrow.

The meaning of remembering, or recollection, then, has never really been about seeking my self, but looking for God’s will.  The meaning of resolution has never been about seeking self-promotion, but trying to find new ways to give myself away to God.

Why, then, do we always begin the year by commemorating the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary?  Because, like her, we are called to consecrate to God all our yesterdays and all our tomorrows; and he who made all time, gives us another year to discern his plans and to do his will.