The Liturgy of the Word: What’s Your Family’s Story?

Every family has its favorite family stories that serve as the foundation of the family’s identity. These family stories bind the members of the family closer together, and give them a common identity that helps them to function effectively in the world as a family-unit.
 
Stories ground us. And in order for us, as God’s family, to function as His family in the world, we must know our story. Where do we hear our story? Where do we become part of that story? Where is our story explained to us? Where do we appropriate our family story to our lives, allowing it to shape our identity? Sure, every time we open our Bibles we learn a little something about our family story. But in a more immediate way, we enter the story of God’s family – our family – during the Liturgy of the Word at Mass.
 
Liturgy of the Word
The Liturgy of the Word extends from the First Reading through the Prayer of the Faithful. Just as there is a deepening movement in the Penitential Rite from acknowledging our sins, to seeking God’s mercy, and finally to the peace of reconciliation with God, so too is there a deepening progression in the Liturgy of the Word. In this part of the Mass we move from a celebration of God’s saving actions for us throughout history, to a personal appropriation of those saving actions in our own lives.
 
There are eight total elements to this part of the Mass. We can think of the first five elements as the celebration of God’s saving action. Let’s look at those five parts a little closer:
 


Celebration
1)     The First Reading
The First Reading is almost always taken from the Old Testament, except during the Easter Season when the Acts of the Apostles is read. It’s important when listening to the First Reading to bear in mind that it will have a direct connection to the Gospel – a) Showing how the Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled in Christ and His Gospel, b) Contrasting events and personalities in the Old Testament with Christ and His Gospel, c) Giving the Old Testament background so that we can more clearly understand the Gospel message.



2)     The Responsorial Psalm
The Responsorial Psalm is usually taken from one of the 150 Psalms, but is sometimes selected from the numerous canticles scattered throughout the Scriptures. It repeats and reinforces the major theme of the Old Testament reading so that it can be at the front of our mind when we hear the Gospel proclaimed.

3)     The Second Reading
The Second Reading is taken from the various letters in the New Testament, and is not thematically related to the Old Testament or Gospel reading. Since it’s not related to the Old Testament or Gospel reading, what’s its purpose? The New Testament letters were originally written as sources of support and encouragement, as well as correction and guidance as the Church struggled to find its way in a society that was hostile to it. We need this direction today as much as ever as we too strive to follow Christ while living in a secularized society often hostile to the Christian witness.

4)     The Gospel Acclamation
We often mistakenly refer to the Gospel Acclamation simply as the “Alleluia.” During some liturgical seasons however (e.g. Lent), we aren’t permitted to sing “Alleluia,” and so a different acclamation is prescribed. Through this acclamation we recognize that the Lord is about to speak to us in His Gospel. For this reason we stand to show proper respect and receptivity to Christ’s Word.

5)     The Gospel
The Gospel reading is always taken from one of the four Gospel – Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Just as the reception of Holy Communion is the high point of the Eucharistic Liturgy, so too the proclamation of the Gospel is the high point of the Liturgy of the Word. Here we learn of the life, parables, miracles, and teachings of Jesus, God-Made-Man. 

Since the Gospel is always read by a deacon or priest, the question does arise as to why, when so much of the Liturgy of the Word is facilitated by laypersons, this proclamation is reserved to ordained clergy.

The authority the priest or deacon has to read the gospel comes from a bishop, and a bishop is the successor of the Apostles.  The Apostles passed their authority on through the laying on of hands, and this great unbroken chain has come down to us through the present day. And those who proclaim the Gospel have been ‘ordained’ to do so by a bishop.  Reserving the proclamation of the Gospel to the ordained reminds us that the Gospel expresses apostolic faith in a preeminent way.

All of the above is how we enter into God’s story - and our story as God’s family. But how do we appropriate “the greatest story ever told” into our lives today, both as individuals and as a community? That’s something we’ll discuss further in our next eNewsletter. Stay tuned!