"Kindly rise for the Gospel" during holy mass

[Edmundus1581]

For anyone to say anything before the Gospel Acclamation is sung is, to me, breaking the holy silence after the second reading.

I agree entirely.

 

[rondirect]

In all due respect, tell that cantor to “stop, we all know when to stand.” It’s the norm week after week after week…

 

[Phemie]

In all due respect, tell that cantor to “stop, we all know when to stand.” It’s the norm week after week after week…

I have the same reaction to gestures to start singing the response to the Psalm. I even saw it every day for two weeks at Morning and Evening Prayer while taking a liturgy course. We’re all involved in liturgy in our parishes, do we really need a wide gesture and big smile to know when to sing the response?

 

[rondirect]

Gestures were a big time deal back in the 70s and 80s. I remember going to NPM conferences and other local liturgical teaching events back then and it was taught that the cantor should signal (yes, with a big “please” smile) the congregation when to respond to the refrain of Psalm. I can see the importance of it to have the people respond with the music, but please not with high, up-lifted arms that are a distraction. It is also important when we change the Alleluia setting or change into the Lenten GA. On the subject of when to stand to pray, we, as Catholics always do. The priest should not have to say anything but “Pray…” or “Let us Pray…”

 

[PeterT]

Thank you,
In parishes around my place, we generally tell the congregation to stand up/rise just before singing the gospel acclamation. (Otherwise some people would sit and there would be some confusion whether to sit or stand for a few people).
My concern is about how to word it.
Are both of them liturgically correct ?.

1. Kindly rise for the Gospel.
2. Kindly rise for the Gospel acclamation.

Neither is correct.

If the congregation is NOT going into the correct posture (stand, kneel, sit) on their own for any part of the liturgy (like standing for the Gospel acclamation and the reading of the Gospel), ideally a very short instruction should be spoken by the MC (in most Masses, the member of the choir who announces which hymns will be sung acts as the de facto MC for the Mass) like “Please stand” or “Please kneel” or “Please sit”. Nothing more should be said.

These posture instructions should not come from the ambo, but from a separate microphone. If there’s no choir or MC at the Mass, then it’s the priest celebrant that should issue the short instructions to the congregation.

Note though, I find it highly unusual that most people attending a regular Mass would not know when to stand, sit or kneel. Usually such instructions are needed only when there are a lot of non-Catholics (or fallen away non-practicing Catholics) attending a Mass like a funeral Mass.

 

[dochawk]

In my Byzantine parish:

Priest : Wisdom! Let us stand and listen to the reading of the holy Gospel according to St. XXXX

Response: Glory be to you o Lord, glory be to You

Priest: Let us be attentive

Better yet, if the deacon is present, he calls “The doors! the doors! Wisdom, be attentive.”–which is first a call to get the unbelievers out and watch the doors (not done for several centuries), and then, if the tone of St. Basil is taken in account, “Shut up and listen!”

(yes, seriously. Disorder and wandering around was an issue. I believe it was also St. Basil or St. John Chrysotum who put up the barriers between the men (on Joseph’s side) and the women (on Mary’s side) because of problems with, err, extreme physical affection, sometimes including clergy . . . the church fathers had issues modern clergy don’t even have nightmares about . . .)

hawk

p.s. If a few words to hint the correct liturgical posture is the worst problem in your parish . . .

 

[rondirect]

Robert, your assumption that people would sit while others stand for the GA might be incorrect and, with all due respect, dumbing them down. Peter has mentioned some simple phrases to use during Mass. I don’t think anything should be said. If others see the people standing, sitting, kneeling, even if they are not Catholic, their automatic response would be to follow suit; I would. I would assume that your congregation is mostly Catholic, they should know the routine (it’s in the missal as well) and you or anyone else still baby feeding them the actions for posture will always be expected. We say nothing, and our congregations posture themselves correctly all the time and at the appropriate time. There was one point in the Mass that took time for the people to learn: At the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the “Invitation to Prayer.” When the priest simply said, “Pray, brothers and sisters…,” the people would start standing at their response, “May the Lord accept…” That was corrected by either the priest, deacon, music director simple raising their hands in a “please stand” motion. Now, it is automatically done.
Suggestion: eliminate saying anything and simply start by raising your hands slightly to prompt them. After awhile, you’ll see that nothing more needs to be done. Try it.

 

[GoGoDiego]

The commentator would use:
“Please stand to honor the Gospel” or its equivalent Filipino Masses: “Magsitayo at ating bigyang galang ang Mabuting Balita.”

But nowadays, once people hear the first few notes of the Alleluia or the Gospel Acclamation, they all stand without any introduction by the Commentator