Passion Narrative on Palm Sunday

[speters33w]

Palm Sunday this year my wife is Gospel Narrator and I am Gospel Voice. We are both trained lectors.

Our parish is small with two congregations. We have one regular Priest and right now we “borrow” Priests who alternate among the two congregations due to health issues with the assistant Priest. We have no Deacons.

Paschale Solemnitatis paragraph 33 states:

1. The passion narrative occupies a special place. It should be sung or read in the traditional way, that is, by three persons who take the parts of Christ, the narrator and the people. The passion is proclaimed by deacons or priests, or by lay readers. In the latter case, the part of Christ should be reserved to the priest.

But our hymnal (Breaking Bread, OCP) has in the Passion Narrative:

N But Peter said,
V “My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.”
N Just as he was saying this, the cock crowed, and the Lord turned and looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” He went out and began to weep bitterly. The men who held Jesus in custody were ridiculing and beating him. They blindfolded him and questioned him, saying,
C “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?”

Shouldn’t it read:

N But Peter said,
V “My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.”
N Just as he was saying this, the cock crowed, and the Lord turned and looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him,
J “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.”
N He went out and began to weep bitterly. The men who held Jesus in custody were ridiculing and beating him. They blindfolded him and questioned him, saying,
C “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?”

with the line: “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” reserved for the Priest?

If the Narrator were Priest or Deacon I wouldn’t see a problem, but we’re a little short Priests or Deacons, and will be for the foreseeable future.

If it is OK for my wife to read the sentence, I’d rather leave the script alone so the congregation will not be confused.
But if not, I’ll probably print narratives for us, the Priest(s) and the Lectors at the other congregations.

So, should that line be reserved for a Priest or Deacon?

Edit - Postscript - I may be both the “Voice” and the “Crowd,” depending on the Priest. We’ve done it both ways in the past. Some Priest’s don’t like the congregation as the crowd.

 

[pianistclare]

there’s a couple of different versions.
We always have the congregation as the crowd.

 

[Gertabelle]

N But Peter said,
V “My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.”
N Just as he was saying this, the cock crowed, and the Lord turned and looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him,

No. The narrator is recalling what Jesus said in the past. The words of Christ spoken by the priest or deacon are the words spoken in the present – what He says to Pilate, what He says on the cross, etc.

 

[speters33w]

No. The narrator is recalling what Jesus said in the past. The words of Christ spoken by the priest or deacon are the words spoken in the present – what He says to Pilate, what He says on the cross, etc.

Thanks! Do you have a reference for this?

That is, that it’s OK for the Laity to say words of Christ during Liturgy with a Priest present if the words are recalled in the past? If there is such a thing I’d feel a lot more comfortable.

The Passion Narrative is sort of a one-off, in that Laity may and often do assist in proclamation.
I’m finding there isn’t a lot of information readily available. See USCCB Proclamation of the Gospel by the Laity.

Paschale Solemnitatis specifies the “part” if Christ, not the words of Christ. I’m thinking the part of the “Narrator” here may be historic. But that’s just me thinking, I’ve got more research to do.

I found some really interesting history at Unam Sanctam Catholicam and some really good information on Deacon Greg Kandra’s blog.

I just like to be sure…

 

[Gertabelle]

Thanks! Do you have a reference for this?

The reference is what’s in the lectionary, which is what is published in your hymnal/missalette. If you have any concerns with what’s in your hymnal, check the lectionary. What’s in there is what’s approved by the Church.

Don’t worry. They didn’t get it wrong.

 

[speters33w]

The reference is what’s in the lectionary, which is what is published in your hymnal/missalette. If you have any concerns with what’s in your hymnal, check the lectionary. What’s in there is what’s approved by the Church.

Don’t worry. They didn’t get it wrong.

Thanks!

So I spent all this time researching without thinking about simply checking the Lectionary!

Though I learned a lot, so it’s not wasted time.

 

[Phemie]

Shouldn’t it read:

N But Peter said,
V “My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.”
N Just as he was saying this, the cock crowed, and the Lord turned and looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him,
J “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.”
N He went out and began to weep bitterly. The men who held Jesus in custody were ridiculing and beating him. They blindfolded him and questioned him, saying,
C “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?”

If you read your missalette you’ll find that the priest, as Jesus, has already spoken those words and Peter is now simply remembering them.

 

[speters33w]

If you read your missalette you’ll find that the priest, as Jesus, has already spoken those words and Peter is now simply remembering them.

I was aware of this, but I’ve thought about it briefly during the Passion for years, I’ve been the Gospel Voice every year for a while.
But this is the first time my wife is Gospel Narrator, so it gave me a greater responsibility to find out about it.

But actually, in a way what you say is true of all the Gospels. You’ll find Jesus has already spoken his words, and either the apostles Matthew and John are simply remembering them, or Mark, one of Peter’s disciples, or Luke, who with Paul, are speaking words remembered by others.

The practice of the Laity proclaiming the Passion is relatively new, 1965 with Plures locorum, but in a way it’s a neat picture of evangelism.

Christ spoke.
Apostles remembered them and spoke them.
Other Apostolic Men repeated what they’d heard when they wrote Gospels.
Priests or Deacons proclaim what these Apostles or Apostolic Men wrote.

…and in the absence of Priests or Deacons the Laity proclaim what they remember.

You are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by all, shown to be a letter of Christ administered by us, written not in ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets that are hearts of flesh.

2 Corinthians 3:2-3