General Instruction of the Roman Missal

Why should the assembly actively participate?

St. Paul reminds us, “You are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it” (1 Cor 12:27).

Thus, when baptized Christians gather for worship, they gather as members of the body of Christ alive in the world today. We unite together, prompted by the Spirit, with Christ our brother as our head, in giving praise and glory to God our Father. It is part of our Christian tradition, recalled by the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council, that ultimately it is Christ who, as priest, offers worship to God in the liturgy. Thus, when the baptized unite together in the liturgy, no one can ever be a passive spectator watching a priest do something for us, since all are parts of Christ’s body, the Church, and it is Christ, head and members, who is actively giving praise and glory to our God.

Worshipping God is more than being physically present in a church. We are not spectators at a sport’s event, watching others perform. As the statement of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy, Music in Catholic Worship, says: “People in love make signs of live, not only to express their love but also to deepen it”. When we gather at Mass, we deepen our love for God and for each other, and this demands participation rather than passivity. It involves listening, speaking, singing, standing, kneeling, sitting – using all our being to praise God and to do it in unity as the body of Christ.

At least twelve paragraphs of the revised GIRM (General Instruction of the Roman Missal) refer to “active participation” or “active celebration” by those gathered at Mass. Several of these paragraphs (e.g., GIRM 18, 386) include a more extended quotation taken from the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy which refers to the “full, active, and conscious participation” of all the faithful and states that such participation is both a “right” and a “duty” (art. 14).

In most human organizations, whether it is a nation or a social club, citizenship or membership not only confers certain rights but also certain obligations. By baptism, an individual is united to Christ and his Church and joys the blessings of God’s salvific graces, particularly through the sacraments. Yet baptism also commits us to live a life modeled on Christ’s life, a life of love and service. Christ did not passively stand by when people sought him. He reached out to those who needed him and healed, nourished and forgave. The way we participate at Sunday Mass is a symbol of the way we should live out our Christian commitment the rest of the week. 

(Based on article by Dennis C. Smolarski, S.J.)

For more articles on the GIRM click WORSHIP.