One of the many fruits of the Second Vatican Council was a much stronger emphasis on the inspired word of God within the celebration of the sacraments of the Church.
The Second Vatican Council’s document on liturgy says the Word needs to be proclaimed to celebrate the sacraments, said Father Tom Margevicius, director of worship for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. And retired Pope Benedict XVI wrote beautiful and profound meditations on the word of God, Father Margevicius said, including how it is needed in the life of the Church’s liturgy.
The priest moved slowly through the shivering crowd, huddled around a roaring fire on the steps of the church, bracing ourselves against the biting wind.
Of the articles I am writing for this series on the Mass, I am really excited about this one: the Liturgy of the Word.
For too long, we have assumed, "Protestants get the Bible, Catholics get the sacraments."
Wrong.
Moving beyond familiarity