On the Liturgy: When it comes to liturgy, words and actions matter

By David Wood | Guest Columnist

In August, the Vatican responded to a question concerning the validity of baptism when the words used by the priest or deacon are different from those of the approved ritual; whether it is permissible to substitute “We baptize…” in place of “I baptize…” The response was that baptism does not occur when the form of words is changed to “We baptize…” This became particularly significant when a priest happened to watch a recording of his own baptism and realized the form of the words had been changed. Before going further, it is very important to state that the presumption is that all sacraments are validly celebrated.
We might ask why such a seemingly small change is so significant? The simple answer is that in the celebration of the sacraments and the liturgy, it is not entirely accurate to say this is our action, i.e., “we baptize.”
We know from experience that what we say and do matters. Our words and actions reveal something of our thoughts and emptions –– even our character. Words and actions matter in the liturgy too. In the fifth century, Prosper of Aquitaine, a disciple of St. Augustine, wrote “that the law of praying establishes the law of believing” or put simply, the way we pray shapes how we believe.
This is easy enough to understand, but it gets much deeper. It is easy to think that the liturgy is something we do. However, it is more accurate to say the liturgy is what God does, and more specifically, what Christ and the Holy Spirit do in response to the Father.
In baptism, we are grafted into Christ becoming adopted daughters and sons of God; becoming members of the mystical Body of Christ, which is the church. When we gather to celebrate the liturgy, when we pray, or when we simply think about God, we do so in response to God’s desire for us to share in God’s divine life by being immersed into and being in the communion of the “thrice-holy God” (CCC 2526). Amazing, isn’t it?
The Cathechism of the Catholic Church says the liturgy, which includes all the sacraments, is an action of the whole Christ –– Christ our Head and we his Body, and all the faithful before us and after us (1136). The liturgy and the sacraments are not the possession of the church, rather they are entrusted by Christ to the church, to allow her to continue the saving words and actions of Christ here and now (CCC 1131, cf. 1115). Christ continues to act in and through the liturgy; it is Christ who ministers in and through the minister.
When a priest or deacon baptizes, he is performing the action of Christ. The words used in the sacrament are not his own to change. He is to do and say as the church intends. There is significant theology behind the words. A change in the words may change the theology. While the parents, godparents, family and friends present agree with baptizing a person, it is not “we” who baptize, it is Christ. It is not the bishop or priest who confirms, it is Christ. Even in marriage where it is the couple who ministers, it is the action of Christ who unites the couple in the marital covenant through their words and action.
In a valid baptism, the words, “N., I baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” with the three-fold immersion or pouring of water by the minister alone, expresses the action of Christ acting through the person of the minister. Our participation as “we” is possible only through our union with Christ made real in our own baptism and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
It is amazing to reflect on the awesome invitation that Christ extends to all to be one in the divine life of God. In response, I paraphrase St. John the Baptist, may I decrease that Christ may increase. Amen.

David Wood serves as the diocesan director of Worship. He and his wife, Sylvia, are parishioners of St. John Vianney Parish in Round Rock. He may be contacted at (512) 949-2453 or [email protected]