Ratzinger, Joseph. The Spirit of the Liturgy. Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 2020. Part Two: Time and Space in the Liturgy. Chapter 1, ‘The Relationship of the Liturgy to Time and Space: Some Preliminary Questions’.
Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy), Promulgated by Paul VI, Rome, 4 December 1963. Chapter II: ‘The Most Sacred Mystery of the Eucharist’, nn. 47-58.
[All in-text numbers enclosed in parentheses refer to pages of The Spirit of the Liturgy]
This chapter is trying to clarify an apparent contradiction: If Christ has already come and saved us through his Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection, do we still need special (liturgical) times and spaces? Now that Christ has redeemed us, isn’t the whole world―with its space and time―the scenario for a New Earth, for the City of God? In other words, is the liturgy with its special times, spaces and symbols still necessary? Do we still need mediation now that Christ has open heaven for men?
However, while it is true that Christ has come and redeemed us, the New Jerusalem is not here yet. The Temple and replacement sacrifices of the Old Testament (OT) have given way to the New Temple, Christ, and the representational, vicarious and once-and-for-all sacrifice of the New Testament (NT). But with St Gregory the Great we see that ours ‘is only the time of dawn, when darkness and light are intermingled’ (p. 68). The Church Fathers spoke of three stages of fulfillment in Salvation history: shadow (OT), image (NT) and reality (end of time, the New Jerusalem, heaven). Therefore NT times (ours) are in a certain way transitional: ‘already’ (redeemed) but ‘not yet’ in the City of God, the New Jerusalem described by the Book of Revelation. This three-stage process is historic.
Christian worship itself (the liturgy in our NT era) contains three levels or dimensions. First, central level. The more apparent at first sight when we attend a celebration such as Mass containing signs and symbols, which synthesised the OT synagogue and Temple liturgies, with Christ’s sacrifice instead of the former animal sacrifices;
Second, grounding (past) level. The reality to which the symbols refer. The Crucifixion of Christ happened in time, ‘once and for all’ (p. 69). The exterior act of being crucified is accompanied by an interior act of self-giving, a spiritual act which, however, takes up the bodily into itself, the whole man. The obedience of Jesus’s human will is inserted into the everlasting yes of the Son to the Father (p. 70). That interior act transcends time, but since it comes from time, it can be brought back into time again and again (p. 70). Therefore at every Mass we become contemporary with the event of our salvation which occurred once in the past but it continues to happen at every Eucharist.
Third, final (future) level. Our earthly, NT-time liturgy (second level) entails not only a re-enactment of the past that grounds it: it also provides a taste of the future, of the end or goal of our pilgrimage.
The Passion (level one) was endured by a man who is also the Son, a Person of the Blessed Trinity, the living God. His sacrifice is not one of replacement, like those of animals in the OT, but of representation, taking us as he represents (vicariously suffers for) us. Becoming contemporary with the Pasch of Christ in the Eucharist means that his self-giving becomes ours too.
The aim of the liturgy is for our material existences here on earth to become a living sacrifice united to that of Christ (p. 72). Christ’s own Passion happened once, but at every Mass he continues to represent us and unite our sacrifices to his and make them worthy. This may be the sense St Paul intends when he says he is filling up in his flesh ‘what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church’ (Col 1:24).
This third level or dimension of the liturgy is ‘anthropological’ (p. 72) in the sense that involves us directly as we discover if we listen attentively to the Eucharistic Prayers. Here are some examples (Eucharistic Prayer number at the end):
‘Remember, Lord, your servants N. and N. and all gathered here, whose faith and devotion are known to you. For them, we offer you this sacrifice of praise or they offer it for themselves and all who are dear to them, for the redemption of their souls, in hope of health and well-being, and paying their homage to you, the eternal God, living and true.’ (I)
‘To us, also, your servants, who, though sinners, hope in your abundant mercies, graciously grant some share and fellowship with your holy Apostles and Martyrs: with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, (Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia) and all your Saints: admit us, we beseech you, into their company, not weighing our merits, but granting us your pardon, through Christ our Lord.’ (I)
‘May he make of us an eternal offering to you, so that we may obtain an inheritance with your elect, especially with the most blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with blessed Joseph, her Spouse,* with your blessed Apostles and glorious Martyrs...’ (III)
‘To accomplish your plan, he gave himself up to death, and, rising from the dead, he destroyed death and restored life. And that we might live no longer for ourselves but for him who died and rose again for us, he sent the Holy Spirit from you, Father, as the first fruits for those who believe, so that, bringing to perfection his work in the world, he might sanctify creation to the full.’ (IV)
‘Look, O Lord, upon the Sacrifice which you yourself have provided for your Church, and grant in your loving kindness to all who partake of this one Bread and one Chalice that, gathered into one body by the Holy Spirit, they may truly become a living sacrifice in Christ to the praise of your glory.’ (IV)
This third dimension of the liturgy contains an eschatological element (related to the last things). By becoming our bridge between earth and heaven, between us and God, and uniting us to his sacrifice through representation we are incorporated to the great historical process towards the completion of the Paschal event, the fullness of Christ, the final destination of salvation history.
In this chapter Ratzinger has described three stages of salvation history and three dimensions of Christian liturgy.
The former has the emblems of ‘shadow’ (OT), ‘image’ (NT) and ‘reality’ (end of salvation history). The latter could be summarised with ‘Crucifixion’ (the Paschal Mystery), ‘actualisation’ (what we think of when we speak of liturgy, eg Mass) and ‘incorporation’ (our union with Christ’s Sacrifice through his representation).
Now history (of salvation) and liturgy are interconnected:
The Paschal Mystery is both the end of the OT, the time of shadows, and the opening of heaven for us through Christ. It is, as well, the grounding for Christian liturgy.
Chrsitian liturgy sits in the ‘time of the image’, the NT, when, through his Sacrifice and Resurrection, Christ has become a bridge between man and God. We need mediation. The actualisation of Christ’s Paschal Mystery and our union with it occurs through symbols.
In the end of time, when salvation history is finally fulfilled, we will see God in his glory, symbols won’t be necessary anymore, we will be immersed in the reality of God.
Coming back to the initial problem, to the question whether special times and spaces were needed in the liturgy given that Salvation had already occurred, the answer is clear at the end of the chapter. Yes, we do need special (liturgical) spaces and times. We need mediating symbols so that through them we learn to see the openness of heaven, the mystery of God in the heart of the Crucified Christ. Two direct quotes (p. 75) that summarise beautifully the whole chapter:
‘Christian liturgy is no longer replacement worship but the coming of the...Redeemer to us, an entry into his representation...We do indeed participate in the heavenly liturgy, but...through earthly signs, which [he] has shown us as the place where his reality is to be found’.
The liturgy is the means by which earthly time is inserted into the time of Jesus Christ and into his present. It is the turning point in the process of redemption. The Shepherd takes the lost sheep onto his shoulders and carries it home.
[All in-text numbers enclosed in parentheses refer to paragraphs of Sacrosanctum Concilium.]
‘At the Last Supper, on the night when He was betrayed, our Saviour instituted the eucharistic sacrifice of His Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the centuries until He should come again, and so to entrust to His beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of His death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is eaten, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.’ (n. 47)
‘The Church, therefore, earnestly desires that Christ's faithful, when present at this mystery of faith, should not be there as strangers or silent spectators; on the contrary, through a good understanding of the rites and prayers they should take part in the sacred action conscious of what they are doing, with devotion and full collaboration. They should be instructed by God's word and be nourished at the table of the Lord's body; they should give thanks to God; by offering the Immaculate Victim, not only through the hands of the priest, but also with him, they should learn also to offer themselves; through Christ the Mediator, they should be drawn day by day into ever more perfect union with God and with each other, so that finally God may be all in all.’ (n. 48)
‘The rite of the Mass is to be revised in such a way that the intrinsic nature and purpose of its several parts, as also the connection between them, may be more clearly manifested, and that devout and active participation by the faithful may be more easily achieved...’ (n. 50)
‘The treasures of the Bible are to be opened up more lavishly, so that richer fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God's word. In this way a more representative portion of the holy scriptures will be read to the people in the course of a prescribed number of years.’ (n. 51)
‘By means of the homily the mysteries of the faith and the guiding principles of the Christian life are expounded from the sacred text, during the course of the liturgical year; the homily, therefore, is to be highly esteemed as part of the liturgy itself; in fact, at those Masses which are celebrated with the assistance of the people on Sundays and feasts of obligation, it should not be omitted except for a serious reason.’ (n. 52)
‘In Masses which are celebrated with the people, a suitable place may be allotted to their mother tongue. This is to apply in the first place to the readings and "the common prayer," but also, as local conditions may warrant, to those parts which pertain to the people, according to the norm laid down in Art. 36 of this Constitution. Nevertheless steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them.’ (n. 54)