Liturgical Cogitations

Details: 21 January 2011

The Word

Last September 30th, on the Feast of Saint Jerome, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, issued a "Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church", to which he gave the title in Latin "Verbum Domini" ("The Word of the Lord"). This exhortation he directed to the world’s "Bishops, Clergy, Consecrated Religious, and Lay Faithful". The splendid document is the result of the work of the Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the International Synod of Bishops. In composing the document, the Pope, along with adding his own comments and ideas, summarized and synthesized the work of that gathering of Catholic Bishops, elected by Bishops’ Conferences from around the world. This included the general outline ("lineamenta"), the working paper ("instrumentum laboris"), the presentations ("relationes"), the speeches and written presentations of the Synod Fathers, their final "Message to the People of God", and the specific proposals that the Bishops gave to the Pope ("propositiones"), for his consideration.

One very important and central part of the Holy Father’s document is entitled "The Liturgy, Privileged Setting for the Word of God". In it, the Supreme Pontiff says, "In considering the Church as the home of the word, attention must first be given to the sacred liturgy, for the liturgy is the privileged setting in which God speaks to us in the midst of our lives. He speaks today to His people, who hear and respond. Every liturgical action is by its very nature steeped in Sacred Scripture. The Bishop of Rome then cites the Constitution on the Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council ("Sacrosanctum Concilium"): Sacred Scripture is of the greatest importance in the celebration of the liturgy. From it are taken the readings, which are explained in the homily, and the psalms that are sung. From Scripture the petitions, prayers, and liturgical hymns receive their inspiration and substance. From Scripture the liturgical actions and signs draw their meaning. Even more, it must be said that Christ Himself is present in His word, since it is He Who speaks when Scripture is read in Church."

The Liturgy

The Pope then quotes the introduction in the Lectionary used in the Masses of the Latin Rite: "The liturgical celebration becomes the continuing, complete, and effective presentation of God’s word. The word of God, constantly proclaimed in the liturgy, is always a living and effective word through the power of the Holy Spirit. It expresses the Father’s love that never fails in its effectiveness towards us." The Holy Father notes, "Thanks to the Paraclete, the word of God becomes the foundation of the liturgical celebration, and is the rule and support of all our life. The working of the same Holy Spirit brings home to each person individually the fact that everything which is in the proclamation of the word of God is spoken for the good of the whole gathering. In strengthening the unity of all, the Holy Spirit at the same time fosters a diversity of gifts and furthers their multiform operation." He remarks, "To understand the word of God then, we need to appreciate and experience the essential meaning and value of the liturgical action. A faith-filled understanding of Sacred Scripture must always refer back to the liturgy in which the word of God is celebrated as a timely and living word. In the liturgy the Church faithfully adheres to the way Christ Himself read and explained the Sacred Scriptures, beginning with His coming forth in the synagogue and His urging all to search the Scriptures (Luke 4:16-21; 24:25-35; 44-49)".

Pedagogy & Silence

Pope Benedict XVI says, "Here one sees the sage pedagogy of the Church, which proclaims and listens to the Sacred Scriptures following the rhythm of the liturgical year. This expansion of God’s word in time takes place above all in the Eucharistic celebration and in the Liturgy of the Hours. At the center of everything the paschal mystery shines forth, and around it radiate all the mysteries of Christ and the history of salvation which become sacramentally present. By recalling in this way the mysteries of redemption, the Church opens up to the faithful the riches of the saving actions and merits of her Lord and makes them present in all times, allowing the faithful to enter into contact with them and to be filled with the grace of salvation."

The Holy Father also writes about the "importance of silence in relation to the word of God and its reception in the lives of the faithful. The word, in fact, can only be spoken and heard in silence, outward and inward. Ours is not an age which fosters recollection. At times one has the impression that people are afraid of detaching themselves, even for a moment, from the mass media. For this reason, it is necessary nowadays that the people of God be educated in the value of silence. Rediscovering the centrality of God’s word in the life of the Church also means rediscovering a sense of recollection and inner repose. The great patristic tradition teaches us that the mysteries of Christ all involve silence. Only in silence can the word of God find a home in us, as it did in Mary, woman of the word and, inseparably, woman of silence. Our liturgies must facilitate this attitude of authentic listening. The importance of all this is particularly evident in the "liturgy of the word", which should be celebrated in a way that favors meditation. Silence, when called for, should be considered part of the celebration."

Holy Eucharist

The Pope remarks, "The profound unity of word and Eucharist is grounded in the witness of Scripture, attested to by the Fathers of the Church, and reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council." To illustrate this the Holy Father cites a number of appropriate scriptural passages (John 6:22-69; Exodus 33:11; Psalm 119; Luke 24:13-35; etc.) He goes on to write, "From these accounts it is clear that Scripture itself points us towards an appreciation of its own unbreakable bond with the Eucharist. It can never be forgotten that the divine word, read and proclaimed by the Church, has as its one purpose the sacrifice of the New Covenant and the banquet of grace, that is, the Eucharist. Word and Eucharist are so deeply bound together that we cannot understand one without the other. The Word of God sacramentally takes flesh in the event of the Eucharist. The Eucharist opens us to an understanding of Scripture just as Scripture for its part illumines and explains the mystery of the Eucharist. Unless we acknowledge the Lord’s real presence in the Eucharist, our understanding of Scripture remains imperfect. For this reason the Church has honored the word of God and the Eucharistic mystery with the same reverence, although not with the same worship, and has always and everywhere insisted upon and sanctioned such honor."