The rites and symbols of the liturgy are not arbitrary ceremonies but the means through which Catholics encounter God and are formed in faith, Pope Leo XIV said yesterday. Source: OSV News.
Continuing his series on the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Pope reflected on the role of rites, signs and symbols in Catholic worship during his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square.
“The rites of the Christian liturgy are not a mere external covering of the sacramental mystery, a collection of arbitrary ceremonies, but are the ecclesial mediation through which the divine gift reaches us,” he said.
The Pope said liturgical rites shape the spiritual lives of believers, teaching them to recognise God’s presence and participate more fully in the life of the Church.
“Rite gives shape to liturgical action and, through it, to our lives, generating in us a spiritual sensibility that makes us capable of savouring the presence of God through Jesus Christ,” he said.
Catholics are called to participate in the liturgy with their “body, mind and heart,” the Pope said, allowing themselves to be formed through listening to Scripture, giving thanks, adoration, fraternal sharing and communion.
He added that while the structure of the liturgy may seem at odds with modern preferences for spontaneity, its rhythms help believers step away from a culture focused on productivity and rediscover what is essential.
“In the rite we experience a logic of gratuitousness, we find a pause that regenerates the heart, we recognise that we are preceded by divine grace, we learn to live in a rhythm inhabited by the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Turning to signs and symbols, Pope Leo cited the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that their meaning is rooted in creation, human culture and salvation history, and fully revealed in Christ.
He pointed to water as one of Christianity’s most significant symbols, recalling its role in the story of creation, the flood, the crossing of the Red Sea and the Jordan River, and the water flowing from Christ’s side at his death.
“When we are sprinkled with holy water, our awareness of the gift received at baptism and our commitment to new life in Christ is rekindled,” he said.
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Liturgical rites and symbols reveal God’s presence, Pope Leo says (By Josephine Peterson, OSV News)
