HOME
CALENDAR
CONTACT US
DIRECTIONS
HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
† The Liturgy of the Word
We know from the Gospels that Jesus himself listened to the inspired word of God and let it shape and form him. Through the liturgy, we do the same. The readings we hear at Mass can teach us, but that is not their primary function. Rather, the scriptures are meant to reveal the Lord to us, to let us experience God's presence, and to form us in our Christian identity. In the readings proclaimed at Mass, we hear the voice of Christ himself, and we recognize the story of God acting in the past and in our own lives as well. The homily helps us to see these connections more clearly. Then through the Profession of Faith (Creed) and the Prayer of the Faithful, our response to the readings prepares us to enter into the Eucharistic Prayer that follows.
† New Words in the Liturgy of the Word
The structure of the Liturgy of the Word will not change with the new translation. One change just before the Gospel is our repetition of the response, "And with your spirit," which we made at the beginning of Mass.
The beginning of the Creed will change from "We believe" to "I believe." Two other changes you might notice will be the lines "begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father" and "by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary." These are more direct translations of the Latin words consubstantialem and incarnatus. They replace "one in being with the Father" and "born of the Virgin Mary."
Near the end of the Creed we will pray that we "look forward to" the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting. The new translation aims to increase the joyful hope with which we pray.
Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.