Aug 21 Thu
In the Mass, is the Liturgy of the Word important?
Only God knew with how impatiently the disciples gathered in the Upper Room were waiting for the arrival of the Lord. They did not know why or what, but they were sure something very important was going to happen. The Master had told them to prepare everything for the celebration of the Passover.
When Jesus arrived, they received him as usual, perhaps with a mixture of that sweet and gentle fear that the presence of the supernatural produces in the human soul. Surely, they must have been grateful to God for having given them the chance of sitting at the table once more with the Person for whom mankind had been yearning for centuries. And He addressed himself to them before anyone else. They could not explain why he had chosen them; there was no human explanation for it. But they constantly gave thanks to God for the election. Their countenances showed their intimate joy.
Had they known their unworthiness, they would have fled in shame. But they also knew that Jesus came to heal the sick and the weak. So, there they remained, perhaps feeling more in need than anybody else. After all, it was the Master who sought them and chose them. He knew pretty well what he was doing. Their role was simply to allow themselves to be loved and to exert every effort to correspond to that love.
The Master began to speak at length, as He had spoken on other occasions. But this time, there was such an atmosphere of intimacy.
In the Mass, after having welcomed him with joy and purified our love through our contrition, we are ready to listen to Jesus. Like the apostles before the Last Supper, we too will sit down. The Master will talk to us through the sacred readings of the Mass. By faith we know that when the Scriptures are read in the Church, God himself is speaking to his people, and Christ, present in his word, is proclaiming the Gospel.
Besides his Eucharistic presence, “in another very genuine way, Christ is also present in the Church as she preaches. For the Gospel which she proclaims is the word of God, and it is only in the name of Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, and only by his authority and with his help that it is preached, so that there might be ‘one flock resting secure in one shepherd.’”
The mystery of salvation is announced in the Mass with the proclamation of the word. Afterwards, during the Eucharistic liturgy, what has been announced becomes reality. This way, the bond between the word and the Eucharistic action (which culminates with the Consecration) becomes evident. Word and action, therefore, are united. The sacraments are sacraments of faith, and faith has its origin and sustenance in the word.
Only if we receive the message with fitting dispositions during the readings shall we be present at the Eucharistic Prayer with the necessary faith and love to offer ourselves with Christ and to be intimately united to him during Communion.