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LITURGY LESSON: THE BOOKS USED AT MASS (Given: March 14, 2010 4^th Sunday of Lent)

We have placed the two main books used at Mass on the altar today. The one on your right is the SACRAMENTARY. This might be called the Prayer Book of the Mass. It contains all of the prayers for every day of the year and every saint's day. It also contains the nine major Eucharistic Prayers.

The book on your left is the LECTIONARY. That is a word that means "collection of readings", and it is a good name for this book. The Lectionary contains all of the first and second readings - the Old and New Testament readings – as well as the psalm response. It also contains the Gospels for Sundays and holydays. The word “gospel” means “Good News”. Some parishes use a separate book of the Gospels that is carried in procession.

The lessons of the Lectionary and the words in the sacramentary are rooted in the Bible and in the life of the Church. There is an Arab proverb - "A book is like a garden carried in the pocket."¹ Our most beautiful book is the Bible. As Catholics, we should spend as much time as possible in that garden.

' Arab Proverb, A New Dictionary of Quotations, p. 119.