A Look at the Mass: The Introduction and Conclusion of the Readings

This post will be relatively short, as it only concerns the First and Second Readings at Mass, as the Gospel introduction and conclusion will be covered in the posts on the Gospel. They were too important to be overlooked, but putting them in either post disrupted the flow and it didn't seem right to cover them in one post, when they pertained to both the First and Second Reading.

The introduction to the readings are extremely simple. "A reading from the Book of Exodus," "A reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel," "A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans," etc. The only variation is when the first verse of the scriptural book is read the introduction is, "A reading from the beginning of the...."

So why should we meditate upon this? It seems that this is meant to tell us where our readings are coming from, and that is obviously true. However, there is so much more the introduction to the readings can tell us!

The introduction not only tells us which book of the Bible the reading comes from, but it gives us the context, the setting, and the theme. Of course, I do not mean that it gives all of these things exhaustively, but it does set the stage for the reading about to be proclaimed. For example, if the reading comes from the Book of Exodus we already know the context of the reading. We know that the reading in some way pertains to the passage into freedom for the Israelites; we know Moses will be the central figure and the traditionally considered author. From these things we can relate the reading to the Gospel and the overall central theme of the day's Liturgy. Likely it will have something to do with God's faithfulness in delivering us from sin.

Introducing the reading is important then, since it assists us in delving deeper into the Liturgy. Unlike the other times of the Mass where Scripture is proclaimed along with some other actions and guides our thoughts toward the action being performed, here the Scripture is proclaimed so that we may meditate specifically on it. The introduction of it, as well, allows us to see that it is something we listen to. Unlike the Responsorial Psalm and the Alleluia, we do not actively participate in the reading. Instead, we are called to listen. The introduction sets it up as something to be listened to, for it doesn't call us to do anything but to know.

After the readings are finished, they are ended simply with, "The word of the Lord." Once again, this simple proclamation has so much contained within it. It is a final reminder of Who the ultimate author of Sacred Scripture is - God, the Lord. The Scriptures are not like the writings of the Church Fathers, who, while good, are still not infallible on their own. We believe every word of the Scriptures was inspired by God, and therefore, when the lector proclaims, "The word of the Lord," in as sense he is saying, "All of the preceding are God's words given to us."

It is on account of this that we respond, "Thanks be to God." We give thanks that God has graciously given us the entirety of the Scriptures. We have a text, which we can trust is fully inspired by Him. We need not doubt any of the words in it, when approved by the Magisterium of the Church. He has given us words in a manner where He can speak to us intimately, both inside and outside the Sacred Liturgy.

Let us open our hearts then to the words of the First and Second Readings. They can come to meet us in our lives in ways we would never expect and thus be written ultimately upon both our minds and our hearts.