I sometimes wonder if our belief in Christ’s real presence in the Blessed Sacrament, the reserved consecrated bread and wine dilutes our belief in the other ways Christ is present in the liturgy. Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Vatican II document on the liturgy, names three other ways that Christ is present at Mass: the gathered assembly, the priest presider, and the Word proclaimed.

    In the years since the Second Vatican Council, we have developed a deeper awareness of Christ’s presence in the Word, but we still have more to do in expressing our attentive reverence for this presence.  Two years ago, Pope Francis focused on this when he instituted Word of God Sunday (Third Sunday in Ordinary Time).  It parallels the Feast of Corpus Christi (Second Sunday after Pentecost).  Just as we celebrate the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament on “Corpus Christi Sunday,” so we celebrate the real presence of Christ on “Word of God Sunday.”

    Part of our “work” at Liturgy is to stir up our faith in Christ’s presence in the Word, the priest-presider and in the gathered assembly.  When we look at the priest presider, we see Father Wilson or “Father So and So” praying the prayers, but our faith (the faith of the Church) tells us that it is Christ speaking through him, leading us in our prayer to the Father.  How can I use my imagination to help me “see” Christ present in the priest?

    It is also our faith that tells us that the gathered assembly—that is, the folks in the pews with us in church—is the body of Christ: head and members.  St. Matthew records Jesus saying, where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.”  My imagination can be an invaluable tool in helping me “see” Christ’s mystical body gathered to praise and thank the Father.  Next week we will look at the quiet, yet dynamic movement of the Liturgy.