Maronite Liturgy - Service of the Holy Mysteries
From Maronite History
Contents |
Introduction
In the Maronite Church this part of the Mass traditionally took place after the bishop, priests and assembly all processed together from the Bema (where the Service of the Word took place) to gather around the central symbol of the altar – the table of the Lord Jesus.
A living lesson from the past
In calling our Mass the Divine Liturgy, or the Service of the Holy Mysteries we sometimes forget that our service is also our meal, our sacrifice and our communion with God and each other through Christ in the Holy Life-Giving Spirit. The early Church has much to teach us about the intimate connection between liturgy and our life. The great St Ignatius of Antioch1 in the second century AD made it clear that to be a follower of Christ was to be a faithful servant who was united to their bishop and around the one table of the Eucharist. This was more than good preaching, or good theology, it was also an expression of how the Church was actually living. He was saying to his Church in Antioch to remain faithful to Christ and their bishop even until the end and to draw strength from the one Eucharist which they offered together on the one table of the Lord (the altar). Life was connected to liturgy and this connection was highlighted in the one bread, one body, one bishop and the one altar.
Maronite Life and Liturgy
Liturgy is about unity in Christ as expressed in the symbol of the congregation, gathered and united to bishop and priests around the one Eucharistic table of the Lord Jesus (the altar). Our sacred and apostolic Antiochene, Syriac Maronite traditions and life inform the way we as Maronites express our profound and intimate unity to Christ in bishop and altar.
Rite of Peace
For example in the Rite of Peace (Peace to you, O Holy Altar of God, Peace to the offerings placed upon you…) prayed at the beginning of the Anaphora, the bishop/priest gives the sign of peace which comes directly from Christ symbolized by the altar, then the sign of peace is given to all the faithful. The way we give each other the sign of peace by “passing it on”, almost like a Mexican wave, creates an atmosphere of movement and energy as we turn to the person next to us, to the side of us, behind us to share the peace of Christ with each other.
Invocation of the Holy Spirit (Epiclesis)
Another example of our Maronite culture being connected to our liturgy and life, is when we invoke the Holy Spirit (Epiclesis) to come down and overshadow the gifts and us, to change the gifts into the body and blood of Christ our God. It is interesting to note that our Maronite Liturgy has the most elaborate invocation of the Holy Spirit. So after the priest says the words of the Eucharistic Narrative (the words Jesus said over the bread and wine at the Last Supper) in Syriac (a dialect of Aramaic which is the language Christ spoke) the cantor proclaims “how awesome is the moment, O my beloved, the Holy Spirit will descend and overshadow this offering prepared for our sanctification…” While kneeling and with hands extended in supplication and openness to the Spirit, the priest then petitions the Lord to send down his Holy, Life-Giving Spirit to overshadow us and the offering. The consecrated bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ our God. This intricate prayer structure says something special about Maronite life, liturgy and spirituality – that is, Maronites have a deep reverence for, and understanding of, the Holy Spirit. Our Liturgy therefore expresses this reverence and reality of the power and operation of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our own unique Maronite way in the Epiclesis.
The Service of the Holy Mysteries
The Church becomes the body of Christ in and through the Eucharist offered on the altar, in unity with the bishop/priest and each other. As a body of Christ we pray the Our Father. We are nourished at communion by Christ’s body, and finally dismissed at the end of Mass.
Conclusion
Let us remember again and again and always, as our Liturgy says, that the Service of the Holy Mysteries is about our unity with our bishop and nourishment at two tables: the table of the word of God and the table of the Eucharist.
