When we look back on our reflections hitherto in this chapter, we see that we twice encountered—in different contexts—a three-stage process. We saw that the liturgy is characterized by a tension between the historical Pasch of Jesus (his Cross and Resurrection) as the foundation of its reality. The foundation of the liturgy, its source and support, is the historical Pasch of Jesus—his Cross and Resurrection. This once-for-all event has become the ever-abiding form of the liturgy. In the first stage the eternal is embodied in what is once-for-all. The second stage is the entry of the eternal into our present moment in the liturgical action. And the third stage is the desire of the eternal to take hold of the worshipper’s life and ultimately of all historical reality. The immediate event—the liturgy—makes sense and has a meaning for our lives only because it contains the other two dimensions. Past, present, and future interpenetrate and touch upon eternity. Earlier we became acquainted with the three stages of salvation history, which progresses, as the Church Fathers say, from shadow to image to reality. We saw that in our own time, the time of the Church, we were in the middle stage of the movement of history. The curtain of the Temple has been torn. Heaven has been opened up by the union of the man Jesus, and thus of all human existence, with the living God. But this new openness is only mediated by the signs of salvation. We need mediation. As yet we do not see the Lord “as he is”. Now if we put the two three-part processes together—the historical and the liturgical—it becomes clear that the liturgy gives precise expression to this historical situation. It expresses the “between-ness” of the time of images, in which we now find ourselves. The theology of the liturgy is in a special way “symbolic theology”, a theology of symbols, which connects us to what is present but hidden.
(Ratzinger, J. (2000). The Spirit of the Liturgy (J. Saward, Trans.; pp. 59–60). Ignatius Press.)
- The three-stage process discussed in the passage and three levels of interpreting scripture share some similarities.
- The first level of interpreting scripture, the literal level, is similar to the first stage of the three-stage process discussed in the passage. The literal level is concerned with the plain meaning of the text, its historical context, and the original audience. Similarly, the first stage of the three-stage process of the liturgy involves the development of a form that holds together the events of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ.
- The second level of interpreting scripture, the anagogical level, is similar to the second stage of the three-stage process. The anagogical level is concerned with the spiritual meaning of the text, especially in relation to the afterlife or the final judgment. Similarly, the second stage of the three-stage process of the liturgy involves the entry of the eternal into the present moment through the liturgical action. We become contemporaries, by the liturgy, with the eternal significance and weight of the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
- The third level of interpreting scripture, the moral level, is similar to the third stage of the three-stage process. The moral level is concerned with the practical application of the text to our lives and how it shapes our behavior. Similarly, the third stage of the three-stage process involves the desire of the eternal to take hold of the worshipper’s life and ultimately of all historical reality.
