Folia Theologica 20. (2009)
Caban Peter: Features and new impulses of the Pope Benedict XVI in the area of liturgy
46 CABAN, Peter positive aspects and validity of the Council reform.6 The history of Christianity and Christian thought are formed by the God's grace and promise of salvation since the beginning. It is valid not only for extraordinary history of Old and New Testaments but history of humankind in general as well which is filled and directed by God's will. For Christian theologians this is the basis and substantiation of the experiment so that we could understand liturgy from anthropology and theological science. Liturgy is the climax of the celebration of the Church. Right and duty of the faithful to actively participate in the liturgy is coming from baptism which we have accepted; according to the teaching of Thomas Aquinas the faithful are appointed for the liturgy by the baptismal character.7 Christian people are the royal and priestly nation which should have part in the Christ's priesthood according to their status.8 This participation is fully implemented in the liturgy. Ars celebrandi is the best condition for the real participatio actuosa.9 We may conclude that Christian liturgy owns a specialty which distinguishes it from pagan cults of the ancient times and by the celebration of liturgy there arises the whole new type of the building of the liturgical community: liturgical gathering is not an assembly as public in the ancient theatre; in liturgy there is no "viewer," but everybody is "co-actor." 6 DUBINA, Zamyslenie nad posynodálnou apostolskou exhortáciou Svâtého Otca Benedikta XVI. SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS, http://www.knazi.sk/liturgia /litvysvetold.php March 13th, 2008. 7 „...laki autem participationem liturgicam actuosam praestant, et quidem vi characteris baptismalis." AKVINSKŸ, T., Summa theologica part III., q. 63a, 6. 8 Compare LÉCUYER, J., I e sacerdoce dans le mystère du Christ, Paris 1957, pp. 171-228. 9 Each liturgical community is the response to God's offer so that God's people would actively communicate with God and among themselves as well. This is the real communication in the liturgy in the participation in divine life and being. The process participationis actuosae between free God and liberated human person has its special conditions and structures: A human person in the liturgy is always endowed by God (God's grace) sooner than he may endow. Therefore the earthly existence of the human persons is decisive for the modality of this exchange which is embodied in the emphasis formed by the liturgy because God is the associate and main actor of the liturgy. He is the main initiator in the liturgical community, Christ is the first liturgie who offers sacrifice to his Father.
