#27 — Sacred Words
April 4, 2011 in General
Catholicism is filled with sacred words to accompany the sacred gestures, time, space, and objects.
The most sacred words, of course, are the words of Scripture, and within that, the Gospel accounts. One of the first things visitors notice is the treating of those words as sacred. When the priest or deacon begins the reading, saying, “A reading from the Gospel of…”, parishioners make three small crosses with their right thumb: one on the forehead (belief), one on the lips (desire to proselytize), and one on the breast above the heart (desire to keep the words in one’s heart). Thus, the sacred words are a catalyst for sacred gestures.
When a Catholic begins a prayer, she intones, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” accompanied by the sign of the cross.
The highlight of the mass