Why does the RCC have this "rule"?

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Annie_B

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I just saw the following question/answer in the “ask an appologist” section. I was wondering exactly why this is taught by the RCC.

Question: Who can read the Gospel durring Mass?
Answer:Hi,

At Mass the Gospel may be read by a bishop, priest or deacon ONLY!

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.

Why can’t anyone read the word of God?:confused:
Annie
 
anyone *can *read the word of God. The liturgical rubrics specify who can licitely read the Gospel during Mass. That’s part of liturgical tradition. IIRC, the East has similar “rules” regarding who should do which readings at the Divine Liturgy.
 
Anyone may read the word of god, however in a Mass only a Bishop, Priest or Deacan may do the Gospel reading, the old and new testement readings in the Mass are usually ready by lay lectors. That doesn’t mean that outside of Mass that lay people cannot read the Gospel, they can and do read the Gospel outside of Mass…
 
Annie_B said:
I just saw the following question/answer in the “ask an appologist” section. I was wondering exactly why this is taught by the RCC.

Question: Who can read the Gospel durring Mass?
Answer:Hi,

At Mass the Gospel may be read by a bishop, priest or deacon ONLY!

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.

Why can’t anyone read the word of God?:confused:
Annie
Click to expand...
Chris is right, of course.

You are not forbidden to read Holy Scripture, but in fact encouraged.

But during the liturgy one should pay attention.
 
Thank you for your responses. However, I am still waiting for an answer as to WHY the rule/tradition of who can and cannot read the Gospel durring Mass. Does anyone know?
Thanks -
Annie
 
Annie_B said:
Thank you for your responses. However, I am still waiting for an answer as to WHY the rule/tradition of who can and cannot read the Gospel durring Mass. Does anyone know?
Thanks -
Annie
Click to expand...
From early church forward, the deacon was charged with bringing the Gospel message to the people, not exclusively, but it was and is an important part of his ministry. This tradition became ritualized, and so, through the centuries it has been the role of the deacon to proclaim the Gospel at celebrations of the Holy Eucharist. When there is no deacon present, the Gospel is proclaimed either by the celebrant, or by another priest or bishop.

In other services, such as the Anglican Morning and Evening Prayer, reading of lessons is done usually by lay people.
 
Annie_B said:
Thank you for your responses. However, I am still waiting for an answer as to WHY the rule/tradition of who can and cannot read the Gospel durring Mass. Does anyone know?
Thanks -
Annie
Click to expand...
We have 2 readings by lay people (not Gospel but OT and NT) before the Gospel reading is done by a priest, deacon or Bishop. It is a matter of respect and tradition. We stand for the Gospel reading but not for the other two Bible readings. In the navy a flag officer or Captain of the ship is “piped” aboard and announced on the shipboard speaker…courtesy and tradition is the reason and that is good enough reason.
Most Christian sects and the Catholic Church requires a pastor or priest to marry people…because it is an important event… a sacrament. Our priests kiss the Gospels during the liturgy but he will not kiss the Church bulletin before reading the announcments in the bulletin…a matter of relative importance. That is about the best I can do:)
 
pismopal said:
We have 2 readings by lay people (not Gospel but OT and NT) before the Gospel reading is done by a priest, deacon or Bishop. It is a matter of respect and tradition. We stand for the Gospel reading but not for the other two Bible readings. In the navy a flag officer or Captain of the ship is “piped” aboard and announced on the shipboard speaker…courtesy and tradition is the reason and that is good enough reason.
Most Christian sects and the Catholic Church requires a pastor or priest to marry people…because it is an important event… a sacrament. Our priests kiss the Gospels during the liturgy but he will not kiss the Church bulletin before reading the announcments in the bulletin…a matter of relative importance. That is about the best I can do:)
Click to expand...
To build on this, you must remember who the first Christians were, Jews converted to what became later known as Christianity.

Many of the traditions are brought to the Church from the Jewish roots of Jesus. Reading of the scrolls in the Jewish liturgy was not done by just anyone. Now outside of the ritual celebration, as already stated, any baptized or barmitsfa’d (I know that’s not the correct way to say it) can read scripture within the word, just not the gospel which like the sacrifice in the temple, is reserved to the ordained person for that task.

Many symbols and ritual events can be traced back to our Jewish roots.

This is one of the things I am most looking forward to at the end of 2010, to proclaim the Gospel in Mass!
 
Annie_B said:
Thank you for your responses. However, I am still waiting for an answer as to WHY the rule/tradition of who can and cannot read the Gospel durring Mass. Does anyone know?
Thanks -
Annie
Click to expand...
You can perhaps draw a parallel with Jewish useage.

In Synagogue services there are several readings. The first is the least “honorific”, then they increase to the last (which includes the Prophets as well) being the most prestigious.

Since the Deacons have been historically seen as the “eyes, ears, and mouth of the Bishop” (in the words of one ancient Christian writer), this was seen as part of the Deacon’s liturgical ministry.

It must be of Apostolic origin, because ALL the Apostolic Churches of the East–even Non-Chalcedonian and Assyrian–follow this practice.
 
At mass, the priest acts “in persona Christi” or “in the person of Christ”. The ordained ministers are alos the only people in attendance who have been ordained in a direct succession from the apostles.

The Church is keen on helping her people to focus on Christ and his gospel message and this is one way to help us.
 
It is the way it has been since the begining, it is the role of the priest to read the gospel during the liturgy. Why should it matter?
 
what this is saying is that during the Mass, when people read Scripture out loud, only the priest or deacon is allowed to read out the Gospel. Many people follow along in their Missals as he’s reading. Of course anyone can read Scripture and the Gospels… what this is talking about is the ritual part of the Mass and who gets to read it out loud during Mass.
 
I believe there is scripture on this as well. In fact I believe that it talks about if by circumstances there is no man available, that a women could read scripture but she had to have her head covered.
 
Annie_B said:
I just saw the following question/answer in the “ask an appologist” section. I was wondering exactly why this is taught by the RCC.

Question: Who can read the Gospel durring Mass?
Answer:Hi,

At Mass the Gospel may be read by a bishop, priest or deacon ONLY!

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.

Why can’t anyone read the word of God?:confused:
Annie
Click to expand...
It is also the practice within Lutheranism that, in the divine service (Mass), the Pastor reads the Gospel. Lay readers are often used to read OT and Epistle reading.

Jon
 
The work of the priest is to make manifest Jesus in the Word and Sacraments…preaching the homily is for ordained clergy…the grace of office…a lay person can share a reflection…but the grace is there for the priest/deacon on the Gospel.

Lay people partcipate in the Liturgy of the Word…in regards to reading the Old and New Testament readings for that day.

The Liturgy of the Word concludes after the Gospel and homily, the Nicene Creed and then the prayer intercessions of the faithful, read by the 2nd Reader who previously gave the New Testament Reading…

The Offertory begins the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
 
In the Liturgy of the Word during the Mass, we have **two witnesses ** the first witness **announces the coming of the Lord Jesus from a reading from the Old Testament Pentateuch (law) or Prophets, The next witness is an eyewitness **(Apostle) account of Jesus from an Epistle from the New Testament, both “Proclamations” are generally proclaimed by a Lay person of the “Confirmed” Apostolic faith, which is followed by the “Alleluiah” Proclaimed by song from the mystical body of Jesus Christ, which includes the Church Triumphant from heaven with the heavenly Angels in participation with the Church Militant on earth which pronounces the coming of the Word of God himself from the Gospels, **which can only be proclaimed by “one who is sent” from God who possesses the consecrated life **(of Holy Orders) unto the Lord from the Apostolic ministries which include the biblical “Overseer”(Bishops) “Presbyters” (Priest) and or “Deacons”, who are sent to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and feed (teach) the Church Jesus built upon Peter in the Catholic Church today.

The Rule has existed since Jesus Christ instituted the Eucharist at the Last supper when Jesus commanded his Apostles to “do this in rememberance of me”.
The Gospel is proclaimed from those who are living the Gospel consecrated life, and then the True Presence of the Word made flesh in the mysteries of the “parousia” Eucharist confected by a Priest or Bishop in persona Christi, "

John 17:6
"I revealed your name 5 to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
7
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
8
**because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. **9
I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours,
10
and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them.
11
**And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are. **
12
When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled.
13
But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely.
14
**I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.
15
6 I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one.
16
They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.
17
Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. **
18
**As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. **
19
And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.
20
**“I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, **
21
**so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. **
22
And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one,
23
**I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. **
24
**Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am 7 they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. **
25
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
26
**I made known to them your name and I will make it known, 8 that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.” **
 
There is even more to this than they are letting on.
They even stand for the Gospel. Yes, they pay such close attention they actually get up and stand before it is read, and while it is read.
You may wonder why there is such a rule for this. Wonder no longer. Go and see it for yourself and you may find even more rules they follow that will lead to more questions.
 
StrawberryJam said:
There is even more to this than they are letting on.
They even stand for the Gospel. Yes, they pay such close attention they actually get up and stand before it is read, and while it is read.
You may wonder why there is such a rule for this. Wonder no longer. Go and see it for yourself and you may find even more rules they follow that will lead to more questions.
Click to expand...
When the Priest goes to the ambo for the Gospel reading, we stand in attentive reverence. Why? Because of the unique presence of Christ in the proclamation of the Gospel. We believe that Christ “is present in his word, since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the church” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, #7). You may want to ask also why we genuflect or bow to the Altar before getting to our seats. This is our sign of respect to our loving God who is present in the Tabernacle.
God bless.
 
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