Scripture in the Mass
Many people think that the Catholic Mass is all rote
14
prayers and rituals. They don’t think the Catholic Church
is a “Bible church.” They couldn’t be more wrong. Go to
a Catholic Mass and you’ll hear loads of Scripture!
Every Mass begins with “In the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.” These are the words of Jesus in Matthew
28:19. The priest then greets the people with a quote from 2 Corinthians
13:13 – “The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ and the love of
God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” And
if a bishop is celebrating, he’ll quote the words of Jesus from John
20:21 – “Peace be with you.”
From there you’ll hear two or three readings taken from the Old
Testament, the New Testament and one of the Gospels. And you’ll
sing or recite from the Book of Psalms.
From the Gloria to the Holy, Holy to the Lamb of God to the
prayer we say right before receiving Holy Communion – “Lord, I
am not worthy to have you enter under my roof, but only say the
word and my soul shall be healed.” – a quote from Matthew 8:8,
any Catholic who goes to Mass with any regularity can quote lots
of Scripture!
Notes