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Liturgical
Design Consultant |
Martin
Kleiber, CLDC
KS Consulting/Kahler Slater Architects
Address: 111 W. Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53202-2501
Phone: (414)-290-3729
Fax: (414)-272-2001
E-mail: mkleiber@kahlerslater.com
A while back my then-thirteen-year-old daughter leaned over to me
during the first reading (Elijah on the mountaintop waiting for the
Lord to pass by) and whispered, “I don’t get it –
what did that mean?” I whispered back, “I’ll explain
later.” Secretly, though, I was thrilled – in all the
years she’s worshipped in church with us she had never asked
about a reading before. “She’s listening – she’s
paying attention!” I thought. You parents of young children
can share my excitement – finally, a moment when the Mass doesn’t
seem to be going completely over their heads! The
reason this comes to mind is that the second way we come to know our
Lord in the liturgy is expressly through his Word. “He is also
present in his word, for it is he who is speaking as the sacred Scriptures
are read in the Church” (Eucharisticum Mysterium, p.9). I
suppose we could all read his word in silence together in our Missalettes,
but isn’t it wise, holy wisdom in fact, that we purposely ask
one of our own to proclaim God’s word from the front of the
assembly? From the first generations of faith, Christ’s followers
knew that there was something about the accounts of his life and the
letters from his first disciples that deserved a special hearing in
the assembly. As Pope John Paul II writes: “We
are well aware that from the earliest times the celebration of the
Eucharist has been linked not only with prayer but also with the reading
of Sacred Scripture and with singing by the whole assembly. As a result,
it has long been possible to apply to the Mass the comparison, made
by the Fathers, with the two tables, at which the Church prepares
for her children the word of God and the Eucharist, that is, the bread
of the Lord.” (On the Mystery and Worship of the Eucharist -
Promulgated on February 24, 1980) In
the last forty years, it’s as if we Catholics have “rediscovered”
our Bibles – proclaiming from them in our liturgies and burrowing
through them in our quiet times of personal prayer as well. What a
grace! What a gift!With
this increased emphasis on God’s holy word in our lives comes
a change in names as well – what we grew up calling the “pulpit”
is now known as the “ambo,” returning to the usage of
our ancestors in faith, the early Christians. The word comes from
the Greek “ambon,” (raised edge) which reminds us of the
“going up” to the mountain, as Elijah did, to encounter
the Lord.It
is in that spirit that I invite you to take a second look at the ambo
next Sunday. See how prominent it is and how it expresses a renewed
understanding of God’s word in our midst. We celebrate “two
tables” at the liturgy and Christ joins our assembly at both!
God’s peace to you all!
Marty Kleiber, CLDC
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