God gave humans the commandment to worship Him, alone. He is worthy of our homage because we belong to Him (1 Peter 1:15-16). God prompts us to worship Him, the way we ought (Romans 8:26). This encounter is extended to the community in liturgical prayer. Being a corporate action, liturgy is governed by law and tradition so as to preserve its unity throughout the world and its fidelity to the message revealed by God. Authentic liturgical reform must respect continuity with the spiritual essence of the Mass. Sadly, some people try to make a sincere effort to simplify, demystify, and make liturgy more appealing, meaningful or contemporary, especially to children the youth, but this effort has often devolved into a form of liturgical minimalism.
It loses the value of silence and the sense of the sacred. This misconception not only introduces into the liturgy an element of subjectivism based on human concerns, but also divides the Church into age and taste groups. It usually creates problems of communion between priests and their people when a priest attempts to reform the liturgy in any given place to bring it into line with the Church’s liturgical law and tradition. Those who try to manipulate other people’s intellects and wills violate the freedom of the human person. When done in the name of God, it also violates God’s sovereignty over the intellect and will of man. Fabricated liturgy can be as harmful to spiritual life and growth as genetically modified organisms can be harmful to human health.
Conversion is about conscience
Conversion should not be seen principally as a dramatic emotional event accompanied by strong feelings. It is, rather, appreciated as the formation of the conscience under the grace of the Holy Spirit, to inform the intellect and strengthen the will to live the supernatural life of the virtues in union with Christ. Catholics define Eucharistic liturgy or Mass as a re-presentation of the Sacrifice of Christ to His Father on Calvary in the Holy Spirit. They adore Christ, whom they believe to be present, in consecrated bread and wine, whose reality has been changed into in Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity.
Mass is about God, not about ourselves. It is the apex of human obedience to the commandment to worship God. We should see it not as a spectacle but as a sacrifice to actively participate in. This sacrificial giving is the heart of worship. How the Church worships is a prophetic witness to the truth of what she professes. Good worship becomes a dynamic informs and transforms both the person and the worshiping community which participates in it. It finally draws the entire human community into the fullness of life in Jesus Christ.
What liturgy is
Liturgy is a gift from God, attuned to and ordered for the human person, but not of the human person. It is visible, audible, and tangible signs really do communicate God’s loving, enveloping, and permeating presence. It conforms and accustoms worshipers to the divine nature, to the life of heaven, to which they aspire, as their true abiding homeland. Liturgy is not a utility. If the figure of Christ does not emerge from it, it is not a Christian liturgy. “The mystery of the Eucharist is too great a gift to admit of ambiguities or reductions, above all when, stripped of its sacrificial meaning, it is celebrated as if it were simply a fraternal banquet.”- St. John Paul II. Liturgy is expressed in formulas and rites that have a beauty of their own, encouraging the contemplation of God’s mysteries. ‘By its nature, the liturgy can be pedagogically effective in helping the faithful to enter more deeply into the mystery being celebrated.’ – Pope Benedict XVI.
Liturgical music
The Church respects the power of liturgical music, with Gregorian chant (plainchant) holding a high distinction. Attributed to Pope Gregory I, it was standardised in the late ninth century. It is a genre of music dedicated to and performed exclusively within the Liturgy, keeping the mind focused on higher things. The melodies are sang in unison, without any fixed time-measurement, but according to the rhythm of the spoken language. Gregorian chant features texts derived from the Bible, safeguarding the unity, purity and clarity of the Church’s corporate worship. We only begin to understand the deepest logic of the liturgy when we have become totally transparent to the Divine Will; when our minds have been truly renewed in Christ. Christians are called upon to approach liturgical worship ready to offer their hearts and lives in true devotion and love for God (Catholic online).