The whole of Catholic worship is directed to God with, in, and through Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. At the heart of our worship are the elements of praise and thanksgiving to God for all of God’s gifts and above all for the gift of Jesus Christ who is made present in the liturgy through word and sacrament.
The liturgy is, of its very nature, both an encounter with the living God and an expression of the faith of the Church. In other words, what the Church celebrates in the liturgy (lex orandi) is also what it believes (lex credendi). As source and summit of the Church’s life, the liturgy is also the “fount” from which the Church’s power flows. A study of the Church’s liturgical practice and tradition reveals how those who engage in worship are not mere passive spectators but rather active participants in the work of redemption.
The whole Church celebrates the liturgy for its own sanctification to the glory of God. Celebrating here on earth the mysteries of Christ, the liturgy is a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy in which we all hope to share. A theology of the liturgy enables students to see that a study of liturgy is not simply an academic or theoretical exercise but rather an opportunity to more fully understand the very nature of the liturgy as actually “doing theology.”