The liturgy is the summit toward which the activities of the church is directed; at the same time it is the fount from which all the church’s power flows.
Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #10

A little later in the same paragraph of the Constitution on the Liturgy, we are told:

From the liturgy, therefore, particularly the Eucharist, grace is poured forth upon us as from a fountain; the liturgy is the source for achieving in the most effective way possible human sanctification and God’s glorification, the end to which all the Church’s other activities are directed.

The U.S. bishops in a document on Church Art tell that the liturgy is “a window to eternity and a glimpse to what God calls us to.”

If we really believe all of the above then such a belief will be reflected in the time, energy and financial resources we as parish give to the liturgy.

“Full, Conscious and Active Participation”

The constitution on the sacred liturgy also tells that

“the church earnestly desires that all the faithful be led to the full, conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebration….This full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered above all else” #14.

So the “aim to be considered above all else” is the full, conscious and active participation.” Can you imagine what a teaching tool liturgy would be for our children if all present were fully and consciously engaged in the prayer and songs of the Mass. Liturgist Paige Shortall in an article on Visioning the Liturgy as the Prayer of the Whole Church writes:

There isn’t an engaging priest, a dynamic musician, or a creative youth minister in the world who can draw our children into worship better than an active and fully engaged congregation.

Practically, What Does an Active and Fully Engaged Congregation Mean?

The following are some pieces of “full, conscious and active participation” in the liturgy”.

We would come prepared to fully engage ourselves in the liturgy. Reading Sunday readings alone or with a small group is an excellent way to prepare for our eucharistic celebration.

Getting to church on time also helps us to prepare our hearts and minds for worship.

Treating the house of God as “sacred space”. One of the first goals of our hard working liturgy committee is to foster an attitude of reverence and prayerfulness in God’s house. Once we enter the church doors all loud talking should cease, we are now moving into a “sacred space” where people are praying and preparing to enter into the Mass. So we ask that all socializing should take place before you enter the church.

An attitude of hospitality. Warm friendly assemblies and celebrations attract people. Cold unfriendly assemblies drive people away. The late Fr. Eugene Walsh, well know liturgist used to say that liturgical hospitality says “I have space for you and I welcome you in.” Practically, this means a willingness to move in in our pews so that people do not have to climb over us. It may mean a smile that says: “welcome, good to see you”, responding to the cantor who invites us to open our hymnals and sing, listening attentively to the one who is speaking to us. When we think about it, hospitality is very important in our church. It is the task of all present. At every Mass, we are either a warm or cold presence to those around us.

“Full active and conscious participation”, means singing with all our being and making our singing a prayer. Liturgists use the phrase “sung prayer”. John Wesley (founder of the Methodist Church) urged his people to sing lusty and with good courage” This demands effort and intentionality. Even if we do not sing well or carry a note, we are encouraged to pick up the hymnal and follow along the text of the song, which usually has a message for us.

“Full, active and conscious participation”, means carrying out our actions with intentionality and reverence versus with casualness. We can make the sign of the cross slowly, carefully and with reverence or in a routine, unconscious or sloppy way. The late Ramano Guardini, writes:

When we cross ourselves, let it be with a real sign of the cross.
Instead of a small cramped gesture that gives no notion of its meaning,
let us make a large unhurried sign from forehead to breast,
from shoulder to shoulder,
consciously feeling how it includes the whole of us
our thoughts, our attitudes, our body and soul, every part of us at once
how it consecrates and sanctifies us.
The cross is signed upon us in blessings in order that the fullness of God’s life
may flow into the soul and fructify and sanctify us wholly.

Full, active and conscious participation also means

That the readers ( previously called lectors) proclaim the word of God in such a way that we want to sit up and listen and that we open our hearts to the word being proclaimed to us.

On the first Sunday of the month, active participation involves bringing food to church for the poor. Some have said to me that while they like the idea of bringing food to church for the poor, they find it a distraction to have to bring it forward during Mass. My response: Generally speaking, when our regular routine at Mass is disturbed, we will see it as a disruption or distraction. But, the great value of bringing our food to the Sanctuary is that is states in a powerful symbolic way our call to connect Eucharist with our obligation to feed the poor. Our sanctuary filled with baskets of food for the poor must be most pleasing to God. It is a part of the offering we make to him. Well known liturgist, Nathan Mitchell writes: “Every time Christians gather at the Lord’s table, they acknowledge their solidarity with the world’s poor, with all the outcasts and marginalized—the unlovely, unloved, unwashed, and unwanted of our species.”

“Full, active and conscious participation” involves entering into the Eucharistic Prayer as best we can. The Presider prays this prayer on behalf of the assembly. Because of its repetitious nature, it is easy for us to let our minds go elsewhere. One suggestion is to close our eyes and listen to the prayer with our hearts and to sing with all our heart the acclamations during the Eucharistic Prayer, the Holy, Holy, the Great Amen, etc.

“Full, active and conscious participation” involves coming to Holy Communion with reverence and song. Notice this song is called “the communion processional song”. It reminds us that we are a pilgrim people on our way to a heavenly banquet that gives us a foretaste of the banquet of eternal life. With reverence we bow before receiving both the body and blood of Christ. Ideally, we join in the communion song. The big temptation here is to leave the community and enter into a “Jesus and me” mode. During communion we are community, we are the Body of Christ. We give expression to this by participating in the communion song.