Is skipping the Gospel ever allowed?

[brad2bad]

I thought I’d seen everything, but last Sunday our associate priest walked up to read the Gospel as expected, then stepped away from the lectern and said “let’s skip this for today; we’ve all heard this one before”. He then proceeded to paraphrase the story of the prodigal son in an entertaining and humorous way and received an ovation when done.

He seemed very pleased as he returned to his ‘throne’ to take in the applause and allow us time for reflection.

This was a regular 11:30 AM Sunday liturgy with all of our 7th grade school and RE students in attendance as part of their kickoff for confirmation preparation.

Under what circumstances can the Gospel be skipped?

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi,

None. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) states in # 12: “In the celebration of Mass the biblical readings with their accompanying chants from Sacred Scriptures may not be omitted, shortened, or, worse still, replaced by nonbiblical readings…”

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.