Disputation of the Holy
Sacrament, Raphael. Source: Wikipedia common use
Peter Kasko
In the opening paragraph of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) we read the following: “God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church.” (CCC 1)
Virtues
I see this as a beautiful image. God comes close to allow me to seek him, know him and love him. Two important conclusions can be drawn from this short statement. Firstly, this shows that God is approachable. He is not some ‘distant deity’ that ought to be worshiped. Rather, he “draws close” and shows himself, if I am willing to do the necessary work. Which brings me to the second conclusion: freedom. God does not force himself into my life. He invites me into a relationship where I am allowed to walk away. This freedom is essential as it is foundational to human dignity, moral responsibility and love for God and neighbour.
As God created us to share in his own blessed life, he also created us in his own image. He created us with higher and lower faculties. Focusing on the higher faculties, shared also by the angels, these distinguish us from animals and their instinctual behaviour. Specifically, we talk about faculties of intellect and will. All faculties, as created by God, need to be properly ordered and ordered towards good, ultimately beatific vision of Heaven. (As opposed to sin: a result of a faculty used not towards good.)
Justice can be broken down into different forms depending on our roles in life”
When it comes to these faculties being properly ordered, we rely on virtues. Found in CCC 1803, “a virtue is habitual and firm disposition to do good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself.” As St Gregory of Nyssa said: “The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God.” (De beatitudinibus). We talk about cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. The intellect aligns with the virtue of prudence, which involves right judgment and practical wisdom. Justice is about giving each person their due. Some scholars argue that justice can be broken down into different forms depending on our roles in life – for instance, the parent-child relationship, employer-employee, or president-citizen dynamic. In every area of life, there are specific rights and responsibilities. From this perspective, we can further refine justice into a particular virtue of worship.
Worship
As mentioned above, we ought to love God with all our strength. What does it then mean to love God with all my strength? To love is to give and to give is to worship. The word worship comes from an old English word weorthscipe meaning to give someone their worth, to give a person what he is due, or an acknowledgment of their worth. In this context, we borrow the word and use it for the purposes of rendering onto God what is his due. Though this may seem like a lengthy explanation, it is something many of us understand instinctively. Indeed, St Basil the Great says, that “the Spirit is the one who prepares the Church for worship. He is the one who makes us capable of receiving the divine mysteries.” God is due a worship of highest degree but not only that.
Catholic scholars often speak about not only worship of the highest degree but of the highest kind, namely sacrifice. This can only be rendered onto God and God alone. We often praise other people for their achievements. Mother Mary called herself “blessed”. While we do give honour and respect to Mary and saints, sacrifice is reserved only for God. In City of God, St Augustine wrote the following: “Putting aside for the present the other religious services with which God is worshipped, certainly no man would dare to say that sacrifice is due to any other but God …”. (10.4)
It is making present his unique sacrifice for us to receive”
The Mass is commonly called the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving as we offer ourselves to God through worship. And it is much more than that. The Catechism speaks of the Mass as Eucharistic sacrifice in paragraph 1361: “The Eucharist is the sacrifice of praise by which the Church sings the glory of God in the name of all creation. This sacrifice of praise is only possible through Christ: he unites the faithful to his person, to his praise, and to his intercession, so that the sacrifice of praise to the Father is offered through Christ and with him, to be accepted in him.”
As early as the second century, St Irenaeus of Lyon wrote: “The Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ, by which the Church is made one with him and with one another.” As illustrated above, during the Mass, the priest, together with the congregation, represents the one and only perfect sacrifice of Christ in the form of bread and wine. It is making present his unique sacrifice for us to receive.
Reflection
Having said all this, I recognise that, as a finite human being, I do not have the capacity to render to God what is truly due to Him. Yet, with the help of the virtues, and specifically the virtue of worship, and with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit, I can try to be in the habitual disposition to do good, and to take part in the Church’s liturgy as a member of one body of Christ.
I was raised to believe that it is neither right or polite to return a gift or present once received. However, In this case, representing Christ’s sacrifice is not only good but in fact the right form of worship to God.
You are all invited to reflect this Sunday when reciting or singing the words of Gloria, especially the words “we praise you, we bless you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for Your great glory.”
Peter Kasko is a core team member of Living Water prayer group, which meets every Wednesday at 7:15pm in St Teresa’s Church, Clarendon Street, Dublin, and has a passion for Theology and Patristics.