The Liturgy of the Word: Our Hunger and Thirst for God’s Word
Last week, I wrote on the importance of preparation. There are many things we do to prepare for Mass before we arrive. And there are many things we do during the Mass to prepare.
What are we preparing for? We are preparing to hear the word of God proclaimed and to celebrate the liturgy of the Eucharist. The Liturgy of Word is an important part of the Mass but is also balanced out by the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
I love reading scripture. The Word of God is what helped me dive into my own faith as a teenager. I’ve always loved the verse from Matthew 4:4. Jesus, while being tempted by Satan to turn the stones into bread replies with Sacred Scripture. Jesus quotes Moses who said these words to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 8: 3.
“The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” He said in reply, “It is written: ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4: 3-4
In Genesis, God speaks, and the world is created. There is power in the Word of God! That is why we hunger for it! God’s word creates, reconciles, forgives, heals, and loves. God created humanity by an utterance of His word. That is why hunger and thirst for the Word of God.
After the Collect, or opening prayer, we move directly into the Liturgy of the Word. All sit after the prayer is finished. We sit down in preparation to listen to word of God. It is a sign of our attentiveness to listen to the Word proclaimed. The Liturgy of the Word is the part of the Mass that we hear God’s Word proclaimed.
Christ is present in the sacrifice of the altar, and He is present in word proclaimed. The scripture is not read, but proclaimed! Dr. Jon Stotts, a Catholic writer explains the difference. He writes,
“To “read aloud” is simply to vocalize the words on the page, and anyone who happens to be listening might hear. But to “proclaim” is to communicate what has been written to an intended group of listeners. The lector proclaims the readings as a message intended for someone in particular: the assembled body of believers, gathering in Jesus’ name to hear the word of God.” (Stotts)
During the Proclamation of the Word, the first reading usually paired with the Gospel. In Ordinary Time, the first reading is taken from the Old Testament. However, in the Easter season we have readings from the New Testament, especially the from the Acts of the Apostles. The Lector proclaims, “The Word of the Lord” and we respond with “Thanks be to God.” We give God our affirmation and praise for His Word.
Our next reading is always from the Psalms. The Psalms are songs and poems that expresses the human heart in moments of joy, praise, thanksgiving, sorrow, grief, and trials. Many Psalms were written for music. It is fitting and recommended that the Psalms be sung at Mass whenever possible. They are meant to be responsorial with a cantor and congregation singing in response.
The second reading is always taken from the writing of the apostles. We hear a lot from St. Paul because he wrote many of the letters in contained in the New Testament. These readings are arranged in a semi-continuous fashion and progress over a three cycle. And once again we respond with “Thanks be to God.”
The climax of the Liturgy of the Word is the proclamation of the Gospel. The readings beforehand has elements of Christ hidden within them. Christ is made fully present in words of the Gospel. At a Sunday Mass, the Gospel is carried in procession by the deacon and placed on the altar. Before the Gospel, the book of the Gospels is processed from the altar to the ambo accompanied by candle bearers and incense.
After the introduction of the Gospel, the priest or deacon makes a sign of the cross on the passage of the Gospel, the forehead, lips, and heart. He then incenses the Book of the Gospels as a sign of reverence towards the words of Jesus. Once the Gospel is proclaimed, the minister says “The Gospel of the Lord” and all respond “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.” The priest or deacon then kisses the Book of the Gospel where he traced the cross before proclaiming the words of Christ. He says quietly, “Through the words of the Gospel, may our sins be wiped away.” It is because the Word of Christ forgive us our sins.
The homily is given and we profess our faith with the Nicene or the Apostle’s Creed. The Liturgy of the Word ends with the Universal Prayer.
Jesus’ words hold true for us as Christians. “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Our faith is built on the Word of God and the Tradition of the Church. To be spiritually fed, we must turn to Sacred Scripture. I encourage you to feed your spiritual life by reading the Scriptures.
There are many books and reflections on the daily Mass and Sunday Mass readings to choose from. Or there are many Bible reading plans that take you through the Word of God in a year, such as the Bible in a Year podcast by Fr. Mike Schmitz or the Bible in a Year from Augustine Institute.
Works Cited
Stotts, Jon. “The Presence of God in the Proclamation of the Word .” Catholic Bible Press, 4 May 2020