Alleluia, Gospel, & Homily

Allelulia

Alleluia! With this familiar word (generally sung) of the Gospel Acclamation, we all stand for the Gospel. Where does that word come from? According to the Catechism, “Alleluia” is a word that means, “Praise the Lord!” (CCC, no. 2589).  As the General Instruction of the Roman Missal reminds us, this sung acclamation is a rite “by which the gathering of the faithful welcomes and greets the Lord who is about to speak to them in the Gospel and profess their faith by means of the chant. It is sung by everybody, standing, and is led by the choir or a cantor” (GIRM, no. 62).

While we use the word “Alleluia” for the Gospel Acclamation most of the time, as Charles Belmonte notes, “During Lent, instead of Alleluia, an acclamation is made before and after the verse before the Gospel” (Understanding the Mass, p. 90). For example, the people might acclaim, “Praise and honor to you, Lord Jesus Christ!” or “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!”

If you have ever wondered why we stand during the Gospel Acclamation and the proclamation of the Gospel, the above reminder explains it well. According to standard manners and etiquette (which are not always observed in our modern day in the same way as in the past), we always stand when someone important or honored enters the room. For example, when a king or leader would enter, everyone would stand to greet that person. In a similar way, we are honoring the Lord Jesus present before us in the Word of God. We stand to acknowledge his presence, and we stand to give him honor. As the Diocese of Peoria teaches, “we stand in respect as the Master prepares to speak to us just as he spoke to the apostles” (A Study of the Mass, p. 8).

Other ways to increase our reverence and honor for Jesus present in the Holy Gospel are by using a Book of the Gospels and processions with candles and incense. As you may have noticed, we sometimes use a large, ornate book with decorated pages for the Gospel. This book is placed on the altar before the proclamation of the Gospel, showing the connection between Jesus present in the Word of God and Jesus present in the Holy Eucharist (more on that connection in the future). The Book of the Gospels is a very beautiful way to honor the Holy Gospels, with its decorated pages and beautiful artwork helping us call to mind how blessed we are to be hearing the actual words and actions of Jesus.  

The honor for Jesus the Word of God increases even more when we use candles and incense. Candles remind us of Jesus the Light of the World and act as a kind of reverential escort for Jesus in the Gospels. Incense, which we use to honor holy people and things, reminds us of the dignity of the Gospels and all of the Word of God, one of God’s main ways of speaking to us.

Have you ever noticed that before going to proclaim the Gospel, the priest stops at the altar, bows in reverence, and then seems to be saying something? What he does there is a prayer asking the Lord to strengthen him for the joyful opportunity and privilege of proclaiming the words of Jesus in the Gospel. As he bows, the priest says silently, “Cleanse my heart and my lips, almighty God, that I may worthily proclaim your holy Gospel.” If a deacon proclaims the Gospel, the celebrant gives him a blessing with similar words. This prayer recognizes the honor of what is about to take place and helps the priest or deacon to prepare for it.

The Gospel Acclamation really fits right in with all these honors which we give to Jesus. It is an acclamation of praise and excitement for Jesus truly present. We are overjoyed if we realize the significance of what is taking place: Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Son of God, the One who came to save the world, the One who walked on this earth nearly 2000 years ago, is speaking to all of us together as his family. No wonder the Church asks us to stand and praise God. No wonder the Church asks us to sing together in joy and praise: Alleluia!

Gospel

For many of us, the Gospel is one of our favorite parts of the Mass. We get to hear the stories about Jesus and the Apostles, how Jesus worked miracles of healing, and the words that he taught. For many, it is easy to imagine the scenes in our minds as we listen to the words. As the General Instruction of the Roman Missalstates, “The reading of the Gospel constitutes the high point of the Liturgy of the Word” (GIRM, no. 60). The Second Vatican Council teaches us that the Gospels have a special importance among all the books of the Bible because they are “the principal witness for the life and teaching” of Jesus (Dei Verbum, 18). According to Charles Belmonte, the proclamation of the Gospel “emphasizes the union between the Incarnate Word, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, symbolized by the altar and sacramentally present after the Consecration, and the word of God written in the Gospel” (Understanding the Mass, p. 91).  

What does the word Gospel mean? The glossary of the Catechism defines Gospel as “[t]he ‘good news’ of God’s mercy and love revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. […] The Gospel is handed on in the apostolic tradition of the Church as the source of all-saving truth and moral discipline” (CCC, Glossary, “Gospel”). The four Gospels are named after their human writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Second Vatican Council teaches, “The Church has always and everywhere maintained, and continues to maintain, the apostolic origin of the four Gospels. The apostles preached, as Christ had charged them to do, and then, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they and others of the apostolic age handed on to us in writing the same message they had preached, the foundation of our faith: the fourfold Gospel, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.” (Dei Verbum, 18).

During the Mass, after we stand for the Gospel Acclamation, the priest or deacon begins with that familiar dialogue: “The Lord be with you!” and the people respond, “And with your spirit!” Then, the priest introduces the Gospel and the people respond, “Glory to you, O Lord!” These back-and-forth dialogues help us to prepare for what is about to happen: the Lord Jesus speaking to us. Another preparation for the words of Jesus is a simple gesture of a sign of the Cross. As the priest or deacon says, “A reading from the holy Gospel according to…,” he will make a sign of the Cross on the Gospel book. At the same time, the people at Mass trace a small sign of the Cross on their foreheads, lips, and chests. I still remember, as a young boy, my dad teaching us to make this gesture and to say to ourselves: “May the words of the Gospel be in my mind, on my lips, and in my heart.” Those words have stayed with me through the years and are still a sincere prayer that the Word of God would be at the forefront of my daily living. As the Diocese of Peoria teaches, these acts and prayers are all “signs of veneration for the Word of God proclaimed to us in the holy Gospel. Our standing, our singing the Alleluia, our gestures and our responses are all outward signs of our inward disposition of love for Christ and reverence for his Word” (“A Study of the Mass,” p. 8).

At the conclusion of the gospel passage for a particular Mass, the priest or deacon says, “The Gospel of the Lord!” Our response in faith is, “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ!” Then, the priest or deacon kisses the page he just read from and says silently, “Through the words of the Gospel may our sins be wiped away.” Charles Belmonte beautifully writes that “we can at least make ours the kiss the priest has placed on the sacred book. With it, we want to tell our Lord we are ready to give our lives for the truths contained in the Gospel… At the same time, we ask forgiveness for our faults” (Understanding the Mass, p. 95).

Of course, the Gospels are so wonderful that we should read and pray about them more often than just at Sunday Mass. The life of Jesus is so rich and beautiful and can really provide great strength for us every day. Maybe try reading just one chapter of the Gospels every day and see what happens!

Homily

After hearing God’s Word to us in the Scriptures and especially the life and words of Jesus in the Gospel, next comes an opportunity to reflect more deeply on those words in the homily. As the Diocese of Peoria teaches, after the Gospel, we move into the “Second Half” of the Liturgy of the Word, which “consists of the homily, the Profession of Faith and the Prayers of the Faithful. These three ‘moments’ in the liturgy act as a bridge between the Liturgies of the Word and Eucharist” (A Study of the Mass, p. 9).

What is the homily exactly? “Homily” comes from a Greek word that means “explanation.” The purpose of the “homily is to break open the Scriptures and lead us in a deeper understanding of the mysteries we celebrate” (A Study of the Mass, p. 9). From the glossary of our Catechism, the homily is “[p]reaching by an ordained minister to explain the Scriptures proclaimed in the liturgy and to exhort the people to accept them as the Word of God” (CCC, p. 882). According to the New Catholic Encyclopedia, “a homily is a more or less brief, instructive discourse on a passage of Scripture wherein the spiritual lesson of the Scriptural text is made clear… It is generally to be instructive, informal, and intelligent” (p. 271). Some might say that is a tall order!

Who can give the homily? As the General Instruction of the Roman Missal states, “The Homily should ordinarily be given by the Priest Celebrant himself or be entrusted by him to a concelebrating Priest, or from time to time and, if appropriate, to the Deacon, but never to a lay person. In particular cases and for a just cause, the Homily may even be given by a Bishop or a Priest who is present at the celebration but cannot concelebrate” (GIRM, 66). The reason that only a Bishop, priest, or deacon gives the homily in the liturgy is directly tied to the proclamation of the Gospel. One of the gifts a man receives at ordination is a particular grace for the special purpose of preaching and teaching the Gospel. Although the wording is slightly different now, I recall very clearly the part of the diaconate ordination rite where the Bishop handed me the Book of the Gospels and said, “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you now are. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.” Every now and then when preparing the homily, I will think of these words which remind me that I have been chosen for this ministry. I will read through the Scriptures and recall for myself that Jesus has asked me to share these truths with God’s people, hopefully to help them understand more fully, grow in faith, and live more consistently in his love.

Source: eucharisticrevival.org