In my ministry, I clearly distinguish between community liturgy and prayer services. One of our primary principles is Inclusive Community. In hopes of fostering this value in a school not primarily Catholic within the student body and nurturing the creativity of a prayer experience outside of the liturgy, we offer prayer services where we celebrate a Liturgy of the Word; we have student-composed petitions and prayers, and songs of reflection more common to teenage sensibilities. This manner of celebrating faith in the school community is the journey of small steps to help students understand liturgy meaningfully and thoughtfully.

I aim to share my reflections on liturgy on this blog every month as a small contribution to the learning experience of faith. So, we begin a monthly series entitled Mass Communication.  

Liturgy is primary theology. By this, I mean that liturgy is the event where we encounter the Trinity and the life of the Trinity together. The liturgy is not a me and God-alone event. Liturgy contains the community gathered by the Holy Spirit, which encounters God together.

With primary theology, liturgy is also the celebration of mystery. I tip my hat to Abbot Jeremy Driscoll in his helpful book, “What Happens at Mass.” He defines mystery as a “concrete something that when you bump into it, it puts you in contact with a divine reality.” When we come in contact with the elements of the earth, we bump into the divine—water in baptism, oil in Confirmation, wheat, and wine into the life of Jesus.

Liturgy is primary theology and mystery. May we stand in awe of God’s actions in our lives.