Priest Discourages Reading

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I don’t believe that the priest has any right to demand that you not read along. He can request it, but if you have good reason to read, you can.
That’s what I would say as a Protestant, but we’re rebels you know. 😉 Still, I’ve seen plenty of Catholics contend on these forums that there is a duty to obey Church authority even when that authority is wrong or unreasonable (assuming, of course, that the priest is not insisting on something that is actually sinful).
 
Absolutely! I’m extremely visual and I “listen” with my eyes. I always follow along in the missalette during the readings. When there’s no missalette available, I try to listen and I miss a lot of important things in the message and the reading.

cecilia
My thoughts exactly!
 
Our priest explained the reasoning to us. Listening to the Word being proclaimed in Mass is something we do together as a community. It is a shared and not an idividual experience. If people are reading along in their missal, it tends to chip away and fragment that shared experience. Really, the ideal would be to read from your missal that morning or the night before and come to Mass prepared to share in reception of the Word just as you do the Eucharist.
Oh hogwash! Don’t you think that each individual in the gathered assembly is hearing the Spirit work uniquely in their own lives? Is this too only a common experience? Come, now!
 
When she starts telling us stories, even if they are stories that we have heard before, we don’t read along from a prepared text as she is telling them to us - rather, we look her in the eye and listen attentively with our ears.

The Church is our Mother, and the Mass is a visit with our Mother. We are not at school; we are not going to be taking a test on the material that we hear. This is about speaking to and listening to our Mother.

We should treat the Church in the same way that we treat our mother - speaking to her from the heart (even though the words themselves may be oft-repeated), and listening with our heart, in love for her, and for the One about whom she is speaking to us.

We would not read along in a book when speaking to our earthly mother, so why would we read along in a book when interacting with our spiritual Mother, the Church? 😉
If this reasoning is to be believed, then the readers and priest ought not proclaim the Word by reading what is in the Lectionary, but from memory and interpretative paraphrase.
 
That’s what I would say as a Protestant, but we’re rebels you know. 😉 Still, I’ve seen plenty of Catholics contend on these forums that there is a duty to obey Church authority even when that authority is wrong or unreasonable (assuming, of course, that the priest is not insisting on something that is actually sinful).
Priests can get all too easily carried away with pride and promoting their own opinions as they are just as human as anyone else. The fact that he is a priest does not entitle him to require something of you that he has no right to require. The laity have rights, too. Just because he’s “father” doesn’t mean that he gets to push his weight around however he likes.
 
…We would not read along in a book when speaking to our earthly mother, so why would we read along in a book when interacting with our spiritual Mother, the Church? 😉
Sacred Scripture is far more than a “book”…

I listen and read simultaneouly because I absorb and understand best when I use two senses – audio and visual.

N.B. My spritual mother is Mary.
 
Oh hogwash! Don’t you think that each individual in the gathered assembly is hearing the Spirit work uniquely in their own lives? Is this too only a common experience? Come, now!
That word “community” sure seemed to be used a lot to gloss-over problems…
 
As a re-vert from evangelicalism, I have so appreciated the Church calendar and daily readings at Mass. I just purchased a 3 year subscription to “Magnificat” and enjoy following along with the readers at daily Mass.

Tonight our priest said he doesn’t like publications like the “Magnificat” because the word of God is meant to be heard not read. He also sated that the Church discourages reading along at Mass. If this is true, I will not continue to bring the Magnificat because I want to be obedient to the Church. It would be sad however because I find that it is a great help to me. Does the Church have an official stand on this?
The Church does not discourage reading. In the Eastern rites, Chaldean and Maronite for example, we are given book at the pews and are encouraged to read along and respond where appropiate.
 
I would agree. But are you being disobedient to legitimate authority if your parish priest tells you not to read?
No I do not think you are as this is not really an area that “legitimate authory” can be expressed. Now if your pastor commands you to this, that may be a case but I highly doubt it.

As for me, I have no “pastor” and I have never personnally have heard of this.
 
Oh hogwash! Don’t you think that each individual in the gathered assembly is hearing the Spirit work uniquely in their own lives? Is this too only a common experience? Come, now!
Do you speak to everyone in such an insulting fashion, or was there something unusually offensive in what I posted? I apologize if that was the case. I do not understand.
 
So, it seems to me that the CDF didn’t take a rigorist position on this, and yet we can’t gloss over the line “all ought to be listening attentively.” I suppose that they are at least encouraging an attempt to listen without reading, if possible.

What do you think?
VC
Who says that one can not listen attentively while reading along?
Being at Mass is not about learning, though. You’re not in Sunday School/CCD. We hear the Word of God in an undistracted way so that it can reach our heart.

We’re not trying to get it into our mind; but into our heart.
Actually I disagree with you here. The Liturgy is the first and foremost form of Catechisis. We listen to the Word being proclaimed and then have a Homily on that Word, so it is about learning.
If the readers are changing the words, they are being disobedient to the Church. Mention it to the person who does the training for the readers - they are not supposed to be interposing their own opinions into the readings.
Kind of hard to do when it is the priest doing it.
 
Do you speak to everyone in such an insulting fashion, or was there something unusually offensive in what I posted? I apologize if that was the case. I do not understand.
Let’s look at what “chicago” was responding to, which you posted:

“Our priest explained the reasoning to us. Listening to the Word being proclaimed in Mass is something we do together as a community. It is a shared and not an idividual experience. If people are reading along in their missal, it tends to chip away and fragment that shared experience. Really, the ideal would be to read from your missal that morning or the night before and come to Mass prepared to share in reception of the Word just as you do the Eucharist.”

First, “the Word” is Jesus Christ. I believe you are speaking of “the word” – the Sacred Scriptures.

Second, to even hint that following along in a missalette in any way lessons the experience of the Mass is simply untrue. You posted something that is untrue and “chicago” responded, albiet somewhat stridently, but you should expect this if you are posting something that lacks the truth.
 
Who says that one can not listen attentively while reading along?
Maybe you can - with me, either I’m reading or I’m listening, but I don’t normally do both at the same time.
Actually I disagree with you here. The Liturgy is the first and foremost form of Catechisis. We listen to the Word being proclaimed and then have a Homily on that Word, so it is about learning.
The Liturgy is first and foremost about worship.
Kind of hard to do when it is the priest doing it.
He does have a Bishop, though, I presume … ?
 
You posted something that is untrue and “chicago” responded, albiet somewhat stridently, but you should expect this if you are posting something that lacks the truth.
Thank you! No disrespect or hostility is meant to you, personally, dulcissima. But the argument, itself, really is nonsensical. I’m not attacking you, but the arguement, then.

For a long time we’ve been hearing this “community, community, community” mantra as a justifying reason for everything. But if we break it down a bit and look at the reality without just accepting the argument unchallenged, we can see what a farce it often is. Yes, there is something to be said for the communal experience which is of value. Sometimes that is, indeed, lacking in certain perspectives of the opposite polar, in fact. However, to dismiss something of legitimate value (in this case reading along) because of a rigid ideology (which is what the whole “community” mantra comes down to) is actually insulting. And it basically says, “Let me lead you along blindly and unchallenged, in groupthinking affirmation of what I say.” Well, no Father. Your position just doesn’t add up if one continues it to it’s logical conclusion. And I’m not your ego supporting, agenda affirming lemming.
 
Since reform of the liturgy the usefulness of hand missals for the faithful is often questioned. All now understand the words spoken at Mass;
That’s a ridiculous response.

“all now understand the words spoken at Mass” only when the mass is in the VERNACULAR. Even then there might be people who don’t speak that particular vernacular…

But Latin is still the NORMATIVE language, even for the NO. The Vernacular is still, technically I believe, an “exception”…and if hand missals are acceptable for the Normative (as they certainly must be as it is in a language the people couldnt understand without a missal) then it must be acceptable for the Exception.

If hand missals are okay for the Rule (Latin), they must be okay for the Exception (the vernacular)
 
Struggling,

I think the Congregation For Divine Worship And The Discipline Of The Sacraments is on your side in this issue. . .

Are you sure you want to characterize their response as “ridiculous”?

VC
 
Absolutely! I’m extremely visual and I “listen” with my eyes. I always follow along in the missalette during the readings. When there’s no missalette available, I try to listen and I miss a lot of important things in the message and the reading.
Me too! When listening only, I’ll catch only about every third or fourth word, regardless of accent/reading style/sound system, etc.

All that reaches my heart (via my ears 😃 ) is a bunch of disconnected words. It’s a moot point for me, as we don’t have missalettes in the choir loft, so the only thing for me to do is to read the readings ahead of time from my missal at home (or after Mass, if I forget. :o )

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In the end, you are attending Mass. You read along or you do not. For those that consider themselves so Orthodox as to think you are in some way wrong, despite the direction given you by your priest, is absurd. Yes, in the ideal situation, you are to read and reflect prior to Mass and listen during the Liturgy. I nonetheless would rather see you attend weekly, or daily if desired, as opposed to not at all. We all know of those that attend on Christmas and Easter, and rarely beyond that. Do you truly think they have reflected on the readings prior to attendance?

We have to also understand that the Magnificat is a wonderful companion and devotional, which despite this, promotes reading along as it were.

Do what your priest says so as not to cause conflict, but until the daily missal is removed from the pew, relax.
 
I always read along, because I am a “visual” person. I can remember something much better if I can see it rather than just hearing it. Also, many lectors either have a strong accent, poor reading skills, mispronunciations, or get overly dramatic with the text. Reading ahead of time is always a good idea, but it all comes into context at Mass.

One of the other reasons for not using missals might seem a little paranoid, but I believe it to be true. It is that for years, some pastors and lectors have deliberately changed words, either in the Scriptures or in the various prayers of the Mass, for political or ideological reasons. If you don’t have books in the pews, people are less likely to catch the change. This is usually done for feminist reasons. I once saw a lectionary where every time the words “man” or “mankind” appeared, someone had crossed them out in pencil and wrote in “humans” and “humankind.”
 
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