Hello, and welcome to the
Tiber River Café. My name is Dean
Humphreys, and today’s two minute topic is the Liturgy of the Word, the first
part of the Catholic Mass.
The priest welcomes us and
brings the people together as the family of God. We then acknowledge our sins
before we hear the Word of God, we say we are sorry to God, and ask God for
forgiveness, so that we will be better able to fully participate in the Mass. We ask for God’s mercy and we are thankful for
God’s never-ending forgiveness. We then
pray the ancient prayer Kyrie Eleison. The
Kyrie is the acclamation which offers praise and glory to God, and we ask for
God’s mercy.
Next we listen to God’s word
proclaimed to us. God is speaking
directly to us in his Word, which is the Bible.
The scripture readings are gathered from throughout the Bible. The Old
Testament readings help prepare us for the message of Jesus, the New Testament
speaks directly of Jesus, and finally Jesus speaks directly to us in the
Gospels.
We listen to the words and teachings of Jesus in the Gospel,
from either Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.
The Gospel is always proclaimed to us by either the priest or
deacon. We stand because we believe
Jesus is truly present in his Word, just like Jesus is truly present in the
Eucharist which is his body and blood, so we stand out of reverence, to be
completely attentive to God’s spoken word to us. The Gospel reading is the high point of the
Liturgy of the Word as Jesus is truly present to the community.
We then sit to hear the
homily, when the priest or deacon will take the Word of God that we just heard
proclaimed and brings the Word of God to our everyday life. After the homily, we stand again to recite
the Nicene Creed, the ancient profession of our faith.
So there you have it, a two minute overview of the Liturgy of
the Word. Well, thanks again for
stopping by the Tiber River Café, where there is always plenty of room at the
banquet table. I hope to see you next
time. Peace be with you.
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