St. Mary's Church Elizabeth, IL

Liturgy of the Word

And Jesus said to them, "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  Was it not necessary that Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory ''(Luke 24:25-26).

As we prepare to listen to the to the word of God proclaimed during the Liturgy of the Word, what are our "foolish" ideas?  Are we ready to believe in what we hear, what is being proclaimed?  Do we spend time reflecting on what we hear now?  Do we recognize the Word of God in our midst, the"living word" that always speaks to us in a way that nothing else can?

The lector proclaims the Word of God from the Lectionary.  It is a book that contains selections of readings from the Bible.  They are organized for use during the Eucharistic Liturgy according ot the celebration of that particular day.  The readings are selected from what is call the Old and New Testament.  One meaning of the word "testament' states that it is an act by which a person determines the dispostion of the property after death.  This what the early Christians-and those who succeeded them-believed: Jesus is the one who fulfilled the promises God had made to the Jewish People.  They wanted to share this with the world.  Because the first generation of witnesses and believers were dying out, they wrote down the stories regarding Jesus for the use of the future Church.  They also accepted what had been written before Jesus and used it in their Liturgy.  When we listen carefully to the readings proclaimed at Mass, we should pray that when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, His Presnce within us will strengthen us to follow Him, transform and empower us to do His will.  No matter what the Word of God has set before us, the grace of God is at work in us, God's Holy Spirit can make us respond to God's word and to fulfill in us the purpose it had been sent for: "So is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose of which I sent it "(Isaiah55-11)