WORD OF GOD AT MASS: GIFT GIVEN NOT CONTENT CONSUMED

​“Dear Kuya Jeff, hi po! Alam ko sobrang busy mo, sorry talaga for bothering you. May quick clarification lang po ako. Last time sa Biblical Walkthrough the Mass, you mentioned na the Word of God is meant to be proclaimed and listened to during the Holy Mass. Sabi mo rin po na yung lector, deacon, or priest dapat nagpo-proclaim habang the faithful ay nakikinig hindi nagbabasa kasi the Word isn’t something to be studied at that moment, but a sacramental proclamation na dapat tanggapin through the ears and the heart. Pwede po ba ako makahingi ng mga references for follow-up reading? Alam ko busy ka po, sorry ulit ha! Thank you so much in advance, Kuya!” — Ann M.

​1. When we gather for the Holy Mass, we come not to take but to receive. At every celebration of the Eucharist, God offers Himself to us twice: first at the Table of the Word then at the Table of the Eucharist. The same Christ who speaks when the Scriptures are proclaimed is the Christ who gives Himself in the consecrated bread and wine. In both moments, our posture is one of receptivity—we open our hearts and listen, for it is God who acts first, and we who respond in faith.
​
2. From the beginning, God’s relationship with His people has always begun with listening. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Saint Paul continues this tradition, teaching that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). In the Liturgy of the Word, God does not merely share information; He speaks Himself into our midst. When the lector or deacon proclaims the readings, the Church listens because Christ Himself is speaking. This is why the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM 29) teaches that “when the Sacred Scriptures are read in the Church, God himself speaks to his people, and Christ, present in his word, proclaims the Gospel.” GIRM #55 further notes that in the readings “God speaks to his people, opening up to them the mystery of redemption and salvation.” The very purpose of the proclamation is to be heard, not silently read. GIRM #128–129 emphasizes the dignity of the ambo and the ministry of the lector or deacon, whose role is to proclaim the readings so that they may be heard clearly. Indeed, Word is meant to strike the ear and pierce the heart (cf. Hebrews 4:12) (cf Acts 2:37)

3. Listening is an act of faith. The Word of God, proclaimed in the assembly, is meant to be heard as living speech—not followed like a textbook. Reading along in missalettes or on personal devices, unless truly necessary, can turn the Word into private study rather than communal worship. The early Christians, as described by Saint Justin Martyr in the 2nd century, gathered on Sundays to listen to “the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets,” after which the presider preached and the people responded, “Thanks be to God.” Saint Augustine even reminded his flock, “The ears are the door of the heart.” The Church, therefore, asks the faithful to listen attentively, not read silently. When we allow the proclaimed Word to enter our hearts through the ear, we make room for grace to move within us. This is why, after the readings, we respond aloud—“Thanks be to God” and “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.” These are not polite conclusions but acts of faithful reception, our way of saying: “Yes, Lord, I have heard You, and I receive Your Word.”

4. In both Word and Sacrament, we receive, we do not take. When we come forward for Communion, we do not grab the host; we open our hands or mouth in humility to receive Christ’s Body. Likewise, when the Scriptures are proclaimed, we do not seize the Word as our own; we receive it as divine gift. As Saint Jerome once preached, “When we are listening to the Word of God, and God’s Word is poured into our ears, what great danger we run if we think of something else!” The Church’s posture is always one of receptivity—a deep acknowledgment that God gives Himself freely.

5. But what about our brothers and sisters who cannot hear with their ears? The Church, in her maternal wisdom, recognizes that hearing is not limited to sound waves. The deaf faithful “hear” with their eyes, their hands, and their hearts. Sign language—expressive, embodied, and visual—becomes for them a sacred form of hearing. It is a superb way of receiving God’s Word, for it translates divine speech into human gesture. Just as the Word became flesh, so too does it become visible in signs. When the readings of the Mass are interpreted in sign language or projected for accessibility, this is an act of charity and inclusion for the deaf not of convenience for the hearing. The Church is not replacing proclamation she is ensuring that every member of the Body of Christ can receive the same Word. Whether through sound or sight, faith still comes from hearing—for what matters is not the ear that receives, but the heart that believes. And that is why, after the reading, deaf Catholics also respond joyfully, “Thanks be to God,” signing those words with their hands—the same hands that become instruments of praise and participation.

6. In the end, both the hearing and the deaf are invited into the same mystery: God speaks, and His people listen. The Liturgy of the Word is not a time for reading along, but for receiving together. The one who listens through the ear and the one who listens through the eyes share the same interior act of faith—an encounter with the living Christ who gives Himself to all. Thus, when we come to Mass, let us remember: we are gathered not to take the Word, but to receive Him. Whether we hear through sound or sign, the same Christ speaks, and the same Church responds, “Thanks be to God.”

<enrique,ofs>