Reciting the priest's prayers

[FrCorey]

**But the priest does not only pray in the name of the whole community as its president; he also prays at times in his own name that he may exercise his ministry with attention and devotion. Such prayers are said inaudibly. and for the priest only.
**

 

[m134e5]

This morning at Mass, there was a gentleman behind me who was reciting the Eucharistic Prayer and other portions of the Liturgy along with the priest. I found that most distracting, but I also can’t imagine that would be allowable! Maybe it’s just a nervous tic on his part, but I guess he doesn’t know not to do that.

I was taught we shouldn’t even join in the Doxology. Am I right?

Those words are the priest’s words alone- not any lay person’s. I cannot stand it when people do it, so I try to sit as far away from those who do as possible.

 

[Cygnus_X1]

Actually, that is called courtesy.

Compassion is where you try to help someone who is less fortunate. In this case it is clearly the man who doesn’t have your expertise of Canon Law and the rubics of the Mass. Now you say that he is distracting the rest of the people. My question is this, why are you talking to all these other people about him reciting the EP and not talking to him?

Because I thought it would make an interesting thread, and I doubt he will change even if I DO talk to him. My wife has been at Mass with him as well, and he does this all. the. time.

 

[prv]

I used to attend daily mass quite frequently at a Catholic university and often some of the priests would join daily mass as regular members of the congregation. I try not to notice the people around me, but once I noticed that one of these priests was reciting the words of consecration from where he was standing in the congregation. (I know we should have been kneeling, but that is an entirely different matter.) I didn’t think anything of it, and said to myself that he’s a priest and he can do it.

Could a priest who is not in any official capacity as celebrant or concelebrant pray these words? I think I remember seeing a mass from St. Peter’s in Rome where a number of bishops who not up on the altar were reciting the words along with the holy father. I’m not suggesting necessarily that the man referred to by the Original Poster was a priest, but if he was would this still be a problem? Just curious.

Don’t priests concelebrate together at the Chrism Mass from the pews? A priest does not have to be at the altar and has the right to concelebrate at any time as long as the law of the Church allows (I think it is only twice per day w/o the permission of the bishop).

 

[awindrose]

Because I thought it would make an interesting thread, and I doubt he will change even if I DO talk to him. My wife has been at Mass with him as well, and he does this all. the. time.

So you wont do anything because you just ASSUME it wont make any difference. Well I just pray that God gives you more of a chance for things you do wrong then you give this guy.

 

[Cygnus_X1]

So you wont do anything because you just ASSUME it wont make any difference. Well I just pray that God gives you more of a chance for things you do wrong then you give this guy.

You’re upset with me because I didn’t talk to this man, but then you accuse me of having no mercy. Which is it?

BTW, I went to a different place for Mass yesterday, and there someone else was reciting the priest’s prayers behind me (and maybe a few others). I couldn’t find him after Mass to say anything.

I guess the laity is poorly informed about this. I’ll do what I can, but I figure ignorance is the problem here.

 

[awindrose]

You’re upset with me because I didn’t talk to this man, but then you accuse me of having no mercy. Which is it?

BTW, I went to a different place for Mass yesterday, and there someone else was reciting the priest’s prayers behind me (and maybe a few others). I couldn’t find him after Mass to say anything.

I guess the laity is poorly informed about this. I’ll do what I can, but I figure ignorance is the problem here.

But you see, you DON’T do what you can. You refuse to talk to this person because you “doubt it will do any good”. You have the knowledge of how the people are suppose to participate in the Mass and yet you make no effort to educate them.

You exemplify exactly what the problem is with most of the so-called conservative catholics. You see a problem and then you go home or you login here and moan and groan and complain AND DON’T DO ANYTHING!!! This is exactly why all the things that the so-called conservative catholics complain about happened. The only voice that was heard was the voice of change. Everyone else DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!!!

It is just like the old saying, if you don’t vote, you can’t complain.

So EDIT DO SOMETHING!

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

I have no intention of entering into any fights on this thread, but in the last thirty years of liturgical “experimentation,” some priests actually instructed their parishioners to pray aloud the Eucharistic prayers and the doxology with the priest, and in some places, to gather around the altar and extend their hands as if they were concelebrating. I once visited a parish where this was done by several parishioners. This is a gross misunderstanding of the role of the ordained priesthood versus that of the priesthood of the baptized. I don’t know any more about the person in question than what has been written about him, but my guess is that somewhere along the way, he belonged to a parish that did this and doesn’t know any better.

 

[drafdog]

We were taught pre Vatican II in the Catholic school to pray the Mass along with the priest. We do this, not in the sense of concelebration, but in the sense of unifying ourselves with the sacrifice of the Mass.
Everyone is allowed to pray.
Bear in mind that the priest cannot consecrate alone. In order to validly consecrate it must be done in the presence of the Christian community. There must be at least one other with him. In this sense we do concelebrate by participation in the priesthood of the faithful.

Matthew

 

[Cygnus_X1]

But you see, you DON’T do what you can. You refuse to talk to this person because you “doubt it will do any good”. You have the knowledge of how the people are suppose to participate in the Mass and yet you make no effort to educate them.

You exemplify exactly what the problem is with most of the so-called conservative catholics. You see a problem and then you go home or you login here and moan and groan and complain AND DON’T DO ANYTHING!!! This is exactly why all the things that the so-called conservative catholics complain about happened. The only voice that was heard was the voice of change. Everyone else DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!!!

It is just like the old saying, if you don’t vote, you can’t complain.

So edit DO SOMETHING!

I did. I started this thread.

Have a day.

 

[rayne89]

My mom does this. It drives me crazy, in fact I just brought about after last Sunday’s Mass that your not supposed to do that. She said “Say’s who?” I told her the church. I’m going to copy that canon law paragraph given on this thread and give it to her.
Why does she do it? I’m not sure. She’s stubburn little Italian lady in her late 70’s. I think she does it because she just likes to.
She does other strange things like standing when everyone in kneeling or standing long after everyone else has sat down.

As a kid we would always arrive a few minutes after Mass started and my mother would have us walk up the center aisle and then try to squeeze in between people in the one of the first few pews. I figured she wanted to make sure everyone knew she showed up for Mass. When I got old enough I refused to do the weekly parade and I would go sit some where in the back by myself.

Now when she does these things (like say the words along with the priest during the Eucharistic prayer) I try to offer up my embarressment and figure maybe God is trying to teach me humilty.

Maybe having her read the canon law will make her stop or it could have the opposite effect. When my mom finds out she does something that bothers me she tends to it more.

 

[awindrose]

I did. I started this thread.

Have a day.

Which doesn’t help the man at church on tiny bit!

Complaining to the choir is not the same as doing something.

 

[TimOliv]

We were taught pre Vatican II in the Catholic school to pray the Mass along with the priest. We do this, not in the sense of concelebration, but in the sense of unifying ourselves with the sacrifice of the Mass.
Everyone is allowed to pray.
Bear in mind that the priest cannot consecrate alone. In order to validly consecrate it must be done in the presence of the Christian community. There must be at least one other with him. In this sense we do concelebrate by participation in the priesthood of the faithful.

Matthew

Just plain wrong. A priest most definitely can consecrate alone, otherwise private Masses would be completely invalid. Additionally, the Missal sets aside prayers for the people and prayers for the priest, it DOES NOT say “The Priest says aloud and the people say silently” the parts are very clearly distinguished.

If it says Priest, don’t say it, it is for the Priest to say, if it says “People” the Priest will not be saying it. Its a call and response system people and its spelled out very clearly.

Everyone is allowed to pray but not everyone is allowed to offer the prayers of consecration at Mass, otherwise we have no use for an ordained priesthood.