Epistle side and the Gospel side at Mass

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We used to have the Epistle read from our right side and the Priest read the Gospel from our Left side.

Today the Gospel is read from the same side as the Epistle. WHY?
 
I think the traditional (Latin) Mass is full of symbolism that has been de-emphasized in the Novus Ordo Mass. The movement of the book to the left side of the altar and proclaiming the Gospel from there rather than from the right side where the Epistle is read symbolizes the transition from the Old Covenant under Moses to the New Covenant in Christ.
 
Exporter2 said:
We used to have the Epistle read from our right side and the Priest read the Gospel from our Left side.

Today the Gospel is read from the same side as the Epistle. WHY?
Click to expand...

**Who’s “we”, though 🙂 ? Priest - or people ? **​

**Just to clarify: when Mass is offered facing eastwards: **

left and right are reckoned from the POV of a viewer looking at the congregation from the altar. So when the priest turns round from the altar to the people - that is the POV adopted for deciding which side is which : not the POV of the people looking at the altar and at the priest’s back.

As to why - perhaps because the Corpus on the Crucifix on the altar is facing the people. But that is sheer guesswork 🙂

**So: **
  • Epistle side = priest’s left = people’s right
  • Gospel side = priest’s right = people’s left
The right is the “nobler” side, the left is the “inferior” side. Which is perhaps why the “sinister” side in heraldry is the left side, from the POV of the person behind the shield - just the same as in the Mass. 🙂

A rule to remember which side of the altar is which: the right or Gospel side is that from the POV of the Corpus ##
 
Who is “we” or Who are “WE”?

I can understand the questioner may be asking is “we” the congregation, or is “we” the celebrants.

Answer: We was used to describe the people in the pews ( us or “we”)

I can show you churches in my Diocese in which the Altar faces East, West & South. In my own parish the church’s Altar faces South and the Chapel’s Altar faces West. In another city nearby there is a church whose Altar faces North. So I don’t think that "old tyme " idea that the Altars must face the East still holds. The idea was that the dead would face Jesus who would be coming from the East as the dead were removed from their funeral service.

I know that the G.I.R.M. (from Rome) regulates the order and content of any Roman Catholic Mass. I don’t see a mention in the G.I.R.M. of the Gospel side or the Epistle side. But 35 years ago only the celebrating priest could read the Epistle. Now anyone who can stand and read is allowed to read it.
 
Exporter2 said:
We used to have the Epistle read from our right side and the Priest read the Gospel from our Left side.

Today the Gospel is read from the same side as the Epistle. WHY?
Click to expand...
It is not due to a “lack of symbolism.” Quite the opposite actually. It’s because all readings: OT, responsorial Psalm, NT epistle and NT Gospel are all the word of God. Each reading deserves as much reverence as we can possibly give it.

If the OT or NT epistle is read from a lectern and the Gospel proclaimed from an elevated pulpit what exactly are we “symbolizing?” That parts of the Bible deserves greater respect than other parts?

That’s the very reason why the GIRM recommends that the responsorial Psalm be led from the ambo and not some cantor’s lectern.
 
Prayerful said:
It is not due to a “lack of symbolism.” Quite the opposite actually. It’s because all readings: OT, responsorial Psalm, NT epistle and NT Gospel are all the word of God. Each reading deserves as much reverence as we can possibly give it.

If the OT or NT epistle is read from a lectern and the Gospel proclaimed from an elevated pulpit what exactly are we “symbolizing?” That parts of the Bible deserves greater respect than other parts?

That’s the very reason why the GIRM recommends that the responsorial Psalm be led from the ambo and not some cantor’s lectern.
Click to expand...
So what does it symbolize that the OT and epistles may be read by a layperson, but the Gospel must be read by a cleric?
 
I read that the change from left to right side was just an indication of what part of the Mass the priest was up to. That may be wrong.

But all the same, as I understand it a lot of gestures and movements in the Tridentine Mass were originally just practical, but had spiritual symbolism thought up to explain them.

This seems quite plausible given the great variety of explanations of what the symbolism actually is.
E.g. explanations for the change from Epistle to Gospel side:
*proclaiming the Gospel facing North (in Italy) towards the pagans,
*change from old to new covenant (except, the Epistle is of the new Covenant),
*the importance of the Gospel.
The right is the “nobler” side, the left is the “inferior” side. Which is perhaps why the “sinister” side in heraldry is the left side, from the POV of the person behind the shield - just the same as in the Mass.
Click to expand...
‘Sinister’ is just the latin for ‘left’, and ‘right’ is ‘dexter’.
 
Prayerful said:
If the OT or NT epistle is read from a lectern and the Gospel proclaimed from an elevated pulpit what exactly are we “symbolizing?” That parts of the Bible deserves greater respect than other parts?
Click to expand...
Yes.

Ever notice that we sit for the non-Gospel readings but stand for the Gospel? That we incense the Gospel but not the readings beforehand? That, as already pointed out, proclamation of the Gospel is reserved to higher clergy than the Epistle (it used to be that a subdeacon could chant the Epistle)? That a Book of the Gospels can be carried in procession but not a Lectionary?

While Trent and Vatican II both claimed equal dignity as Word of God for all of Scripture, the Pauline liturgical reform still chose not to shake the special reverence shown to the Gospels.
 
Gottle_of_Geer said:

**Who’s “we”, though 🙂 ? Priest - or people ? **​

**Just to clarify: when Mass is offered facing eastwards: **

left and right are reckoned from the POV of a viewer looking at the congregation from the altar. So when the priest turns round from the altar to the people - that is the POV adopted for deciding which side is which : not the POV of the people looking at the altar and at the priest’s back.

As to why - perhaps because the Corpus on the Crucifix on the altar is facing the people. But that is sheer guesswork 🙂

**So: **
  • Epistle side = priest’s left = people’s right
  • Gospel side = priest’s right = people’s left
The right is the “nobler” side, the left is the “inferior” side. Which is perhaps why the “sinister” side in heraldry is the left side, from the POV of the person behind the shield - just the same as in the Mass. 🙂

A rule to remember which side of the altar is which: the right or Gospel side is that from the POV of the Corpus ##
Click to expand...
Can you back up the claim that left and right are reckoned from a POV facing the people? It seems odd that this would be used in determining the sides for the readings because the priest is not facing the people when reading from the altar, and if the Mass is a solemn Mass the missal does not switch sides of the altar but is taken off the altar and moved toward the congregation, thus no longer involving the same sort of shift. At any rate, the direction the priest faces while proclaiming the text puts the Epistle to his right and the Gospel to his left.
 
Andreas_Hofer said:
Can you back up the claim that left and right are reckoned from a POV facing the people? It seems odd that this would be used in determining the sides for the readings because the priest is not facing the people when reading from the altar, and if the Mass is a solemn Mass the missal does not switch sides of the altar but is taken off the altar and moved toward the congregation, thus no longer involving the same sort of shift. At any rate, the direction the priest faces while proclaiming the text puts the Epistle to his right and the Gospel to his left.
Click to expand...
The Epistle and Gospel are always reckoned from the altar crucifix and the side it faces. So if the priest celebrates versus populum and has the corpus facing him, the Epistle and Gospel sides would be switched round.

The moving of the missal from one corner to the other was done prior to 1962, when the rubrics regarding the rites were changed and the priest no longer read the Epistle and Gospel silently while it was chanted(Epistle) or before(Gospel).
 
Are the people on this thread in agreement that the reading of the epistle and the gospel from different sides has never happened in the NO? I thought I remembered seeing it. But then again, maybe that is from my Protestant days, and I have confused it.
 
AJV said:
The Epistle and Gospel are always reckoned from the altar crucifix and the side it faces. So if the priest celebrates versus populum and has the corpus facing him, the Epistle and Gospel sides would be switched round.

The moving of the missal from one corner to the other was done prior to 1962, when the rubrics regarding the rites were changed and the priest no longer read the Epistle and Gospel silently while it was chanted(Epistle) or before(Gospel).
Click to expand...
The POV of the altar crucifix makes much more sense than just the POV of *someone *looking at the congregation, so thanks for clearing that up.

A follow-up question, though: do you mean the shift was done prior to 1965 or '69? The shift and silent recitation still take place in the '62 missal.
 
Pug said:
Are the people on this thread in agreement that the reading of the epistle and the gospel from different sides has never happened in the NO? I thought I remembered seeing it. But then again, maybe that is from my Protestant days, and I have confused it.
Click to expand...
My parish was built in 1969. We only have one ambo. All the readings are done from the ambo, which is to the left of the congregation, looking towards it; or to the right side of the altar, to the priest or one of the readers. Or, for those of you who understand theater, the ambo is located at what would be called in theater terminology, “stage right”.
 
Pug said:
Are the people on this thread in agreement that the reading of the epistle and the gospel from different sides has never happened in the NO? I thought I remembered seeing it. But then again, maybe that is from my Protestant days, and I have confused it.
Click to expand...
I clearly remember the epistle (1st and 2nd readings) being read from one side, and the gospel being read from the other side when I was a kid in the 1970s.

Somewhere along the line, the podium/ambo, on the epistle side disappeared in most of the churches that I’ve attended and all of the Word is proclaimed from the same location.

So, no, you’re not imagining things.
 
acadian said:
I clearly remember the epistle (1st and 2nd readings) being read from one side, and the gospel being read from the other side when I was a kid in the 1970s.
Click to expand...
Whew. It was rather bothering me.🙂
 
Andreas_Hofer said:
The POV of the altar crucifix makes much more sense than just the POV of *someone *looking at the congregation, so thanks for clearing that up.

A follow-up question, though: do you mean the shift was done prior to 1965 or '69? The shift and silent recitation still take place in the '62 missal.
Click to expand...
My apologies for not being clearer-I was referring to your comment about solemn Masses. Yes, the shifting of the missal still occcurs at Low and Sung Masses. However, prior to 1961 it also occured at High Mass (with a deacon and subdeacon) The priest read the Epistle silently while it was being chanted. Then, when the subdeacon had finished, he would say “Munda cor meum” and “Jube Domine” in the center of the altar and then read the Gospel silently at the Gospel side, without however kissing it at the end. Then the deacon would come, say “Munda cor meum”, and “Jube domne”, receive the priest’s blessing and go in procession to read the Gospel. According to the 1961 rubrics this does not happen and the priest can either stand at the altar or sit at the sedilia.
 
**
Andreas_Hofer said:
Can you back up the claim that left and right are reckoned from a POV facing the people? It seems odd that this would be used in determining the sides for the readings because the priest is not facing the people when reading from the altar, and if the Mass is a solemn Mass the missal does not switch sides of the altar but is taken off the altar and moved toward the congregation, thus no longer involving the same sort of shift. At any rate, the direction the priest faces while proclaiming
Click to expand...
** the text puts the Epistle to his right and the Gospel to his left.## I think post 10 answers that question 🙂

After reading your post, I think my choice of words was less than helpful. So: I wasn’t implying anything about the liturgical or theological status of the people - I mentioned them only because the direction they faced was a reference point for distinguishing between right & left; given that right & left are not absolute (unlike compass points), but relative to the person whose right & left are being discussed. And the priest’s right, is not always the congregation’s. 🙂 Right & left are important because otherwise it’s difficult to explain the diff. between the Epistle & Gospel sides
And perhaps one should not have taken for granted familarity with the pre-1965 Mass :o :o ##

Hope that clears things up - without adding any confusion ##
 
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