Defining LITURGY

"Each morning [at Mass] I try, each morning I fail, and know that always I will be a creature who, looking at Father Paul and the altar, and uttering prayers, will be distracted by scrambled eggs, horses, the weather, and memories and daydreams that have nothing to do with the sacrament I am about to receive. I can receive, though: the Eucharist, and also, at Mass and at other times, moments and even minutes of contemplation. But I cannot achieve contemplation, as some can; and so, having to face and forgive my own failures, I have learned from them both the necessity and wonder of ritual. For ritual allows those who cannot will themselves out of the secular to perform the spiritual, as dancing allows the tongue-tied man a ceremony of love."
-Andre Dubus, “A Father’s Story"

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In our weakest moments, liturgy reminds us both that we need forgiveness and that we are forgiven and loved.

Whether following years of history and structure, or centered around the idea of improvisation, every church service follows some sort of rhythm and order. Making the decision to follow a structured liturgy, put together with thought and according to Scripture, guarantees that the gospel is preached every Sunday, no matter how much the congregation, the pastor or worship minister fails.