The Liturgy of the Word
After the Collect (opening prayer), we begin the Liturgy of the Word.  This includes all the readings, the homily the Creed, and the Prayers of the Faithful (aka General Intercessions).  The readings we share are the inspired Word of God.  They were written down by human hands and thus are influenced by the humans but ultimately they deliver God’s message.  The Bible tells us the story of Salvation History.  It includes human sin.  Sin is the rejection of what God has taught us.  The Word of God tells us how over and over humans have turned away from God.  The good news is that every time we sin, God forgives us when we repent.  The gospels tell us that Jesus dies for our sins.  This starts at the heart of our faith.

(All previous articles in this series can be found online at http://www.renewaloffaith.org/bulletinmass).