More Questions About the Liturgy

[C794]

I know that I’ve asked a lot of liturgical questions and by this point I’m embarrassed to ask another, but I can’t help being curious when I hear something that doesn’t match up with the liturgical text.

First I’ve noticed that my priest never begins the penitential right with “brothers and sisters let us acknowledge our sins and so prepare ourselves to celebrate these sacred mysteries.” He does say the same thing from week to week, but I can’t find it in the text for the Mass. Is this permitted?

Also, today, I noticed that while saying " pray brothers and sisters that my sacrifice and yours…" he changed " bothers and sisters" to “my friends.” I’ve never heard him say this before, so I’m curious: is this a seasonal change?

 

[EasterJoy]

No, using “my friends” instead of “brothers and sisters” is not a seasonal change. It is a personal improvisation.

The Missal says that after the Liturgical Greeting, “The priest or another minister may then briefly introduce the Mass of the day, saying something about the readings, the feast, and/or the special occasion being celebrated.” You’ll often hear that segue into the next part of the text: Priest: Brethren (brothers and sisters), let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries

Priests are supposed to “say the black, do the red”, but when it comes to small variations in what is an invitation to pray (rather than the proscribed prayer itself), you’ll find that kind of improvising to be very common…far more so before the Penitential Rite than immediately prior to the Prayer over the Offerings, though. That an the Preface Dialogue are places that many more priests stick strictly to the book.

If not for asking liturgical questions, BTW, there’d be a lot fewer threads on this forum. If not here, then where?

 

[Aran_Houlihan]

The priest should follow the missal
Canon 846 Use Liturgical Books
§1. Use liturgical books. The minister is to celebrate the sacraments according to the minister’s own rite.

 

[EasterJoy]

The priest should follow the missal.

Yes. Common does not mean “allowed”. Still, it is worth it to consult the full text of the Roman Missal before concluding that a priest is not using an allowed variation that does not appear in the missalettes supplied to the parishioners. The parish-supplied books usually do not include every allowed variation that is in the current Roman Missal that the priest uses.

 

[Elizabeth779]

Keep asking your questions…they help me and others too when we read your question and the responses.