United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

Chapter 14. The Celebration of the Paschal Mystery of Christ • 177

3. In what ways are you aware of the link between liturgy and your daily life? What are some stories about people you know or read about that illustrate the connection between liturgy and Christian witness?

DOCTRINAL STATEMENTS • In liturgy, we praise and adore the Father as the source of all the blessings of creation, salvation, and divine adoption. • “The liturgy is the work of the whole Christ, head and body” (CCC, no. 1187). In liturgy, Christ the Son of God made flesh acts in the Sacraments in which he communicates his saving power for his Body the Church. • In liturgy, the Holy Spirit brings the assembly to meet Christ, to make Christ’s saving work present, and to sanctify the members that they may witness Christ. • “The Sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us” (CCC, no. 1131). • The Church celebrates the Sacraments as an assembly of all the bap tized, led by the ordained, each having a special role to play in the sacramental celebrations. • The Holy Spirit prepares the faithful for the Sacraments by helping them to welcome the Word of God in faith. • The Sacraments communicate to each person a participation in God’s life and a growth of love and witness in the Church. This is grace, the result of God’s favor and initiative. • A liturgical celebration uses signs and symbols drawn from creation, human life, and the history of salvation. Integrated into faith, the signs become bearers of the sanctifying action of Christ. • The Liturgy of the Word is an important part of every liturgy because the proclamation of the Word of God and the response of faith to it help give meaning to the celebration. • Sacred song and music, closely linked to the celebration, should lead to prayer, invite the participation of all in the assembly, and reflect the sacred character of the Sacrament.