May 1, 2020 - Liturgy of the Word (part2)

Now we have covered the most extensive part of the Liturgy of the Word, which is to isten. Listening is only one part of the conversation, yet a very important part of conversation especially when it is a conversation with God. The next part of the Liturgy of the Word is also the second part of conversation - our response. Thankfully, the Church supplies the words and all we need to do is supply the understanding and commitment to them. 

We might think that God is probably getting bored with our response because it is always the same! We always respond to His word with either “Thanks be to God” or “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ”. Why don’t we change it up a bit...be more creative...wouldn’t God like to hear us say something different for once? If this were any other person and conversation then we would probably be correct. After all, our sibling, friend or spouse would probably get annoyed with us if we always responded to them with the same phrase. They might even think that we were mocking them. Is that what God thinks? Certainly not!

God knows we are not mocking Him and He is not annoyed, because He has given us this response and He is asking to make this same response every time. Why would He do this? He wants us to mean it. These words when we say them with conviction and belief reveal to us more deeply and powerfully that what we have just listened to is indeed the word of God. We need this constant reminder and God knows it. We have to be careful to make sure we speak these words with convicted faith. Too often we respond without even thinking about what we are saying. A convicted response though will follow from a truly active listening of God’s word. A sincere and faithful listening leads to a convicted and sincere response. 

The response to the reading is not the only response that we are asked to make during the Liturgy of the Word. We also recite the Creed. The Creed again can easily result in a mindless rote reciting without really even realizing to what I am consenting before God. In the Creed we are renewing our baptismal promises, which means we are promising God that we will accept Him as the Lord of our lives and live as His faithful and intentional disciples. That is a serious commitment and one that we should never take lightly. Yet it is a joyful commitment because we know we don’t make it alone, we make this commitment in unison...we are here to help each other. Even greater, God is here in Jesus Christ to give us the strength we need to live out these promises. 

Finally, we close the Liturgy of the Word with the Prayers of the Faithful - our prayers to our Heavenly Father. These prayers are when we come together to show our love and support of each other. We pray for the entire Church, the world, and the specific needs of our community and families. We ask for the greatest support for each other by asking for God’s grace and blessing that we can all live according to what we have just professed in the Creed. 

Our greatest and most important help and the climax of the Mass is the Liturgy of the Eucharist for which God’s word and our response has now prepared us.