The Liturgy of the Word is an integral part of the Holy Mass. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal states: “When the Sacred Scriptures are read in the Church, God himself speaks to his people, and Christ, present in his word, proclaims the Gospel.”
Catholic speaker and author Edward Sri wrote, “To hear the words of God is a serious matter. At Mount Sinai, the people of Israel prepared themselves for three days before God spoke to them the words of the covenant. In the Mass, we prepare ourselves for this holy encounter with God’s Word through the Introductory Rites.”
Pope Francis refers to the Liturgy of the Word as a “meal” that the Lord prepares in order to nourish our spiritual life. Vatican II states: “The treasures of the Bible are to be opened up more lavishly, so that richer fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God’s word.”
The Church has often used the image of two tables to express the continuity between the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. At Holy Mass, the faithful are first nourished from the table of the Sacred Scriptures and then fed with the Body of Christ at the table of the Eucharist.
Edward Sri wrote, “In a sense, the Mass is the greatest Bible study on earth. Simply by going to Mass on Sunday, Catholics are taken on a grand tour of the Sacred Scriptures that often highlights the connections between the Old and New Testaments. Weekday Masses follow a two-year cycle of readings that provide an even broader range of the Scriptures in the liturgy. These readings are not selected from among a pastor’s or congregation’s favourite parts of the Bible. Rather, priest and people are challenged with more of the totality of Word of God, covering all major parts of the Bible in a way that is not dependent on people’s preferences or expertise.”
Pope Francis said, “The Word of God makes a pathway within us. We listen to it with our ears and it passes to our hearts; it does not remain in our ears; it must go to the heart. And from the heart, it passes to the hands, to good deeds.”
The altar is venerated during the Introductory Rites and the book of the Gospel is venerated during the Liturgy of the Word. St. Augustine wrote, “The Gospel is the mouth of Christ. He is seated in heaven, but he has not stopped speaking on earth.”
After the Gospel, the priest gives the homily. Pope Francis said, “The homily takes up once more the dialogue which the Lord has already established with his people.” The Holy Father pointed out that the readings and the homily at Holy Mass respond to the spiritual right of the people of God to receive abundantly from the treasury of the Word of God. He said, “When we go to Mass, each of us has the right to receive in abundance the Word of God read well, said well and then, explained well in the homily. It is a right! And when the Word of God is not read well, not preached with fervour by the deacon, by the priest, or by the bishop, then the faithful are deprived of a right. We have the right to hear the Word of God.”
There is a strong link between listening and faith. St. Paul wrote, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Rom 10:17) After listening to the readings and the homily, the faithful give the common response of faith by reciting the Creed. The faithful say, “honor and confess the great mysteries of the faith by pronouncing the rule of faith in a formula approved for liturgical use and before the celebration of these mysteries in the Eucharist begins.” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 67)
“In the Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful, the people respond in some sense to the Word of God which they have received in faith and, exercising the office of their baptismal Priesthood, offer prayers to God for the salvation of all.” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 69)
Pope Francis said, “The ‘universal’ prayer, which concludes the Liturgy of the Word, exhorts us to turn our gaze to God, who takes care of all his children.”
Share your thoughts and contribute to the ongoing conversation by sending us a Letter to the Editor.
天主的話語在我們內鋪平了一條道路
聖道禮是彌撒的一個不可或缺的部分。《羅馬彌撒經書總論》中提到：「在教會中誦讀聖經，是天主親自向祂的子民講話，基督也以自己的話親臨，宣布福音。」
愛德華·斯里（Edward Sri）指出：「聆聽天主的話語是一件嚴肅的事情。在西乃山，以色列人民在天主對他們說出盟約的言辭之前，花了三天的時間預備自己。在彌撒中，我們透過進堂式預備自己迎接這與天主話語相遇的神聖時刻。」
教宗方濟各稱聖道禮是上主為滋養我們靈性生命所準備的一頓「餐食」。梵二大公會議聲明：「應更豐盛地打開聖經的寶藏，以在天主的話語餐桌上，為信眾提供更豐盛的飲食。」教會常以「兩張桌子」的比喻來表達聖道禮與聖祭禮之間的連續性。在聖道禮中，信眾首先在聖經的餐桌上得到滋養，然後在聖體的餐桌上領受基督的身體。
愛德華·斯里提到：「在某種意義上，彌撒是世界上最偉大的《聖經》研讀。僅僅通過在星期日參與彌撒，天主教徒就能夠參與一場宏偉的聖經之旅，這通常凸顯了舊約和新約之間的聯繫。平日彌撒遵循一個兩年的讀經週期，更廣泛地在禮儀中涵蓋了聖經的範圍。這些讀經不是從神父或教眾對《聖經》的偏愛部分中選擇的。相反，神父和教友卻面對更多天主話語完整性的挑戰，這不依賴於人們的偏好或專業知識選出，卻涵蓋了聖經的所有主要部分。」
教宗方濟各說：「天主的話在我們內心中鋪平了一條道路。我們用耳朵領聽，通往我們的心靈；不應只停留在耳朵中；必須到達心靈。而從心靈，轉向雙手，轉化為善行。」
在進堂式中，人們敬禮祭台；而在聖言禮儀中，則敬禮福音。聖奧斯定曾寫道：「福音是基督的口。祂坐在天上，但祂在世上沒有停止說話。」
在福音後，神父講道。教宗方濟各表示：「講道再次重拾主已經與祂的子民建立的對話。」教宗指出，在彌撒禮儀中，讀經和講道是回應天主子民從天主話語寶庫中豐富獲得的屬靈權利。他說：「當我們參與彌撒時，每一個人都有權利豐富地接收由福音好好讀出、好好宣講，然後在講道中好好解釋的天主話語。這是一種權利！當天主話語沒有被好好讀出，沒有被執事、神父或主教熱忱宣講時，信眾就被剝奪了一種權利。我們有權利聽到天主的話。」
聆聽與信仰之間存在著牢固的聯繫。聖保祿曾寫道：「所以信仰是出於報道，報道是出於基督的命令。」（羅馬書 10:17）在聆聽讀經和講道之後，信眾通過宣讀信經共同回應，表達對信仰的共同信念。信眾「透過准用的禮儀經文，來宣明信德的規範，好能在舉行感恩禮以前，重溫並宣認偉大的信德奧蹟。」（《羅馬彌撒經書總論》第67條）
在《羅馬彌撒經書總論》中指出：「在『公禱』或『信友禱詞』裏，信友對自己以信德接受了的天主聖言作出回應，並執行他們藉洗禮領受的司祭職務，為眾人的得救向天主呈上祈禱。」（第69條）
教宗方濟各曾說：「結束聖道禮的『公禱』，勸告我們將目光轉向天主 - 照顧祂所有子女的天主。」