Where you go to Mass does the Reader carry the Lectionary in the Procession?

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David_B

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As far as I understand the practice of carrying the Lectionary during the procession and recessionals is prohibited. What is allowed though is the use of the Book of Gospels in the procession but not the recessional.

Here’s a relevent section from GIRM
  1. Once the congregation has gathered, the priest and the ministers, clad in their vestments, go to the altar in this order:
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a) a server with a lighted censer, if incense is used;
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b) the servers, who, according to the occasion, carry lighted candles, and between them the cross-bearer, if the cross is to be carried;
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c) acolytes and other ministers;
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d) a reader, who may carry the Book of the Gospels;
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e) the priest who is to celebrate the Mass.
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our deacon carries it up. never a reader. if a deacon isn’t there, it isn’t carried.
 
The Lectionary should never be carried in procession. Only the Book of Gospels. If the gospel is read from the Lectionary, no book should be in procession. A layman may carry the Book of Gospels in procession, if no deacon is present.

Adam
 
In our church, lay readers are never in the procession. If the deacon is present, he carries the Book of Gospels. The one time I can remember there not being a deacon, the priest read the gospel from the lectionary, but it was not carried in the processional.

–Bill
 
The lay reader (or readers if there are two) are in the procession and carries the book of the Gospels. The Lectionary is not carried in procession.
 
The second reader is responsible for making sure the lectionary is already up front before the processional. Then the first reader takes the Book of the Gospels in the processional.
 
At Sunday and Saturday vigil Masses, the Book of Gospels is carried in procession by the deacon. If the deacon is not there, the Book of Gospels is ready for pickup but not processed. After the deacon or priest has proclaimed the Gospel and venerated (kissed) it, it is placed on a special stand. NOBODY is allowed to sit down for the homily until the Book of the Gospels is in place.

At weekday Masses, the priest proclaims it from the lectionary, venerates it, and closes it. Because Father got so unnerved when everybody was flopping on their keesters on Sunday (a rarity for this priest), NOBODY during daily Mass sits until they are sure he is finished venerating the Gospel and has closed the lectionary. I have seen everybody look at everybody else, making sure Father feels he’s finished.:rotfl:
 
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NetNuncio:
The Lectionary should never be carried in procession. Only the Book of Gospels. If the gospel is read from the Lectionary, no book should be in procession. A layman may carry the Book of Gospels in procession, if no deacon is present.

Adam
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thinks actually, now that you’ve said that, it’s just the Gospels…oh, well! either way, it’s the deacon at our church.
 
Nobody carries it up in our Church and I can’t think of many that do.
 
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alterserver_07:
Nobody carries it up in our Church and I can’t think of many that do.
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I guess maybe its a regional thing. It just seems almost every single parish I’ve attended Mass at in both the Springfield, MA and Boston Dioceses usually has a reader carrying a Lectionary in the procession. One place I remember they actually carried both the Lectionary and the Book of Gospels in the Procession! I guess its just one of those little things in the grand scheme of things might not be worth battling over, but it just kinda annoys me.
 
In my parish no book is carried in the processional or recessional, as far as I remember… Maybe I’m missing it in the sea of altar boys. :whacky:

Anyway, at the chapel I attend on school days the reader carries either the Lectionary or the Book of the Gospels in the processional and the recessional… :hmmm:How can you tell which one’s which? What’s the difference between the Lectionary and the Book of the Gospels? To be honest this is the first time I hear of the latter…
 
The Lectionary contains the first reading, the responsorial psalm, the second reading and the gospel. The book of Gospels contains only the gospel readings.

Adam
 
Mot Juste:
In our church, lay readers are never in the procession. If the deacon is present, he carries the Book of Gospels. The one time I can remember there not being a deacon, the priest read the gospel from the lectionary, but it was not carried in the processional.

–Bill
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I suspect that he read it from the Book of Gospels, not the Lectionary, as I don’t beleieve it is in the Lectionary.
 
We used to carry the Lectionary, but when the new GIRM was implemented and the parish obtained a new Book of the Gospels, that stopped. Now the deacon, or if there is no deacon, one of the lectors carries the Book of the Gospels in procession and sets it on the altar until the Gospel is proclaimed.
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 Lectors were told to carry the Book of the Gospels out after Mass but the deacons never do it.
-Illini
 
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NetNuncio:
The Lectionary contains the first reading, the responsorial psalm, the second reading and the gospel. The book of Gospels contains only the gospel readings.

Adam
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Thanks. So it’s the Lectionary… Does this mean that the chapel I mentioned is committing a liturgical abuse? :eek: I’ve done it myself before when they’ve asked me to be a reader, since I didn’t know it was against the rules. This September they’ll probably ask me to be a reader again, what do I do? Do I decline? Do I tell them it’s against the GIRM to carry it in the processional/recessional? :bigyikes:

Should I report it now and hope it will be changed by the time school comes around? Eeek…
 
While we’re discussing minutiae about the book of Gospels, is it required to be the exact one I usually see, with the red cover and funky metallic design? Or could it theoretically be any such book with the approved translation?

And, for those who design the cover, is it required to be red, or are there any other requirements?
 
As a reader I will carry The Book of the Gospels in procession if no Deacon is present. Otherwise he does it. It is prominently placed on the alter during the Liturgy of the Word up to the Gospel Reading. If the Deacon is serving, he retrieves it from the Alter and then carries it to the Priest for his blessing. The Deacon then carries The Book of the Gospels aloft to the ambo and delivers the Gospel Reading. If no Deacon is present the Priest retrieves it and carries it aloft to the ambo and delivers the Gospel. (The readers are trained to move the lectionary from the top of the ambo in order to facilitate a dignified placement of the Book of the Gospel). The Book of the Gospels remains out of sight on the ambo after the Gospel reading is finished. It is not processed out. This is how we handle the Book of the Gospels. I understand it to be in agreement with the GIRM and our Bishop’s direction.

The Book of the Gospels is an ornate book containing the Gospel readings for the three cycles. Ours is a large book that has a gold metal cover with the symbols of the Evangelists. This book is distinct because of the importance we place on the Gospel readings. I really don’t think the lectionary should be carried in procession nor otherwise venerated.

Christ’s Peace,

TJD
 
David B’s first post is correct but that dosen’t mean that is how it is done in most parishes…I dont think most places intend to implement liturgical abuses but just don’t have the time to read all the doucuments… I wish the Bishops would just come out and say in no uncertian terms …You need to do this and that…period! I will be the first in line to do what they request…just tell us.
Mike
 
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