38. THE QUESTION WAS:
Which Church uses more Scripture
during Sunday worship than any other Church on Earth?
THE ANSWER IS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (obviously) J
At every Sunday Mass, there are
three different Bible readings. The first reading is taken from the Old
Testament, and it usually relates to the Gospel reading, which is the third
reading. The second reading is an epistle (letter) from the New Testament.
Besides those three Bible
readings, there are the responsorial psalm, which are almost always taken from
the Book of Psalms. They are preferably sung, requiring participation from the
assembly.
The Holy Holy Holy prayer
is based on Isaiah 6:3 and Matthew 21:9
The Our Father is of
course Biblical
The peace be with you is
Biblical.
When the priest holds up the
Eucharist and says, "This is my body, which will be given up for you
he
is echoing Luke 22:19. The other Eucharistic prayers are also from Scripture.
The rest of the Mass is just
as steeped in Scripture.
By the end of the Mass, well
over a dozen books of the New Testaments, plus many Old Testament books, will
be touched upon.
Catholics are encouraged to
attend Mass seven days a week. If they do that, they will hear the whole Bible
in one year (not counting personal reading and Bible studies).
Because we are the universal
church, the Bible readings for Mass on any given day are the same whether you
are in the United States or Europe or Asia or South America or anywhere. When
we receive Communion, we receive Jesus Christ Himself, a gift we can hardly
begin to appreciate fully.
Because other Catholics
around the globe receive the same changed bread, we become connected to them in
a special way. It is a true
demonstration of the communion of saints.
1 Cor 10:16-17
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of
Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of
Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all
partake of the one bread.
For a few pages worth of Biblical references in the Mass, see
http://www.rc.net/norwich/st_joseph/massguide.htm
OTHER SITES ON THE MASS
http://www.catholicsites.com/beggarking/Mass.html
(What is the Mass?)
http://www.catholicsites.com/beggarking/first_Christians/
(The First Christians)
http://clawww.lmu.edu/faculty/fjust/Bible/Biblical_Mass_Texts.htm
(Biblical Texts Related to Mass)
http://www.churches.kconline.com/stroberts/massbible.html
(Studying the Bible During Mass)
http://www.catholic.com/library/Sacrifice_of_the_Mass.asp
(The Sacrifice of the Mass)
http://davidmacd.com/catholic/mass.htm
(Questions About the Mass that non-Catholics might have)
http://www.catholic.com/library/liturgy/cag_changes.asp
(Changes in the Mass)
http://www.cin.org/users/james/reference/info_sacraments.htm
(Information on the Sacraments)
Suggested
book: The Mass of the Early Christians by Mike Aquilina
Suggested
book: The Lambs Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth by Dr. Scott
Hahn
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