Sections 
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
In this issue we begin the commentary of the Liturgy of the Word. It forms, together with the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the two central hinges of the celebration of the Holy Mass.
Even though the expression “Liturgy of the Word” is recent, the reality that we refer to with this name goes back to the very beginnings of the Church. The first Christian communities did not gather together only for the “fractio panis,” the breaking of the bread, but also to read the writings of the Old Testament and later also those of the New Testament called the “memories of the Apostles.” We have proofs of this practice towards the end of the first century.
The great development of the rite is thus expalined. It had already been reached half way through the second century. According to the testimony of St. Justin, a reader proclaimed the readings of the two Testaments, the bishop pronounced the homily and the faithful together elevated their supplications to God.
Since then and up until our days, all the Eastern and Western Churches have held the Word of God in high esteem. In addition, they have not ceased to penetrate the theological comprehension of both realities, reaching the declaration of the Second Vatican Council, “The Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist are so intimately united that they form one single act of worship.” (SC, 56)
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LITURGY OF THE WORD AND THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
There exists between the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist a saving, theological, cultic and mystagogical connection.
-Saving connection: “Christ is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the Holy Scriptures are read in the Church.” The proclamation of the Word of God in the Mass is not, therefore, a mere historical repetition of words said in the past and written down in a book, nor is it a mere remembrance of former events without a connection with the present time. On the contrary, Christ, the Incarnate Word and herald of the Word of God, makes of the divine Word a reality which is present and active. In this way, we pass from a Word which was said to a Word which is said, from a Word which saved to a Word which saves, from a Word which spoke to men to a Word which speaks here and today. The Word of God proclaims the history of salvation worked by God in this way and it makes the saving wonders present in the midst of the People of the New Covenant. In this way, the Eucharist appears as what it truly is: the summit of the entire history of salvation, a history composed of “works and words that are intrinsically united.”
- Theological connection: In the first part of the Mass, Jesus Christ distributes the bread of His Word to His disciples who, if they accept it with faith and love, enter into intimate communion with Him and they are prepared to participate more consciously and fruitfully in the sacrificial banquet of His own Body and Blood. The internal dynamics of the Word of God lead to faith, which finds its culmination in the sacrament. The Word causes faith to arise and faith leads to the sacrament. At the same time, the Eucharistic sacrifice, because it is a sacrament, demands faith. Therefore, faith –arisen and demanded – is the bond that unites the liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Eucharist.
- Cultic connection: The liturgy of the World was independent from the “fractio panis” for only a very brief period of time. We have already seen how these two have formed a union of worship since the end of the first century. “The Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist are so intimately united that they form one single act of worship.” (SC, 56)
- Mystagogical connection: The unity of worship and the theological and saving unity give a mystagogical character to the Liturgy of the Word in respect to the sacramental liturgy. In other words, it has a character of initiation, a character which explains the rites and the mysteries which are celebrated, helping to clarify the meaning of the liturgical gestures. The Word of God announces and initiates the Covenant which is fulfilled completely in the Eucharistic Liturgy, the sacramental actualization of the Old and the New Covenant by means of the redeeming sacrifice of Christ.
