Gospel Photo of the Week



Last week, we began our exploration of the Mass by diving into The Introductory Rites, this week we continue the journey with The Liturgy of the Word. The Liturgy of the Word begins after the Collect (Opening Prayer) and concludes with the Universal Prayer. During this time, we are called to hear God's word, profess our faith and offer our petitions.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal explains it in this way “For in the readings, as explained by the homily, God speaks to His people, opening up to them the mystery of redemption and salvation, and offering spiritual nourishment; and Christ Himself is present through word in the midst of the faithful. By silence and singing, the people make this divine word their own, and affirm their adherence to it by means of the Profession of Faith; finally, having been nourished by the divine word, the people pour out their petitions by means of the Universal Prayer for the needs of the whole Church and for the salvation of the whole world.” (GIRM 55)

We are called to hear the Word of God and in order to do this, we need to “stop speaking and be quiet, quieting not only our lips, but our minds and spirit as well.” This type of listening is not passive, it is an action. “As we turn away from distractions, we are to consciously turn to God.” One way that we can assist our hearing is to read the readings prior to Mass. During the Liturgy of the Word, we hear from various parts of scriptures. In the First Reading, we generally hear from the Old Testament, The Second Reading is taken from an Apostle, either a Letter or from the Book of Revelation. In between these two readings, we hear from the Psalms. We also hear from one of the Gospels. On Sundays, we read from a three-year cycle which allows for a more varied and richer reading of the Scriptures. During this three-year period, we hear approximately 90% of the Gospels, 50% of the Epistles and 13% of the Old Testament.

Before the proclamation of the Gospel, we sing the Gospel Acclamation in the form of the Alleluia or a verse. In this acclamation “the faithful welcomes and greets the Lord who is about to speak to them in the Gospel.” As the Gospel begins, we make the sign of the cross on our forehead, lips, and breast. As we do this a prayer is commonly recited “Lord, may Your Word be in my thoughts, on my lips, and in my heart.” After the readings, we hear the homily where the homilist attempts to explain the readings that we just heard and provide potential lessons that can be applied to our own life. The homily is reserved to either a Bishop, Priest, or Deacon, as it is one of the responsibilities associated with the teaching side of their office.

After the homily, we recite the Profession of Faith known as the Nicene Creed which was developed in the fourth century. The Nicene Creed comes from the Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381) and provides a brief summary of our Christian Faith. St. Ambrose describes the Creed as “the spiritual seal, our heart’s meditation and an ever-present guardian; it is unquestionably, the treasure of our soul.”

The Liturgy of the Word concludes with the Universal Prayers, also known as Intercessions and the Prayer of the faithful. These are prayers offered to God for the salvation of all and include prayers for the Church, public authorities, those burdened with difficulties, the local community, and for the dead.

The Liturgy of the Word consists of the Readings from Scriptures, Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, Profession of Faith and the Universal Prayer. During this part of the Mass, we hear from the Word of God, re-affirm our Christian faith and offer prayers for the salvation of all people. Next week, we will explore the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Unplanned Movie Showing at St. Anthony



St. Anthony will show the critically acclaimed movie Unplanned, Thursday, September 26th, 7 p.m. in Fleming Hall. Unplanned tells the conversion story of Planned Parenthood director, Abby Johnson, to the pro-life truth. (Abby has since embraced Catholicism and has led many more out of the abortion industry.) Viewers from other parishes are welcome to attend, however due to some serious thematic elements, this St. Anthony showing is offered for adults and students high school and older only, with those under 16 to be accompanied by an adult. Movie trailer below. More at https://www.unplannedfilm.com/



2019 Diocesan Parish Annual Appeal