The Liturgical Life

As I meditate on the truth of Christ in me (see my last post), E.L. Mascall’s rich understanding of the Eucharist and its transformative nature comes to mind. Directly related to Grafton’s thoughts, he writes:

“So, then, the Eucharist is the one perfect act of worship that we can offer to God. And far from Eucharistic worship being a matter merely of the sanctuary and the sacristy, it is of direct relevance to the world in which Christians live and work and love and die. For the Body which appears in its sacramental form upon our altars is the same Body which in its mystical form is at work in the world and of which we are members, in a quite true sense, therefore, what Christians do in the world, in their work and in their play, is identical with the offering made upon the altar and with the act of worship made by Christ in heaven. That is to say, for the Christian as a member of the Body of Christ, his whole life is liturgical […] For the Christian, then, in the Mystical Body, life and worship are but two elements in one great act, the self-offering of Christ the God-man to the Father in heaven. Life itself is liturgical, for whether the Christian serves God or whether he sins against him, he is acting as a member of the Body, and it is in the Eucharist that his life is given true interpretation as not merely his life, but the life of Christ in him: ‘I live; and yet, no longer I, but Christ liveth in me.’”