What are the duties of an MC?

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Maxwell03

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I’m just curious what are the duties of an MC? Whether it be inside or outside of mass

We have an MC at our parish but rarely is there because he’s already at the age of 20+ and has work and stuff to do he started to pass down some of his responsibilities to the senior severs.
 
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The MC (Master of Ceremonies) is basically the head altar server at a TLM. He makes sure the other servers are doing their jobs when they’re supposed to be done, and recites the server parts of the Mass when a Deacon isn’t present (Psalm 42, the Confiteor, etc.). With my experience with the FSSP, there are generally a couple MCs per parish.
 
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We have only one at our parish (non TLM) and he is in his 30s. He is only “there” for the big masses like Easter etc. Personally, his presence is distracting and he stands out by his obvious movements and the way he directs the altar servers.
 
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I’m an MC for the OF… I make sure the servers know what they’re doing, give the Missal-bearer the Missal, prompt the servers for the Gospel procession, hold the priest’s chasuble at incensationsif there’s no Deacon present, set the altar if there’s no deacon, among other things
 
@Maximilian75 , do you wear something different than the other servers?
 
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Yes- cassock and aurplice when the normal servers wear albs
 
So wait at other parishes the MC doesn’t have authority over other ministries inside the liturgy?
 
I grew up in the 70s and 80s. Post Vatican Ii. I’m 100 percent sure an MCs duties are to rock the mic. And rock the mic hard.
 
Our MC tends to rotate every so often, but he is also only there for the “big” Masses, like the Easter Vigil and Confirmation. Basically, he is there to help at the liturgies where stuff is going on that the altar servers aren’t used to doing.

Our current MC does a pretty good job. He’s not very distracting.
 
Then there is the Bishop’s MC, who is responsible for the choreography of the miter and crozier, oversees special liturgies such as at Confirmation, and manages the vimps.
 
The only time I’ve ever seen an MC in my diocese is during Masses with the Bishop. Generally, the MC is used for multi-parish Confirmations, Ordinations, Chrism Mass, etc…

The MC at our cathedral coordinates any rehearsals, readies the liturgical garments, sets the sanctuary with the appropriate sacrementals (chalices, patens, etc…) and does a lot of ‘ushering’ of servers and priests to where they need to be and when they need to be there. Basically a sacristan on steroids. Our Cathedral MC is a permanent Deacon.
 
From Ceremonial of Bishops (ISBN 0814618189 ):

"Master of Ceremonies

34 For a liturgical celebration, especially a celebration presided over by the bishop, to be distinguished by grace, simplicity, and order, a master of ceremonies is needed to prepare and direct the celebration in close cooperation with the bishop and others responsible for planning its several parts, and especially from a pastoral standpoint.

The master of ceremonies should be well-versed in the history and nature of the liturgy and in its laws and precepts. But equally he should be well-versed in pastoral science, so that he knows how to plan liturgical celebrations in a way that encourages fruitful participation by the people and enhances the beauty of the rites.

He should seek to ensure an observance of liturgical laws that is in accord with the true spirit of such laws and with those legitimate traditions of the particular Church that have pastoral value.

35 In due time he should arrange with the cantors, assistants, ministers, and celebrants the actions to be carried out and the texts to be used, but during the celebration he should exercise the greatest discretion: he is not to speak more than is necessary, nor replace the deacons or assistants at the side of the celebrant. The master of ceremonies should carry out his responsibilities with reverence, patience, and careful attention.

36 The master of ceremonies wears either an alb or a cassock and surplice. Within a celebration a master of ceremonies who is an ordained deacon may wear a dalmatic and other diaconal vestments."

From the General Instruction of the Roman Missal:

“ 106. It is desirable, at least in cathedrals and in larger churches, to have some competent minister or master of ceremonies, to see to the appropriate arrangement of sacred actions and to their being carried out by the sacred ministers and lay faithful with decorum, order and devotion.”

[Excerpts from the English translations of The Roman Missal (c) 2010 International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation and Ceremonial of Bishops (c) 1989 International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.]
 
Ideally, as the Ceremonial describes, the MC of the parish should essentially be the pastor’s liturgical delegate for all of the ministries immediately before, during, and after the liturgy. This is in order to make the pastor not as burdened with matters he should not have to attend to, and enable him to focus on more pressing ones — based on my own experience, I would say chief among these is allowing him to give more time to hearing Confessions.

In practice, however, most parishes won’t have an MC for a variety of reasons, which is unfortunate, while those that do are usually unqualified, and are often distracting boors.

Also, at most Extraordinary Form Masses, most MCs of the particular Mass aren’t really what you would call an MC according to the Ceremonial’s definition, that is, overseeing the liturgy, but are just fulfilling a mechanical function within the liturgy (making the responses, flipping the pages of the missal, etc.).
 
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