Liturgical Questions

[stignatius]

1. Today, as it was mother’s day, the priest said a short homily then invited the mother of a priest to come up and speak. Is there something wrong with this?
2. What is the proper time for parish announcements?
3. Is the priest permitted during the sign of peace to go into the congregation and shake hands? How about the altar boys and Eucharistic Ministers?
4. For a homily, the priest left the “stand” and walked down to the aisle and started preaching there. Is this OK?
5. What is the proper time for a personal message from the priest? (sometimes, before the sign of the cross, the priest shares a little message ex.“Today we have Father ______ presiding over mass with us. He is from ________ parish in _________. He will be staying here until ________. Please welcome him.”)

I may be nitpicking, but I’m curious to know the answers

Thanks

 

[MusicMan]

1. Today, as it was mother’s day, the priest said a short homily then invited the mother of a priest to come up and speak. Is there something wrong with this?

The priest fulfilled the rubrics by delivering the homily himself (only a bishop, priest, or deacon may deliver the homily). I believe it is OK for someone to speak after the homily, but I believe it is preferred to have it be at the end of Mass, between the post-Communion Prayer and the Dismissal.

1. What is the proper time for parish announcements?

Between the post-Communion Prayer and the Dismissal.

1. Is the priest permitted during the sign of peace to go into the congregation and shake hands? How about the altar boys and Eucharistic Ministers?

No normally, but there are occassions where pastoral judgement would warrant it, although it’s usually at weddings, funerals, and Masses that specially involve governmental officials. If Father’s Mother were present in the Congregation on Mother’s Day, I wouldn’t see the issue with him sharing the Sign of Peace with her. As for the other ministers, if they are in the Sanctuary, he can share the Peace with them. Once in the Sanctuary, they probably should not leave it to share the Peace.

1. For a homily, the priest left the “stand” and walked down to the aisle and started preaching there. Is this OK?

The “stand” is properly known as the “ambo.” The homily can be given from the ambo or the presider’s chair, or when appropriate, from another suitable place. The liturgical scholars on CAF cannot agree if the phrase “another suitable place” allows the Homilist to walk about the Sanctuary or Nave to preach the Homily.

1. What is the proper time for a personal message from the priest? (sometimes, before the sign of the cross, the priest shares a little message ex.“Today we have Father ______ presiding over mass with us. He is from ________ parish in _________. He will be staying here until ________. Please welcome him.”)

There isn’t a problem here. If the congregation were to applaud the visiting concelebrating priest, then there would be an issue. I think it’s wise to be told who that strange cleric is assisting at Mass.

The US Edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal can be found at: usccb.org/liturgy/current/revmissalisromanien.shtml

 

[John_Lilburne]

1 & 2.
From the 2004 Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum:
“[74.] If the need arises for the gathered faithful to be given instruction or testimony by a layperson in a Church concerning the Christian life, it is altogether preferable that this be done outside Mass. Nevertheless, for serious reasons it is permissible that this type of instruction or testimony be given after the Priest has proclaimed the Prayer after Communion. This should not become a regular practice, however. Furthermore, these instructions and testimony should not be of such a nature that they could be confused with the homily, nor is it permissible to dispense with the homily on their account.”
From the 2002 General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) approved for the USA, which can be accessed from romanrite.com/girm.html :
“154. … The priest may give the sign of peace to the ministers but always remains within the sanctuary, so as not to disturb the celebration. In the dioceses of the United States of America, for a good reason, on special occasions (for example, in the case of a funeral, a wedding, or when civic leaders are present) the priest may offer the sign of peace to a few of the faithful near the sanctuary.”

1. I think the homily location is fairly flexible, depending on what is regarded as suitable in a given situation.
   From the 2002 GIRM: “136. The priest, standing at the chair or at the ambo itself or, when appropriate, in another suitable place, gives the homily. When the homily is completed, a period of silence may be observed.”
2. Regarding personal messages from the priest. It discusses “explanations” in the GIRM:

“31. It is also up to the priest, in the exercise of his office of presiding over the gathered assembly, to offer certain explanations that are foreseen in the rite itself. Where it is indicated in the rubrics, the celebrant is permitted to adapt them somewhat in order that they respond to the understanding of those participating. However, he should always take care to keep to the sense of the text given in the Missal and to express them succinctly. The presiding priest is also to direct the word of God and to impart the final blessing. In addition, he may give the faithful a very brief introduction to the Mass of the day (after the initial Greeting and before the Act of Penitence), to the Liturgy of the Word (before the readings), and to the Eucharistic Prayer (before the Preface), though never during the Eucharistic Prayer itself; he may also make concluding comments to the entire sacred action before the dismissal.”

Giving “explanations” is also described as part of the role of the commentator (in n. 105(b)) and the deacon 171(d):

“Guides the faithful by appropriate introductions and explanations, and announces the intentions of the Prayer of the Faithful;”

The Introduction to the Lectionary for Mass has:
“15. There may be concise introductions before the readings, especially the first. The style proper to such comments must be respected, that is, they must be simple, faithful to the text, brief, well prepared, and properly varied to suit the text they introduce.”