More about GIRM - God’s Word and Human Voices: The Liturgy of the Word

Readings from Scripture and the chants between the readings form the main part of the Liturgy of the Word. The homily, profession of faith and the general intercessions or prayer of the faithful expand and complete this part of the Mass. In the readings, explained by the homily, God is speaking to his people, opening up to them the mystery of redemption and salvation, and nourishing their spirit; Christ is present in the midst of the faithful through his own word.

General Instruction of the Roman Missal #55

by Jane Bernard Hanson

"Pleeease, Mommy, just one more story!" Ah, the power of story, especially the favorites told and retold over and over again. And don’t dare skip one single word. Even if Lizzie can’t read quite yet, she knows. The story is in her bones!

Whenever we gather as church for Mass or any other liturgical celebration, we tell our favorite stories from the Bible. In the Liturgy of the Word, the scriptures are proclaimed, those stories get into our bones and we discover anew who and whose we are, where we came from and where we are going. The assembly gathers in love and then actively listens and responds to God’s Word with mind and heart and spirit fully engaged. Because God’s Word is alive and active, we encounter the presence of Christ in our midst. "[Christ] is present in his word, since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in church." Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #7.

The Liturgy of the Word is about more than imparting a lot of factual data about God. While the information is important it is not the whole story. It is more about transformation than information. It is about deepening and strengthening our conversion and our relationship with God in Jesus Christ - the Word of God made flesh. In poetry and prophecy, in story and song, in letters and laws, the tradition and teaching of the church is unfolded throughout the Liturgical Year. So central are the scriptures to the life of the church that we can no longer consider them as what we have to do to get to the really important part, the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Here is what two documents from Vatican Council II have to say. "The two parts that . . . make up the Mass, namely the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, are so closely connected with each other that they form but one single act of worship." The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (#56)

"The church has always venerated the divine scriptures as it has venerated the Body of the Lord, in that it never ceases, above all in the liturgy, to partake of the bread of life and to offer it to the faithful from the one table of the word of God and the Body of Christ." The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (# 21)

History of the Sacramentary

Here’s a brief look at the recent history of the Sacramentary (the big red book of prayers.) The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) mandated that the order of Mass and all the sacraments be revised and renewed. The first revision was published in 1969 by Pope Paul VI. It introduced the changes in the Mass envisioned by the Council Fathers. Knowing that all living things, including the liturgy, evolve and develop, the Sacramentary was revised, again in 1975. That revision took into consideration the experience of the changes in the Mass and the revisions of the other rites of the church. And now, based on the wisdom gleaned from more than 30 years of liturgical renewal and pastoral practice, the Sacramentary is again being fine-tuned.

The Latin version of the Sacramentary will have to be translated into English. That process can take some time. The revised GIRM is currently being translated into English and adaptations for the United States are going through the approval process. It is hoped that the revised GIRM will be ready for use in parishes on the first Sunday of Advent, December 1, 2002.

Jane Bernard Hanson is director of the Office of Worship and Spiritual Life for the Diocese of New Ulm.