Lector questions

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habu16

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I am an altar server at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Louisville, KY. My mom is a lector there, also. We had an argument over a point of the Mass, which I was hoping I could get an answer for. When a lector goes up to read, they bow. But, who do they bow to? She says that the lector should bow to the altar, since that is where the Eternal Sacrifice is held. I say they bow to the priest, since he is Christ in persona. In our church, the tabernacle is directly behind the priest, with the lectern being to the right side of the church, viewed from the congregation. Or does the lecter bow to the tabernacle?
 
Hi.

The new GIRM specifies that at the start of mass the priest and servers genuflect to the tabernacle (at the entrance rite) and when the mass is over, they again bow, to the tabernacle (actually to Jesus in the tabernacle). Durring the mass, if one passes in front of the altar, they bow to the altar. where the sacrafice will take place. Durring the mass the focus is on the altar & the sacriface to take place there, not on the reserved eucharist. It will take a while for people to get used to this, old habits die hard; and if someone forgets, it’s no big deal.
 
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habu16:
I am an altar server at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Louisville, KY. My mom is a lector there, also. We had an argument over a point of the Mass, which I was hoping I could get an answer for. When a lector goes up to read, they bow. But, who do they bow to? She says that the lector should bow to the altar, since that is where the Eternal Sacrifice is held. I say they bow to the priest, since he is Christ in persona. In our church, the tabernacle is directly behind the priest, with the lectern being to the right side of the church, viewed from the congregation. Or does the lecter bow to the tabernacle?
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I am a lector in the Diocese of Orange, CA. Your mom is correct - we bow to the altar as to the cross, for the reasons she stated.
Grace to you,
Paul
 
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habu16:
I am an altar server at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Louisville, KY. My mom is a lector there, also.
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If I read the documents correctly, your mom is a reader, not a lector. Lector is an established office (so is cantor), and is males only.

I could be wrong, but that’s what I’ve read.

DaveBj
 
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