Oct 9 Thu
Why is the Gospel proclaimed in the Mass?
The reading of the Gospel is surrounded by special marks of respect. This rite emphasizes the union between the Incarnate Word, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, symbolized by the altar and sacramentally present after the Consecration, and the word of God written in the Gospel.
At first, the faithful express to God their cheerfulness by means of the Alleluia.
The priest, who is about to speak in Christ’s name, prepares himself for that awesome task by begging God to purify his lips as He once did those of Isaiah when an angel touched the great prophet’s mouth with a burning coal.
We, too, reflect on God’s mercy in calling us—improbable people like us—to be Christians. To hear and to proclaim the Gospel: Every Christian preaches Christ every day by the life he lives, by the words he utters, daily. We are all the time unconsciously influencing other people. Can we say we are doing it worthily?
The priest (or deacon) takes the Book of the Gospel to the lectern. He who is going to read the Gospel may be preceded by servers who carry the censer and candles.
The priest makes the Sign of the Cross with his thumb on the book and on his forehead, lips, and breast. If incense is used, he incenses the book before reading.
You probably have heard of all the care which, in the centuries before the advent of printing, the Church gave to the calligraphy of Gospel books, their pages being ornamented with illuminations and bindings at times encrusted with gold, ivory, and precious stones. The scent of incense used to fill the whole church, and candles were lit “as when”, wrote St Jerome, “the sun shines with all its brilliance; but their flame is not intended to dispel darkness, it is a sign of joy.”
We understand why the reading of the Gospel should be done with veneration. Ever since the Gospel was first read in Christian churches, the faithful have never listened to it in any other way than standing. In the Middle Ages, even those leaning on staves would leave them on the ground, standing erect as a servant stands before his lord. The bishop would hold his crozier in hand, and knights would draw their swords from their sheaths, removing also their cloaks and gloves. Men would remove their headgear, and princes their crowns.
Throughout the ages, all present made the sign of the cross together with the priest.
The Gospel is the only book which is incensed, and on which the sign of the cross is made. It should be read and meditated on often. We should even memorize, not all its text perhaps, but at least the most notable passages.
We stand up when reading the Gospel, with the attitude of one who is prepared to suffer everything for the sake of those sacred words.
Prepared to die?... If necessary, yes!
Prepared to die to ourselves, to our disorderly inclinations, to our own will?
Yes!
And that is how you must be every day, every moment of every day.