When we attend Mass, we are not able to see everything that happens. There is a heavenly dimension of the liturgy, which our human eyes do not notice.
We know this occurs because of a description given to us in the Bible.
Heavenly liturgy
The Catechism of the Catholic Church begins its discussion of the liturgy by stating simply, "Liturgy is an 'action' of the whole Christ (Christus totus). Those who even now celebrate it without signs are already in the heavenly liturgy, where celebration is wholly communion and feast."
The Catechism then goes on to describe the heavenly liturgy by quoting from the Book of Revelation.
The book of Revelation of St. John, read in the Church's liturgy, first reveals to us, "A throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne": "the Lord God." It then shows the Lamb, "standing, as though it had been slain": Christ crucified and risen, the one high priest of the true sanctuary, the same one "who offers and is offered, who gives and is given." Finally it presents "the river of the water of life . . . flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb," one of most beautiful symbols of the Holy Spirit.
Furthermore, the Catechism then breaks down the imagery in the Book of Revelation by pointing out the "participants" of this liturgy.
"Recapitulated in Christ," these are the ones who take part in the service of the praise of God and the fulfillment of his plan: the heavenly powers, all creation (the four living beings), the servants of the Old and New Covenants (the twenty-four elders), the new People of God (the one hundred and forty-four thousand), especially the martyrs "slain for the word of God," and the all-holy Mother of God (the Woman), the Bride of the Lamb, and finally "a great multitude which no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes, and peoples and tongues."
The great beauty of this liturgy is that we are ushered into it through the Mass and all of the other sacraments, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
It is in this eternal liturgy that the Spirit and the Church enable us to participate whenever we celebrate the mystery of salvation in the sacraments.
The next time you attend Mass, try to recall the heavenly dimension of Mass, which can then inform how we approach the altar to receive the Lamb of God.
