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The importance of the biblical readings in the Mass was discussed by Pope John Paul II in a 2004 apostolic letter. First he told why, after Vatican Council II in the 1960s, these readings came to be heard in our own languages -- the vernacular. Pope John Paul recalled that "the fathers of the Second Vatican Council ... sought to make 'the table of the word' offer the treasures of Scripture more fully to the faithful." As a result, "they allowed the biblical readings of the liturgy to be proclaimed in a language understood by all." But the pope had a further point he wanted to make. He went on to insist that it isn't enough that the readings are in one's own language. What is needed, he wrote, is to proclaim the readings with "care, preparation, devout attention and meditative silence." Why? Because proclaiming the readings in that way allows "the word of God to touch people's minds and hearts." After all, as the late pope wrote -- echoing Vatican II's Constitution on the Liturgy -- "it is Christ himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the church." |
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Does the Liturgy of the Word matter that much?
By Keith J. EganCatholic News Service
As we come to the table of the Lord each Sunday to partake of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, we come also to the table of the Word to hear God's wisdom in the Liturgy of the Word, which begins with the first reading and continues though the general intercessions.
By listening intently to the proclamation of God's word, we become a wisdom community, a process accomplished through the Holy Spirit. The word of God and sacred tradition are the supreme rule of faith, says Vatican Council II's document on revelation (No. 21).
Reflections on the Liturgy of the Word
By Father Dale Launderville, OSBCatholic News Service
The eucharistic liturgy is composed of two parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the eucharistic meal.
The Liturgy of the Word makes known God's saving acts in the Old and New Testaments. The eucharistic meal is a response to the astonishing acts that God has done in calling us to share in divine life.
The power of the word
By Father Lawrence Boadt, CSPCatholic News Service
One result of Vatican Council II that profoundly influenced Catholic worship was the expansion of the readings at Mass to include an Old Testament passage every Sunday. Before this, we listened to a reading from the New Testament Epistles or Acts of the Apostles and a passage of the Gospel. Rarely did we hear Old Testament readings on Sunday.
Today, every week, the major message of the Gospel is echoed in an Old Testament passage that relates to its theme. Catholics have become familiar with large parts of the Old Testament that we rarely heard before.
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