יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא "May His great name be exalted and sanctified." בְּעָלְמָא דִּי בְרָא כִרְעוּתֵהּ "in the world which He created according to His will!" The Aramaic text above is the beginning of the Kaddish, a Jewish hymn of praise to God, an ancient type of doxology. Ah, more Greek words...
From the last post we know that "orthos" means right or straight, and that "doxa" means teaching or doctrine, praise or worship, or glory. So "orthodox" means right teaching, right worship, right glorification. Easy, right? "Doxology" is another word from that "doxa" group, using the familiar Greek suffix "λόγος" or "logos," meaning word/reasoning/knowledge. We see this root used all the time: "Theos" (God) + "logos" = theology, the study or knowledge of God. "Psyche" (mind or soul) + "logos" = psychology, the study of the mind, thinking, etc. So it follows that a "doxology" (noun) would be a word of doctrine or word of praise/glory (to God). And "doxological" (adjective) would be something which exhibits those characteristics. Catholic worship should be doxological, oriented toward the praise and glorification of God. A frequent error in Catholic liturgy, particularly in the choice of music used in Mass, is singing "songs" which are oriented toward ourselves instead of God. Examples include "WE are the light of the world," or "Let US build the City of God," or "Let US...sing a new Church into being," to name just a few. There are countless similar songs in modern Catholic hymnals. The Church provides the proper orientation for Mass right from the beginning. After the Introit or Entrance Antiphon (typically a verse stating that God is great, awesome, mighty, and merciful), we say/sing the Penitential Act (indicating that we are small, sinful, weak, and in need of mercy). Then, in most seasons of the year, we launch into a great doxological hymn of praise, "Gloria in excelsis Deo":
Holy Mother Church, in her wisdom, places on our lips the Greater and Lesser Doxologies at precisely the right moments, to remind us of the primary purpose of right worship - the praise and glorification of God, not of ourselves. We worship to be sanctified (made holy). Giving glory to God in right worship is just one means of our sanctification on earth, so we might, in turn, be glorified in heaven. Blessings.
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Welcome! Thank you for visiting and reading this inaugural post in the "/rīt/worship" blog. I should explain the title. First, let me confess that I'm a "word nerd." I love puns and crossword puzzles, poetry and beautiful prose, and I'm known to occasionally shout out Greek root words like Gus Portokalos in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." I'm also a Catholic liturgical musician, passionately in love with my Lord, the liturgy, and sacred music. I'm deeply interested in orthodoxy - in my faith, in worship, and in musical art. Did you know the word orthodoxy comes from TWO GREEK WORDS? (you knew I would go there, right?)
orthós (ὀρθός) means "right" or "straight," as in ortho+dontics (straight teeth). doxa (δόξα) originally meant "belief/doctrine," but after the 3rd century BC it came to also mean "glory" and "worship." So orthodoxy = "right belief" and "right worship," the subject of this blog. Not "Orthodox" with a capital "O" (the branch of Christianity which separated from the Catholic Church in the 11th century), but "orthodox" as in authentic/straight/right worship, glorification, and doctrine about God. The phonetic spelling "/rīt/" also applies to the word rite. The study of liturgy concerns rite/worship in the Church, celebrated faithfully (right doctrine), correctly (right worship), and reverently (rightly directed toward God). In fact, the orthodox rites of the Catholic Church have the power to transmit orthodox theology. In turn, orthodox theology leads one to desire orthodox worship. It's all of a piece. Finally, "/rīt/" also applies to the word write, another passion of mine. In this blog, I'll write about worship in the Catholic Church, and hopefully something I write will inspire you, dear reader, to desire right worship - in this life, and the next. Feel free to comment. If you have burning questions about Catholic liturgy and doctrine, I'll try to answer them. Give me a topic, any topic, I show you how it relate to Greek word orthodoxy! Blessings. |
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December 2020
CategoriesAlex E. HillCatholic husband for 36 years. Catholic father of 6. Catholic musician, published Catholic composer. Lover of authentic Catholic liturgy and music, in line with Catholic teaching. Did we mention Catholic? |