mass validity

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sticknstring73

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This morning at mass during the psalm, the lector totally lost her place and somehow started reading an altogether different psalm. The priest was looking at her waiting for her to correct it but after a very long pause the lector gave up and sat down and the priest got up and continued on to the Gospel reading.

At this point a gentleman in front of me got up and seemed to storm out. For some reason it made me wonder if the mass was valid. Does anyone know?

I hope this question is not out of line.
 
The only thing that would invalidate a Mass is a change in the matter and form of the Eucharist. Other changes might make a Mass illicit, but it would still be valid.

In this case, the reader simply made a mistake. The Mass would still be both valid and licit.
 
sticknstring73 said:
This morning at mass during the psalm, the lector totally lost her place and somehow started reading an altogether different psalm. The priest was looking at her waiting for her to correct it but after a very long pause the lector gave up and sat down and the priest got up and continued on to the Gospel reading.

At this point a gentleman in front of me got up and seemed to storm out. For some reason it made me wonder if the mass was valid. Does anyone know?

I hope this question is not out of line.
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Poor woman. The guy storming out isn’t making any point except that he’s harsh and unable to show compassion.

Don’t’ worry about it, but it would be nice to tell her you understand and it’s not anything to be further disturbed about. I’m sure she has worried about this enough. Offer her a smile and a pat on the back.
 
pianistclare said:
Poor woman. The guy storming out isn’t making any point except that he’s harsh and unable to show compassion.

Don’t’ worry about it, but it would be nice to tell her you understand and it’s not anything to be further disturbed about. I’m sure she has worried about this enough. Offer her a smile and a pat on the back.
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This.
 
Someone at my parish recently left over a similar minor error, after dressing down the priest in public. I really feel for people who face these sorts of disproportionate reactions to genuine mistakes or permitted alternatives being used. Rest assured, the Mass was valid.
 
A general rule of thumb: Masses themselves are either licit or illicit, while the confection of the Eucharist is either valid or invalid.

So, someone reading the wrong responsorial psalm/not reading one at all would make a Mass illicit, i.e., there has been an abuse of the rubrics, whether intentional or not.

On the other hand, the confection of the Eucharist might be perfectly valid in the midst of an illicit Mass.

Regarding storming out: to be perfectly honest, Catholics have been through a lot over the past 50 years in terms of liturgical nonsense, and I wouldn’t be surprised if many have an extremely low tolerance for such things. Would that we all had more patience, especially at Mass.
 
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