Liturgy of the Word
Fr. Roch Kereszty, O. Cist.

After the hymn “Glory to God in the Highest,” the priest recites the Opening Prayer. Previously, tt was also called the Collecta, “the gathering up of prayers” because it summarizes the prayers of the faithful and presents them to God. On a specific feast this prayer sets the tone for the feast and indicates the reason for the celebration. On Sundays of Ordinary Time this prayer usually does not relate to the readings, but expresses an important intention that concerns the whole church, indeed, all of humanity. Since most of these prayers come from the ancient Roman liturgy, they tend to be concise, precise and simple, unlike the freely composed prayers that we hear at informal gatherings. (The priest is allowed to use an alternative prayer printed in the Missal, the style of which is more congenial to the prayer style of Americans, more detailed, using images and metaphors but often harder to follow because of its complexity.)

After the Opening Prayer the celebrant and the congregation are seated to listen to the Liturgy of the Word.

You may wonder why every Eucharistic celebration is preceded by the Liturgy of the Word. But you could also ask: If Jesus Christ is present in the words of Scripture, then why do we also need his Eucharistic presence? After all, it seems more worthy of intelligent people to listen to words that mean something rather than to receive a small piece of unleavened bread and a few drops of wine. At first sight the Eucharist seems more primitive than the Liturgy of the Word, it seems to fit the needs of the more dense and less educated masses. At first sight the Protestant practice seems more appealing, for the center is the preaching of the Word, and Holy Communion service is less frequent and often appears as a short appendix attached to an elaborate celebration of the Word of God. These, then, are the two questions I would like to discuss today.

1. Why is the Eucharist always preceded by a celebration of the Word of God?

In Luke 24: 13-32 study the account of the two disciples going to Emmaus and how Jesus joined them on the road and explained to them all that referred to him in all the Scriptures. Then he enters the house with them, he breaks the bread, and suddenly their eyes are opened and they recognize him in the breaking of the bread. Here you see the intimate connection between the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. You notice that the disciples did not recognize Jesus until their faith was rekindled. As they say when returning to Jerusalem, “Were not our hearts burning within us as he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures for us” (24:32)? So the purpose of the Liturgy of the Word is to awaken and nourish our faith, to open up the meaning of the Scriptures for us so that we may recognize that both Testaments, Old and New, are divinely guaranteed testimonies to Jesus Christ. The Old Testament prepares him and the New Testament bears witness to his teaching and to the mysteries of his birth, life, death, resurrection and his sending of the Holy Spirit upon his Church. But all this raises the second question:

2. If Jesus Christ speaks to us in the words of Scripture, then why do we also need his Eucharistic presence in the material signs of bread and wine?

Briefly, we are not pure spirits but spirits embodied in flesh and blood and therefore we need a flesh and blood contact with those whom we love. It is not the same thing to call your friend on the phone or to see him or her face to face. And seeing your friends face to face is a less intimate contact then having a meal with them. But here the human comparison must stop: only the God-man, the Son of God made flesh, can offer himself as food and drink for us, and thus provide for us the most intimate way of personal communion.

Let me mention one more consideration that shows the intimate link between the Liturgy of the Word and that of the Eucharist. It is in Holy Communion that the words of Scripture actualize their almighty, divine power, it is there that they effect what they mean. Consider, for instance, the words of Jesus “Your sins are forgiven,” or “Get up, take up your mat and go,” “I want you to be cured,” “Come to me all who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest,” “He who loves me will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” . Thus briefly , on the one hand, meditation on the Scriptures enkindles our faith to recognize Jesus in the Eucharist; on the other, the words of Scripture unfold their almighty, divine power in our lives when we meet Jesus in the Eucharist.