Liturgy is essentially something given, and in this it expresses a fundamental feature of all prayer. Its sublime lack of concern for our personal moods is a forcible reminder that when we come to God, it is not to force our moods or our interests on to him, but to receive his interests and to let him, in a sense, share his moods with us...It is far more central to prayer that we should let ourselves become involved in God, in his great enterprise of giving himself, and all the various interests and concerns that form part of this.
It is therefore a positive advantage that the liturgy does not just reflect our own concerns and interests, but confronts us with definite with definite moods of its own...
The liturgy, faithfully celebrated, should be a longterm course in heart-expansion, making us more and more capable of the totality of love that there is in the heart of Christ.
It is not the immediate feeling that is important; that may or may not come. What matters is that we should be, slowly and quietly, molded by this rehearsal for and anticipation of the worship of heaven. It is a schooling for paradise.
SIMON TUGWELL O.P., Prayer, Vol 2, p 62
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