(…yes, I am old enough to remember Skip Ewing)
After the First Reading, the Responsorial Psalm, and the Second Reading, the Liturgy of the Word reaches its climax in the Gospel reading. The Gospels are the 4 (accepted) accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus. In Mass, the selected reading from one of the Gospels is proclaimed by a deacon. If there is no deacon, it is read by a priest other than the principal celebrant. If there is only one priest at the Mass, it’s his duty.
The Gospel reading is preceded by the Gospel Acclamation. During most of the year, this acclamation is an antiphon consisting (mainly) of the word Alleluia. Alleluia is a super old word that appears in plenty of places throughout the Bible. It can generally be translated as meaning “All Hail to Him Who Is” with “All Hail” being equivalent to “Glory to God in the Highest,” and “Who Is” being reminiscent of when Moses asked God who he should tell the Israelites sent him, and God said to tell them “I AM” sent him to them. There’s a pretty fundamentally metaphysical and ontological truth behind that whole “I AM” bit that we don’t have time to get into here, but it’ll all come in time. Anyway, the only time we DON’T say Alleluia is during the season of Lent, because Alleluia is a joyful term, and Lent is a time of penance, and so we use some other Gospel Acclamation such as “Glory & Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ,” which is still signifying the importance of the Gospel, but it is done with a more solemn tone. Plus, having this span of time away from being able to say Alleluia makes it that much more awesome when we get to sing it (and sing it up BIG) at the Easter Vigil. (I’m getting chills just thinking about that Easter Vigil…awesome stuff, there.)
The Gospel is the high point of the Liturgy of the Word, and there’s plenty going on to make us realize this fact. First, we see the incense making an appearance for the 2nd time in Mass. Prior to (or sometimes during the beginning of) the Gospel Acclamation (Alleluia), the thurifer (altar server who is in charge of the thurible) brings the thurible over to the celebrant, who puts a couple scoops of incense over the charcoal in order to turn the smoke factor back up to 11 (sorry if you don’t get that movie reference). Then everyone stands, which, if you remember, is a more respectful posture than sitting, and the deacon turns to the celebrant and receives a blessing from him that helps prepare his heart for proclaiming the Gospel. The blessing goes like this:
May the Lord be in your heart and on your lips that you may proclaim his Gospel worthily and well, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit
Then the deacon, accompanied by the thurifer and two acolytes (altar servers in charge of the candles) goes over to the place where the Book of the Gospels was placed during the Entrance of the Mass. The Book of the Gospels is generally kept either on the altar, or on a separate stand—as long as it’s put in a place of respect.
Now, as a little aside, I’d like to share something I’ve been contemplating for a few years now. This is not Church teaching…just my observances. We know that the Gospel is the high point of the Liturgy of the Word, right? (Just trust me on this.) Ok, so if that’s true, then we should take advantage of the little ways we can make it even more “epic.” There’s nothing wrong with paying extra attention to the tiniest of details so we can try to make the Mass as awesome as possible, as long as it’s not theologically incorrect to do so, right? That being said, many of the versions of the Book of the Gospels I’ve seen come with a little clear acrylic stand so you can stand them up on display on a flat surface (like the altar). Many churches (possibly even a majority) use these little stands and put the Book of the Gospels on them until the Gospel Acclamation, and then put them on another stand after the Gospel has been proclaimed. Here’s where it gets into the detail. If the Book of the Gospels has been on display for the whole congregation to see all through the Introductory Rites and the first half of the Liturgy of the Word, isn’t it sort of anti-climactic when the deacon raises the book up high during the Gospel Acclamation for the congregation to see? I mean, it’s been staring them in the face for the past 10-15 minutes of Mass. It’s not like they’re seeing it for the first time, are they? My suggestion is: ditch the junky little plastic stand. It has no theological significance, and is (again, in MY opinion, and not necessarily the opinion of the whole Church) a waste of a perfectly good opportunity to add some fundamental awesomeness to the Gospel. Ok, let me just step down off my soapbox for a minute and get back to the facts…
If there is no deacon at the Mass, the priest becomes the default proclaimer of the Gospel. In this case, when the priest goes to retrieve the Book of the Gospels from the altar or other place, he will say a silent prayer, since he did not receive a blessing like the deacon did. That prayer, beginning in Advent 2011, will be:
Cleanse my heart and my lips, almighty God, that I may worthily proclaim your holy Gospel.
So the deacon (or priest if there is no deacon) and his “Gospel entourage” take the Book of the Gospels over to the ambo where the Gospel will be proclaimed from and wait for the Gospel Acclamation to finish, if it hasn’t done so already.
Next, the deacon will say to the congregation, “The Lord be with You.” The people currently respond, “And also with you;” however, this Advent, this will be changing much like the greeting at the beginning of Mass, and the people will respond, “And with your spirit.” Then the deacon says, “A reading from the Holy Gospel according to ________,” to which the people respond, “Glory to You, Lord.” A couple points to make here: (1) obviously, the deacon doesn’t say “…according to blank,” but says which Gospel the reading comes from (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John), (2) when the people respond, “Glory to You, Lord,” they use their thumbs of their right hands to trace small crosses on their foreheads, lips, and then their hearts. This is to remind the congregation that the Word of God should always be on our minds, on our lips (meaning that we should preach the Gospel—using words if necessary…oh SNAP! Thanks, St. Francis! That’s a classic!), and on our hearts. After this little silent prayer, the deacon takes the thurible from the thurifer, incenses the Book of the Gospels, and hands the thurible back to the thurifer. He then reads the Gospel passage and concludes it by saying, “The Gospel of the Lord,” to which the congregation replies, “Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.”
At this point, one of several things can happen. Depending on the diocese you’re in, you may repeat the Gospel Acclamation—or at least a portion of it—while the deacon brings the Book of the Gospels to a place of respect. It is not taken back to the altar, because the altar will be used for a different purpose later, and the two ideas should be held in their own individual regards. Some dioceses (and even some parishes, individually, for different reasons) will not repeat the Gospel Acclamation, but will simply place the book in its respectful spot. If there is a bishop celebrating the Mass, the deacon will take the Book of the Gospels over to the bishop for him to kiss as a sign of respect for the Word of God, then will hold the Book of the Gospels, himself, and use it to bless the people of the congregation by tracing a large cross over them with the Book. Whichever of these scenarios you encounter, afterward, everyone sits to prepare themselves for the homily…everyone, of course, except for the deacon, priest, or bishop who will be giving the homily, which we’ll be talking about next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment