Priest sitting in the pew during LOW?

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Elzee

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I saw something at Mass a couple weeks ago I never saw before - during the readings, the priest and deacon left their seats in the sanctuary and sat in the first pew - I assume to ‘listen with the congregation’. They then moved to the sanctuary again when it was time for the priest to read the Gospel.

Has anyone ever seen this before? Is this allowed?
 
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Elzee:
I saw something at Mass a couple weeks ago I never saw before - during the readings, the priest and deacon left their seats in the sanctuary and sat in the first pew - I assume to ‘listen with the congregation’. They then moved to the sanctuary again when it was time for the priest to read the Gospel.

Has anyone ever seen this before? Is this allowed?
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Yes I have seen this and NO it is not allowed. Actually the priest is not allowed to leave the sanctuary at all during the Mass period!
 
maybe he was checking the sound system, or training lectors, but no, he is not supposed to leave the sanctuary.
 
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Elzee:
I saw something at Mass a couple weeks ago I never saw before - during the readings, the priest and deacon left their seats in the sanctuary and sat in the first pew - I assume to ‘listen with the congregation’. They then moved to the sanctuary again when it was time for the priest to read the Gospel.

Has anyone ever seen this before? Is this allowed?
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I have never seen this. To avoid confusion there is suppose to be a procedure where the faithful can readily see the difference in the role of the clergy and the faithful. Having an altar full of different ministers has also caused some confusion. Also, the deacon usually reads the Gospel, when he is present.

Deacon Tony SFO
 
The 2002 General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) n. 310 gives specific instructions on the placement of seats for the priest and deacon.

What many seem unaware of is that the lector should also have a seat in the sanctuary. From the 2002 GIRM:

“195. Upon reaching the altar, the lector makes a profound bow with the others. If he is carrying the Book of the Gospels, he approaches the altar and places the Book of the Gospels upon it. Then the lector takes his own place in the sanctuary with the other ministers.”

This is not a new requirement, it repeats 1975 GIRM n. 149.
 
This happens at one of the parishes I attend. Two of the priests will sit in the first pew instead of in the sanctuary.

Matt
 
John Lilburne:
What many seem unaware of is that the lector should also have a seat in the sanctuary.
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Maybe because there’s so few lectors to make it irrevalent?
 
John Lilburne:
The 2002 General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) n. 310 gives specific instructions on the placement of seats for the priest and deacon.

What many seem unaware of is that the lector should also have a seat in the sanctuary. From the 2002 GIRM:

“195. Upon reaching the altar, the lector makes a profound bow with the others. If he is carrying the Book of the Gospels, he approaches the altar and places the Book of the Gospels upon it. Then the lector takes his own place in the sanctuary with the other ministers.”

This is not a new requirement, it repeats 1975 GIRM n. 149.
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What most documents call “Lector” is the instituted office of Lector. An extraordinary lay person who reads the first reading(s) and psalm if necessary is NOT a Lector but should be called a “Reader”. Of the hundred or so “Lectors” I have been introduced to only one of them was actually an instituted Lector.
 
Br. Rich SFO:
What most documents call “Lector” is the instituted office of Lector. An extraordinary lay person who reads the first reading(s) and psalm if necessary is NOT a Lector but should be called a “Reader”. Of the hundred or so “Lectors” I have been introduced to only one of them was actually an instituted Lector.
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“Then the lector takes his own place in the sanctuary with the other ministers.” (2002 GIRM 195). I think this instruction applies to the person who proclaims the readings, whether instituted or not.

If the intention of the liturgical books were that an instituted lector sit in the sanctuary and a non-instituted reader sit in the pews this would have been clearly expressed.

The liturgical books use the word “instituted” when they mean an instituted minister.

For example in the 2002 GIRM: “279. The sacred vessels are purified by the priest, the deacon, or an instituted acolyte after Communion or after Mass …”. The word “instituted” is used so it is understood that that it applies to them, not other Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.

Another example is the 1981 General Introduction to the Lectionary for Mass, n. 54: “During the celebration of Mass with a congregation a second priest, a deacon, and an instituted reader must wear the distinctive vestment of their office when they go to the lecturn to read the word of God. Those who carry out the ministry of reader just for the occasion or even regularly but without institution may go to the lecturn in ordinary attire that is in keeping with local custom.” Again the word “instituted” is used and the different requirements are spelt out. (From Lectionary I Study Edition, Collins Liturgical Australia, 1981, ISBN 0-00-599764-x, page xxix).

I think the word “reader” rather than “lector” is a change in translation styles. In the 1981 example above the term “instituted reader” was the approved translation. In 2003 the approved translation for the USA GIRM was “instituted lector”. So whether the term is “reader” or “lector” is more an indication of when the translation was approved, not whether the person is to be instituted or not.
 
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