Who can preach the gospel?

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Hi, this is my first post but I was wondering, which can preach the gospel, as the gospel, outside of mass?

For example my confirmation class has a ‘gospel’ at the start of every session, during this event we all stand up and the reader goes " A reading from the holy gospel according to ******" and we all say " glory to you oh lord" while we cross our forehead, lips and heart. At the end of the gospel we do the norm… " praise to you lord Jesus Christ" and so on.

I am fully aware that only a priest/deacon can preach the gospel during mass, but I am not sure about outside of mass.
I thank you in advance for any replies.
 
Catholic_Duck said:
Hi, this is my first post but I was wondering, which can preach the gospel, as the gospel, outside of mass.

For example my confirmation class has a ‘gospel’ at the start of every session, during this event we all stand up and the reader goes " A reading from the holy gospel according to ******" and we all say " glory to you oh lord" while we cross our forehead, lips and heart. At the end of the gospel we do the norm… " praise to you lord Jesus Christ" and so on.

I am fully aware that only a priest/deacon can preach the gospel during mass, but I am not sure about outside of mass.
I thank you in advance for any replies.
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Anyone who God gives the grace to. Ask Him for grace to do it and have Faith. Trust Him. He wants everyone on Earth to be converted. His Will is not being done. Ask Him to make you an instrument of His Will. Do not try to do anything on your own. You can not do it without His help.

It is impossible to accomplish without divine intervention. It takes miracles to get converts. There are too many false beliefs out there. God has to give them the grace to have ears that will hear and eyes that will see. Then they have to avoid believing a heresy, which will also take grace from God. Do not rely on your own wisdom and knowledge. Pray for grace instead. Rely on His strength.

This will help you to explain the Mass and the priesthood to people you want to convert. It is useful for them to understand that the One Sacrifice of Christ is being made present at the Mass, and that His priests make His priesthood present in the Church.

Catechism:

1545 The redemptive sacrifice of Christ is unique, accomplished once for all; yet it is made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Church. The same is true of the one priesthood of Christ; it is made present through the ministerial priesthood without diminishing the uniqueness of Christ’s priesthood: "Only Christ is the true priest, the others being only his ministers."19

God loves you

I salute you
I salute your Guardian Angel
 
I am not sure than really answers my question. I am asking who can preach the gospel outside of mass.[BIBLEDRB][/BIBLEDRB]
 
Are you asking about simply reading the gospel passage or giving a homily?

Regardless though, in the case you described, it was not Mass so anyone can read a gospel passage and give reflections on it.

Within Mass, only the priest/deacon may do so…
 
Only about the actual reading itself, although it was not just a passage, the whole ‘ceremony went with it’

I was just confused as normally inbound church people read a gospel as a normal Bible reading outside of mass and it was the first time we had a whole gospel rubrics etc. In fact the only thing missing was the candles flanking the reader…
 
Catholic_Duck said:
Only about the actual reading itself, although it was not just a passage, the whole ‘ceremony went with it’

I was just confused as normally inbound church people read a gospel as a normal Bible reading outside of mass and it was the first time we had a whole gospel rubrics etc. In fact the only thing missing was the candles flanking the reader…
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Outside of the liturgy, anyone. Inside of the liturgy, whether it is Mass or the Liturgy of the Hours (the only one where this would apply would be an extended vigil of the Office of Readings on a Sunday or Solemnity), only the ordained.

Perhaps what I would recommend in the future is to not imitate the liturgy. Liturgical actions ought only occur within the context of the liturgy itself. So, is it ok if a lay person reads the Gospel? Yes. But, it might have been better to not do the dialogue (“The Lord be with you…and with your spirit. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to…”). Instead, maybe just say, “Our reading today comes from the Gospel according to St. Matthew/Mark/Luke/John.”
 
buc_fan33 said:
Perhaps what I would recommend in the future is to not imitate the liturgy. Liturgical actions ought only occur within the context of the liturgy itself. So, is it ok if a lay person reads the Gospel? Yes. But, it might have been better to not do the dialogue (“The Lord be with you…and with your spirit. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to…”). Instead, maybe just say, “Our reading today comes from the Gospel according to St. Matthew/Mark/Luke/John.”
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I agree with this.

It is pretty poor taste for a lay person to perform the liturgical actions associated with reading the Gospel during Mass.

I could see a deacon doing it outside of Mass, maybe, but thinkthe liturgical actions are best reserved for Mass.
 
TimothyH said:
I agree with this.

It is pretty poor taste for a lay person to perform the liturgical actions associated with reading the Gospel during Mass.

I could see a deacon doing it outside of Mass, maybe, but thinkthe liturgical actions are best reserved for Mass.
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Even outside of the Mass I wouldn’t recommend a member of the clergy “lifting” the liturgical format into a non liturgical setting. When the Liturgy of the Hours is prayed publicly the Mass dialog is not used before and after the Gospel. That is because the Mass is one liturgy and the LotH is a completely seperate liturgy with its own set of rubrics. When we transport parts of different liturgies into nonliturgical settings it just causes confusion.

(Not disagreeing with your post but rather expanding on it if you will)
 
Catholic_Duck said:
For example my confirmation class has a ‘gospel’ at the start of every session, during this event we all stand up and the reader goes " A reading from the holy gospel according to ******" and we all say " glory to you oh lord" while we cross our forehead, lips and heart. At the end of the gospel we do the norm… " praise to you lord Jesus Christ" and so on.
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You should not be using the rubrics from Mass to introduce the Gospel.

Simply say “A reading from St __”

Or simply start reading it without introduction.
 
I teach in a Catholic elementary school and often times we read the Gospel during morning announcement, and I have even read it in class to start my religion block…in both occasions we’ll start out by saying "today’s reading is from the gospel according to ?____ and all will respond accordingly…as a class or in the case of our principal over the morning announcements, there is usually a reflection that goes along with it (we have a daily prayer book for schools for children that we get this from) which is also read…our priest has never said anything against this and I’ve been doing it for 11 years…

P.S…we also do this at children’s liturgy during Sunday mass…
 
buc_fan33 said:
Outside of the liturgy, anyone. Inside of the liturgy, whether it is Mass or the Liturgy of the Hours (the only one where this would apply would be an extended vigil of the Office of Readings on a Sunday or Solemnity), only the ordained.

Perhaps what I would recommend in the future is to not imitate the liturgy. Liturgical actions ought only occur within the context of the liturgy itself. So, is it ok if a lay person reads the Gospel? Yes. But, it might have been better to not do the dialogue (“The Lord be with you…and with your spirit. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to…”). Instead, maybe just say, “Our reading today comes from the Gospel according to St. Matthew/Mark/Luke/John.”
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I don’t believe the LOTH has any Gospel readings, except for Luke 1: 68-79, Luke 1: 46-55 and Luke 2: 29-32, and none of them are preached; they are recited by community, and do not require a priest. I don’t recall any Gospel readings for Office of Readings?
 
otjm said:
I don’t believe the LOTH has any Gospel readings, except for Luke 1: 68-79, Luke 1: 46-55 and Luke 2: 29-32, and none of them are preached; they are recited by community, and do not require a priest. I don’t recall any Gospel readings for Office of Readings?
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Presuming it is the Roman breviary, and not a monastic breviary, it would only occur by way of exception only during the Paschal Triduum. In the case of, for example, a monastery of cloistered nuns, a member of the community would read the passage from the Office of Readings in this circumstance.
 
buc_fan33 said:
Outside of the liturgy, anyone. Inside of the liturgy, whether it is Mass or the Liturgy of the Hours (the only one where this would apply would be an extended vigil of the Office of Readings on a Sunday or Solemnity), only the ordained.

Perhaps what I would recommend in the future is to not imitate the liturgy. Liturgical actions ought only occur within the context of the liturgy itself. So, is it ok if a lay person reads the Gospel? Yes. But, it might have been better to not do the dialogue (“The Lord be with you…and with your spirit. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to…”). Instead, maybe just say, “Our reading today comes from the Gospel according to St. Matthew/Mark/Luke/John.”
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To preach the gospel is to give a sermon or a homily. To read the gospel publicly to others is to proclaim the gospel. Outside of Mass, anyone may proclaim the gospel reading although it is proper for a cleric to do so, if one is present, as for example at a vigil service for the deceased.

Actually, the dialogue that precedes the reading of the gospel is restricted to use by a cleric. The greeting (Dominus vobiscum) is proper to a cleric. If a non-cleric is leading a communion service, there are different formulae that are to be used instead and not the formulae a cleric would use. A layperson should always omit “The Lord be with you” just as a priest would omit the greeting “Peace be with you,” which is proper to a bishop, an abbot or one equivalent in law to them. The response (Et cum spiritu tuo) should properly only be addressed to a cleric. (So the dialogue before the Gospel should not be used by a non-cleric in any circumstance.)

The greeting and dialogue may be used by the clergy in para-liturgies and also outside of the liturgy. For example, if a priest is asked for a blessing, he may precede the blessing with the greeting: The Lord be with you, to which the people/person should respond as at Mass.

Normally, in the Mass, the gospel is to be read by a deacon. If no deacon is assisting, the gospel should be proclaimed by a priest. In the absence of both a concelebrating priest or a deacon assisting, then the bishop who is presiding proclaims the gospel himself.

There are circumstances in which a layperson would read the gospel in a liturgy…notably if the priest is blind and there is no other cleric present at Mass or if there is no priest or deacon and a layperson is leading a Communion service (weekday) or a Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest.
 
The Church has ceremonies that do not require a Bishop, Priest or Deacon and include the reading of the Gospel.

In preparing for Confirmation there are catechetical meetings. One of the liturgical books is Book of Blessings. It includes ceremonies that are used in these catechetical meetings. It has in Chapter 4, Section II, Order of Blessing for a Catechetical or Prayer Meeting. The introduction has:

“509 Whenever Christians or catechumens come together in the name of Christ, he himself, as he has said, is present in their midst. It is therefore entirely natural that those taking part in the meeting should wish to offer prayers in praise of Christ and in petition for the divine help needed to achieve the purpose for which they have gathered. This is particularly the case in meetings held for the purpose of catechesis or communal prayer, but it is also proper that other meetings be planned in such a way that a period of time is set aside so that the meeting begins with liturgical prayer.”

It then has a paragraph about how the Liturgy of the Hours can be used for this. The third paragraph has:

“But in some circumstances a celebration of the liturgy of the hours may not be possible. In this case the meeting should begin with an invocation of the Holy Spirit and of the divine blessing in the hymn Veni, creator or the antiphon Veni, Sancte Spiritus, or some other suitable song; then there is a short, well-chosen reading from sacred Scripture, followed by an opening prayer from the Roman Missal: from the Proper of Seasons, “Pentecost”; …”.

Other options for the Opening Prayer are given. At the end of the meeting there is a blessing. The ceremony can be done without a Priest or Deacon:
“512 The present order may be used by a priest or a deacon. It may also be used by a layperson, who follows the rites and prayers designated for a lay minister.”

It is not saying that the “reading from sacred Scripture” is not to include a Gospel reading. Clearly it can.

Often the ceremonies in the Book of Blessings can be done in Mass or outside Mass. The term for the ceremonies that are not in Mass is often “within a Celebration of the Word of God.” (For example Order for the Blessing of Missionaries Sent to Proclaim the Gospel).

In the liturgical book “Ceremonial of Bishops” it has a Chapter on Celebration of the Word of God. (Part III, Chapter 7). It includes: “224 Celebrations of the word of God should be patterned on the structure of the liturgy of the word at Mass.”

Here is another ceremony from the Book of Blessings, which includes a Gospel reading. It is Order for the Blessing of a Mother Before Childbirth, from Part I, Chapter 1, Section VIII, A. It includes:

READING OF THE WORD OF GOD
244 A reader, another person present, or the minister reads a text of sacred Scripture.
**Brothers and sisters, listen to words of holy gospel according to Luke: ** 1:39-45
The baby leapt in my womb for joy.

During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country …".

247 As circumstances suggest, the minister may give those present a brief explanation of the biblical text, so that they may understand through faith the meaning of the celebration."

This ceremony can be used by a “priest, a deacon, or a lay minister”.

These ceremonies are liturgy, they are not imitating the liturgy.
 
Sounds like they got the rubrics a bit wrong, technically. Sacramentals like candles if available aren’t wrong I suppose, strictly optional. I’ve known people use an icon and a vase of flowers at this sort of occasion.

As long as people aren’t out to manipulate you and make out the occasion is something different from what it really is, everyone bungles the odd detail on occasion!

The main thing is that you all listened to the Scriptures and the explanation of them given during the rest of the meeting and benefitted in your hearts!

May the series carry on being fruitful!
 
buc_fan33 said:
Outside of the liturgy, anyone. Inside of the liturgy, whether it is Mass or the Liturgy of the Hours (the only one where this would apply would be an extended vigil of the Office of Readings on a Sunday or Solemnity), only the ordained.

Perhaps what I would recommend in the future is to not imitate the liturgy. Liturgical actions ought only occur within the context of the liturgy itself. So, is it ok if a lay person reads the Gospel? ** Yes. But, it might have been better to not do the dialogue (“The Lord be with you…and with your spirit. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to…”). Instead, maybe just say, “Our reading today comes from the Gospel according to St. Matthew/Mark/Luke/John.”**
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The Gospel reading is announced, but never is “The Lord be with you,” to be used unless the reader is ordained. That’s one of the reasons nobody but a deacon or priest can read the Gospel during Mass, except the Passion when “The Lord be with you,” is not said.
 
Phemie said:
The Gospel reading is announced, but never is “The Lord be with you,” to be used unless the reader is ordained. That’s one of the reasons nobody but a deacon or priest can read the Gospel during Mass, except the Passion when “The Lord be with you,” is not said.
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buc-fan33 is a priest. When he wrote, "it might have been better to not do the dialogue (“The Lord be with you…and with your spirit…” I took it to mean that he was trying to say in a kind way that a lay person should not use the dialog of the ordained.
 
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