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| THE LAST SUPPER. Image from google.com |
Liturgy in our sense as a pillar of the Holy Friendship refers to living out a Sacramental Life one manifestation is our public exercise of our spiritual and religious duty to God. The term actually originally referred to the performance of public duty and later was used to such performance of public duty in reference to religious activities. For more comprehensive understanding of the term, please refer to the Catholic Encyclopedia's discussion on Liturgy.
Hence liturgy for us is living a Sacramental Life, that is, making our lives public performances - even celebrations - of our duties to God. The anchor of all these is of course the Holy Eucharist, one of the Sacraments of Initiation [the other two are Baptism and Confirmation] and considered as the Source and Summit of Church Life, and which is variously called first of all as Eucharist from the Greek term which means Thanksgiving; The Lord's Supper because it was instituted by the Lord during the Last Supper before His passion, death and resurrection; Breaking of Bread for the sacrament was an offshoot of the Jewish Passover wherein the Jews break bread; the Eucharistic Assembly because it is celebrated among the faithful; Holy Sacrifice because it is a Memorial of the Lord's passion and death; Holy Communion because by this sacrament we unite ourselves with Christ and our fellow Christians; and, Holy Mass, because after the celebration we are sent to fulfill a mission.
As friends of the Lord, Christians by name, we are called to conform our lives to that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Living our lives like the Lord is like living the Holy Eucharist. We offer ourselves to God for the sake of others when we fulfill the command of the Lord to love one another and wash each other's feet; we break ourselves in order to unite with others in communion or oneness; we should continually give thanks to the Father in the name of the Lord; we are called and sent to go and make disciples and friends of the Lord of all nations.
In relation to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are called to repent and forgive. We repent from the sins that we commit and ask forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation [previously called Penance or Confession and still called by these names by some] and then we also have to forgive those who sins against us. Our lives must be a reflection of the Father's forgiveness and mercy.
In relation to the Sacrament of Marriage, we are called to be faithful to the Lord in the same way that spouses should be faithful to each other. The Church is actually considered as the Bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. One reason why divorce is inconsistent with what the Catholic Church teaches is because of the fact that marriage between a man and a woman is a reflection of that marriage between the Lord and the Church. As the Lord and the Church are one and cannot be separated or divorced from each other, man and woman who enter into a marital commitment should not be separated or divorced from each other for they also become one body in Christ.
Living the Christian life is living a Sacramental Life. This does not mean that one's exercise of being a Christian should be limited to the celebration of the Sacraments only but the living of the Sacraments, celebrating the Sacraments through the things we do, say and think for this is what being Christians, being friends of the Lord, truly mean.
Christian life is a celebration of God's love and salvation. Christian life is a public celebration of the fullness of liturgy. We as friends of the Lord must celebrate God and Christ Himself publicly each moment of our lives!
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