Trying To Design A Service Based On Mass, For Use At Home

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Errham

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Hello,
A lot of you may remember my threads asking about a Catholic equivalent to the Orthodox Typica. I don’t have time to attend daily Mass, but do have a daily missal and say all the Bible Readings, and after the beauty of the Typica it becomes somewhat “harder” to see them just thrown out haphazardly like that, and I feel that there should be a more respectable liturgy for them to be recited in outside of the context of the Mass. I figured, why not try and make one myself? There are already liturgies posted for reader’s services without a priest present and laymen presiding, which provided all of the rubrics and content. Obviously those only apply in extraordinary circumstances when the priest can’t make it to church, but what if, for instance WE can’t make it to church? And I don’t mean being lazy because you’d rather stay at home in pajamas, but if you’ve a newborn baby in one hand, you just, really, might not be able to make it. Then could those laymen’s services also be repeated without an audience? First of all, I tried putting together a rough draft of a “Home Liturgy of the Word”. The guidebooks I mainly consulted are:

liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/CWC/Directory-SCAP.pdf
eriercd.org/pdf/comsrvp.pdf
dioceseoflansing.org/lansing/sites/all/themes/lansing/pdf/worship/2012PTCommunionOutsideMass.pdf

A rough draft of such a service, as follows below. Both the parts recited by the Priest and recited by the Congregation are said, unless they’re something obviously not meant to be addressed to God but to each other (such as "The Lord be with you; and with your spirit). You decide whether you want two or one Kiryie Eleison’s or not.

-Introit + Hymn
-In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
-The chosen Penitential Rite
-The Kyrie Eleison
-The Gloria, if appointed
-Brief silence to meditate on our sins
-The Collect, as appointed in the Daily Missal
-Reading 1, followed by “The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.”
-Responsorial Psalm
-Reading 2, if appointed, with the same concluding verse
-The Alleluiah
-“Cleanse my heart and my lips, almighty God, that I may worthily proclaim your Gospel.”
-Gospel Reading, foll. “The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.”
-“Through the words of the Gospel may our sins be wiped away.”
-Instead of the Homily, a period of meditation on the words that we have just read.
-The Creed, as appointed
-In place of the intercessions, another period of private prayer, this time focused on your needs and wishes, and any other intention that you would like to pray for
-"At the Saviour’s Command, and formed by Divine teaching, we dare to say:
-Our Father…
-“Deliver us, O Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our savior, Jesus Christ.”
-“For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever”.
-"Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your apostles: Peace I leave you, my peace I give you, look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will, who reign for ever, Amen.
-May almighty God bless us, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Thanks be to God.
-A closing hymn, if desired

Now, the big question that stands here is not the legality, but rather the appropriateness. Every line just posted was marked in at least one of the guides as being capable of recitation by a lay-person. So, it’s legal. The question that remains is simply whether it’s still legal if you do it personally with no congregation present or whether there HAS to be a congregation present in order to validate the liturgy and make it an acceptable sacrifice of prayer in the church’s eyes. I’m not sure there’s a very clear answer there, and I’m probably going to be opening quite a bit of controversy by posting this, but it really is an idea that I just can’t get out of my head.
 
The Church has the answer for this: its call Liturgy of the Hours. Although its not based on the mass (and there is a reason for that). There is no need to try to invent the wheel.
 
The best substitute you can use is the Office of Readings, or even better, Office of Readings combined with Morning Prayer (or Evening Prayer if you do this in the evening). Further, given your situation, I also see no reason you can’t use the Office of Readings “Vigil” format to include the Gospel for the day even if you do it during the daytime.

No matter what you try, anything of your own crafting will never be liturgy. It will only be devotional prayer. Since it’s adapted from the texts of the Mass, it’s not likely to be illicit or bad at all (in fact, it’s praiseworthy, especially from the looks of it, it’s in sync with the seaons). For anything to be liturgical, it must have the approval of the conference of bishops and the Holy See.

But the Liturgy of the Hours IS liturgy, and in the impossibility of Mass, it makes the next best option. As the official prayer of the Church, it carries with it a power an efficacy not otherwise present in devotional prayer.

Otherwise, if you wish to more closely follow the format of the Mass, then you can always adapt the services found in “Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest” (US) amazon.com/Sunday-Celebrations-Absence-Priest-Rev/dp/1601372930 or “Sunday Celebration of the Word and Hours” (Canada)
 
I agree with those who suggested the Liturgy of the Hours, which includes the Office of Readings. It is possible to include additional ceremonial flourishes such as the lighting of candles and burning of incense, prostrations, veneration of the cross or icons, silent meditation, song, use of holy water, prayers to Mary or the saints, intercessions, etc. You can include these withing the ambit of the LOH itself or use them before or after the LOH itself.

Perhaps you can explain why you feel the need for something different?
 
tafan said:
The Church has the answer for this: its call Liturgy of the Hours. Although its not based on the mass (and there is a reason for that). There is no need to try to invent the wheel.
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You beat me to it. Even though it is not based on the Mass, it complements it. Moreover it is fully licit for the laity to participate alone or in community, and even for a layman to lead a LOTH Office in a group. It is the public, official prayer of the Church. It is IMHO the highest prayer calling for the laity who cannot attend Mass for various reasons, and also for laity who do attend Mass but want to further enrich their prayer life by participation in the public liturgy of the Church.

That said, I have a Gregorian chant friend who not only prays and chants the LOTH daily (which I do as well), but he chants the propers of the Mass every day (which I do not 😛 ).
 
I should have clarified, and used a bit better terminology. I already pray the LOTH. And I think that that might be the problem as well. I do a morning prayer aggregate that begins at around 3:30 AM. It goes something like this:
-“Prayers upon awakening”, from the Horologion
-Midnight Office
-Orthros
-Typika
-Matins
-Rosary
  • Reading the daily Bible readings from Mass
    -Reading the haghiographies of the day’s Saints, from a dictionary of Saints or similar source
    -Lauds
    -First Hour
Everything in that big gigantic “service” flows one in to another with ease; I switch them around so that everything has either a proper introductiory right, a proper dismissal rite, or is connected between services with clear rubrics established for the way thereof. As for non-liturgical things, I plug them in at appropriate places - Typika, for instance, can include the reading of a Synaxarion, so I simply place the Hagiographical readings there. However, there’s always been one constant thorn in my side, and that’s the readings from the Mass. I haven’t yet found a place where it really “belongs”, where it doesn’t abruptly stop the flow of prayer. One second you’re reading a dismissal rite from the office, and the next you suddenly find a Bible reading in front of you that came out of nowhere, without any context. I think it’s just downright shameful for the Catholic reading to be recited neglectfuly like that without any accompanying contextual prayers or rubrics, and if I recite them after Typika, which is an absolutely beautiful service designed solely to give praise and glory to the Word of God, than it becomes horrifying that our readings should be so neglected.

Perhaps one could simply plug them into the Typika as well?
 
You may enjoy this:

2heartsnetwork.org/vine.pdf

It is a “spiritual mass” similar to a spiritual communion. It is very beautiful.

I have also adopted prayers from the mass, the daily office, and written some of my own and made them into a coherent devotion that I pray at home. On special days like Holy Saturday I may read a special collect and scriptural reading before I pray it. In that sense it functions sort of like the Daily Office, but it is a little different.
 
I suggest you just read the readings for Mass and end with the Our Father. Omit the parts softly said by the priest.
 
I agree that you should pray LotH, but since it often contains references to the Mass readings of the day, such as in the Gospel Canticle antiphons, it is good to also read the Mass readings at another time of day. LotH should take priority.
 
LiturgyGuy said:
I agree that you should pray LotH, but since it often contains references to the Mass readings of the day, such as in the Gospel Canticle antiphons, it is good to also read the Mass readings at another time of day. LotH should take priority.
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I agree the gospel readings should be read (I try but sometimes forget…). Best is not to try to set up a kind of “pseudo-Mass” but rather make it your lectio divina for the day. That is, the reading becomes the focus and the proper time is taken to absorb the reading and let it impact your life.

Looking at the OP’s morning routine, it seems like an awfully heavy load. I don’t know what kind of personal life (s)he leads, but even monks don’t have that heavy a load in the morning. It almost seems like overkill.

In our abbey, a monk’s typical morning would be:

-5 AM: Vigils (Matins), until about 5:50 on weekdays, 6:10 on Sundays and feasts
-6 AM to 7 AM: Lectio divina
-7 AM to 7:30 AM: breakfast
-7 30 AM to 8:10 AM: Lauds.
Errham said:
I should have clarified, and used a bit better terminology. I already pray the LOTH. And I think that that might be the problem as well. I do a morning prayer aggregate that begins at around 3:30 AM. It goes something like this:
-“Prayers upon awakening”, from the Horologion
-Midnight Office
-Orthros
-Typika
-Matins
-Rosary
  • Reading the daily Bible readings from Mass
    -Reading the haghiographies of the day’s Saints, from a dictionary of Saints or similar source
    -Lauds
    -First Hour
Click to expand...
As I mention above I think this may be overkill. As a Benedictine I try to achieve balance in prayer life.

However I’d like to point out a few elements of the above (ignoring the Orthodox bits as I’m not familiar with them).
  1. If you pray the Office of Readings (typically done as Matins of the LOTH) you should be getting the hagiographic reading of the saint if it’s an optional or mandatory memorial, feast, or solemnity. The Martyrology can be read for a brief insight on the other saints; in our monastery this is typically read during dinner by the lector in the crow’s nest of the refectory.
  2. Monks have an hour or so after Matins to practice lectio divina, and that’s where they meditate on the readings of the Mass (and get their inspiration for a homily if it’s one’s turn to preach that day); reading it as lectio complements its proclamation at the Mass itself, which the monks will be attending in any case.
  3. The “first hour” (Prime) has been canonically abolished though some monasteries still pray it ad libitum, particularly those still using the pre-Vatican II Monastic Office.
My current practice (when not using the Monastic Office as I do on occasion)

6 AM: Rise, Matins (Lauds and Office of Readings combined)
6:30 AM-7 AM Lectio
Breakfast
9:30 AM Terce, etc.

Sometimes I split Vigils and Lauds and do the Lectio in between but in summer I typically try to keep it shorter (which is monastic practice as well, with shorter readings).

In the monastery, they regularly have a communal rosary (usually in the evening before Compline), and monks may pray it individually as well during the day.

I try to make my prayer life as liturgical as possible, that is, by following the rubrics of the LOTH or the Monastic LOTH, so that I am in union with the Church’s official prayer.

My experience with liturgical prayer is that too heavy a load will soon frustrate, give you prayer fatigue, and likely end up with neglecting prayer for a long time until one gets back on the rails. Been there done that. I’ve tried everything from the LOTH to the full Monastic cursus of 250+ psalms a week, and a simpler Monastic schema in between (which can be spread over 1 or 2 weeks). Sticking to the LOTH and maybe some lectio allows one to develop a balanced and regular prayer habit that is easy to maintain.
 
To try and address this part of #1 “The question that remains is simply whether it’s still legal if you do it personally with no congregation present or whether there HAS to be a congregation present in order to validate the liturgy and make it an acceptable sacrifice of prayer in the church’s eyes.”

For a priest saying Mass the Roman Missal gives some good answers on this. It has both “The Order of Mass” and another ceremony “The Order of Mass With the Participation of a Single Minister”. The rubrics include:
“And he reverently consumes the Blood of Christ.
28. Meanwhile the minister recites the Communion Antiphon.”
The General Instruction of the Roman Missal, in the description of the “Mass at Which Only One Minister Participates” has: “254. Mass should not be celebrated without a minister, or at least one of the faithful, except for a just and reasonable cause. In this case the greetings, the instructions, and the blessing at the end of Mass are omitted.”

So, clearly in some circumstances, only a priest needs to be present for a Mass.

For the Liturgy of the Hours, one person saying it is also permitted. From the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours:

“33. … In a celebration in common and in private recitation the essential structure of the liturgy remains the same, that is, it is a conversation between God and his people. Celebration in common, however, expresses more clearly the ecclesial nature of the liturgy of the hours; it makes for active participation by all, … Hence, whenever it is possible to have a celebration in common, with the people present and actively taking part, this kind of celebration is to be preferred to one that is individual and, as it were, private.”

What is described in #1 is similar to what the official liturgical books sometimes call a “Celebration of the Word of God”. Other terms used are: “celebration of the liturgy of the word” or a “liturgy of the word” or a “celebration of the word”. These descriptions and examples may help in sorting out a structure. I am not aware of ceremony with the Sign of Peace, but no distribution of communion.

The Ceremonial of Bishops has in Part III, Chapter 7 “Celebrations of the Word of God”.

“224. Celebrations of the word of God should be patterned on the structure of the liturgy of the word at Mass.”

In 225 it describes what the bishop, priests and deacons wear.

In 226 it has "After the introductory rites (consisting of a song, greeting, and prayer), one or more readings from Sacred Scriptures are proclaimed, with songs or psalms or intervals of silence interspersed. Then there is a homily, which may be followed by a period of silent reflection. Then “praying the intercessions, in litanic or other suitable form that encourages participation.” Then the Lord’s Prayer. Next “The bishop, as the one who presides over the assembly, concludes the celebration with a prayer and blesses the people”. A deacon or minister dismisses the people saying “Go in the peace of Christ”. All reply “Thanks be to God.”

In the 1963 Vatican II document Sacrosanctum Concilium it has in article 35 §4
“Bible services should be encouraged, especially on the vigils of the more solemn feasts, on some weekdays in Advent and Lent, and on Sundays and holydays. They are particularly to be recommended in places where no priest is available; when this is the case, a deacon or some other person authorized by the bishop is to preside over the celebration.”

The 1964 Instruction Inter Oecumenici refers to this in n. 37-39, under the heading “Celebrations of the Word of God”.

The liturgical book Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults refers to Celebrations of the Word of God. For example in

“Blessings of the Catechumens
95. …
96. The blessings may be given by a priest, a deacon, or a qualified catechist appointed by the bishop (see no. 16). The blessings are usually given at the end of a celebration of the word; they may also be given at the end of a meeting for catechesis.” (I am quoting from the Australian edition, which may have different paragraph numbers to the USA edition.)

The Book of Blessings often has blessings in Mass or in ceremony that is not a Mass. For example, Part I, Chapter 3, “Order for the Blessing of Missionaries Sent to Proclaim the Gospel”. “452 As the present chapter provides, the best way to carry out such a rite is either within a celebration of the liturgy of the word or within a celebration of the eucharist.” Headings for this ceremony:

I. ORDER OF BLESSING WITHIN A CELEBRATION OF THE WORD OF GOD
INTRODUCTORY RITES
READING OF THE WORD OF GOD
INTERCESSIONS
PRAYER OF BLESSING
PRESENTATION OF CROSSES TO THE MISSIONARIES
CONCLUDING RITE

In the liturgical book “Holy Communion and the Worship of the Eucharist Outside of Mass” the first ceremony has these headings:
"RITE OF DISTRIBUTING HOLY COMMUNION OUTSIDE MASS
  1. THE LONG RITE WITH THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORD"
Another approach is a ceremony which is a “popular devotion” rather than a liturgy. In the “Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy” at vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20020513_vers-direttorio_en.html it has:
“Reading of the Lord’s Passion
130. The Church exhorts the faithful to frequent personal and community reading of the Word of God. Undoubtedly, the account of the Lord’s Passion is among the most important pastoral passages in the New Testament. …
During Lent, especially on Wednesdays and Fridays, love for our Crucified Saviour should move the Christian community to read the account of the Lord’s Passion. …
Outside of the liturgical celebration of the Passion, the Gospel narrative can be “dramatized”, giving the various parts of the narrative to different persons; or by interspersing it with hymns or moments of silent reflection.”
 
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