The Spirit of the Liturgy by Ratzinger - Literature review Example

Art and the Liturgy The Question of Images Ex 20:4; cf. Deut 5:8 admonishes us: “You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth”. Such prohibition of images exempts the Ark of the Covenant, wherein God has instructed Moses: “And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat… The cherubim shall spread out their wings above… their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be” (Ex 25: 18-20). St. Paul considers the image of the crucified Christ as the ultimate “place of expiation” in which God reveals his face through his son. The transformation of the narrative of the Ark of the Covenant into the image of the resurrection of Christ represents the development of the Old Testament to the new. Images in Islam and Judaism during the third or fourth century, AD were supposed to be limited to symbols with geometric designs to adorn their sanctuaries . However, during the time of Jesus onto the third century, images of salvation were similar in synagogues and churches. Archeological discoveries reveal that ancient synagogues were decorated with representational scenes from the bible. These images were not regarded as mere images of past events but as reminders of what must be in the present. They were meant to incorporate historical facts with the remembrances of Christian truths. Thus, images of individual biblical events are now ordered toward the Christian sacraments and to Christ himself. “Noah’s ark and the crossing of the Red Sea now point to Baptism. The sacrifice of Isaac and the meal of the three angels with Abraham speak of Christ’s Sacrifice and the Eucharist. Shining through the rescue of the three young men from the fiery furnace and of Daniel from the lion’s den we see Christ’s Resurrection and our own” (Ratzinger, 2000, p. 117). The images of the events take on a new meaning than mere historical and biblical representations but they transcend time and are incorporated into the sacraments of the Church. The early images of Christ were always symbolical. The most precious of all was that of the Good Shepherd. In this image, Christ is viewed as the true savior of humankind. The shepherd takes the lost sheep (sinful humanity) on his shoulders and brings it back home (to God). The emergence of an image not made by human hands as the true face of Jesus imprinted on cloth became significant in the history of images of faith. Known as acheiropoietos, the sacred image of the God-Man reveals the promise fulfilled: “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9). The fascination with acheiropoietos became the center of the whole canon of iconography. However, such immense attention brought dangers of false sacrementalizing of the image, which apparently led the sacraments and their mysteries into the direct visualization of the divine presence. To prevent adoration of the image, leading attention away from divine mysteries, Iconoclasm or the destruction of images was proposed. Not only does it address religious issues but political ones as well. Not wanting to provoke the Moslems and Jews, Byzantine emperors mandated that the image of Christ can only be represented by the cross without his body. The icon of Christ is the icon of the risen Lord. There is no portrait of the risen Lord, and it was meant for Christians to see him not from their external senses but with an inner recognition of his presence. Much like the disciples who walked with the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus, or after Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of Knowledge of good and evil, “their eyes were opened” and their hearts were transformed. Discerning God’s presence without seeing a physical representation deepens our faith in him. Faith transcends the use of senses and the icon of the cross draws us towards an inner path of seeing God. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we become capable of “seeing” and moving towards Christ. And in seeing Christ, we also see a glimpse of the Father. The Incarnation of Christ as a human being was for us to be able to know him, since we are bound to matter. The aim of the Incarnation is man’s transformation through the Cross to the new corporeality of the Resurrection. “God seeks us where we are, not so that we stay there, but so that we may come to be where he is, so that we may get beyond ourselves” (Ratzinger, 2000, p. 123). That is why to reduce the visible appearance of Christ as an image of a historical Jesus, misses the whole point of his Incarnation. Over the years, other philosophies have evolved, transforming once again the meanings of Christian images. During the thirteenth century, salvation history is seen less as a sacrament than as a narrative unfolded in time. Then, it has become a symbolic reproduction of the event of the Cross. The pious meditates on the mysteries of Jesus’ life. Art was concentrated less on the liturgy and more on popular piety, which is nourished by historical images of Christ. With the help of these images, artists can contemplate on the way to Christ, the way of Jesus himself and its continuation in the saints. The concreteness of the images come from prayer, and invite prayer. They are identifications with Christ based in turn on God’s identification with us in Christ. It opens up the realism of the mystery without diverging from it. The images are now seen as not only showing “surface of the skin” but are intended to lead the piety to open their eyes to the heart of God. They manifest the new humanity of the faith. Music and Liturgy The importance of music in biblical religion is apparent in the number of times words “song” or “sing” are mentioned. It shows that when man gets in contact with God, mere speech will not suffice, as the experience moves one to sing praises to the Lord. The first mention of singing was when the Israelites successfully crossed the Red Sea. The overwhelming relief at being saved by God brought forth songs to express their praise and joy at being delivered from slavery. Christians who believe in the resurrection of Christ sing songs in the knowledge that they are saved but still need to sing about the pain and sufferings of history in order for it to be transformed into songs of praise. The sung prayers of the book of Psalms depict a wide spectrum of emotions including lamentation, complaint, accusation, fear, hope, trust, gratitude and joy expressed in dialogues with God. It is striking that even the seemingly negative emotions expressed in these prayers always end with a note of hope and trust in the Lord. The Song of Songs, a compilation of human love poems, has deeper meanings than just human love. It also tells of the symbolic love between God and his people. Thus, human love here becomes a fitting analogy for God’s acts of love for Israel. This is also reflected in the scriptures as Jesus presented himself as the Bridegroom in his parables. Joined in marriage, the union of man and woman becomes “one flesh” and this is symbolized by partaking of the Holy Communion in the mass. As Christians expressed their faith through music and have evolved through time, there was danger of being influenced by non-believers. The music adopted some of these new influences threatening the dissolution of Christianity. The church needed to stop the corruption of its music and in the fifty ninth canon of the Council of Laodicea, it forbade the use of privately composed psalms and non-canonical writings in divine worship. Only church choirs were allowed to sing the psalms and the other church-goers should not sing. This limited liturgical music to vocals and nothing else. This inspired the birth of polyphony or the blending of different voices to add beauty to the music. The middle ages brought back the use of instruments in divine worship. There was also clamor for artistic freedom even in the liturgy. Church music and secular music influenced each other. As more opportunities for artistic creativity and the adoption of secular tunes prevailed, the danger of shifting attention towards artistic autonomy instead of the liturgy also threatened the faith. Music was becoming a distraction, alienating the liturgy from its true nature. Hence, a clear distinction between liturgical music and religious music was made just as visual art in the liturgy had to conform to certain standards which varied from religious art in general. The music of Christian worship relates to the events of God’s saving mercy and revolves around the fulfillment of the Paschal Mystery. It emphasizes God’s love for man is expressed in the Word which is sung in the liturgy. That is why singing in the liturgy takes precedence over instrumental music. The Holy Spirit is responsible for moving us to sing praises to God. The spirit’s influence can be inebriating that it heightens the senses as it elevates the spirit in praise. However, this must not be confused with a similar experience brought about by an unholy spirit that may use music to bring man to formless intoxication and mere sensuality. The Holy Spirit leads us to the Logos. It leads us to proclaim that “Jesus is Lord!” Reference Ratzinger, J.C. (2000) The Spirit of the Liturgy. San Francisco: Ignatius Press Read More