Do the US Bishops want us to throw away our Missals?

[CarolAnnSFO]

Confiteor:

Forcing people to listen and not read “may” be a noble goal, but there are people in the pews who need missals: the hard of hearing, those for whom English is a new language, and children who need to follow the written Word to stay attentive. Then, of course, there is the matter of whether the readers are clear and audible to begin with.

Yep! Some readers don’t enunciate well and some can’t project their vocies. Even when the reader has a marvelous voice, there’s the acoustics to deal with. Acoustics in my church are great for the choir, but terrible for speech, somehow. When I’m up in the choir loft, I can’t understand a word being said, unless it’s our pastor speaking (he knows everything there is to know about projecting one’s voice).

Also, my church is very, very large – lots of people. There’s always someone coughing or a baby fussing – even if it’s 200 different coughers and 200 different babies, it can form a stream of sound that goes all through the Mass.

Add to that the different learning styles (I learn by seeing, not by hearing – what I only hear goes in one ear and out the other), I think we should keep the missals.

If the paperback ones get removed from the church, I’ll buy my own! (I actually have some old missals, but since the translation was changed, the words don’t match closely enough to be worth using them anymore. I also still have my pre-Vatican II Sunday missal. )

**Crazy Internet Junkies Society
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[Holy_Family_12]

Thanks for all the (name removed by moderator)ut. While “hearing” the Word of God may be the ideal, all the variables you insightful folks have mentioned come into play, as well (i.e., inarticulate lectors and cantors, children’s lessened ability to focus without a missal, the missal as an evangelical tool etc.). Another point worth considering is the eloquent statement in the inside cover concerning who is invited to The Lord’s Table.

It seems to me that the article (?) letter (?) (What is it?) Hearing the Word of God is not from the US Bishops collectively, but rather a committee of US Bishops. Has anyone read anything pertaining to Hearing the Word of God that would lead them to conclude that this committee would be pleased with parishes tossing the missals. Or would they themselves consider tossing the missals and overreaction?
Was it meant as an ecouragement towards certain behavior or a corrective measure?

 

[Red_Meg]

My parish switched to a year-long misalette a few years ago. It contains the basic prayers of the Mass, the psalm and response for each day, and for Sundays, a two-sentence summary of the readings.

It drives me crazy. I make a particular effort at Mass to pay close attention to the readings, try to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying, etc. However, I often have trouble following the letters of St. Paul, because they are so theologically packed with meaning, and are occasionally just one really long run-on sentence. Now, to further complicate matters, I have seven kids with me at Mass. All it takes is for one of them to get squirrely during St. Paul and BAM! I’ve lost the thread, and by the time said child is behaving again I’m totally lost.

I try to read ahead of time, but can’t always. I’d really appreciate having the readings in front of me. We won’t even get into the matter of lectors who have very thick accents…