Day 162: Where the Liturgy is Celebrated

The worship "in Spirit and in truth" of the New Covenant is not tied exclusively to any one place. the whole earth is sacred and entrusted to the children of men. What matters above all is that, when the faithful assemble in the same place, they are the "living stones," gathered to be "built into a spiritual house." For the Body of the risen Christ is the spiritual temple from which the source of living water springs forth: incorporated into Christ by the Holy Spirit, "we are the temple of the living God." CCC 1179

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses where we celebrate the liturgy in worshipping God. Where we are free to do so, we gather in churches or cathedrals. As the Catechism Companion, Vol II notes:

Wherever the People of God are gathered, that is where the Church is. Wherever the bishop is, that is where the Church is. In the two thousand years of the Church, many Catholics have been persecuted - and even today there are many places where Catholics are not allowed to gather in a church. Wherever we gather for the Eucharist, that place is holy. And where Christians are free to do so, churches are built. (p. 88)

Some of these places are now historic, elaborate, and quite beautiful. Some are not. My local parish church is not overly elaborate but is still a very nice place to worship Christ. However elaborate or humble, these are each the "house of God" which "ought to be in good taste and a worthy place for prayer and sacred ceremonial" (CCC 1181). The most important is the gathering of the faithful, celebration of the liturgy, and receiving the mysteries like Baptism and the Eucharist.

Unless we are prevented from doing so, each cathedral or local church is to have a few necessary things. The Catechism Compendium summarizes why these buildings are sacred and what the privileged places are within them:

[The sacred buildings] are the houses of God, a symbol of the Church that lives in that place as well as of the heavenly Jerusalem. Above all they are places of prayer in which the Church celebrates the Eucharist and worships Christ who is truly present in the tabernacle. [The privileged places] are: the altar, the tabernacle, the place where the sacred Chrism and other holy oils are kept, the chair of the bishop (cathedra) or the chair of the priest, the ambo, the baptismal font, and the confessional. (#245-246)

Christ and the Woman of Samaria by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, c. 1640–1641

This painting depicts Jesus' meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well, during which he tells her that God is to be worshipped "in spirit and truth" (John 4:24; see CCC 1179). (p. 89)