The Mass – The Celebrations

-August 2, 2009

2. The celebration of the Liturgy of the Word at Mass leads us to the Eucharist

How have you been doing in preparing each week for Mass? Have you tried reading the readings ahead of time? Have you found the reflection questions we’ve been providing helpful?

Sometimes it’s tempting to wonder just how seriously we take the readings of the Mass. They really do lead us into the celebration of the Eucharist. Remember the quote from the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy from last week’s bulletin:

“…it is he (Christ) himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church.” So then, every single time we gather for the Eucharist it is, in a sense, a brand new experience of the encounter on the road to Emmaus for us! On the road to Emmaus, Christ’s disciples encountered the Risen Lord, who walked beside them and opened the Scriptures for them, recounting everything that had happened, beginning with Moses and all the prophets. Christ does the very same thing today. Then, when we have listened to him, just like those same disciples in the story, we ask him to “Remain with us.” He does, and together we experience him in the Breaking of Bread. As you can see, the Scriptures at Mass really do lead us into the celebration of the Eucharist. Having been reminded of all God has done for us throughout human history, we then have even greater reason to celebrate the Eucharist through Christ, with Christ and in Christ…for the world, for each other, for ourselves, and as an act of thanksgiving, praise and worship of our God! In the liturgy… “time drops out…You are there!“…just as readily as at the Last Supper…just as readily as the disciples on the road to Emmaus! The mode of the experience is simply different. How exciting it would be for us if, each week, we came to Mass saying to ourselves, “I am going to encounter the Risen Christ today! He is actually going to speak to me today!”

Reflect carefully on these two beautiful statements, shared by Dr. Paul Ford just a couple of weeks ago with liturgists of our area as they gathered for an evening together at St. John’s University. They bring home to us the connection between the two parts of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

“The Liturgy of the Word, especially the Gospel, is the ‘oven’ in which the Holy Spirit bakes the Eucharistic bread.”

“The Liturgy of the Word, especially the Gospel, is the ‘cask’ in which the Holy Spirit ferments the Eucharistic wine.”

-David Orzechowski, Liturgy & Music