Catholic Activity: Importance of Liturgy during Lent

This is a simple explanation of liturgy and the importance of being involved in the liturgy of Lent as a family. If we don't delve into the liturgy of the Mass, sacraments, and Divine Office, there can be little spiritual progress or Easter renewal.

DIRECTIONS

By family cooperation we can bring the vivid drama of Lent into our homes where our families, miniatures of the Mystical Body, worship God. It is in the personal encounters of Catholic family life that our children are prepared and educated for deeper participation in the Church's public liturgy.

Liturgy! We hear the word so much. Is its meaning equally obvious? I explain its Greek origin to our youngsters — a derivative from two words meaning 'work' and 'of the people.' Then I amplify:

The liturgy is worship directed to almighty God, continuing the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, carried on by his holy Church chiefly in the Eucharist.

"The sacred liturgy is the public worship which our Redeemer as Head of the Church renders to the Father, as well as the worship which the community of the faithful renders to its founder and through him to the heavenly Father. It is, in short, the worship rendered by the Mystical Body of Christ in the entirety of its Head and members" (Pius XIII, Mediator Dei).

The mother and father who read the missal daily (even though unable to attend Mass), who pray a page from the Short Breviary, in addition to graces gained, will develop spiritual and literary taste. Missal and breviary contain not only the prayers of the Church, but those of Christ himself while on earth. And the bulk of content is culled from the Bible, the Holy Spirit's inspired composition.

Apart from the liturgy — Mass, sacraments, Divine Office — there can be little spiritual progress, little Easter renewal. In the use of these means we have the primary and indispensable material for making this Lent achieve its purpose. Most of the reflections that follow stem from the inspiration provided by the liturgy.

Activity Source: Holy Lent by Eileen O'Callaghan, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 1975