Studia Pastoralne
Rocznik Wydziału Teologicznego UŚ

TEMI TEOLOGICI DELLA LITURGIA E DELLA PIETA' POPOLARE IN AVVENTO
L'impulso, da cui e' scaturita l'elaborazione dell'articolo sopra presentato, era la convinzione nell'autore della mancanza di uno studio riguardante l'influsso ispiratore della liturgia sulla pieta' popolare e della sua risonanza nelle concrete forme di tale pieta'.
Era importante osservare come proprio nel punto di convergenza tra il menzionato influsso ispiratore della liturgia e la sua risonanza nelle diverse forme della pieta' popolare diventa possibile recepire la tonalita' dei comuni temi teologici, riecheggianti sia nella liturgia della Chiesa, sia nella pieta' popolare - vissuta in privato o in comunita'.
Nell'articolo si esaminano i testi liturgici di Avvento e le forme della pieta' popolare praticate in questo periodo liturgico. Sia tali testi che tali forme si basano sugli stessi fondamenti, radicati sui seguenti tre pilastri:
- L'Avvento e' un periodo di conversione, alla quale spesso ci richiama in questo periodo sia la liturgia - con la voce dei profeti, soprattutto con quella di Giovanni il Battista, sia la pieta' popolare - con il suo abbondante linguaggio simbolico-espressivo (il filo della conversione e' presente nella liturgia e nella pieta' popolare);
- L'Avvento e' un periodo di gioiosa speranza, la quale suscita nei cristiani la convinzione che la salvezza (portataci dal nostro Signore Gesu' Cristo) e le realta' della gloria futura (gia' presente nel mondo per la grazia salvifica) raggiungeranno il loro compimento. Grazie a cio', l'attuale promessa si trasformera' nel reale possesso dei beni eterni e la fede si configurera' nello stare "a faccia a faccia" davanti al Signore (il filo della speranza cristiana e' presente nella liturgia e nella pieta' popolare);
- L'Avvento e' un periodo di attesa vissuta come preparazione alla commemorazione liturgica della prima venuta del Salvatore nel mondo ed al suo ritorno glorioso - come il Signore della storia e il Giudice del mondo (il filo della vigilanza e' presente nella liturgia e nella pieta' popolare).

IL SACRAMENTO DELLA CRESIMA IERI E OGGI.
Riassunto
Nell’arco della storia delle celebrazioni liturgiche, effettuate nella Chiesa autorizzata da Gesu a proclamare la parola di Dio e amministrare i sacramenti in tutto il mondo, si e svolto un cambiamento della pratica di celebrare la cresima e – in consegenza – del modo di intenderla e interpretarla pastoralmente. Infatti, dall’imposizione delle mani degli apostoli mandati in una citta della Samaria, per stenderle sui neofitiinsegnodelcompimentodell’opera iniziata con il loro battesimo, amministrato dal diacono Filippo, si e passato nella storia della liturgia della Chiesa occidentale all’uso dell’olio con cui nel periodo precedente il vescovo cospargeva il capo dei cresimandi, ora invece unge con esso la loro fronte, segnandola con il segno della croce. Dalla pratica di cresimare i neofiti subito dopo il battesimo e prima della loro partecipazione all’eucaristia, si e passato a cresimare i cristiani gia ammessi all’eucaristia, provocando in tal modo uno spostamento nell’interpretazione teologica del sacramento studiato. La Chiesa di oggi rimane erede di questi cambiamenti, interpretando ancora e praticando la cresima come sacramento della maturita cristiana. Nell’articolo sopra presentato si e voluto documentare i passaggi avvenuti nella storia delle celebrazioni liturgiche e nel pensiero teologico-sacramentario della Chiesa, attraverso il riferimento alle adeguate testimonianze bibliche, patristiche e liturgiche.

A THEOLOGICAL BASIS FOR THE VENERATION OF THE SAINTS IN THE CHURCH.
Summary
The cult of saints creates a certain phenomenon that has been present for centuries in the life-mission of the Church. It is therefore worthy to devote adequate space for reflection of this theme, dedicated to its theological foundations. This theme in fact is continually timely and attracts our attention – both in life and research. The article presented above comes from statements relating to the conception and organization of Christian worship, from a previous attention to worship in the Old Testament, and which cult found its fulfillment in the New Covenant people, and so, in the life of Christ’s disciples upon the fulfillment of His work of salvation, brought to fulfillment at the coming of the Holy Spirit. Not surprisingly, and clearly emphasized by biblical texts, early Christians of ecclesial communities felt called to live holy lives on a daily basis, and sometimes even called each other „saints”. In fact, the Christians of that period not only felt a vocation to holiness, but witnessed their ability in practice. In addition, they were aware of the fact that such a calling does not guarantee any social prestige, but an obligation to follow Christ in His great devotion to the will of our heavenly Father – even to the Cross, which was taken up and carried freely, with the knowledge of the need of filling in their own flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of His Body, which is the Church (Col 1:24).
The demanding Christian life, namely the prospect of holiness lived out in the image of Jesus crucified and risen, caused the birth of a desire in the hearts of believers to memorialize – not only in the archives, but above all in the liturgy – the example left by Christians who throughout their lives could maturely answer the call to holiness addressed to them by God. In the examples of holiness that the Lord has instilled in their hearts, introduced in time into the liturgy, Christians began to discover – and are still discovering – the continuation of a plan holiness undertaken by God, constantly carried out in time according to the rhythms foreseen by Him. In venerating the saints, the Church proclaims the paschal mystery and gives glory to God for the work revealed in their lives, as well as recognizing in them witnesses, who have reached, through God’s multiple graces, eternal salvation – „They sing to God in heaven great glory and intercede for us” (SC 104).

CARING FOR A LANGUAGE IN THE LITURGY AS MANIFESTATION OF CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY
Summary
A contact with a liturgical language and preaching the Word of God during the liturgy is not only a contact with a teaching word of God, but most of all with the word that has a power to transform those who celebrate the liturgy. Dynamics of this impact differs from the dynamics of a human language, since the language of the Bible is equipped with the salvific power. It is not about the effectiveness analysed in the context of literature or psychology, but but in the context of the Holy Spirit, who in the act of proclamation of the Word of God acts on the faithful and sanctifies them. This sanctifying action of the Holy Spirit reaches its climax precisely in the liturgy (see: SC 10), however its is not limited to the very celebration. Hence the spiritual life of the faithful is not limited solely to their participation in the liturgy (see: Constitution on the sacred liturgy 12), but extends its interaction to every day Christian life modelled on the road composed of the Word of God, transferred as the spiritial food in the liturgy, which is the font of life of the whole Church and her activities (see: SC 10). This is why all the forms of care for a word, which creates – apart from symbols and gestures – one of the major pillars of the liturgy celebrated by the Church is, as the matter of fact, a manifestation of a care for Christian spirituality. The Word of God proclaimed during the liturgy that comes from His mouth (see: Mathew 4:4) should become one with everyday life attitudes of Christians, so that the visible effect of the symbiosis (inevitable for matured faith) was spirituality of followers of Christ – pilgrims who all their earthly lives search for things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1). This is why the Word of God should be given an appropriate attention in the broadly understood meditation, reflection and discussion, since the dependancy between the care for a language in the liturgy and the Christian spirituality is interactive.

Participatio actuosa in liturgy before the Second Vatican Council and after it. Outline of the issue
Summary
The above titled article is dedicated to one of the most important issues to which the second Vatican Council devoted its attention and work. It is in it namely the issue of the participation of the faithful in liturgical celebrations. Among the council’s descriptions of that participation are such adjectives as conscious, fruitful, full, communal, pious and easy. Most often, however, as many as fourteen times, the council states that participation (participatio) of all in the liturgy, it should be „active” (actuosa). The form of the liturgy with the active involvement of all participants originates from earliest Christianity. Over time, the situation in this field, as in many other areas of life and the Church’s missionary commitment, have become increasingly hampered by prejudice, until finally, under the influence of various factors (such as the process of the clericalization of the liturgy, the absolute use of the Latin language, assigning Gregorian chant to the liturgy, et al.) was brought to an almost complete collapse, meaning the disappearance of the participation of the faithful in the liturgy. What was called for, was not a liturgical movement, which over nearly 100 years (from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century) prepared fertile ground for a return to the source – which in the case of the liturgy means a return to the performance of the liturgy as a dialogue and the active participation of all, and not only of the clergy and select liturgical ministers.
Certainly much in this matter remains to be done, however, inspired by Vatican II, liturgical reform has already put firmly in motion the process of a mature understanding of the parish community liturgical celebrations, as well as a competent engagement in them, by participating i

Theology and the pastoral function of the Sanctuary. Selected Issues
Summary
At the beginning of this article, we stated that the sanctuary is not only a hieron, or temple as such, a temple like many others, but it is naos, or place of God’s special presence, a place specially chosen by him and for this reason exceptional for us. If today we are remembering these elementary matters that should characterize every temple, we do it because we need to draw patterns from the sanctuaries. „While the reform of the Liturgy desired by the Second Vatican Council, can be considered already in progress, the pastoral promotion of the Liturgy constitutes a permanent commitment to draw ever more abundantly from the riches of the Liturgy that vital force which spreads from Christ to the members of his Body which is the Church” (John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Vicesimus quintus annus, No. 10).
We wanted to not only recall the theology of the sanctuary, but also to draw the attention of the readers to the fact that there is still a great work to do in the field of well-understood and organized liturgical pastoral care – especially with regard to sanctuaries. Much in this area – as we have tried to show in the course of this study – is to be done. In this work, however, we count on a model and appealing example of our sanctuaries. If sanctuaries are to play an important role in the life of the Church, they should be properly organized in terms of the personal, local, and liturgical.
Let us wish that they are really organized and that they can radiate to the whole Church through the pilgrims who come to them. Veneration in our shrines must be revived and aroused. In the case of some sanctuaries, the pilgrimages organized for them have already disappeared. And sanctuaries fulfill their function only when they attract pilgrims. Therefore, the conviction that veneration in sanctuaries should be enlivened by organizing pilgrimages to them on various occasions is of particular importance.