Congregation saying the Entrance and Communion Antiphons

[Petergee]

The Mass rubrics I belive say that if there is no sung Entrance or Communion Antiphon or other hymn sung during the Entrance or Communion Procession, then the Antiphon for the day should be said.

As these are prayers/songs of the congregation, not the celebrant, is it appropriate, if there is no song sung and the priest does not start off saying the antiphon, for a member of the congregation to simply launch into the antiphon without being asked, reading it aloud from his missal, and hoping that others join in? I’m afraid I’ll get some funny looks from people if I do it, but I think that knowing it should be said and deliberately refraining from saying it is wrong.
And if so when should I start saying each antiphon?

 

[Phemie]

I don’t have an answer but I’m happy you raised the question since I’ve often wondered the same thing.

In my parish the entrance antiphon is usually said once the priest reaches the chair.

The Communion Antiphon is hit or miss depending on which priest celebrates. The rubrics say that if it’s not sung or spoken by the assembly that the priest says it before he receives Communion but if my Pastor is the celebrant he says it after Communion is over and if the missionary is celebrating, it’s completely omitted.

 

[laszlo]

The responsibility and control, what happens on the Mass belongs to the priest, even he is limited by the rubrics. One can talk it over with the priest and act accordingly, but nothing by one’s own

 

[AJV]

The Mass rubrics I belive say that if there is no sung Entrance or Communion Antiphon or other hymn sung during the Entrance or Communion Procession, then the Antiphon for the day should be said.

As these are prayers/songs of the congregation, not the celebrant, is it appropriate, if there is no song sung and the priest does not start off saying the antiphon, for a member of the congregation to simply launch into the antiphon without being asked, reading it aloud from his missal, and hoping that others join in? I’m afraid I’ll get some funny looks from people if I do it, but I think that knowing it should be said and deliberately refraining from saying it is wrong.
And if so when should I start saying each antiphon?

The GIRM says:

If there is no singing at the entrance, the antiphon in the Missal is recited either by the faithful, or by some of them, or by a lector; otherwise, it is recited by the priest himself, who may even adapt it as an introductory explanation

The tricky thing is, especially in Ordinary Time, knowing which antiphon to use - at least for the Entrance, as a lot of the time you don’t really know which Mass the priest is going to say (Sunday? Votive?). At my current parish, after my nagging for sometime, they introduced the Entrance and Communion Antiphons (recited by all, led by the lector) and for the sake of simplicity, these are unfortunately divorced from the other Mass texts. They follow whatever is printed in the missalette, so that might or might not be the Mass the priest is celebrating.

Ergo launching into it on your own may not be the best idea. Especially if it is a text is a non-intituive place (e.g. the Commons, where poeple unfamiliar with a missal might not look) you’ll just seem like the loony-who-says-something-everytime-Father-appears,-but-we-don’t-know-what-in-the-world-he’s-saying-(is he-a-charismatic?). You could consult with the priest and suggest that you lead the congregation in reading it as he walks to the altar, if everyone has easily followable resources like missalettes, bulletins, or something. .