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Hi, Amber —
You said:
- Why is Scripture used in the liturgy at all?
Because the Catholic Church is a truly Biblical Church. The Bible was written
by Catholics, and their ancestors, for Catholics, for use in our Catholic
worship service, the Mass.
There are two parts to what Catholics call, The Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass or Sunday Mass. This is the Catholic worship
we give solely to God, solely to Jesus, who is True God and True Man.
In the Liturgy of the Word, God teaches us, through the priest and Holy
Scriptures, on how to be better Catholic Christian evangelists for Jesus and how
to handle problems with satan and his temptations. We read the teachings
of Our Lord and learn how to develop into better Catholic Christians,
in hope of being better witnesses for Christ's Church, the Catholic Church.
In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we receive His real Body and Blood to nourish and strengthen us in this world. (John 6:51-70) Although the consecrated Host, still looks like wheat bread, the substance, something we can't see, has been changed into the Body of Our Lord.
You said:
- How many readings are there in a Mass and why is
it that number?
During Sunday Mass's there are three readings:
- one from the Old Testament
- one from the Epistles, and
- one from one of the four Gospels.
During Daily Mass, there are two readings:
- one from the Old Testament
- and one from the Gospel.
You said:
- Is the entire Bible read over a cycle?
- Is
the whole Bible eventually read over the liturgical year?
- Do the readings repeat every year; if not, how often to they repeat?
The readings are chosen so that the Catholic who attends Sunday Mass
for three years will have heard most of the entire Bible. This is why it is referred
to as a three-year cycle of readings.
There is a Year A set of readings, Year B set of readings, and Year
C set of readings, then we start over again, Year A, Year B, Year C, etc.
The readings for daily Mass are chosen so that the
Catholic who attends daily Mass on a regular basis will have heard most
of the entire Bible in two years. This is why we refer to it as a two-year cycle
of readings.
You said:
- If not, what parts are covered?
Too many parts to remember! If you are really interested I would go
to a Catholic bookstore in the Texas area and ask for a:
These are the readings used.
You said:
I would appreciate your help with these questions. I am struggling
in her class because she thinks that I have too many unnecessary questions,
but I cannot really fully understand what we are learning until I understand
the basics.
"unnecessary" questions?
For a sincere seeking Christian there is no such thing as "unnecessary" questions,
especially since you are obviously seeking to understand. If you wish to go deeper, consider buying a cheap copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to learn everything we believe as Catholics.
For the Church, I apologize that your teacher was not able to answer your questions. Like I have told my niece and nephews, the only dumb question is the one not asked!
I also recommend you surf through the following web sites as well:
Hope this helps,
Mike
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