The Word of God & Sunday Mass

As Catholics, we are often accused of ignoring the Bible. Many people believe (falsely!) that the Word of God is sidelined or ignored in the life of the Church. Anyone who pushes that line of thought has obviously never attended Sunday Mass.

Every Catholic Mass is divided into two parts, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. As a Community of Faith we listen first to the Word of God, and then respond to that Word by entering into communion with Christ in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood. The proclamation of the Word leads us into the embrace of Jesus.

The Church's official Sunday Lectionary (Book of Scripture Selections) follows a three year cycle. We can't pick and choose what we want to hear and what we don't want to hear. The scripture passages chosen for each Sunday are set. On any given Sunday you will hear the same readings proclaimed in every Catholic Church throughout the world.

Each Sunday the Church sets before us three separate scripture passages. The First Reading is normally taken from the Old Testament. (During the Easter Season we read passages from the Acts of the Apostles or the Book of Revelation.) The Second Reading is usually from one of the Apostolic Letters. And the Third Reading is always a passage from one of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John).

A formal response from the congregation follows the proclamation of the First Reading. And guess what? That response is also taken from the Sacred Scriptures. That's why it's proclaimed from the place of the Word, the pulpit. It comes from the Book of Psalms, the Bible's official hymn book. In most Catholic parishes the Responsorial Psalm is sung. God speaks to us, and we respond in praise and thanksgiving.

The Gospel is the most important of the three Sunday readings. Jesus himself speaks to the people he has made his own. We greet him by rising to our feet and chanting of the Gospel Acclamation. This simple, one line refrain is also taken from Sacred Scripture. The alleluia, sung at the beginning and the end of the acclamation, is a Hebrew word. It means Praise God!

The Gospel reading is proclaimed by an ordained Deacon or Priest. This emphasizes the fact that Christ is speaking. They normally read the sacred text from an ornate Gospel Book. On more solemn occasions acolytes stand with lighted candles on either side of the pulpit and the Gospel Book is incensed. These are all visual signs of our respect for the Word of God.

There are lots of jokes about the quality of Catholic preaching (some of them rooted in truth), but the Homily is also a proclamation of the Word of God. It is given by an ordained priest or deacon, who opens the Word for us, and helps us to apply it to our own particular circumstances. The preacher may not be perfect, but if we listen attentively we can always find something to take home and ponder over the coming week.

As you can see, Sacred Scripture is more than important to Catholic Christians. We enshrine the Word of God at the heart and center of the most important moment of our week, the celebration of the Sunday Eucharist. Mass is a privileged place where God speaks to us. But I wonder ... how many of us are truly listening?