The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 148: The Holy Spirit’s Work in the Liturgy (2024)

Episode Date: May 27, 2024

Together, with Fr. Mike, we continue our examination of the sacramental economy, specifically the Holy Spirit’s work in the liturgy. Fr. Mike emphasizes that what Jesus makes possible, the Holy Spirit makes actual. We are made to live in the life of the risen Christ and that is what the Spirit brings about in us. Fr. Mike concludes with a reflection on the importance of understanding that the Christian Liturgy springs from and fulfills the Jewish Liturgy. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1091-1098. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and you're listening to the Catechism in the Year podcast, where we encounter God's plan of sheer goodness for us, revealed in Scripture and passed down through the tradition of the Catholic faith. The Catechism in the Year is brought to you by Ascension. In 365 days, we'll read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, discovering our identity in God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. This is day 148, we are reading paragraphs 1091 to 1098. As always, I am using the Ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes the Foundations

of Faith approach, but you can follow along with any recent version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can also download your own Catechism in a year reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com slash C-I-Y. I recently just did this again. I lost mine. Well, I'm not I didn't lose it lose it, but I kind of misplaced it. I'm sure I'll find it again and be able to check off with my blue marker. But I downloaded it again by going to ascensionpress.com slash C I Y. In fact, I went to ascension.com slash C I

Y, which is not actually a website. So go to ascensionpress.com slash C I Y. You can also click follow or subscribe to your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications. It is, as I said, day 148. We are reading paragraphs 1091 to 1098. You know, yesterday we talked about how Jesus is present and Jesus is active in the sacraments, in the liturgy, right? Remember, the liturgy is God's work.

It's our participation, the participation of the people of God in the work of God. So we talked about how it comes from and is ordered towards the Father. Then yesterday, here is Jesus Christ who is active and is present. Today we talk about the Holy Spirit and the Church in the liturgy. And a couple of things to keep in mind. You know, for the next maybe couple days, we'll be talking about the role of the Holy Spirit when it comes to the liturgy. Because why?

Because remember, what Jesus made possible, the Holy Spirit makes actual makes actual so Jesus made possible by the paschal mystery His death their life death and resurrection We talked about this many many times the Holy Spirit makes actual brings to us via the church through the sacraments It's just so incredible so incredible and so we're gonna highlight that today In fact, we're gonna talk about how the sacraments are in paragraph 1091, God's masterpieces, which is just a, what a great name. I mean, we call them the seven sacraments. Yes. Or the seven masterpieces of God, which is, again, I just think it's really beautiful going on to talk about this, that in paragraph 1092, in this sacramental dispensation, right, that

we live in this new age, the age of the church, Christ's mystery and the Holy Spirit acts in the same way as at other times in the economy of salvation. Which is just to think, okay, wait a second. How many times have you ever said, oh, I wish I was back in this age. I wish I was in the age of Jesus, right? I wish I was around and close to Jesus when he was around. And yet here is the catechism, which is affirming something we believe as Christians that because of the sacraments we are as close if not closer to the Lord Jesus as at any other time in the economy of salvation any other time in salvation history and it's just remarkable the spirit of communion Unites the church to the life and mission of Christ

We also talked about how today that I think this is super cool, how the Holy Spirit prepares for the reception of Christ. So basically, it is our faith, we have to cooperate. The sacraments are not magic. This is one of those things we have to, sacraments are powerful, right? They're the actions of God, they're the work of God on this earth,

but they're not magic. So the Holy Spirit prepares our hearts. We have to respond and cooperate in faith, and the our hearts. We have to respond and cooperate in faith. And the Holy Spirit actually helps us to respond and cooperate with faith. Another last thing before we actually launch into today's reading is we're gonna look at the connection between the liturgy of the old covenant

and the liturgy of the new covenant, right? The Jewish liturgy and the Christian liturgy. One of the things we realize is that a lot of stuff, a lot of things that we do has its roots, of course, in the Hebrew Scriptures, have its roots in the Hebrew practice of living out their faith. And so here we are as Christians. This is the fulfillment, the fulfillment of everything that was laid down by the law of Moses, everything that was laid down in the life of the Jewish way of worship. It's fulfilled in Jesus and it's fulfilled in Christian worship. So we're gonna talk about that today.

So as we can launch into today, let's get started with a prayer. Father in heaven, we praise you and give you glory. We thank you for this day. We thank you for your Holy Spirit that has brought us to this day. We know Lord God that if left to ourselves, we would not choose to be here.

We would not choose to press play. Left to ourselves, Lord God, we would go our own way, but we are not left to ourselves. You have not left us left us to ourselves You have lifted us up out of ourselves to draw us close to you And so please help us to say yes to your Holy Spirit help us to say yes to your will In this moment and in every moment of this day and for the rest of our lives so that we can spend eternity with you In Jesus name we pray amen in the name of the Father and of the Son and for the rest of our lives so that we can spend eternity with you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Again, it is day 148. We are reading paragraphs 1091 to 1098. The Holy Spirit and the Church in the Liturgy. In the Liturgy, the Holy Spirit is teacher of the faith of the people of God and artisan of God's masterpieces, the sacraments of the New Covenant. The desire and work of the Spirit in the heart of the Church is that we may live from the life of the risen Christ.

When the Spirit encounters in us the response of faith which He has aroused in us, He brings about genuine cooperation. Through it, the liturgy becomes the common work of the Holy Spirit and the Church. In this sacramental dispensation of Christ's mystery, the Holy Spirit acts in the same way as at other times in the economy of salvation. He prepares the Church to encounter her Lord. He recalls and makes Christ manifest to the faith of the assembly. By His transforming power, He makes the mystery of Christ present here and now.

Finally, the Spirit of Communion unites the Church to the life and mission of Christ. The Holy Spirit prepares for the reception of Christ. In the sacramental economy, the Holy Spirit fulfills what was prefigured in the Old Covenant. Since Christ's Church was prepared in marvelous fashion in the history of the people of Israel and in the Old Covenant, the Church's liturgy has retained certain elements of the worship of the Old Covenant as integral and irreplaceable, adopting them as her own, notably reading the Old Testament, praying the Psalms, above all recalling the saving events and significant realities which have found their fulfillment in the mystery of Christ, promise and covenant, Exodus and Passover, Kingdom and Temple,

exile and return. It is on this harmony of the two testaments that the Paschal Catechesis of the Lord is built, and then that of the Apostles and the Fathers of the Church. This Catechesis unveils what lay hidden under the letter of the Old Testament, the mystery of Christ. It is called typological because it reveals the newness of Christ on the basis of the figures or types which announce him in the deeds, words, and symbols of the first covenant. By this rereading in the spirit of truth starting from Christ, the figures are unveiled.

Thus the flood and Noah's Ark prefigured salvation by baptism as did the cloud and the crossing of the Red Sea. Salvation by Baptism, as did the cloud and the crossing of the Red Sea. Water from the rock was the figure of the spiritual gifts of Christ, and manna in the desert prefigured the Eucharist, the true bread from heaven. For this reason, the Church, especially during Advent and Lent and above all at the Easter Vigil, re-reads and re-lives the great events of Salvation history in the today of her liturgy. But this also demands that catechesis help the faithful to open themselves to this spiritual understanding of the economy of salvation as the Church's liturgy reveals it and enables us to live it.

Jewish Liturgy and Christian Liturgy A better knowledge of the Jewish people's faith and religious life as professed and lived even now can help our better understanding of certain aspects of Christian liturgy. For both Jews and Christians, sacred scripture is an essential part of their respective liturgies. In the proclamation of the Word of God, the response to this Word, prayer of praise and intercession, for the living and the dead, invocation of God's mercy. In its characteristic structure, the liturgy of the Word originates in Jewish prayer. The liturgy of the Word originates in Jewish prayer. The liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical texts and formularies, as well as those of

our most venerable prayers including the Lord's Prayer, have parallels in Jewish prayer. The Eucharistic prayers also draw their inspiration from the Jewish tradition. The relationship between Jewish liturgy and Christian liturgy, but also their differences in content, are particularly evident in the great feasts of the liturgical year such as Passover. Christians and Jews both celebrate the Passover. For Jews, it is the Passover of history, tending toward the future. For Christians, it is the Passover fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Christ, though always in expectation of its definitive consummation.

In the Liturgy of the New Covenant, every liturgical action, especially the celebration of the Eucharist and the Sacraments, is an encounter between Christ and the Church. The liturgical assembly derives its unity from the communion of the Holy Spirit who gathers the children of God into the one body of Christ. This assembly transcends racial, cultural, social, indeed all human affinities. The assembly should prepare itself to encounter its Lord and to become a people well disposed. The preparation of hearts is the joint work of the Holy Spirit and the assembly, especially of its ministers. The grace of the Holy Spirit seeks to awaken faith,

conversion of heart, and adherence to the Father's will. These dispositions are the precondition both for the reception of other graces conferred in the celebration itself, and the fruits of new life, which the celebration is intended to produce afterward. Okay, there we go, you guys, there we have it. Day 148, paragraphs 1091 to 1098. I know, I'm probably a broken record when it comes to this, but this is awesome. It is so good. Okay, so where do we even start?

Let's start right here. Let's start with paragraphs 1091 and 1092, where it just highlights that the sacraments are God's masterpieces. In the liturgy, sorry, in the liturgy, the Holy Spirit is the teacher of faith of the people of God and the artisan of God's masterpieces. You guys, we can pray with that for so many times, but also go on. The desire and work of the Spirit in the heart

of the church is what? Okay, so the desire and work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the church is that we may live from the life of the risen Christ. This is what we're made for. We're made to live in the life of the risen Christ. That's what the desire and work of the Holy Spirit is. That's what the Holy Spirit does. When the Spirit encounters in us the life of the risen Christ. That's what the desire and work of the Holy Spirit is. That's what the Holy Spirit does. When the Spirit encounters in us the response of faith that he's aroused in us, he brings about genuine cooperation. And this, I mean, think about this.

Again, the sacraments are not magic. One thing we're gonna hear many, many times throughout talking here about the liturgy, and then when we talk about prayer, is that prayer is, God is always the initiator of prayer, right? He is always the one who moves first whenever we pray. It is always a response to God's initiative So no one ever pray no one you've never tried to get God's attention by your prayer It's always God trying to get your attention. That's when you he moves you to prayer

Even if you think like God, I just I need you to hear me right now I'm telling you right now, he hears you right now. Um, he's the one who got your attention. So here's what paragraph 10 91 is saying is that, Oh my gosh, here, when the spirit encounters in us, the response of faith, which he has aroused in us, right? So we don't even give faith on our own. We don't even have professional faith or even the desire for faith on our own. It's the Holy spirit that arouses that faith.

But when we have that expression of faith, which he's aroused, what happens? He brings about a genuine cooperation. So the sacraments are not magic. They don't happen to us. They happen in cooperation with us. That's one of the reasons why, yes, every time we celebrate the sacraments,

every time we pray, something happens. But we recognize that, you know, you and I, celebrate the sacraments every time we pray, something happens. But we recognize that, you know, you and I, we can go to communion every single day, right? We can receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord, every single day at daily Mass, and still be unchanged. Why?

Because if I'm not gonna cooperate, if I'm not gonna actually shape my will to the Father's will, if I'm not actually gonna say, yes, God, do whatever you want in my life. What I've done is I've entered in what you might call a bound sacrament, right? It's, yep, it's there.

God is there, he is active, he's moving. But I'm saying, God, you get to come this far, but no farther. You get to go this deep into my heart, but no deeper. You get to change this part of my life, but nothing beyond that. And yet, here is this incredible thing the Shachimans do in paragraph 1092. The Holy Spirit prepares the church to encounter her Lord. This is it, right?

He recalls and makes Christ manifest to the faith of the assembly. By the Holy Spirit, the power of transforming, power of the Holy Spirit, he makes the mystery of Christ present here and now. Remember what Jesus made possible, the Holy Spirit makes actual. And finally, the spirit of communion unites the church to the life and mission of Christ. One of the things that we're going to just kind of conclude with today is paragraphs 1093 to the very end of 1098, where we talk about how the Christian liturgy springs from and fulfills the Jewish liturgy. There are so many common elements between the Jewish liturgy and the Christian

liturgy. So much so that there is a whole series of books by a man named Dr. Brant Petrie. If you have never heard of Dr. Brant Petrie, you are in for a massive, massive treat because he is a professor. I think he teaches still at the Notre Dame Seminary down in Louisiana. And also I think he works for that group called the Augustine Institute. And he, this guy, oh my gosh, as a biblical scholar in the Catholic world,

he is phenomenal. He has a whole series of books like the Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist or the Jewish Roots of Mary or the Jewish Roots of the Liturgy of the Hours hours or the Jewish roots of all these different realities that we experience. In fact, he has like a weekly teaching on the that Sunday's readings and he always draws it back to, OK, here's the reading. We're here, whether it's the New Testament or the Old Testament. And he always fleshes out.

Here is where this comes from in Jewish liturgy and Jewish worship. This is where we get this in Christian worship. In fact, a couple years ago, when Bible in a year came out for the first time, we got a bishop up in Duluth, amazing. Bishop Daniel was ordained our bishop. And one of the men, now he's in deaconate formation, it's really cool. There's more to the story, but you don't need to know all the background stuff. But this man who's now in deaconate formation, he was going through the Bible in here and it was in maybe late spring when our bishop was ordained.

And he had gone to the bishop's ordination and he afterwards at the luncheon afterwards, he came up to me and said, oh my gosh, all the things that just happened. I kept thinking like, oh my gosh, that's Leviticus. Oh my gosh, that's numbers. Oh my gosh, that's Deuteronomy. Like all of these incredible things

that maybe would be to anyone else a mystery when you show up to a Catholic ordination, especially a Catholic bishops ordination, he was saying that reminds me of what we heard in the Old Testament. Why? Because the Jewish liturgy prefigures Christian liturgy. Christian liturgy fulfills Jewish liturgy, just like the Old Testament prefigures the New Testament and the New Testament fulfills the Old Testament. So that's just Just how incredible it highlighted. Here's some examples in 1094 It says thus the flood in Noah's Ark prefigured salvation by baptism So did the cloud in the crossing of the Red Sea like that

That's a type or a figure of baptism water from the rock was a figure of the spiritual gift of Christ and manna in the desert prefigured the Eucharist, the true bread from heaven. This is just incredible and just what an incredible gift. So what do we do? Here's what we do. Terigaph 1098. The assembly should prepare itself to encounter its Lord and to become a people well disposed. We get to ask the Holy Spirit because why because the Holy Spirit seeks to awaken faith conversion of heart and adherence to the Father's will those dispositions are the Precondition both for the reception of other graces conferred in the Eucharist and the mass itself Celebration itself and the fruits of new life for the celebration. It's intended to produce afterward So these dispositions these these preconditions,

what, awakened faith, conversion of heart, and adherence to the Father's will. The more and more we can ask the Holy Spirit to awaken our faith, to convert our heart, and to help us to adhere to the Father's will, the more and more we can receive not only those graces that are part of the liturgy, right, part of the sacraments, but also the more and more

we can bear fruit in our lives. Remember, we're never meant right, part of the sacraments, but also the more and more we can bear fruit in our lives. Remember, we're never meant to show up to the sacraments and leave the exact same way that we arrived. That is never the intention. The intention is we're always changed. We're always changed even more. I know I said last thing already, but here is another last thing, and it's the last sentence of paragraph 1097 where it talks about the Holy Spirit who gathers the children of God is the one body Of Christ this assembly this last sentence this assembly transcends racial cultural social indeed all human affinities Which is why we call it the Catholic Church right is it is the universal church that transcends It is the Catholic Church is more important than any racial division

The Catholic Church is more central than any cultural division or any social definite division or any socioeconomic division. We recognize that man think of, think of a country that might be the enemy of your country, whatever country you're living in right now, if there's a potential enemy right now, every Catholic in that country is your brother and sister. Because why? Because the church transcends that if you've ever been tempted to entertain racist thoughts or racist actions

The church is saying oh actually no you if there's another who's a Christian who's baptized They are your brother. They are your sister and that that unity that reality is vastly more important than any kind of difference you could have because you might have a different level of Melanin in your skin or you might come from a different culture or you have a different language or a different way of living the fact is that because we've been brought into the body of Christ by the Uniting Holy Spirit the most important thing about you and about me is that you are a son of God or a daughter of God and important thing about you and about me is that you are a son of God or a daughter of God and therefore the most connecting thing that we have with our brothers and sisters is that we are brothers and sisters of the same

Heavenly Father and that transcends racial, cultural, social, indeed all human affinities. Now you probably already knew that and so here I am just reiterating that fact and so you're like yeah Father we get it moving on so okay now that you got it I'm moving on. Okay, if you come to the end of this day, just praise the Lord. Tomorrow we're gonna hear more about how the Holy Spirit is present and active in the liturgy.

But right now, we're done. So, know this, I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name's Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.