Lent

Mass, Office tell us we are saved as community

By Sr. Ann Rehrauer, OSF

	A Compass Lenten series

In "Dies Domini" ("On the Celebration of Sunday"), Pope John Paul II reminded us that "those who have received the grace of baptism are not saved as individuals alone, but as members of the Mystical Body, having become part of the People of God. (DD #131).

The good news is that we do not stand alone. Rather, we are part of that "great cloud of witnesses" described by the author of the letter to the Hebrews. It is our brother, Jesus, who pleads for us before the Father, and the Father never looks on us without seeing his Beloved Son. The bad news is that who we are and how we pray affects the praying community and we are affected by their prayer as well.

Because it is a communal activity, certain traits of liturgical prayer make it more challenging than private or devotional prayer. Private prayer includes:

• more personal choices,

• less structure,

• greater spontaneity and flexibility, and

• the language of the first person singular - the words of the one praying - I or me.

Liturgical prayer requires a common mind and heart and a willingness to adapt to those who are present. Liturgical prayer tends to be:

	L e n t
	• Other Everyday People, Everyday Faith articles
	• Other Lent articles

• more formal,

• universal,

• stylized,

• inclusive,

• repetitive and

• scripted so we can speak with one voice. Because of that the rhythm demands that we listen to each other as we pray.

The language of communal prayer is the first person plural - the language of we. Our common posture and ritual express the unity of the community. The text is our response to a shared experience of God's presence and power in our lives.

The Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and the Liturgy of the Hours, are the key forms of liturgical prayer for Christians.

Liturgical prayer expresses the unity and relationship that exists among the members.

The very act of coming together in memorial and celebration deepens that unity and loving relationship.

Likewise, liturgical prayer is always rooted in the celebration of the Paschal Mystery - remembering the past, present and future dynamic reality of God's saving action.

As we gather for Eucharist, we are more than like-minded individuals who need each other's support. The Eucharistic Assembly gathers because we have been called by God to pray with one mind and one heart, fashioned by the Spirit to fulfill Jesus' command to "do this" in memory of him - and to do it together.

At the very beginning of Mass we experience that solidarity and unity. We enter the church, the house of God and the house of the community, and are welcomed and invited to enter into the Mystery we have come to celebrate.

As the Liturgy unfolds, we blend our voices in song and harmony, sensing the richness of belonging to a community. Very few of us are comfortable singing solo, but we sound pretty good when we are part of a larger group.

The priest then proclaims that we gather in, with, and under the name of the Trinity. Together we share the silence and hear the communal and personal call to conversion in the penitential rite. As the priest "collects" our individual prayers, he speaks with one voice but prays in the name of one people.

The Liturgy of the Word tells the story of God's redeeming action, but we hear it as our story. As our ancestors in faith experienced the grace and mercy of God, we too have experienced the same God who is active and present in our lives.

In the Eucharistic Prayer we remember all that God has done in salvation history and in our own lives, and together we join with Christ in offering his sacrifice of praise and thanks to the Father.

In Communion we receive the one Lord who calls us to be what we have received - the Body of Christ. And together we are sent to live the reality we have celebrated.

The Christian community predates each of us and will exist long after we die. But it is as members of that praying community that we experience a vision of and love for God that is beyond our personal capability. Only together can we fully know and image the Christ who is Lord of History and Savior of the World.

(Sr. Ann is the president of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross, Bay Settlement. She has a doctorate in canon law, and is the former chancellor of the Green Bay Diocese. She has worked in both the diocesan Worship Office and for five years in the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Secretariat for Liturgy.)