INSIDE MODERN LITURGY

Symbolic reality

It was something of a surprise to hear remarks about the value of liturgy coming from the highest levels of world government. Nevertheless, that's what happened recently on *Marketplace* — a business and economics news magazine that airs on National Public Radio. The commentator noted that Secretary of State Warren Christopher was in China, going to diplomatic dinners, making toasts, bowing, shaking hands, posing for pictures, and making speeches about the common goals and close cooperation of both the Chinese and United States governments. This is, the commentator pointed out, all for show. China and the United States are still very much at odds on many fronts. However, he said, by going through these rituals, it would one day come to pass that relations between the two countries would indeed be "normalized." It is the public ritual, he said, that would make the hoped-for ideal a lived reality.

This is exactly what we believe about our ritual memorial of the paschal mystery. It is the *doing* of the ritual that makes the death and resurrection of Jesus real for us. It is the repetition of the ritual action that slowly shapes a new reality — first in us, and then in the world. The Triduum — the climax of the liturgical year — is when this new reality becomes most real and most present. Kay Murdy writes of the spirituality of the Triduum in the *Planning Guide* :

"Walk from slavery to freedom," God tells Moses and all who feel like exiles. We dare to dream that justice and liberation can become a reality. To those who feel lonely and abandoned God says, "Though the mountains fall, my love shall never leave you." God is generous and merciful to the hungry and homeless poor: "All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come and eat." We are eager to eat the bread and drink the wine of new life.

As you plan for the Triduum this year, I encourage you to do so with all the care, attention to detail, and rehearsal that goes into planning for a state visit. The secular goals of our government are often laudable, but they pale next to the promised liberation offered by a merciful God. It is up to us to make that liberation a reality by the way we worship.