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MODULE IN THEOLOGY 3: LITURGY AND SACRAMENTS

Module No. 3 Date: _____________

Title:
Celebrants in Action: Who Celebrates and How
Do They Celebrate the Liturgy?

Overview
This module will help the learners understand that Liturgy is an “action” of the whole
Christ (cf CCC 1136). That being the celebrants, it requires us to be responsible and
employ the necessary signs and symbols when Liturgy is being celebrated.

Objectives
 Describe the essential role of the celebrant in liturgical celebrations and understand the
meaning and usage of the signs and symbols in the liturgy.
 Demonstrate an active life of service in the Church. Be the living signs of God’s
presence in the world.
 Participate actively in liturgical celebrations and be the living witnesses of God’s love
amidst the different situations that people are experiencing today.

Christian Message
Doctrine: We are the celebrants in every liturgical celebration. We must convey the signs
and symbols as we worship Him especially during the liturgical celebration.

Moral: We are called to have an active life in the Church, we must give light and hope to
those who are in the midst of darkness.

Worship: As the community of believers, pray that other people may feel the love of God
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through our words and actions.

Content
There are numerous occasions in our lives which we love to celebrate, it can be
birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduations and the like. When celebrating those
occasions, we feel joyful as another milestone takes place.

JUMP START ACTIVITY: A RED LETTER DAY

What is the most significant occasion in your life? Give some reasons why such occasion is
so important to you. (3-5 sentences only)

When we celebrate important events in our lives we are full of happiness and
gratitude to God because we know the He is the one behind those occasions and He is the
source of all our blessings. However, it is not only the celebrant who is happy during the
special occasion but their loved ones as well.

I. Who celebrates the liturgy?

Sacramental and liturgical celebrations are the fundamental occasions in which the
people of God gather together as God’s assembly.

“Celebrant” - one who is celebrating one’s own occasion just like the celebrator.
“Presider” - referring to the priest who leads that people in the celebration of the
liturgy.

Liturgy is a celebration not only of the priest, but all the people of God who are
gathered together as a liturgical assembly.

“In all liturgies, Christ the Lord himself is the one who celebrates the cosmic liturgy, which
encompasses angels and men, the living and the dead, the past, present, and future,
heaven and earth. Priests and believers participate in different ways in Christ’s divine
worship.”
(YOUCAT 179)
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What do you feel when you are a part of an important celebration? Please
elaborate.

Do you want to be part of that celebration again? Why?

The liturgy is a celebration of all the faithful; it is a celebration of our life with Christ. It
is a celebration of meeting Christ. It is a solemn yet joyful celebration because we are
invited by Christ to be His guests in that spiritual meal.

We are encouraged to be “there”, to be “present” in every liturgical celebration

because in the liturgy, we are participants. We are “celebrants”.

It is the whole community, the Body of Christ united with its Head, that
celebrates. We, being the body of Christ are the community that celebrates the liturgy.
(CCC 1140)

Certain members are called by God, in and through the Church, to a special
service of the community. (CCC 1142)

The ordained ministers are the ones who preside the Holy Mass, but it is the whole
assembly that celebrates.

Particular ministries also exist, not consecrated by the sacrament of Holy Orders;
their functions are determined by the bishops, in accord with liturgical traditions and
pastoral needs. "Servers, readers, commentators, and members of the choir also exercise a
genuine liturgical function." (CCC 1143)

Liturgy is a cultic action of the “total Christ – “ Christus totus. In other words,
the Body of Christ united to its Head is the celebrant of the sacramental liturgy.

In the celebration of the sacraments it is thus the whole assembly that is leitourgos,
each according to his function, but in the "unity of the Spirit" who acts in all. (CCC 1144)

(Read Catholic Teachings Lesson 5 of Stay with us Lord Book 3: Liturgy and Sacraments)
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II. How to celebrate the liturgy?

List down top 3 professions that you want to achieve in the future, then make your
own guidelines on how to do their duties responsibly.

(1) (2) (3)

III. What are the signs and symbols in the celebration of the liturgy?

Signs and symbols are essential during the celebration of Liturgy. It serve as
“bearers of the saving and sanctifying action of Christ”. These signs are related to
creation, human life and the history of salvation. (CCC 1189)

These human rites, gestures, or elements are inserted in the word of faith and
assumed by the power of the Holy Spirit; thus, they become instruments of Christ’s salvific
and sanctifying action. (FSU vol. 1 p.470)

We need signs and symbols in order to perceive and describe spiritual or interior
realities. (YouCat, 181)

We celebrate the liturgy by means of the following signs:

 Signs of the human world. We need signs and symbols in our lives especially when we
are communicating with others. It can be our language, gestures, and actions. (CCC
1146-1147)
 Signs of the covenant. The liturgical signs of the Old Testament are circumcision, the
anointing, the consecration of kings and priests, the laying on of hands, sacrifices, and
above all, the Passover. The Church sees these signs as the prefiguration of the
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Sacraments in the New Covenant. (CCC 1150)

 Signs taken up by Christ. The Lord Jesus frequently made use of the signs of creation
in his preaching to make known the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. (cf. Lk.8:10)
 Sacramental signs. The sacramental signs fulfil the types and figures of the Old
Covenant, signify and accomplish the salvation wrought by Christ, and foreshadow and
anticipate the glory of heaven. (CCC1152)

IV. What are the words, actions, and elements in the celebration of the liturgy?

1. Liturgy of the Word – an integral part of the sacramental celebrations.

2. Liturgical gestures – the actions we do during the celebration

The most important liturgical gestures are:

 the sign of the cross (used in the blessing of persons and things),
 striking one’s breast (a sign of repentance and humility),
 looking upward (used by Jesus and included in Eucharistic Prayer I),
 anointing (a symbol of the grace infused with the sacrament),
 giving of ashes (a sign of humility, repentance, resurrection, and trustful prayer),
 laying on of hands (signifying a supernatural action being performed by God),
 raising and extending hands (prayer, seeking and expecting help from God),
 joining one’s hands at the chest (a gesture of prayer when the hands are not
extended), and
 extending hands to give the sign of peace.

The most important liturgical body postures are:

 standing (a sign of joy and the freedom of God’s children),

 kneeling (a sign of repentance, penance, or adoration),
 sitting down (the attitude of a disciple listening to the teacher),
 bowing one’s head (reverence given to the name of Jesus, Mary, or the saint of the
day),
 bowing the body (toward the altar when there is no tabernacle, within the Profession of
Faith at the words, “by the power of the Holy Spirit”, during the prayers, “Almighty God,
cleanse” and “Lord God, we ask you to receive,” and in Eucharistic Prayer I at the
words, “Almighty God, we pray”),
 prostration (only on Good Friday and in priestly ordination), and
 procession (a symbol of the pilgrim Church, done several times within the Mass and
in some solemn celebrations around the church or in the streets).
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To have a further understanding of the lesson, watch the video in the link below:
Liturgy: How we Celebrate? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxKqFvwL8fI

Signs and symbols employed in liturgical celebrations are not as ordinary as it seem,
but it remind us how we should act and participate in every Church’s services.

The way we celebrate the liturgy expresses our love to God and our willingness to
serve Him even though we cannot see Him. As St. Paul exhorts that we should put God first
in everything we do whether in words or in action.

Expressing our love to our neighbours and showing respect towards them are not
only proofs of who we are as a person, but a concrete way of putting into action our love for
God.

Those simple signs and symbols of love and compassion are great help to those
people who are suffering, those who are in the verge of giving up and those who are in the
midst of darkness, to find light and hold onto His undying love.

Assessment and Evaluation

TASK 1

Find a picture of yours when you had your birthday celebration. Relate your birthday
celebration to the liturgical celebration where you are both the celebrant by following the
guide questions below:
1. How did you prepare yourself for the celebration?
2. What did you feel when you saw your favorite persons celebrating with you? Do you feel
the same whenever you are celebrating the liturgy?
3. How these two celebrations affect your life personally and spiritually?

TASK 2

Answer the following questions concisely.

1. How do signs and symbols are used guiding us to celebrate and encounter God in the
Eucharist and in our everyday lives?
2. In your simple ways, how are you going to invite people to religiously attend and accept
God in their hearts? Give concrete and realistic examples.
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You answers will be graded according to this criteria:

Content : 40%
Originality : 20%
Clarity of ideas : 20%
Depth/Sensibility : 20%
TOTAL 100%

References
1. Catholic Church. (1994). Catechism of the Catholic Church. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice
Vaticana.
2. Belmonte, Charles. (2006). Faith Seeking Understanding. Mandaluyong: Studium Theologiae
Foundation, Inc.
3. YOUCAT. (2010). San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxKqFvwL8fI

Prepared: Checked: Approved:

__________________________ ______________________ _____________________

Teacher Academic Coordinator Principal
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ACTIVITY SHEET IN Theology 3: Liturgy and Sacraments

MODULE NO. 3

NAME: _______________________________________
GRADE&SECTION: _____________________________
DATE: _______________________________________

Task #1
Find a picture of yours when you had your birthday celebration. Relate your birthday
celebration to the liturgical celebration where you are both the celebrant by following the guide
questions below:

1. How did you prepare yourself for the celebration?

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. What did you feel when you saw your favorite persons celebrating with you? Do you feel the
same whenever you are celebrating the liturgy?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
3. How these two celebrations affect your life personally and spiritually?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

TASK #2

Answer the following questions concisely.

1. How do signs and symbols are used guiding us to celebrate and encounter God in the
Eucharist and in our everyday lives?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. In your simple ways, how are you going to invite people to religiously attend and accept God
in their hearts? Give concrete and realistic examples.
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___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________