Deacons & Priests reading the Gospel during Mass

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franksv

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Hello

This question came up during inquiry class last night and I did’nt have the answer.

Why do we have Deacons & Priests only, read aloud the gospel readings during Mass? As we have parishioners or non-ordained folks read the OT & non- gospel NT, why not the gospels?

I’d really like to get an answer to this person and I have no idea where to look for it.

Thanks

Frank
 
This is purely conjecture on my part, but a plausible explanation could be:

Neh. 8:5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up.

Ezra was a priest and scribe and as such was allowed to open the Books of Moses.

We treat the 4 Gospels with the same reverence the Jews treat the Books of Moses…
 
Well, Jesus came here to preach the Good News (Gospel). As a representative of Christ, the Priest carries out the same mission. In some cases, the Priest may allow a deacon to preach the Gospel.
 
Philothea53 said:
Could you show me where that is written?
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GIRM 2002 Chapter 2 (usccb.org/liturgy/current/chapter2.shtml#sect3b)
59. By tradition, the function of proclaiming the readings is ministerial, not presidential. The readings, therefore, should be proclaimed by a lector, and the Gospel by a deacon or, in his absence, a priest other than the celebrant. If, however, a deacon or another priest is not present, the priest celebrant himself should read the Gospel. Further, if another suitable lector is also not present, then the priest celebrant should also proclaim the other readings.

One must also bear in mind that ALL priests ARE Deacons. Deacons are charged with the instruction of the faithful and service to the Word of God, so it is only proper that a Deacon proclaim the Gospel at Mass.

Pax tecum
 
Ignatius2000 said:
GIRM 2002 Chapter 2 (usccb.org/liturgy/current/chapter2.shtml#sect3b)
59. By tradition, the function of proclaiming the readings is ministerial, not presidential. The readings, therefore, should be proclaimed by a lector, and the Gospel by a deacon or, in his absence, a priest other than the celebrant. If, however, a deacon or another priest is not present, the priest celebrant himself should read the Gospel. Further, if another suitable lector is also not present, then the priest celebrant should also proclaim the other readings.
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Thank you, this helps a ton.
 
Thank you. I am learning SO much on this forum. You all rock!! :clapping:
 
Philothea53 said:
Thank you. I am learning SO much on this forum. You all rock!! :clapping:
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Footnote to some really great stuff - From the “For What it’s worth departmen” IF a deacon is present, he is also to present the prayers of the faithful, not the lay lector.
 
StephenB said:
Footnote to some really great stuff - From the “For What it’s worth departmen” IF a deacon is present, he is also to present the prayers of the faithful, not the lay lector.
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Aha, that one I know 😃

At the Cathedral Parish that I am a member of, there was one lady who would always complain about the Prayers of the Faithful so the Rector (who is now gone on Sabbatical) gave her the job of writing them. After a while she started passing it around to different families to do for a month at a time. I finally got up the nerve to ask to do them because I thought I wanted to be involved in this way.

Two thoughts - 1. It is a very big job and a little scary to do knowing these prayers will be said by the entire Parish over the course of 5 Masses each Sunday. 2. With that said, I REALLY, REALLY DISLIKE the book that was purchased to aid us in writing the prayers.

I shared with one of the Priests this last weekend the suggestions that were given and he agreed with me that they were VERY politically slanted and just reeked of an agenda. (The book is printed by Oregon Catholic Press.) He let me use his Sacramentary which has some rather generic prayers in it that I modified just slightly to fit our Parish and congregation. I am going to finish out this month but hopefully our new Rector will stop the practice of the Laity writing the prayers and give it back to the Priests. I know that I won’t be asking to write them again.
 
At the risk of furthering a “liturgical abuse” - which I don’t know that it is one to have the laity prepare the POF, here is a suggestion - IF the Recot doesn’t resume the task~

I presume there is a parish school or other religious education program…why not have kids write the prayers - they have very little self-consciousness, and you could come up with the real gems to touch the hearts of the congregation -

We used prayers the kids in the confirmation class prepared highlighting the gifts of the Spirit. Really wonderful prayers.
 
If this is a liturgical abuse, where would I find out? I had never even considered that.
 
Philothea53 said:
If this is a liturgical abuse, where would I find out? I had never even considered that.
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😛 Someone will come along and inform us! (TIC) 😉
I presume it would be covered in the GIRM…
Iggy2000 will probably know directly~
 
Philothea53 said:
If this is a liturgical abuse, where would I find out? I had never even considered that.
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GIRM:
The Prayer of the Faithful
69. In the Prayer of the Faithful, the people respond in a certain way to the word of God which they have welcomed in faith and, exercising the office of their baptismal priesthood, offer prayers to God for the salvation of all. It is fitting that such a prayer be included, as a rule, in Masses celebrated with a congregation, so that petitions will be offered for the holy Church, for civil authorities, for those weighed down by various needs, for all men and women, and for the salvation of the whole world.67
  1. As a rule, the series of intentions is to be
For the needs of the Church;

For public authorities and the salvation of the whole world;

For those burdened by any kind of difficulty;

For the local community.
Nevertheless, in a particular celebration, such as Confirmation, Marriage, or a Funeral, the series of intentions may reflect more closely the particular occasion.
  1. It is for the priest celebrant to direct this prayer from the chair. He himself begins it with a brief introduction, by which he invites the faithful to pray, and likewise he concludes it with a prayer. The intentions announced should be sober, be composed freely but prudently, and be succinct, and they should express the prayer of the entire community.
    The intentions are announced from the ambo or from another suitable place, by the deacon or by a cantor, a lector, or one of the lay faithful.68
The people, however, stand and give expression to their prayer either by an invocation said together after each intention or by praying in silence.

For the **bold blue part **- it seems to me the use of a BOOK of pre-published prayers are NOT to be used. 🤷
 
StephenB said:
GIRM:
The Prayer of the Faithful
69. In the Prayer of the Faithful, the people respond in a certain way to the word of God which they have welcomed in faith and, exercising the office of their baptismal priesthood, offer prayers to God for the salvation of all. It is fitting that such a prayer be included, as a rule, in Masses celebrated with a congregation, so that petitions will be offered for the holy Church, for civil authorities, for those weighed down by various needs, for all men and women, and for the salvation of the whole world.67
  1. As a rule, the series of intentions is to be
For the needs of the Church;

For public authorities and the salvation of the whole world;

For those burdened by any kind of difficulty;

For the local community.
Nevertheless, in a particular celebration, such as Confirmation, Marriage, or a Funeral, the series of intentions may reflect more closely the particular occasion.
  1. It is for the priest celebrant to direct this prayer from the chair. He himself begins it with a brief introduction, by which he invites the faithful to pray, and likewise he concludes it with a prayer. The intentions announced should be sober, be composed freely but prudently, and be succinct, and they should express the prayer of the entire community.
The intentions are announced from the ambo or from another suitable place, by the deacon or by a cantor, a lector, or one of the lay faithful.68

The people, however, stand and give expression to their prayer either by an invocation said together after each intention or by praying in silence.
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I got that part of the GIRM. Where the question is is whether it is ‘proper’ or even a ‘liturgical abuse’ to have a lay person compose and write the Intentions to be used at Mass.
 
We know the GIRM is a book of to do, not prohibitions…
You posted your rsponse before I edited -
**The intentions announced should be sober, be composed freely but prudently, and be succinct, and they should express the prayer of the entire community.
** This seems to indicate we should NOT be using a book of pre-published prayers - how in the world does OCP know the needs of Athens, GA, Podunk, IA or anywhere other than Portland Oregon?
 
StephenB said:
We know the GIRM is a book of to do, not prohibitions…
You posted your rsponse before I edited -
The intentions announced should be sober, be composed freely but prudently, and be succinct, and they should express the prayer of the entire community.
This seems to indicate we should NOT be using a book of pre-published prayers - how in the world does OCP know the needs of Athens, GA, Podunk, IA or anywhere other than Portland Oregon?
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freely, but prudently - Is this saying the Prayers should be adlibbed at the moment? :confused: If not, then back to my original question - should they be composed by a lay person?
 
Silence on whom suggests permissable for a lay person to compose-prudence I believe does not refer to timing of composition, but relevant and with care.
 
As StephenB mentioned, there is no direct answer as to who can compose the POF. In my mind, however, the GIRM gives just enough explanation/instruction of the composition of the POF:
  1. As a rule, the series of intentions is to be
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  1. For the needs of the Church;
  2. For public authorities and the salvation of the whole world;
  3. For those burdened by any kind of difficulty;
  4. For the local community.
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And since the Prayer of the Faithful is…well…the prayers of the Faithful (i.e. the parish as a whole, not just the Celebrant), I do not see any issue with the faithful concocting the prayers to be used at mass for the week…as long as they follow the rules laid out in the GIRM (especially Chapter II, section 70).
 
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