8 9 our Savior warrant our most tender affection and gratitude, the page of the Gospel receives a reverent kiss after it is read. But it is not only in the liturgy that the Holy Gospel is honored and cherished by the people of God. In our own personal and prayerful reading of the Holy Gospel, we are invited into an intimate conversation with the Word made flesh. It is with this in mind that we are happy to offer this new book of the Gospels, illuminated by beautiful works of sacred art that visibly portray the mysteries of the faith. In the words of a great saint who is close to our hearts here at Magnificat, Thérèse of Lisieux, “it is especially the Gospels that sustain me during my hours of prayer, for in them I find what is necessary for my poor little soul. I am constantly discovering in them new lights, hidden and mysterious meanings.” May we all experience the same sustenance and light, the same “surpassing attraction” as all the saints when we read the Holy Gospels— until we may be blessed to join them as they look upon the Word of God face to face for all eternity (1 Cor 13:12). Fr. Sebastian White, o.p. Editor-in-Chief, Magnificat Introduction Conveying as they do the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ himself, the Holy Gospels are, in the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “the heart of all the Scriptures” (CCC 125). Thus, while all of Sacred Scripture—the Old and New Testaments in their entirety—is firmly held to be the inspired Word of God, “the fourfold Gospel holds a unique place in the Church, as is evident both in the veneration which the liturgy accords it and in the surpassing attraction it has exercised on the saints at all times” (CCC 127). The signs of veneration are well known. For example, a highly decorated book of the Gospels may be carried in procession at Mass and placed proudly on the altar— the very place where the Body and Blood of our Lord become present in the Eucharistic sacrifice. The church may be filled with the sweet aroma of incense directed to the Gospel before it is read: proclaimed in the midst of the faithful gathered in prayer, the Holy Gospel is a pleasing fragrance offered to the Lord (Ps 141:2). And because the life and words of
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