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Exploring the Mass... The Liturgy of the Word, Part I Storytelling “Storytelling is the single most important energy of all religious celebration,” writes Father Eugene Walsh, SS. “Storytelling lies at the heart of worship.” On the first Holy Thursday, Jesus gathered in the upper room with his disciples for a specific reason: to celebrate the Passover, to join in the ritual retelling of the story of how the Hebrews became God’s chosen people. And within the context of that story, Jesus began to tell a new story, by taking bread and wine and sharing his very self with his disciples. Today, it is in the context of Christ’s story that our own stories unfold. As we celebrate the Liturgy of Word, “we don’t leave our lives and our moment in history behind as we listen to these stories from the past; we actually take them up anew in the light of the Word we have heard. The story of our lives is seen to be part of a larger story—the story that the Bible tells.” (Driscoll) In the proclamation of the scriptures at Mass, ancient wisdom and long-ago wonders are made present; and the words of prophets once again await their fulfillment, in our own place and time. We say “Amen” to the opening prayer of the Mass. All are seated. The readers and psalmist proceed to the ambo. We have taken our places around the table of the Word. The readings we share at this table are not chosen at random; in fact, they are not ‘chosen’ at all: they are drawn from a book of readings known as the Lectionary. The Lectionary was developed in response to the Second Vatican Council, which in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy called for a more plentiful sharing of the scriptures at the table of the word. Arranged in a three-year cycle, the Lectionary provides three readings (and a psalm) for each Sunday of the year, including an Old Testament reading, a New Testament reading, and a Gospel reading. Thus in the course of three years we hear almost the entirety of the New Testament, and a good portion of the Old. Our Sunday Lectionary is so rich that its sequence of readings is used by many non-Catholic churches as well. At present, we are in Cycle A. On November 27 of this year we will begin the readings of Cycle B; the First Sunday of Advent is our liturgical New Year’s Day! The First Reading is drawn from the Old Testament, except during Eastertide, when we hear passages from Acts of the Apostles. This reading is usually closely connected to the Gospel, by theme or imagery. For instance, when Jesus tells the parable of the sower, the first reading compares God’s word to rain falling on the earth and making it fruitful. When Jesus feeds the five thousand in the Gospel, in the first reading Isaiah describes the heavenly banquet. As we listen to the reading from the Hebrew scriptures, we should think of Jesus on the road to Emmaus, explaining to his disciples “everything that referred to him in the scriptures.” These words are like stepping-stones that lead us to the risen Lord. Who Wrote the Bible? At the beginning of each reading, we are given a short introduction which tells us who wrote it: “A reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah,” for example. But at the end of the reading, a new attribution is made: this is “the word of the Lord,” chants the reader, not in the past but in the present tense. Is there a contradiction here? Yes, but a wonderful one, which illuminates our Catholic understanding of the sacred Scriptures. For these sacred writers, chosen by God, were not simply saintly secretaries, taking dictation from above. Rather, they “made full use of their powers and faculties so that, though God acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever he wanted written” (Dei Verbum). They wrote in the language and the forms of their day; they used images and concepts familiar to their audience. That is why it is so important that we understand who wrote the text, in what setting, and to whom. The scriptures proclaimed in the liturgy of the word exist, then, on an historical level. But the liturgy is not a history lesson. In the liturgy, what is proclaimed becomes present by the power of the Holy Spirit. “The Word proclaimed in liturgy is not some pale reflection or residue of the event proclaimed there. It is the whole reality to which the words bear testimony made present” (Driscoll). These words—written long ago by Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or Paul, or Luke, or John—are truly God’s word, spoken to us, here and now. “Jesus has something to say to this assembly. Jesus is not just delivering a general message for the world at large…. Jesus is there precisely to speak to these people in this moment about the needs of the moment.” (Walsh) God speaks; and the Christian people respond, with hearts full of gratitude: “Thanks be to God!” After the first reading comes the responsorial psalm. The psalms are “the heart of the Bible,” as Cardinal Lustiger says, the ancient ‘hymnal’ of the Hebrew people. These prayers were the daily fare of Jesus and his disciples, and of the early Church, and they are still at the center of the Church’s liturgical prayer. In addition to being prayed at every Mass, the psalms form the basis of the Liturgy of the Hours, “the prayer of the Church.” The psalm usually connects very closely to the first reading, and often will serve as a link with the Gospel. The Catechism teaches that the psalms are a “school for prayer.” What do they teach us? They teach a kind of prayer that speaks lovingly, often boldly, to God; a prayer filled with awe in God’s creation, and trust in God’s promised mercy. It is a prayer that is totally honest about human suffering and human cruelty; a prayer that does not hesitate to ask questions; a prayer that intercedes for the entire community and for the world. It is a prayer of ‘infinite variety’, rejoicing, suffering, praising, trusting, glorifying, prophesying. At the end of the psalm, we do not say “the word of the Lord,” for the psalms are our words, our response to God. While the first reading connects closely with the Gospel, the second reading, usually drawn from one of the letters of Saint Paul, often does not. Instead, during the long weeks of Ordinary Time, we simply read segments of the letters in sequence (right now we are about halfway through Paul’s letter to the Romans, which we began on the 9th Sunday in Ordinary Time, and will continue reading through the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time). These readings often resonate wonderfully with the First Reading and the Gospel—but not always! (The seasons of Advent, Lent, and Easter are exceptions to this rule.) Paul’s letters are written to the people of Corinth, Philippi, Ephesus, Rome—in other words, to Christian communities struggling to understand the mysteries of their faith and to live out their baptism in Christ in often trying circumstances. Paul speaks to people like us! During Ordinary Time, the Gospels are also read in a roughly sequential order. In Year A, we concentrate on Matthew’s Gospel. Year B focuses on Mark, and Year C on Luke. John’s Gospel is read at various times each year, including Lent and Easter. The reading of the Gospel is the high point of the Liturgy of the Word. We stand. Servers with candles stream to the altar. The priest carries the Gospel book in solemn procession to the ambo. During this procession, we sing. “We are an Easter people,” says St. Augustine, “and alleluia is our song.” We sing alleluia, our resurrection song, because in the proclamation of the Gospel we meet the risen Christ. “Jesus rose from the dead with the whole life he once lived rising with him…. every word that Jesus spoke, every action he performed, can be present to us because it rose with him” (Driscoll). We also acknowledge Christ’s risen presence in the dialogue we now exchange with the priest or deacon. Once again, as the beginning of the Mass, he reminds us that God is with us: “The Lord be with you.” (This dialogue takes place four times during the Mass—always at important moments, to mark the beginning of something new.) And this time, when the reading is announced, we respond with an acclamation of praise: “Glory to you, O Lord!” That acclamation is accompanied by the sign of the cross, made in a special way. The priest draws a cross on the open pages of the Gospel book, and then, with the whole assembly, marks his forehead, lips, and heart with the cross. This gesture is in itself a prayer, as we ask Christ to open our minds to understand, our lips to speak, and our hearts to believe his Gospel. After the Gospel reading, we join in another acclamation: “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ!” We speak directly to Christ, whom we acknowledge as present in the words of his Gospel, spoken long ago, but renewed this day and “fulfilled in our hearing.” At the conclusion of the Gospel reading the priest kisses the book, and prays one of the silent prayers of the Mass: “May the words of the Gospel wipe away our sins.” The kiss reminds us that Christ’s Gospel is alive and present in our midst; and the silent prayer reminds us of its power to save us, here and now. A living word “The Sacred Scriptures, above all in their liturgical proclamation, are the source of life and strength” (Sacrosanctum Concilium). Each Christian community needs to hear the scriptures proclaimed in its midst, in its own accent, so to speak. That is why the ministry of the reader is so important; that is why a good sound system is not a luxury, but an absolute necessity. “By the word we speak or the song we sing, we have the power to bring people to life or to bore them to death. If we speak and sing God’s word in dull and listless accents, we bore people to death by the very word that is designed to bring people to life. What a paradox!” (Walsh) The message is clear: in the Liturgy of the Word, we need to hear God’s word. And that is why there are no missals in the pews at St. James Cathedral. Though missals are wonderful tools for preparing at home, it’s best to put them away once Mass begins begins, if you can, and to let the living liturgy carry you along. “Faith comes through hearing,” Saint Paul wrote to the Romans--and to us. Continue on to: The Liturgy
of the Word, Part II
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