Prayer before the Gospel reading

[Danw]

“May the Word of God be on my mind, on my lips, and in my heart”. The priest says this while crossing himself on the forehead, lips and heart. The people do also. My question is: Is this something the people are supposed to be doing, along with the priest? It has been so long, I can’t remember if we did this pre Vatican II or not. Someone asked me today if it is something just the priest is supposed to do, or the people also. I have done it for as long as I can remember. Anyone with the official answer out there?

 

[John_Lilburne]

“May the Word of God be on my mind, on my lips, and in my heart”. The priest says this while crossing himself on the forehead, lips and heart. The people do also. My question is: Is this something the people are supposed to be doing, along with the priest? It has been so long, I can’t remember if we did this pre Vatican II or not. Someone asked me today if it is something just the priest is supposed to do, or the people also. I have done it for as long as I can remember. Anyone with the official answer out there?

The people make the three crosses, the priest will make four. From the 2002 General Instruction of the Roman Missal:

1. At the ambo, the priest opens the book and, with hands joined, says, Dominus vobiscum (The Lord be with you), and the people respond, Et cum spiritu tuo (And also with you). Then he says, Lectio sancti Evangelii (A reading from the holy gospel), making the sign of the cross with his thumb on the book and on his forehead, mouth, and breast, which everyone else does as well.

From usccb.org/liturgy/current/chapter4.shtml

The priest is saying “A reading from the holy gospel …”. The meaning of the word of God being on my mind, lips and heart is clear from the gesture. But they are not explicit words that the priest should try to think will saying “A reading from the holy gospel …”.

 

[Danw]

Thank you John, that is exactly what I was looking for. My other question is if we did that at all prior to Vatican II. I seem to remember that we did, but not sure.

 

[John_Lilburne]

Danw:

Thank you John, that is exactly what I was looking for. My other question is if we did that at all prior to Vatican II. I seem to remember that we did, but not sure.

I do not know what was done before Vatican II, or what the liturgical books had then.

The 1970 and 1975 Roman Missals did not have instructions for the people to make the three crosses. The 1975 General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) n. 95 simply had the priest’s four crosses.

The 1984 Ceremonial of Bishops (Caeremoniale Episcoporum) added the instructions “and all present do the same”. (Ceremonial of Bishops, Liturgical Press, 1989, ISBN 0-8146-1818-9, page 55, n. 141). This is for the Stational Mass of the Diocesan Bishop.

So my interpretation is that from 1970 to 1984 the three crosses should not have been made by the people. Since 14 September 1984, with the publication of the Ceremonial of Bishops, the people should make the three crosses. But it could be argued that the instructions for the people to make the three crosses only applied to the Stational Mass of the Diocesan Bishop, in which case the people should only have started making the them with the publication of the 2002 Roman Missal.

 

[tom.wineman]

Danw:

Thank you John, that is exactly what I was looking for. My other question is if we did that at all prior to Vatican II. I seem to remember that we did, but not sure.

I can remember doing it back in the forties.