PROGRAM:

DIPLOMA IN SOCIAL MINISTRY

INSTITUTION:

TANGAZA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE {CUEA}

NAME: ADM. NO: DATE:

CHIAWO VERONICA ACHIENG` 13036s !11!"013

CLUSTER:

THE CHURCH SERVING THE SOCIETY

COURSE:

LITURGY AND SOCIAL TRANS#ORMATION

LECTURER: MODULE:

ELIAS MUTAHI DSM 111

INTRODUCTION Liturgy is a public act of worship in the presence of the assembly for the purpose of prayer. In the course text book liturgy has been defined as the whole complex of official services, all the rites, ceremonies, prayers and sacraments of the church as opposed to private devotions. It serves as a source of true Christian spirit and the faithful must derive the spirit from f the churchs worship by active participation and this means being present in a such a manner that mind and heart are actively joined to the official worship and take intelligent part in the holy action because in the liturgy the teaching is inseparable from the putting into practice, and this is the true Christian spirit. his spirit should be the source of all further extension and application of the principles of solidarity and fellowship in our common life and civili!ation Liturgy is the base to the secular life people have to live, all social and secular Christian lives, originate in the liturgy, but by first experiencing the divine which is behind every Christian life. he liturgical designs have their origin in the "frican raditional #eligions, which must have touched the "frican soul. It was rich in symbols, rites, gestures and signs borrowed from the people or the state. Liturgical celebrations are kind of invitation to Christian communities to take charge of history according to the dynamism of the kingdom of $od% already and not yet. hey accelerate the penetration of the values of the kingdom of $od in the world. he proclamation of the word in any liturgical celebration is a communication of love of $od to the nations. he word will talk of love of neighbor, and if all gather in liturgical celebration to listen to the communication of love of $od, and then a change must be effected through the same love. &Course book, pg'(). In this paper, the student is going to discuss the social, economical and political transformation that liturgical celebrations will definitely bring in the society if well executed. *an by his nature forms societies and interacts with his fellow man because he was not created to live alone. he social aspect of liturgy include relationship, and structures &school, family and leadership) and faith is a major influence for true transformation in the society. he liturgical celebrations call Christians away from an ordinary life towards a divine vision of Christian life and love united to Christs sacrifice. hrough liturgical celebrations Christians are called to change their former ways of life to live a more transformed life that communicates what they have received+ ,esus Christ, to the community surrounding them. "fter the celebration they must make an attempt to make the society -other.. /o real sociali!ation can actually occur without celebrations.

0ow we worship has a profound impact on what we believe and how we put our faith into practice. he celebration is the source and summit of the Christian life, if it is well celebrated then there would be great impacts on the entirety of the Christian life but if we remain in the liturgical culture that is still more focused on the community actuali!ing itself than on a rendering worship and receiving grace from $od then there would be no social transformation in the society. 1hen we change our manner of worship, not every Christian will be touched but at least a few will be forced out of their comfort !ones. his will make the mass challenging, rather than a big act of communal self affirmation. It will crack the self+centered shell of the church goers and open his heart to teachings of the church that challenges him to pick up his disciples cross, rather than ignoring it. he community will be made aware that that liturgy contains a message from which they can learn and grow, and then pass it on to others because our liturgical worship impact how we go out from the liturgy to spread the $ood /ews. hrough communion with $od in the celebration, we begin to offer our life in spiritual worship. he transformation of self leads to the transformation of society. "nd for that transformation to happen, the individual must become an ever more conscious member of the body of Christ. It is not transformation of the individual but transformation of the whole society. he society of the Christs mystical body. he mark of our 2ucharistic 3uality of life as a church must be charity and this starts in our interactions with fellow members of the body of Christ. 1hen the communities celebrate with a more clear conscious that the sacrifice of Christ is for all, and that it compels all who believe in him to become -bread that is broken. for others then they would work together for the building of a more just and fraternal society. Liturgy brings life in the society by coming together to visit the sick and the needy people in our society and this is social transformation. hrough this proclamation of the gospel, the activities of charity takes place and this is the out come of the listening to the command of love in liturgical celebrations. he celebrations are the highest occurrences of the collaboration between god and human beings for personal and social transformation of the world on the journey towards the fullness of the kingdom of god. 0ence the communities should be helped to move from a liturgy conceived as personal and individual devotion to liturgy as a community event. 4or political transformation to take place in the society then Christians must draw strength to have such an impact from the 2ucharist, that is from the -source and summit,. and naturally from the liturgical celebrations. Liturgy possesses a socio+critical potential which surpasses political activism, it challenges everyone in the society to -transform unjust structures and to restore

respect for the dignity of all men and women. and to commit our selves to peace making in our world scarred by violence and war, terrorism, economic corruption and sexual exploitation. he bridge from lords table reaches to the poor who live below the poverty level and are forced to live in makeshift conditions, to children deprived of a legitimate claim to happiness, to refugees and to victims of certain forms of globali!ation such as huge sums spent on armaments that widen the gap between the wealthy and the poor. he food of truth and human need calls everyone to live a radically different way of approaching our presence in the world. he liturgy demands that that we denounce inhuman situations in which people starve to death because of injustices of all forms and exploitation, and it gives us renewed strength and courage to work tirelessly in the service of the civili!ation of the love. he liturgical celebrations should present the image of the church and a better program for $ods people+ and that means $ods society. 5ne of the political conse3uences of liturgical celebrations is the renewal of the society, and this is clearly seen with the people of Israel+$ods own society. It is reborn in the festival and this society finds the purest image of itself in festival and celebration. he liturgical celebrations is an excellent example of a liturgy of liberation, which made the people of $od into an authentically redeemed and therefore liberating society from the very beginning of its history, the exodus from 2gypt. 1hen celebrated well in the world of today that lacks peace then there would be liberation of the people of $od. In a well celebrated liturgy, people experience unity among themselves and communion with their $od and they extend this unity and peace to the society. 1hen this liturgical unity has been applied to the entire social reality of the society, then it has achieved its political goal. he purest form of rejoicing before $od is not found where sacrifices are brought, but in the sincerity of the prayers which are said afterwards and in the joy arising from the communal feast after the sacrifice has been brought% his joy belongs to the liturgical celebration, there would be no impoverished classes created, those who have lost their property would receive assistance immediately because of the fraternal way of life which is kept in practice. In the communal meal, the 2ucharistic joy springs forth and this joy causes political impact of the celebration which gives rise to a society of sisters and brothers in which there are no poor as it was with the first Christian community in ,erusalem. - he community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. 1ith great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the lord ,esus, and great favor was accorded them all. here was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale. &"cts 6,'7+'6). he inspiration they had as a community comes from the liturgy. 4

" well executed celebration can impact on economic aspects whereby the ones in authority acknowledge e3ual distribution of wealth and resources within societies and among societies. his would reduce the gap between the rich and poor which is widening. *arried couples will embark on joint financial planning as well as small projects leading to the economic improvement. he community will show concern for the poor and also appreciate the need for income generating projects. It will empower every human being with the education and resources to secure a sustainable livelihood and will make the society to recogni!e the ignored, protect the vulnerable, serve those who suffer and enable them to develop their aspirations. If well executed, the society would recogni!e the human rights of women and girls and end up all kinds of violence against them by promoting their active participation in all aspects of economic, political, social and cultural life as full and e3ual partners, decision makers, leaders and beneficiaries. he celebration will also make the society to recogni!e the importance of families and strengthen them, ensure their safety and loving nurture of all family members. CONCLUSION he participation of christians in the liturgical celebrations is drifting away, many people see little relevance in liturgy today and it would be of great help to find the under lying causes and to get the possible solutions to that. here is an urgency to break through the barriers that keep our ecclesial communities from experiencing the importance of the celebration and the hope and meaning it offers. Christians simply have to begin wherever they find themselves and when we are not participating actively and consciously in the liturgy then we can not expect our people to have a well developed sense of how the liturgical celebrations sends them into a society to proclaim the gospel. It is a challenge for every Christian to examine his life and evaluate the social, political and economic impacts of the liturgy because the whole process begins with the transformation of the individual. 1ho is incorporated into a transformed community.

RE#ERENCES Carrera, 4 &78('). he "frican church open to the world. /21 9259L2 *aga!ine+/o.(6: ;eptember+5ctober, 78(', pg.(8. http<==www.pastoralliturgy.org=resources=8>((;C+2ffects5n;ociety"ndCulture.php http<==www.ve.org.!a=index.php=?2=article=download=:86=:@8 &pdf file) http<==www.catholicvote.org=the+liturgy+ via+the+hermeneutics+of+politics= he "frican Aible< 9aulines publications "frica. *utahi, 2 &78('). Liturgy and ;ocial ransformation. Course ext Aook, Institute of ;ocial *inistry+ anga!a College.