Yesterday we looked
at the Final Doxology, and today we will examine the simple but meaningful
response the laity gives: AMEN, called the Great Amen. Read and learn what an
incredible word “Amen” is, and then be sure to say it with great conviction
every time you attend Mass!
Scriptures for
reflection:
1 Chron 16:36
Blessed be the LORD, the
God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!” Then all the people said,
“Amen!” and praised the LORD.
Neh 8:6
Then Ezra blessed the
LORD the great God. And all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while
lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the LORD with their
faces to the ground.
Rev:19:4
And the twenty-four
elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on
the throne saying, "Amen. Hallelujah!"
2 Cor 1:20
For no matter how many
promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him
the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.
Explanation of the Mass - The Concluding Doxology
Only
"through Christ, with Him and in Him" can we arrive to the Father.
The Christian people make the Eucharistic Prayer their own and complete the great Trinitarian Doxology by saying “Amen.” It is the most solemn Amen of the Mass. In the third century, the principal privileges of the Christian people were listed as: hearing the Eucharistic Prayer, pronouncing the Amen and receiving the Divine Bread. With this ‘Amen’, the faithful ratify the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. St. Augustine says, “To say ‘Amen’ means to endorse.”Even up through the Carolingian dynasty, the last words of the Canon were not spoken in silence so that the people could respond ‘Amen’ out loud.
The word ‘Amen’ is possibly the principal acclamation of the Christian liturgy. The term ‘Amen’ proceeds from the Old Covenant: "The Levites shall proclaim aloud to all the men of Israel... And all the people shall answer, 'Amen!'” (Dt 27:15-26; 1 Cron 16:36; Neh 8:6). According to different contexts, ‘Amen’ means: “This is it, this is the truth, so be it”.
The ancient ‘Amen’ continues to resound in the new covenant. It is the characteristic acclamation of the celestial liturgy. (Rev 3:14; 5:14, 7:11-12; 19:4) In Christian tradition, it conserves all of its ancient expressive vigor. (1 Cor 14:16; 2 Cor 1:20)
As in the whole liturgy, saying ‘Amen’ has a vital meaning. It shouldn’t be a mere response with the lips, but rather, it has the value of uniting us to the mystery that we celebrate. Saying ‘Amen’ means uniting ourselves with Christ, desiring to make our whole life a doxology, that is, a glorification of the Trinity, united to the Paschal mystery of the Redeemer.
An essential part of the Christian vocation is to be “the praise of His glory”. Once again we see how the liturgy should be lived. A summary of the glory of creation in Christ is found in the doxology. Through His obedience and love even unto the Cross, Christ has carried out the perfect glorification of the Father: “Father, glorify your Name” (Jn 17:5), and has achieved the perfect glorification of His humanity, united to the Incarnate Word: “Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.” (Jn 17:5) We must unite ourselves, with our lives, to this glorification of the Trinity. Uniting ourselves to Christ, offering our whole life with Him, joys and pains, success and failure, work and everything that we do, we will become praise of the glory of the Trinity “through Him, with Him and in Him.” (http://www.hogardelamadre.org/en/spiritual-life/eucharist/549-explanation-of-the-mass/2440-concluding-doxology)
The Christian people make the Eucharistic Prayer their own and complete the great Trinitarian Doxology by saying “Amen.” It is the most solemn Amen of the Mass. In the third century, the principal privileges of the Christian people were listed as: hearing the Eucharistic Prayer, pronouncing the Amen and receiving the Divine Bread. With this ‘Amen’, the faithful ratify the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. St. Augustine says, “To say ‘Amen’ means to endorse.”Even up through the Carolingian dynasty, the last words of the Canon were not spoken in silence so that the people could respond ‘Amen’ out loud.
The word ‘Amen’ is possibly the principal acclamation of the Christian liturgy. The term ‘Amen’ proceeds from the Old Covenant: "The Levites shall proclaim aloud to all the men of Israel... And all the people shall answer, 'Amen!'” (Dt 27:15-26; 1 Cron 16:36; Neh 8:6). According to different contexts, ‘Amen’ means: “This is it, this is the truth, so be it”.
The ancient ‘Amen’ continues to resound in the new covenant. It is the characteristic acclamation of the celestial liturgy. (Rev 3:14; 5:14, 7:11-12; 19:4) In Christian tradition, it conserves all of its ancient expressive vigor. (1 Cor 14:16; 2 Cor 1:20)
As in the whole liturgy, saying ‘Amen’ has a vital meaning. It shouldn’t be a mere response with the lips, but rather, it has the value of uniting us to the mystery that we celebrate. Saying ‘Amen’ means uniting ourselves with Christ, desiring to make our whole life a doxology, that is, a glorification of the Trinity, united to the Paschal mystery of the Redeemer.
An essential part of the Christian vocation is to be “the praise of His glory”. Once again we see how the liturgy should be lived. A summary of the glory of creation in Christ is found in the doxology. Through His obedience and love even unto the Cross, Christ has carried out the perfect glorification of the Father: “Father, glorify your Name” (Jn 17:5), and has achieved the perfect glorification of His humanity, united to the Incarnate Word: “Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.” (Jn 17:5) We must unite ourselves, with our lives, to this glorification of the Trinity. Uniting ourselves to Christ, offering our whole life with Him, joys and pains, success and failure, work and everything that we do, we will become praise of the glory of the Trinity “through Him, with Him and in Him.” (http://www.hogardelamadre.org/en/spiritual-life/eucharist/549-explanation-of-the-mass/2440-concluding-doxology)
Now feel it, sing
it, live it, so be it!!
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