JUNE 20, 2017
9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON
SACRED MYSTERIES (YOUTH ROOM)
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD (PART 2 OF THE MASS)
Today we move on to part two of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word. At the end of the Introductory Rites, you got to sit down.
The Word in Liturgy of the Word is the Word of God (not a spelling test or another book).
The Word of God means the Bible. There are 73 books in the Bible, which has two main parts: The Old Testament, and the New Testament. The Old Testament has 46 books, and the New Testament has 27 books.
At Sunday Mass, there are three readings. The first is from the Old Testament (which consists of histories, prophesies, songs, prayers, and wisdom). During Easter Season, the first reading may come from New Testament early Church history (in the Acts of the Apostles) or early Church prophesies (in the Book of Revelation.)
After the first reading is the responsorial Psalm. The book of Psalms has 150 psalms. Some are long, some are short. They all talk about God, telling us about God's plan, His mercy, His love, or His steadfastness. The Psalms are songs that can help us to pray. They cover all aspects of human feelings and desires and needs.
The second reading is from a New Testament letter. It's sort of like we're reading the mail. The largest part of the New Testament Letters are written by St. Paul. Also are letters by St. Peter, St. Jude, St. James, and St. John. These letters helped the early Church to work out difficulties, and since people are the same even 2,000 years later, these letters can help us to work through our problems.
Now, at Mass we stand, and the choir sings: ALLELUIA! Which means "PRAISE GOD" in Aramaic.
During the Season of Lent we sing one of eight different acclamations in place of the Alleluia, which we save for Easter.
- The Seasons of the Church Year are:
- Advent (preparation for Christmas)
- Christmas,
- Ordinary Time
- Lent (preparation for Easter, which ends with the Triduum)
- Easter (which ends with Pentecost)
Next follows the reading from the Gospels. The four Gospel writers have symbols associated with them: St. Mark has a winged man (Mark speaks of Jesus's human origins), St. Matthew has a winged Lion (Matthew speaks of Jesus being the Son of David from the tribe of Judah, whose symbol is a lion,) St. Luke has a winged ox (Luke is "down to earth" and moves methodically and slowly through Jesus's ministry,) and St. John is an eagle (John's Gospel soars above the rest and covers high spiritual topics.)
And then there is the Homily. We get to sit down again. The Homily is given by a deacon, a priest, or a bishop; and it incorporates the Scripture we have heard, the Church Season, the events taking place in our lives and the world (and at Mass if it's a wedding or baptism or funeral), the experience of the preacher, and most especially the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, a homily can just be a lot of hot air!
Then we stand and it's time for the ... EYEBALL LEAF? What's an eyeball leaf?
OH! I believe!
That's right, the Creed. The longest prayer in the Mass that we say together is the Nicene Creed. It covers everything we believe as Christians. A more condensed version is called the Apostles' Creed. It has 12 points, just like there are 12 Apostles.
The Creeds cover three main things that we believe in: God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), the Church (which is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic), and the Promises of Christ (Forgiveness of Sins, Resurrection on the Last Day, and Eternal Life.)
The last part of the Liturgy of the Word is called the Universal Prayers or the Prayers of the Faithful. This is where the people respond "Lord hear our prayer." They should cover four main areas:
- The Church and her needs
- The world and its leaders
- Those in any kind of special need
- Ourselves and our community.
That's it. We're now halfway through the Mass! Time to sit down again.
Here is a link to the 11 x 17 cards in PDF format.
