Diocese of Covington - Messenger at 402 E. 21st Street, Covington, KY 41015 US - Gospel Dialogue
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Gospel Dialogue |
This article is one in a weekly series offering insight to the theology of the Mass and the new translation of the Roman Missal. The articles prepare us for the use of the new Roman Missal at Mass beginning Nov. 27, 2011, the first Sunday of Advent. The articles are provided by the diocesan Office of Worship and Liturgy and written by Father Daniel Schomaker, assistant director. (Note: Words in bold indicate the new translation.) Priest/Deacon: The Lord be with you. People: And with your spirit. Priest/Deacon: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to N. People: Glory to you, O Lord. [At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest acclaims:] Priest/Deacon: The Gospel of the Lord. People: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. Gospel Dialogue The celebration of the Sacred Mysteries draw us into the very life of God and bring us to the brink of Heaven, for we can come no closer to Heaven this side of death, than when we participate in the Holy Mass. Within the Sacred Mysteries, God desires to commune with us. The Holy Mass is a dialogue of love where, particularly within the Liturgy of the Word, God speaks to His people. In Latin, there are two means of expressing the English word, “word.” The first is scriptum; it refers to the written word — that which you are reading now would fall into this category. The second is verbum. Verbum is the spoken or proclaimed word. The first is static, while the second is dynamic. Within the Church the scriptum is very important, as it is one of the means by which the faith of the Church is protected from error. However, verbum takes pride of place in the Church. It is through hearing that the faith is transmitted. The verbum is that which is proclaimed, giving life to the scriptum as well as life to the hearers of that word. As human beings we are by nature sacramental – we need that which is invisible and spiritual to be brought into the realm of the visible and corporal. At Mass, when the lector proclaims the Word of God (Verbum Domini), our God who remains unseen and who speaks in the recesses of our hearts becomes visible to our senses. Understanding that God is made known in the proclamation of the Sacred Scriptures and in particular Jesus Christ, with the proclamation of the Gospels, the Liturgy of the Church gives a number of instructions to the priest or deacon as well as the lay faithful before and after the Gospel is proclaimed. The priest prior to proclaiming the Gospel bows profoundly before the altar and privately seeks the Lord’s blessing by saying quietly, “Cleanse my heart and my lips, almighty God, that I may worthily proclaim your holy Gospel.” The deacon seeks the blessing of the priest who stands in persona Christi capitis (in the person of Christ the head) before proclaiming the Gospel. The priest blesses him saying: “May the Lord be in your heart and on your lips, that you may proclaim his Gospel worthily and well, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Each of these prayers of blessing is to draw the priest or deacon’s attention to the fact that it is not he who speaks when the Gospel is proclaimed, it is Jesus Christ, the Word of God (Verbum Domini) who is speaking to His people. It is also for this reason that the minister prior to reading the Gospel says, “The Lord be with you.” To which the people in the Third Edition of the Roman Missal respond, “And with your spirit.” It is a recognition that the Spirit of the Lord is uniquely present in the person of the minister because of ordination, and that it is from this Spirit that the ministers dares to give life to the written word (scriptum). After the minister has announced which account of the Gospel will be read, he and the people prepare themselves to hear the Lord speaking by blessing their minds, their lips and their hearts. Through this gesture, they are purifying their minds, lips and hearts so that they will not only hear God speaking, but allow it to infuse the interior of their life (through the heart and mind) but also to overflow into their actions and words (through the lips). As the proclamation concludes we recognize once again that we have listened to the Word of God, we praise the one who speaks — “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.” And finally, the minister as a sign of love and devotion to the Lord, kisses the Gospel while saying silently, “Through the words of the Gospel may our sins be wiped away.” In hearing the Lord speak to us as He does through the proclamation of the Scriptures our hearts and minds and lips are directed towards Him to offer Him praise and adoration; in doing so our hands and feet are put into action to draw the whole world into His life of love.