The Holy Father offered more catechesis on liturgy today and turned his attention to the Liturgy of the Word:
If one chats during Mass, the Pope continued, one doesn’t hear God’s Word and he urged believers to open their hearts in silence to be able to receive His message and then put its indications into practice.
“We need to listen! Since we do not live ‘by bread alone’, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God, we need to be constantly open to, and challenged by, that word, in our lives as individuals and in our life as a Church. This is why we talk about the Liturgy of the Word as ‘the table of God’s Word’ that the Lord sets to nourish our spiritual life” he said.
The Responsorial Psalm, Francis said, favours God’s dialogue with his people as it sets the meditative mood for the next reading and he invited the faithful to participate “at least in the response”. The Liturgical proclamation, he added, expresses and favours ecclesial communion and accompanies believers in their journey of faith.
The Pope went on to say that not only must the faithful attain to the Church’s Lectionary, but must “put off reading the paper or following the news until afterwards”:
“God’s Word is God’s Word! We can read the newspaper later on. In Church we read God’s Word. It is the Lord speaking to us” he said.
Francis also reflected on the need for good readers and psalmists, whom, he said, must practice: “this favours an atmosphere of receptive silence” he said.
“We know, he continued, that the Lord’s Word is an indispensable aid to avoid getting lost: it lights up our path.” he said.
“How could we undertake our earthly pilgrimage, with all of its burdens and challenges without being regularly nourished and enlightened by God’s Word that resounds in the Liturgy?” he said.
