In Christian faith, second to the importance of the liturgical space, the gathering of the assembly is an important aspect to the sustenance of the religion. The establishment of towering and glamorous churches can communicate the presence of God, but without participants, there would be no one to receive the message of God. Not only is the presence of the assembly important, but the role maintained by the members is crucial to the success of the liturgy. While the analysis of the physical space within the liturgy uncovers its' importance in relation to the communicated message of God, an analysis of the members who fill that space could attest to the significance that each member has throughout the liturgical event. Aspects of the liturgy …show more content…
These building blocks are related to the branches of Christian theology that coincide with the physical space and actions of the assembly within the liturgy. The movement and spaces occupied by the assembly are connected to important elements within the liturgical event that supports its success. To commence the analysis of the participants within Saint Joseph Church, we must look at the different elements within the liturgy that correspond with the assembly's movement and occupying space. As analyzed before, the physical space of the liturgy communicates common entry as the large doors and wide entrances show that the church is open to any and all within the community. In my observation of the liturgy, the idea of an equal entrance was supported by the majority of assembly members entering through the main entrance of the church. Upon their entrance, many of the assembly members entered in groups, usually in the form of families, while a handful entered solemnly. The simple act of entering the liturgical space communicates its importance as the commencement of the liturgy begins when the priest enters the liturgical space. By this, members of the liturgy would be compelled to believe that they are in fact equal, as the liturgical space and expressed actions would communicate so. Sharing the same entrance with the priest heightens the idea of individual …show more content…
While that may hold true in Christian environmental documents, an observation of the assembly's movement and gestures within the liturgy held at Saint Joseph Catholic Church proved differently. As stated above, the assembly remained in their seats for a majority of the liturgy whereas the priest was predominantly active. What this communicated to me is that the assembly members are not participants of the liturgy but instead, active listeners. Rather than the congregation harmonizing the word of the Lord in communion, they are patiently waiting for verbal cues from the priest. At this point in my observation, I understood that the continuous "stand-by" nature of the assembly negatively impacted their ability to consider themselves protagonists. I came to this conclusion by studying the gestures of the assembly members. Where the physical space forces the direction in which the members of the congregation to have to face comes the aspect of observational liturgy. This form of liturgy strips the assembly of their participation and leaves it into the hands of the presider. Saint Joseph Catholic Church, in my observation, is responsible for participating in this form of liturgy. As the priest stands atop the altar, he begins to speak the word of the Lord and as he nears the end of his preaching he pauses and looks up
highlights the importance of the sacraments and the clergy, can be seen as a response on
The term liturgy has its basis in Greek mythology. It can be defined as a form of worship that is that is done according to particular beliefs and practices that are held by a certain group of people. The beliefs and the rituals are usually practiced by the whole group. It may be understood as a ritual that is usually elaborate. Ritual on the other hand refers to a number of activities that are performed in a sequential manner and which more often are prescribed by specific communities. Liturgy plays different functions depending on their nature. To begin with, the catholic liturgy expresses certain religious beliefs towards a Supreme Being and therefore done in a manner that is an expression of worship to the Supreme Being. The term ritual
The author utilizes his advanced research knowledge to organize the text in a successful manner thus describing major themes. Some of the major themes in the text include the origins of the Roman religion, significance of the religious calendar, and ideal structure of the religious space. Furthermore, the author focuses on demonstration of the forms or aspects of religious services and rituals, core theologies that played key roles in shaping the religious observance, priests, and the gods. The author enhances his presentation in the development of the text through clear and accessible illustration of the concepts. The author also includes substantive quotations from ideal primary sources demonstrating the chronology of religious as well as historical events between 7...
Furthermore, one of the main parts of the Mass is the liturgy of the Word, the Word of God that nourishes and help us to live a holy
From the Catholic observation point, the Church presents two parts: One representing its divine nature as the untarnished body of Christ, and one direc...
In an age when culture continues to lower standards of intellect, Marva Dawn makes compelling observations and suggestions for the Church to rethink its’ strategy on impacting society. How do we evangelize without weakening the message of what we are communicating? The majority of her text focuses on the worship environment generally, but later she focuses on music, preaching, and liturgy specifically. According to Dawn, a gathering of believers should emphasize God as the subject and object of worship, challenge each individual to grow in godly character, and accentuate the community of believers (not only in the room, but throughout history as well). Through this grid, she encourages leaders and participants to evaluate each worship element. If these primary goals are accomplished, then worship will not be empty and simpleminded. Instead the worship atmosphere would be held to a higher standard and, she believes, both pleasing to God and attractive to those who do not know God.
...express their beliefs as well as listen to the words of the Lord. As Jesus said at his last meal with his disciples before his execution, “Do this in memory of me”. This quote is reflected in the mass in the stage of ‘being fed’ when an adherent receives both the body and blood of Christ, called Transubstantiation. In this way, Christian adherents are able to unit in a diverse environment following the ways that our Lord has taught us. Therefore through this, Christian adherents are able to express their faith.
Every year, on the day before Easter, one of the biggest and most important masses of the year happens on that night. The mass is called the Easter Vigil. The Vigil brings out the true and full nature of the Catholic Church and all of its people. It celebrates Jesus Christ, as he rises from the dead and ascends into heaven. Since this mass is so large, it is split into four parts. The first, the Service of Light, and is the most solemn part of the mass the Church celebrates. The second part is the Liturgy of the Word, in which you listen to a reader who reads from the books of the Bible such as Genesis and Exodus. The third part of the celebration is known as the Celebration of the Rites of Initiation. At this point people become part of the Church and receive such sacraments as Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation. The fourth part of the vigil is the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Liturgy of the Eucharist is the climax of the Easter Vigil. The Easter Vigil is the biggest mass in the Church and it requires four parts in the Service of Light, The Liturgy of the Word, the Celebration of the Rights of Initiation, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, but also requires much more faith and concentration to fully appreciate it.
Father Redmon explained in our interview that each person is to join his or her voice in united faith. My observation was of people outwardly participating e.g., kneeling, crossing themselves but vocal participation was minimal or left to the choir. During my interview with Father Redmon, I mentioned my observation regarding the various responses and he emphasized the centrality of the Eucharist, saying “Worship of the Holy Trinity through the Eucharist is the purpose of the church” and it is through this that they grow both individually and as the Church.
In Ronelle Sonnenberg’s article (Being together in youth worship: An empirical study in Protestant Dutch contexts) she address the community aspect of “youth worship”. The main question asked in her article is “What aspects can be distinguished in the quality of ‘being together’ in youth worship and how can they be understood sociologically and theologically?” while trying to answer this question Sonnenberg and her fellow researchers focused on the social interactions, community experiences and relations within different youth worship gatherings (Sonnenberg, Nel, Kock, & Barnard, 2015). This begs the question “why are community and this sense of being together such an important subject?”; “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”(Romans 12:4-5), here Paul speaks about the importance of this sense of togetherness in Christ, to be as one body. “For there where two or three are gathered together as my followers, I am there among them.” (Matt 18:20), in this verse Jesus highlights the
The performance of rituals is an integral part of all religions. Rituals are stylized and usually repetitive acts that take place at a set time and location. They almost always involve the use of symbolic objects, words, and actions. For example, going to church on Sunday is a common religious ritual for Christians around the...
As I was attending mass, I noticed, it was very organized. There was a lot of sitting and standing, where I found myself struggling to understand. I noticed that they read some passages from the bible and sang a lot of psalms and hymns. The only thing that was familiar to me was the Eucharist.
As a young child, I spent Sundays in the pews of various churches. My extended family had a wide variety of different denominations of Christianity. Some churches had loud music with singing and dancing, others lots of sitting and standing. But the
The purpose of this paper is to discuss a service that I got to attend that was different from my own religious tradition. I decided to go with my chosen topic because to be honest I had never experienced or thought to experience a different type of church service other than the one I grew up in. I grew up in a Christian home and attended a non-denominational Christian church on a regular basis. I just never felt the need to experience something that was different. So I decided to attend a mass at a Catholic church. I had been to weddings in a Catholic church and even funerals with a Catholic involvement but not an actual mass.
Our observations took place at Newman’s Catholic Church. In particular, we observed the interactions of a priest for an hour and thirty minutes. We began by observing how he interacted with members of the church for the first fifteen minutes before service began. Then we focused on his interactions with the assembly during service and finally, we witnessed how he interacted with others after mass. During this time a few noticeable differences occurred.