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Catechesis on the Liturgy: The Liturgy of the Word

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Homily
Sunday, October 1, 2006, 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B
St. Joseph Parish, Detroit

The Liturgy of the Word

32. Some have asked me, why is it, given the financial strain under which St. Joseph parish, poor as we are, struggles, that I never give homilies on our financial situation and the future of the parish. I begin by stating that the future of the parish has little to do with finances. Money will not save this parish, any of its parishioners or guests, money will not save the Archdiocese of Detroit or the universal Catholic Church. Jesus Christ will save us, individually, as a parish community, as a whole Diocese and in the whole Church. Jesus alone is the savior. Which leads me to the most relevant part of my reply: that only the saints make a parish succeed, only the saints can reform the Church, only true saints are useful instrument in the hands of God for the work God intends to do in the world. Pope Benedict stressed this at World Youth Day last year in Cologne, and my Trailblazers and I heard him with our own ears, “[The saints] were the true reformers who constantly rescued [history] from plunging into the valley of darkness.”[1] And if all Catholics were striving to live up to their holy lives, they would tithe and in many other ways address the material needs of the parish, not with bitterness, not with the pride of “Oh see, I do more than you do,” but with true joy, peace, and the happiness of conscience that comes with a life in harmony with God’s will. And to those who generously give of their time, their money, and their own sweat out of love for Jesus Christ and for no other reason, I encourage you to persevere, for great will be your reward I heaven.

33. Therefore the tack I take is this: if we want this parish to survive, we need holy parishioners. And since we need holy parishioners, in the homilies I am addressing the central and most important part of Catholic life: the Holy Mass. Without further ado, then, let us continue our reflections on the part of the Mass, so that with each Mass, we may all grow in holiness.

34. There isn’t time on our Calendar of reflections on the Mass for more than a mention of the Collect. That’s when the priest begins, alone, saying or singing a prayer that begins with “Oremus,” or, “Let us pray.” He offers this prayer at the beginning of Mass, at the Offertory, and at the End, in the name of the whole People of God united to Jesus, a prayer directed to the Father, and in Jesus’ name. It is easy during Mass to space out when the priest is praying these prayers. But if we could just pray those prayers attentively, uniting our minds and hearts to the Church’s words, it would be enough to transform one’s participation in Mass from something tepid to something fervent.[2]

35. Then follows the Liturgy of the Word. It is an integral part of the Mass, and it is necessary to attend it to fulfill one’s Sunday obligation, so grave, that it is a mortal sin to not attend Sunday Mass, cases of impossibility, such as sickness or hardships in mission territories, posing legitimate exceptions. Since it is part of Mass, and matter of the third commandment, I have never and never will collaborate in those frustrating “Children’s Liturgy of the Word” where kids are removed from the Church, separated by their parents, and given a sort of catechism class by a usually well-intentioned lay person, sometimes full of crafts, trite songs and activities which keep the children busy. No, keep them in the Church, with their families, participating in the real liturgy, period.

Now, when a Catholic attends daily and Sunday Mass, after three years he has heard practically all of the Bible, with a small handful of exceptions. For the Catholic Church loves the Bible, and sees it, together with Sacred Tradition, as the revealed Word of God.[3] Much like Jesus Christ is true God and true man, the word of the Scriptures is God’s word and Man’s word. There is not one word in the scriptures which was not intended by both the Holy Spirit and the inspired prophet or Apostle who wrote it. St. Peter writes “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.”[4] The scriptures are inerrant in all those matters which are pertinent to our salvation. Therefore, fight the temptation to distraction when the sacred Word is being proclaimed in the Church. Listen, and meditate on the words. For these words which you hear are living and active, sharper than a double edged sword,[5] it is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,[6] capable of giving life and saving you from sin. [7] Allow this Word, which is ultimately a person, Jesus Christ the Son of God, to penetrate your mind and heart, and then you will reap great benefit for your spiritual life.

36. There are four parts to the readings from the scriptures: First there is a reading from the Law (the first five books of the Bible) or the Prophets. Sometimes use the Wisdom or Historical books of the Old Testament as our first reading. The whole Old Testament is about Jesus Christ, and so reveals in figure those things made plain in the Incarnation.

37. A prayer of a Psalm follows. The standard Psalm format is actually the less common used; more common is the responsorial psalm, but less common is the singing of the Gradual. The Psalms in ancient times were recited with simple responses interspersed, as St. Hyppolitus and St. Athanasius tell us. The people would hear, for example, the deacon recite the Psalm, and interject at appointed times an “Alleluia,” or, “His mercy endures forever,” probably as we find in Psalm 135.[8] St. Augustine tells us, in his Confessions,[9] how the faithful already in the early 5^th century embellished the singing of the Psalms with more elaborate and beautiful music. The Roman Gradual was eventually produced, which was a book of a special singing of the Psalms, which today is largely substituted with the Responsorial Psalm. I hope someday at St. Joseph’s we can experience the Gradual Psalm instead of the Responsorial Psalm at our Latin Mass, since it is a particularly old and beautiful liturgical variant.

38. Third there is a New Testament reading, from the epistles of the Apostles or from the Apocalypse, or Book of Revelation of St. John. Then after the Alleluia, which is omitted if it is not sung, we come to the fourth part, the reading from one of the four Gospels. The selection of readings is organized throughout the year; sometimes, as in Ordinary Time, it is disposed for a systematic reading from beginning to end of various books in the Bible; other times, the readings are selected to help us spiritually according to the liturgical season, such as Advent, Lent or Easter.

39. Finally there is the homily, by which the priest, in the name of Christ and the Church, expounds on the truths of the faith, and encourages the faithful to live out their faith to the max. For the scriptures are inspired and inerrant; the translations and various interpretations history has given them are not. So the priest is to expound the Church’s, and only the Church’s, understanding of the Scriptures and the whole of revelation. The homily was always in the vernacular, even when everything else in the Mass was in Latin. It is a part of public worship. Bishops preach out of their own authority, and hence they give homilies sitting. Priests are allowed, exhorted, and in some instances obliged to preach, with an obligation to adhere to Church teaching. Deacons are allowed to preach; yet I learned that in ancient times, the deacons were to preach only if the priest could not, and then, only by reading commentaries of the Fathers of the Church.[10] This is not the norm of the Church today, obviously, but the anecdote stresses how much importance the Church has always placed on the adherence to the teachings that have come down to us through antiquity from the Apostles.

40. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, pray for priests, who will be judged for every word they say from the pulpit, and a severe judgment awaits them indeed. Pray and do penance for the many scandalous words and teachings that have and still do fall from the pulpit. So much has a priest been given, truly! But what responsibility awaits him, and by the measure of what he has received will he be judged in his final hour.

Conclusion

41. I conclude these reflections on the Liturgy of the Word, the first part of the Mass, and the preparation for the Sacrifice in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, with an exhortation of St. John Chrysostom, in a homily on the Gospel of John around the year 391 a.d.: “Each of you take in hand that part of ht Gospels twhich is to be read in yoru presence ont eh first day fo the week or even on the Sabbath; and before tha dday comes, sit down at home and read it through; consider often and carefully its content, and examine all its parts wll, notinw what is clear, what is confusing, what seems to assist the position fohte adversaries but really does not. And, in a word, when you have sounded every point, then go to hear it read. From such zeal as this there will be no small benefit both to you and to me.”[11] Amen.