Maronite Liturgy - Synopsis

From Maronite History

The Maronite liturgy of Antioch-Edessa is called the Service of the Holy Mysteries. It invites the worshiper to stay awake on the life-journey so as to undergo a progressive transformation in God, called divinization. In the Maronite Church, the Holy Spirit is the Principal Minister, and the celebrant is the instrument. Before the Holy Mysteries begin, an ordained minister prepares the bread and wine at a side table as he recites a few prayers.

Then the Holy Mysteries begin - composed of the Word Service and the Eucharistic Service (Anaphora) which are celebrated at 3 key focal points: Bema, Altar and East Apse.

The Service of the Word takes its form from an ancient Jewish liturgy. It is celebrated at the Bema, a raised platform. It includes prayers, hymns, psalms, scripture readings, homily and creed. The Hosoyo, Prayer of Forgiveness, a unique feature in the Maronite Word Service, recalls God's mercy to sinful humankind. The priest incenses the community to symbolize a sin-offering for forgiveness.

• The Quorbono or Eucharistic Service begins as the priest moves from the Bema to the Altar. In the Maronite Church, the Anaphora is a prayer of praise to the Trinity during which, by the overshadowing of the Spirit, bread and wine are transformed into the Sacred Mysteries. There are more than 16 Anaphoras in use.

• In the maronite Church, the East Apse is significant since it symbolizes the kingdom, and focuses the community's attention on Christ's coming in glory. Some Maronite temples reflect this ancient tradition in their architecture.

The Liturgical Year includes two main cycles: • Temporal: Sundays of the year

o Seasons of :  Announcement

 Epiphany

 Great Lent

 Resurrection

 After Pentecost

 Holy Cross

• Sanctoral: Feasts of Saints

Through the Holy Mysteries, God's people are united as the Body of Christ, share his pledge of salvation, enjoy a foretaste of life to come, and are empowered to complete their pilgrimage to the kingdom.

A Maronite View of God

The Syriac Maronite Church views God as mystery. Since there is a great distance between Creator and creation, no person can fully grasp God. All language about God is limited. The process leads to mystical union - the more one loves God, the more one encounters him. Two aspects account for this notion of mystery:

• the Jewish Christian origins of the Maronite Church

• the familiarity with the scriptures and poetry

Maronite Approach to Prayer

Prayer is cultivating an awareness of God as always beyond our reach yet always present to us. To pray means to see God's "fingerprints" in humanity and in all creation. For the Maronite to pray is to live, and to live is to pray. This process, called lucidity or "inner vision", sees all created things as transparent, God-touched and divinized.

A Maronite Spirituality

The Maronite perspective of prayer develops naturally into a way of life permeated with and formed by the bible called biblical spirituality. Moreover, the monastic spirit permeates the Maronite prayer and liturgical life. Genesis indicates that God, the hidden Mystery, revealed himself by speaking His word into creation - a great symbol of the Creator.

This God "speaking" or unveiling occurs in:

• Creation

• Humanity

• Scripture

God imprints upon nature, humanity and scripture his images which reveal Jesus. Thus the purpose of the universe is to prepare creation for the coming of Christ in the flesh and in glory.