Liturgy of the Faithful

OBJECTIVE

Students will be able to recall the 7 components of the Liturgy of the Faithful. They will be able to analyze the direct comparison and relationship between the rites/practices of the Priest, Deacon, and Congregation during the Liturgy of the Faithful.

REVIEW - 5 Minutes

Review the Liturgy of the Word and ask students to share their Bibles for highlighted verses or questions about the Scripture from the day's Liturgy.

INTRODUCTION and HOOK - 5 Minutes

The last part of the Divine Liturgy is called Liturgy of the Faithful which is composed of 7 sections. There is so much beautiful symbolism that helps to explain why the priest does certain things during the Divine Liturgy that will allow students to gain a better understanding for this sacrament.

Suggested Hook Activity 1: Show the students pictures/images of different events such as birthdays, games, weddings, etc. Ask them what is the purpose of all those events? Then show them a picture of the liturgy or the Priest praying the Liturgy of the Faithful. Ask the students the same question about the purpose of the Liturgy of the Faithful. Create a bubble map about the several purposes that students respond. Explain that Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Sacrament of Communion on the Thursday before His crucifixion.

Suggested Hook Activity 2: Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Sacrament of Communion on the Thursday before His crucifixion. In addition, have the students open the Gospel of St. John and look for where the depiction of Communion would be. Bring to their attention that St. John chapters 13-17 is where the event of Communion would be placed. We find beautiful prayers and consolations by our Lord Himself for unity and sanctification = communion.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes

"Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Hosts, heaven and earth are full of Your holy glory." This is the Hymn that Isaiah the prophet heard the Seraphim sing without ceasing. Isaiah 6:3
Accounts of the Last Supper in Mat 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and 1 Cor 11.
"For every time you eat of this Bread and drink of this Cup you proclaim My death, confess My Resurrection and remember Me till I come." Matthew 26:26-28
"For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" 1 Corinthians 11:26

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 25 Minutes

The Liturgy of the Faithful is broken down into the following parts: students will use a flipbook to organize the information in a flipbook in which each of the 7 components of the Liturgy of the Faithful are described along with the actions/rites of the Priest, Deacon, or Congregation.

1 . Reconciliation Prayer

Our Lord Jesus taught us in the Holy Gospel to reconcile with each other before offering the sacrifice -- (Greet one another with the Holy kiss....etc. )

2 The Anaphora

When the Prospherin (the long sheet covering the sacraments) is removed, we raise our hearts and minds to heaven as this action represents the resurrection of the Lord.
The priest says "Lift up your hearts" and we response "We have them with the Lord"
We give glory to God "Holy, Holy, Holy..." and say "the Seraphim worship you....etc.)

3 The Consecration

This is the holiest part of the Liturgy as the Holy Spirit will descend and change the bread and wine into true Body and Blood of our Lord
The Institution Narrative (He instituted for us this great mystery ...etc.)
The proclamation of the Lord's Death, Resurrection and Ascension (Amen, Amen, Amen your death O Lord we proclaim....etc.)
The Invocation of the Holy Spirit -- when we bow down and worship while the priest prays "and this bread makes into His Holy Body...etc.) we respond in awe and say "I believe Amen" same for the cup into "His precious Blood"

4 The Seven Short Litanies

Since we have the Lord Himself present on the altar, we take this opportunity to ask and entreat for: The Peace of the Church, the Fathers (Pope and Bishops), the Clergy (Priests and Deacons), The Mercy (Have mercy upon us O God the father the Pantocrator), the salvation of the place, the seasons (waters of the river, the air of heaven and fruits of the earth), the Oblations and those have brought them

5 The Commemoration of the Saints

The Communion of the Saints represents the 'cloud of witnesses' which surrounds the believers and to which the Apostle Paul referred to in Heb.12:1-4. As we mention the names in the "Communion of the Saints" we remember their life stories and recall their virtues and love towards our beloved Lord

Diptych: We remember those who departed and ask the Lord to repose their souls in the paradise of joy with all the saints

6 The Fraction

This is a very holy time of the liturgy when the priest starts to break down the Body into small pieces and takes the Espadicon (center piece) and immerses it in the cup

7 The Confession

The priest raises the paten with the body and confess loudly that this is a true and living body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ who is given for the remission of sins

The Final Parts of the Divine Liturgy:

The Communion

The priest starts giving communion to the congregation

The Dismissal

The Prayer of Laying the Hands The Ending Blessing
Washing the utensils
Dismissing the Angel of the Sacrifice

Additional details/symbolism for the various sections can be found below in the Appendix if the servant wishes to incorporate more details.

DISCUSSION/REVIEW - 10 Minutes

During Anaphora, why does the priest raise his hands while they are covered with veils? What does it signify?
When we are saying Agios, why does the priest make the sign on himself first instead of the congregation?
What is the symbolism for why the priest puts the incense in the censor?
During the consecration, describe the scene when the priest is putting the smoke of the incense above the bread and the wine. What do the motions represent?
Why does the priest divine the bread and what does it represent?
Which part of the Liturgy of the Faithful is when the bread and the wine turn into The Body and the Blood of Christ?
During the Fraction, why does the priest sign the Body with the Blood?

APPLICATION/CONCLUSION - 5 Minutes

The last part of the Divine Liturgy, The Liturgy of the Faithful, is important because it tells us the story of our salvation and allows us to partake of one of the most important sacraments, The Eucharist.

Ask the students to explain what communion means to them. Watch for opportunities for learning and to correct any misconceptions such as:

Communion is a symbol/representation = Correction is that Communion is the actual Body and Blood of Jesus Christ

I should not take Communion because I am not worthy = Correction is that Communion is given to us out of God's love for us. Nobody is worthy, but through God's love, we are allowed to take communion. We should do our part by repenting and confessing to prepare as much as we can.

ACTIVITY - 5 Minutes

Suggested Activity 1: Prior to the lesson, find as many sacred vessels that the priest uses during the Divine Liturgy as possible.

Quiz the students on what each item is called and how it's used during the Liturgy.

Suggested vessels: Chalice, Paten, Dome, the Spoon.

Suggested Activity 2: Students are to write what the following section of the Prayer Before Communion means to them: "Let my communion be for partaking with Thee and for effacing all defilement, the mortification of my lusts, the doing of Thy Life-giving commandments, the healing of my soul and body from all sins, the acceptance of Thy gifts, the indwelling of Thy Grace, the descent of Thy Spirit for union with and abiding in Thee, that I may live for the glory of Thy Holy Name. Amen." Finally, encourage the students to pray the Prayer Before Communion every time they take communion.

RESOURCES

Presentation with images of the priest showing the various parts of the Divine Liturgy described above will be really helpful to use during the lesson - SUSCopts Liturgy of the Believers

SUSCopts Servants Prep - Scroll down and Click on "Rituals" then choose RIT 101. The last 5 pages include a description and pictures of the sacred vessels used during the Liturgy.

To find instructions on how to create a Flipbook, please see the attached pdf link: Instructions on how to create a flipbook

For instructions and templates of Thinking Maps, please see the attached link: The 8 Types of Thinking Maps Explained with Editable Templates

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PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Using the Bible references found earlier in the lesson under "Holy Scripture", students can look them up in their Bibles and research additional references for any of the topics mentioned in the lesson such as the Last supper, the Eucharist, angels praising in heaven, or saints. Students may write a short paragraph on their findings and bring to the class the following week.

Creating a routine for confession and attending the Liturgy early is vital for the students. Parents are encouraged to review the plans for attendance from the previous weeks and include routines to practice while at church such as reviewing the sections for the Liturgy of the Faithful, asking the child to commemorate departed loved ones, and praying the Prayer Before Communion.

APPENDIX

Additional details/symbolism:

During the Anaphora:

The Priest crosses himself saying, "Let us give thanks to the Lord."
The people respond with, "It is Meet and Right." This response is a confirmation of the thanksgiving offered by the priest to God, Who is worthy of every thanks and every praise, for He is full of goodness and His mercy remains forever.
The priest then raises his covered hands signifying the Seraphim who stands before God with his eyes and feet covered by his wings because of the imperceptible and unspoken majestic glory of God (Is.6:2). Then the priest prays the following three passages: "Meet and Right...", "Before Whom stand...", and "You are He around Whom stand...".
The people now sing this beautiful hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Hosts, heaven and earth are full of Your holy glory." This is the Hymn that Isaiah the prophet heard the Seraphim sing without ceasing. (Isa 6:3).

During Consecration:

There are three parts telling us the story of our salvation starting from the creation of man and placing him in the Paradise, the fall of man through disobeying God, the goodness of God towards us by sending His prophets to assure God's salvation that to come, the birth of our Savior from Virgin Mary in the fullness of time according to the economy of God, unifying God's people again through the new birth from the water and spirit, delivering up Himself for our salvation, His descent into Hades to restore all those who were under captivity, His resurrection from the dead, His ascension into the heaven and finally His second glorious coming to judge the world.
The priest holds the cross, while his hand is covered with a veil and makes three signs of the cross while saying Agios. The first sign is on himself, the second is on the servants and the last is on the congregation.
The veil on the priest's hand holding the cross is the one that was on the chalice pointing that we are to be sanctified only through the blood.
The priest puts off the veils on his hands and wash his hands with the incense ascending from the censor. This is done as he is about to hold the mysteries and sanctify them.
Then he takes from the smoke of the incense and puts it over the paten and the chalice while saying "...for being determined to give himself for the life of the world".
Putting the smoke of the incense above the bread and the wine points to the Lord giving up himself on the cross. The incense represents the life of the Lord Christ and the altar represents the cross.
Then the priest takes the bread on his hands and when saying "He lifted up his eyes...", he sign the bread three times while saying "He had given thanks, ...and blessed it,...and sanctified it"
After that the priest starts to divide the bread starting by a division into a third and two thirds from above downward without separating the pieces.
This division resembles the incarnation of the Lord (one of the Trinity) without being separated from the Father or the Holy Spirit.
Then the priest puts his finger on the edge of the chalice and make one circle counter clockwise while saying "Likewise also the cup after supper He mixed it of wine and water"
This circle points that the blood of the Lord was shed on behalf of the whole world. Also the blood of the burnt offerings and the peace offerings in the Old Testament used to be sprinkled around the altar in a circle form.
The counter-clockwise movement points that the blood is for the children of God who live pure life against the earthly lusts.
Then the priest holds the chalice and moves it from the west to the east and from the left to right.
This move says that through the blood we were transferred from being aliens to God (at the west) to paradise once more (at the east) and from being rejected (at the left) to become accepted (at the right).
Then the priest bows before the altar while saying inaudible the litany of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the bread and the wine to change them to the body and the blood of the Lord.
At this moment, the change takes place and the priest can not sign on anything with the cross as the Lord Christ is on the altar and being the Chief priest, He is the one who blesses others.
After the conclusion of the sanctification of the mysteries, the priest takes the two veils on his hands and starts praying the 7 litanies.

During Diptych:

The sorrowful long hymn of the diptych is not to be chanted on Sunday, any of the Lord's feasts or the Holy Fifty days.

During the Fraction

The priest takes the Holy Body by his right hand and puts it on the palm of his left hand. Then he points with his right index to the Body while saying "the Holy Body".
Then he dips the tip of his right index into the chalice while saying "the precious Blood".
Then with the blood on the tip of the right index he makes a cross over the whole Body (front and back)
Signing the Body with the Blood points to how the Lord' Body was covered with His Blood at the time of his crucifixion.
The priest transfers the Body from his right hand to his left as this reminds us with what the Jews (the people on the right) have done by delivering the Lord to the hands of the gentiles (the people on the left)
At this time the deacons lit the candles to honor the sacrifice and point to the Lord who shone upon us through His resurrection. Also the candle is a symbol for self sacrifice in order to give light to others.
After that the priest starts dividing the Holy Body as a symbol of the Lord's sufferings.
At the end of the prayers of the fraction, the congregation prays the Lord's prayer.