3. Accordingly, we must regard St. Paul’s concept of logikē latreia, of divine worship in accordance with logos, as the most appropriate way of expressing the essential form of Christian liturgy. This concept is the confluence of several different streams: the spiritual movement of the Old Testament, the process of inner purification within the history of religion, human quest, and divine response. The logos of creation, the logos in man, and the true and eternal Logos made flesh, the Son, come together. All other definitions fall short. For example, one could describe the Eucharist, in terms of the liturgical phenomenon, as an “assembly”, or, in terms of Jesus’ act of institution at the Last Supper, as a “meal”. But this seizes on individual elements while failing to grasp the great historical and theological connections. By contrast, the word “Eucharist” points to the universal form of worship that took place in the Incarnation, Cross, and Resurrection of Christ, and so it can happily serve as a summary of the idea of logikē latreia and may legitimately serve as an appropriate designation for Christian worship.
(Ratzinger, J. (2000). The Spirit of the Liturgy (J. Saward, Trans.; p. 50). Ignatius Press.)
- The layers of meaning (logike) present between creation itself, and revelation in the Old and New Testaments, along with the purification of both human understanding and of religious practice itself – all of these elements find a harmonious expression in true Christian Worship. The Eucharist could be examined from different theological standpoints, but the core meaning must also be the one central to the liturgical celebration, otherwise the act of worship itself would be heterodox. The liturgy cannot take on an expression that would lead worshippers into a narrower meaning of the Eucharist.
- Just as we saw the need for Christian worship to touch what is universal in humanity while necessarily incorporating (incarnating) specific cultural contexts, so Christian worship needs to express the fullness of the Christian mystery without focusing on a particular aspect that would narrow it.
- We may sometimes see a heavy emphasis placed on the worshipping community during the liturgy – when this becomes more important than the Eucharistic Sacrifice itself, or the significance of the priesthood, or the role of Christ himself in the liturgy, faith itself can be jeopardized.
