Spirituality and psychology use the term “journey” to describe the movement from infancy to mature adulthood.  It’s a good metaphor for expressing the reality that each journey has a starting point with a destination, or end point in mind.  Our human journey beings at birth with our destination being union with God.   Our liturgical life is key in shaping our journey. So, it makes sense to describe our spirituality –the means by which we grow in union with God—as a liturgical spirituality. As Catholics, we have been gifted with the sacraments; seven different encounters with Jesus Christ supporting and nurturing us as we strive to become more Christ-like.

    As little children, when we learned about the sacraments, we tended to see them as things we did, rather than encounters with God.  But sacraments are first and foremost worship of God who gifts us with life.  When we appreciate this, we can be more open and better able to be met by Jesus Christ and his saving presence.  The diagram below is one way of looking at our journey.

    The middle section lists the seven sacraments and our celebration of them through our life journey.  Above this central section are activities in which we engage during our growth to maturity. Below the central section are some of the transformations taking place as we live our life and celebrate the sacraments.  Hopefully this diagram can help us see the bigger picture and the importance of our liturgical spirituality.