Main Menu[Home] [Overview of Web Site] [Table Contents] [Story of Parish] [This Week in Parish] [Sacramental Life] [Parish Ministries] [Faith Links] [Resources for Daily Living] [Sponsors] Return to Index of Articles on the Sacred Liturgy
In order to allow us to listen to the Word of God with both our minds and hearts, the Church calls for a reverent pace and periods of silence during the Liturgy of the Word so that we might have some time to reflect on what we have heard. "The Liturgy of the Word is to be celebrated in such a way as to promote meditation, and so any sort of haste that hinders recollection must be clearly avoided. During the Liturgy of the Word, it is also appropriate to include brief periods of silence, accommodated to the gathered assembly, in which, at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God may be grasped by the heart and a response through prayer may be prepared" (GIRM no. 56).
Two
ways in which the liturgy provides us with a prayer response to the Word
of God is through the
praying
of the Responsorial Psalm and the Prayer of
the Faithful.
The
Responsorial Psalm, taken from the Old Testament scriptures, allows the
assembly to
respond
through meditation on the Word of God. "It
is preferable that the Responsorial Psalm be sun (GIRM no. 61). The singing of the psalm, engages not only our minds, but also our spirits in prayer. When we sing, "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad!" or "My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God" we lift up our whole being in prayer. "After the first reading comes the responsorial Psalm, which is an integral part of the Liturgy of the Word and holds great liturgical and pastoral importance, because it fosters meditation on the word of God" (GIRM no. 61).
Another
way in which the liturgy provides us with an
opportunity for a prayer response to God's Word is
through the Prayer of the Faithful. Here the
community composes its own prayers for the needs of the Church, the world,
the oppressed, the sick, the dying, and other needs particular to the
parish
community. These prayers grow out of the day's
scriptures
and the needs of the community and world.
When we pray, "Lord, hear our prayer," we ask for that which
will transform us and our world into
people who listen to God's Word and live it out in
our daily lives.
GIRM Bulletin 14E • Office for Worship, Archdiocese of Los Angeles © 2003, Archdiocese of Santa Fe, N.M. Used with permission.
Main Menu[Home] [Overview of Web Site] [Table Contents] [Story of Parish] [This Week in Parish] [Sacramental Life] [Parish Ministries] [Faith Links] [Resources for Daily Living] [Sponsors] Return to Index of Articles on the Sacred Liturgy
|
