4. Finally, all these insights open up an essential dimension of Christian liturgy, which we must consider more concretely in the next chapter. As we have seen, Christian liturgy is a liturgy of promise fulfilled, of a quest, the religious quest of human history, reaching its goal. But it remains a liturgy of hope. It, too, bears within it the mark of impermanence. The new Temple, not made by human hands, does exist, but it is also still under construction. The great gesture of embrace emanating from the Crucified has not yet reached its goal; it has only just begun. Christian liturgy is liturgy on the way, a liturgy of pilgrimage toward the transfiguration of the world, which will only take place when God is “all in all”.
Ratzinger, J. (2000). The Spirit of the Liturgy (J. Saward, Trans.; p. 50). Ignatius Press.
- The Liturgy expresses in its own way the tension of the Kingdom of God. On the one hand, “the kingdom of God is among you.” (Lk. 17:21) And on the other hand we know that everything is not yet accomplished: we’re waiting the final judgment, the second coming of Christ, the recreation of the world in glory. The Kingdom of God is here, and it is not yet fully accomplished. At every Mass, Christ, God Himself, is made present in the Eucharist, and so we are in one respect that much closer to heaven.
- We must ask ourselves the question about what it means for the liturgy to express the mystery of heaven while we are not yet there. We can try to understand what best builds and sustains the theological virtue of hope, because that is what will help us understand what most befits the liturgy.
