Priest Discourages Reading

[setter]

So, if you are hearing impaired, clearly a priest should never force you not to read from the missal. And, if you are one of the many posters here who seem only to be able to learn by holding a missal, who don’t know any scriptural passages ahead of time, who understand better by listening and reading, etc., then it is probably the case that they too should not be discouraged. But I figure that the Church assumes most adults have normal hearing and comprehension abilities so that they can listen without having to follow along in the missal.

Regardless, but why should you or any priest impose limitations on which God given sensory means for the individual faithful to effectively hear and receive the Word of God proclaimed? We are blessed to have the sacred written Word of God readily available in print. Is not the goal to hear and receive the written Word of God?

 

[Saint_Michael]

NO, it’s for praying with outside of the Mass, in preparation ahead of time, or for holy reading after the Mass.

It’s also useful for teaching others how to participate at Mass when you’re leading Catechism or RCIA classes.

Honestly I had no idea, here I am with my fancy $50 MTF Missal reading every word thinking I’m so devout, and all the time I look foolish. I guess I’ll lose the Missal.

 

[chicago]

NO, it’s for praying with outside of the Mass, in preparation ahead of time, or for holy reading after the Mass.

Well, you’re wrong. It CAN be used for that, also. But it’s primarily to help people follow along at Mass. Heck, this is even why the priest has a Missal, himself, and doesn’t have to rely upon memory to celebrate Mass.

 

[sadie2723]

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?

Your priest is wrong.

 

[setter]

Well, you’re wrong. It CAN be used for that, also. But it’s primarily to help people follow along at Mass. Heck, this is even why the priest has a Missal, himself, and doesn’t have to rely upon memory to celebrate Mass.

I agree. One gets that burdening feeling of the pharisaical prescriptions of the law that present only obstacles to hearing and responding to the Gospel from some of the poster exerting their person preference as doctrine.

Maybe if that parish priest spent a few Sunday masses juggling a few babies and chasing toddlers around while trying to hear the Word proclaimed, he may develop some appreciation (and empathy) for those faithful in his parish who rely on the reading along of the text to hear the Word being proclaimed. Maybe Father needs to get better acquainted with the flock entrusted to his care?

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

But they are citing “learning styles differences” and the need to remember what they “learned” - this isn’t about prayer, for them - they seem to be under the impression that they are at school.

How do you know it isn’t about prayer for me? That’s a mighty big assumption. My prayer, no matter how many of the community are there, is a constant action between God and me (Yes, that’s me, not I).

You are privy to my prayer, my contemplation during the readings? No. You are only privy to viewing the style of prayer. Of all the things that happen at Mass, how does my praying along by reading along have anything to do with your listening along? Are those of who read rustling the papers too loudly in our Magnificats, missals, and Missalettes, and do we disturb you? I don’t understand why it is so important for you to tell those of who read along that we may not.

As it happens, I belong to a parish that has a beautiful church for 1956, but the acoustics are horrible, complete with mics that constantly short out, on and off, all during Mass. I would hate to actually be hearing imparied in this setting without an interpreter.

Also, like most parishes, it’s the luck of the draw on lectors, priests less so. Even with training, some lectors/ readers/ proclaimers are fabulous; and some mumble into the lectionary, no matter how well-trained.

I won’t even go into the diocesean priests from Haiti and Nigeria who “sub” on occasion, who speak English well enough, but have trouble reading it aloud. I won’t go into the fact that some priests change up, quite legitimately, from one of the prescribed readings, say for the day, into a reading for the saint’s day or some other feast.

It is not rude to want to understand the readings. It is not wrong to want to read along. It is not just a matter of “learning” but for those of us intake material in this matter, a matter of taking them to heart.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

Print them out from a site like the USCCB’s. I’ve had to do that at times when I attend a daily Mass which is partly in a foreign langauge.

I do this, too. And here’s a twist: We do it for the kids in our school.

 

[jmcrae]

How do you know it isn’t about prayer for me? That’s a mighty big assumption. My prayer, no matter how many of the community are there, is a constant action between God and me (Yes, that’s me, not I).

If you SAY to me that you are reading along because of your learning styles (which is not “visual” - someone who reads along is not a “visual learner;” he is a word-based learner - “visual learners” learn by looking at maps and diagrams; not by reading) then I believe them that they are trying to learn something, and I say, “no, we are not* learning* at Mass; we are praying.”

As for who around me is reading along at Mass, I don’t notice - and I would assume, unless they made some remark about their learning styles, that they were praying along.

 

[jmcrae]

I do this, too. And here’s a twist: We do it for the kids in our school.

School is school - school is about learning; not praying.

Mass is not school, and school is not Mass.

I certainly encourage people to read along during Catechism class and RCIA (school-type situations), because in those situations, I do want them to be learning.

 

[Saint_Michael]

I certainly encourage people to read along during Catechism class and RCIA (school-type situations), because in those situations, I do want them to be learning.

What if we’re not in RCIA or school and still want to learn at Mass?

 

[chicago]

School is school - school is about learning; not praying.

Mass is not school, and school is not Mass.

What may have been meant was for the school Masses.

I certainly encourage people to read along during Catechism class and RCIA (school-type situations), because in those situations, I do want them to be learning.

Should one NOT learn at Mass?

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

School is school - school is about learning; not praying.

Mass is not school, and school is not Mass.

I certainly encourage people to read along during Catechism class and RCIA (school-type situations), because in those situations, I do want them to be learning.

We do it for Mass- not for school. Reading along CAN be a prayer. It is for me. I think it is for a lot of other people.

You would be surprised at our school. We pray in it all the time, before Math, before tests, in the morning (using Magnificat, by the way), at lunch, after lunch, in the afternoon.

Again, you haven’t answered my question: Why is it so important to you that we read and listen together, while you only listen? How does our reading along influence your listening? Are those of us who read along somehow stopping you from listening only?

 

[jmcrae]

Should one NOT learn at Mass?

Not as the primary activity, no.

The Mass is a liturgical prayer; not a learning situation.

 

[jmcrae]

Again, you haven’t answered my question: Why is it so important to you that we read and listen together, while you only listen? How does our reading along influence your listening? Are those of us who read along somehow stopping you from listening only?

I don’t care what you do at Mass - hopefully you are praying the Mass, though.

What’s important is that people reading along at CAF not get the false impression that they are supposed to be “learning something” at Mass, or that they are required to understand what is going on.

All this talk of “learning styles” gives the idea that if you don’t understand what’s going on at Mass, then you didn’t fully participate. That’s wrong.

Again: The Mass is a prayer, not a learning situation. We are fully participating when we pray along with it, even if it is in a foreign language, or even if the priest has an accent you could cut with a knife. Mass is not about understanding something or learning something: it is a prayer, and we join with our hearts in this prayer.

 

[chicago]

“I believe in order to understand, and understand the better to believe”.

~ St, Augustine

While I don’t disagree with the thrust of your well stated articulation in the last post, jmcrae, and actually do appreciate it, I think it’s a “both/and” situation not “either/or”. Whatever, therefore, helps people to better learn, understand, and therefore believe is, I think, a good thing to be encouraged.

 

[Saint_Michael]

Again: The Mass is a prayer, not a learning situation. We are fully participating when we pray along with it, even if it is in a foreign language, or even if the priest has an accent you could cut with a knife. Mass is not about understanding something or learning something: it is a prayer, and we join with our hearts in this prayer.

What good is parayer you can’t unerstand? This is every Protestants dream right here. If you don’t understand what you’re saying or being said how are you any better than a babbling pagan reciting rote repeating nonsense? I disagree that it doesn’t matter if we as Catholics understand what’s going on or can even decipher what is being said, that is ridiculous, no offense.

 

[CarolAnnSFO]

I agree. One gets that burdening feeling of the pharisaical prescriptions of the law that present only obstacles to hearing and responding to the Gospel from some of the poster exerting their person preference as doctrine.

A double “Amen” to that! I sense a certain smugness on the part of those who never need to read along because they’ve been blessed with excellent hearing, excellent acoustics, an excellent sound system in the church, and excellent enunciation and vocal projection on the part of the priest and readers. Or because they’ve been going to Mass for 50 years, and have memorized every single reading. This thread is starting to sound like “I’ve got mine; to heck with the rest of you.”

As far as the rustling of pages being distracting – in the missalette, the first reading, the Psalm, the second reading, and the Gospel, will take at most, one page turn (except for the very long Holy Week readings which are read in parts – that’s the only time I ever notice page-rustling). What’s really distracting to me is trying to figure out what’s being said during the readings, because it’s coming over very garbled due to the sound system (and going without a sound system in a huge, cavernous church is not an option). At least I’m guaranteed to know what the Psalm is about, since I’m singing it with the rest of the choir, and have the music (and words) in front of me.

I realize that Mass isn’t school – so what? Just because I’m at Mass, that means I can’t learn something? When I listen to the homily (easier to understand from just listening than the readings, because the priest is using a conversational style of speech), I hope to learn something from it.

And how am I supposed to listen prayerfully to the readings when I just can’t hear or understand them? I might as well listen prayerfully to somebody speaking Chinese. I’l hear sounds, but just hearing sounds isn’t the same as listening prayerfully.

Crazy Internet Junkies Society
Carrier of the Angelic Sparkles Sprinkle Bag
Pace e Bene

 

[jmcrae]

And how am I supposed to listen prayerfully to the readings when I just can’t hear or understand them?

Because you read and prayed on them ahead of time, before you came to Mass.

I might as well listen prayerfully to somebody speaking Chinese. I’l hear sounds, but just hearing sounds isn’t the same as listening prayerfully.

If as a life-long Catholic you have been praying the Mass all your life, then your heart will understand it, even if it is in Chinese or any other language that your mind doesn’t understand.

 

[CarolAnnSFO]

Because you read and prayed on them ahead of time, before you came to Mass.

That’s usually what I have to do. I have missals at home that I can use.

If as a life-long Catholic you have been praying the Mass all your life, then your heart will understand it, even if it is in Chinese or any other language that your mind doesn’t understand.

Sorry, I’m a revert, and I don’t have those long years of experience, especially with the current three-year cycle of readings.

**Crazy Internet Junkies Society
****Carrier of the Angelic Sparkles Sprinkle Bag
**Pace e Bene

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

“I believe in order to understand, and understand the better to believe”.

~ St, Augustine

While I don’t disagree with the thrust of your well stated articulation in the last post, jmcrae, and actually do appreciate it, I think it’s a “both/and” situation not “either/or”. Whatever, therefore, helps people to better learn, understand, and therefore believe is, I think, a good thing to be encouraged.

And I would agree with everything Chicago said. I would further add that in mentioning learning modalities, I was not trying to set up Mass as a “learning experience” or exercise. Rather, some people pray better through reading along, just as some people pray better just listening. To say one is better to the exclusion of the other does not take into account a broad series of factors, one of which is how do people take into their hearts the readings.

You “study” on them at home. Great. A lot of people do that. Others, even though they’ve studied, want that reinforcement of reading along. And again, some churches are less than acoustical, some people are deaf, have poor readers on occasion, etc. First, to ban reading on a whole does not take all those circumstances.

Second, the priest who started this by banning reading is fortunate some old lady did not whack him with her Magnificat, like some of those old ladies in Father Corapi’s stories.