Non Solum: Gospel Procession

Today’s Question: Gospel Procession


The Gospel procession is one of the most flexible parts of the Mass, and thus open to many creative possibilities. It may range from an elaborate procession with the Book of the Gospels reminiscent of the little entrance in the Eastern rites to a simple procession by the priest from his chair to the ambo in the absence of the Book of the Gospels. Other practices include a procession of the Book of the Gospels with candles and incense from the altar to the ambo. On special occasions I have also seen the Book of the Gospels processed with candles and incense to the middle of the nave, though this is not envisioned by the rubrics. Mass with a Deacon adds even more options for the Gospel Procession. Regardless of how the procession is done, it seems that as soon as the music of the Gospel Acclamation has finished the priest or deacon should say “The Lord be with you.” This requires coordination between the music ministers and whoever is proclaiming the Gospel, as well as, a certain attentiveness on the part of the priest or deacon. Above all, as with many parts of the reformed liturgy, more creativity is allowed in the Gospel Procession than we have become accustomed to. 

What are your thoughts? What does your community do, and why?

Moderator’s note: “Non solum” is a feature at Pray Tell for our readership community to discuss practical liturgical issues. The title comes from article 11 of the Vatican II liturgy constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium: “Therefore there is to be vigilance among holy pastors that in liturgical action not only are laws for valid and licit celebration to be observed, but that the faithful should participate knowingly, actively, and fruitfully.” (Ideo sacris pastoribus advigilandum est ut in actione liturgica non solum observentur leges ad validam et licitam celebrationem, sed ut fideles scienter, actuose et fructuose eandem participent.) May the series contribute to good liturgical practice – not only following the law, but especially grasping the spirit of the liturgy!

Nathan Chase

Nathan P. Chase is Assistant Professor of Liturgical and Sacramental Theology at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, MO. He has contributed a number of articles to the field of liturgical studies, including pieces on liturgy in the early Church, initiation, the Eucharist, inculturation, and the Western Non-Roman Rites, in particular the Hispano-Mozarabic tradition. His first book The Homiliae Toletanae and the Theology of Lent and Easter was published in 2020. His second monograph, published in 2023, is titled The Anaphoral Tradition in the ‘Barcelona Papyrus.’

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Comments

23 responses to “Non Solum: Gospel Procession”

  1. Fr. Jack Feehily

    The Book of the Gospels is placed on the altar. During the Gospel Acclamation, the priest or deacon moves to the altar, lifts the book and turns and steps forward toward the people while the verse is being sung. Afterwards he proceeds to the ambo and greets the people at the conclusion of the acclamation. Following the proclamation, he takes the Book and places it in on a small shelf in front of the ambo where it remains throughout the Mass. At weekday Masses we don’t use the book of the gospels, but I do process from the chair past the altar to the ambo while the acclamation is sung.

    Reply
    1. John Swencki

      @Fr. Jack Feehily – comment #1:
      Bravo for placing the Gospels on that small shelf in front of the ambo. In many places I’ve seen, after the proclamation of the Gospel the Book of the Gospels is simply closed and slid into that shelf on the ambo, along with other books, notes, etc. Seems to negate the reverence previously given the Word.

      In the EF there is such a thing as the “Minor Elevation”; is the procession with the Gospels to the ambo considered a kind of ‘minor procession’ with less ‘flair’, given its prominence/importance in the entrance procession at beginning of Mass?

      Reply
      1. Brent Curry

        What is the proper name for the small shelf on the front of the ambo?

  2. Paul Schlachter

    Yes, anything that enhances our appreciation of the Gospel proclamation and catches our visual attention should be encouraged. In my most recent parish experiences the deacon and presider limit themselves to move from the chair to the ambo. It’s an opportunity lost, and perhaps people wonder what the Alleluia song is all about.

    Two events in which I took part brought this home. It may be a common practice in synagogues for the Scroll of the Law to be taken into the assembly and processed up and down, at which time those who wish may touch it and receive a blessing. I experienced this often in one temple, and as a lector (though a Gentile) I of course lined up for that blessing. By contrast, many years ago during an NPM convention in Pittsburgh the Book of the Gospels was taken with singing and dancing throughout the assembly, though none of us was allowed to touch it (lest we die?). Paul Inwood may remember that convention since he spoke there. There is so little for the congregation to do in liturgies, and this opportunity for a blessing ought to be explored.

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  3. Protodeacon David Kennedy

    Is there a published Book of the Gospel for the Roman rite (in any language) that includes all four gospels or all of the pericopes not just those for Sundays and solemnities? And if not why?

    Reply
  4. Jack Rakosky

    When the pastor of my favorite parish, a scripture scholar, gives the homily, there is a rather unusual procession since he will proclaim the Gospel from memory not the Book.

    He elevates the Book of the Gospels from its place on the altar, and then processes to the middle of the “square” area in front of the altar which is surrounded on three sides by the congregation. A server is already positioned in the center of the square facing the priest and altar. The priest places the open Gospel Book into the waiting hands and breast of the server, gives the Greeting, etc. There are no candles or incense. The priest goes back up the altar steps and proclaims the Gospel from memory standing between and slightly to the front of the ambo and altar. “Tells the story of the Gospel” would be a better description because the priest does it much as the Gospel was likely told originally in an oral rather than a written culture.

    So the Book of the Gospels is placed in the midst of the assembly for its proclamation; you might say it is enthroned on the server as a representative of the assembly. The priest on the other hand does not abandon his fundamental location in the sanctuary, literally between the ambo and the altar.

    When the Gospel is finished the priest comes and kisses the Book of the Gospels and then gives the homily from the square. The server takes the Gospel Book to a credence table. You might say the Book has served its function and should now rest in the hearts of the assembly as the homilist opens it up.

    Obviously, you have to have a good memory to pull this off. A visiting retreat director could not help but apologize by beginning his homily with “That is simply amazing; you people are probably use to that Sunday and Sunday, but I just cannot begin without expressing my amazement.”

    Reply
  5. Mark Miller

    As many of you know, typically in very many Episcopal churches ( and not at all only high church ones) the Gospel book is processed down the center aisle into the midst of the congregation, with candles (and incense and occasionally even the cross) and there proclaimed. All turn and face the book

    Reply
    1. Brian Palmer

      @Mark Miller – comment #6:
      I’ve noticed a few Catholic churches also have the procession into the middle of the nave for singing the Gospel, or they have a procession around the church with the book incensed until the deacon reaches the center of the nave . One place in particular had antiphonal seating with a bema containing a throne for the book and a lectern. This raised platform was used solely for the Gospel and for the sermon.

      Reply
  6. Earle Luscombe

    In my current parish, the priest or deacon simply goes to the Ambo, during the Alleluia, reads the Gospel, and then the Homily begins. I would note the the book of the Gospels is carried in the Entrance procession by a reader, and placed on the Ambo. The other side of that coin, was in a very high Lutheran, church. Here there was a procession with the processional cross, candles, incense, to the center of the nave where the Gospel was chanted, never said. Which do I like better? Definitely the latter.

    Reply
  7. Rick Reed

    We have not too much difficulty with our procession, but I’m curious about how others include the preparation of the incense. Mostly, I’ve seen the thurible being brought to the seated Presider who puts the incense on the charcoal. When he stands, all stand and the Gospel Acclamation begins. Variations?

    Reply
  8. Chuck Middendorf

    Our pastor processes with the Book of the Gospels as if it’s really Good News, with excitement, going to the corners of the side aisles and makes sure everyone can see it.

    Our deacon processes with the Book of the Gospels as it’s Bad News, and takes the shortest route, at the slowest pace, even at the Easter Vigil when we encourage a longer procession.

    Our church is really too small for candles in a procession. But at the Easter Vigil we’ll use incense. (To Rick Reed: the deacon just prepares it at the ambo and the incense remains there as the gospel is proclaimed.)

    Side question: how is your Book of the Gospels placed on the altar? I’ve been to enough Eastern Rite liturgies where I see it laying on the altar, and I read the instructions as such. Lots of churches out here prop it open standing up (ruining the binding) or in an ugly stand.

    Reply
  9. Dwayne Bartles

    So the Book of the Gospels is placed in the midst of the assembly for its proclamation; you might say it is enthroned on the server as a representative of the assembly. The priest on the other hand does not abandon his fundamental location in the sanctuary, literally between the ambo and the altar.

    Hm, so the congregation serves as a sort of mute footstool, while the priest claims center stage (abandoning the whole concept of the Table of the Word in the process) as he wows his captive audience with displays of his own prowess. That’s some messed up ecclesiology.

    Reply
  10. John Swencki

    Reading the comments, I get to a-wondering…. As much as possible I try to maintain the ‘connection’ between our liturgical environment and practice with its roots in Jewish practice. (Wish I could still use a ‘tent’ to cover the tabernacle….) As we know, in Judaism the emphasis is on HEARING the word of God. Are we putting too much emphasis on SEEING what is done with the book of the Word? By way of analogy, the Eucharist is meant to be consumed but it is brought from and to the tabernacle with reverence and devotion; it is ‘tabernacled’ in a dignified way. Is some similar construct possible for the Word?

    Reply
    1. Jordan Zarembo

      @John Swencki – comment #11:

      In recent history (i.e. often in the Tridentine tradition of early modernity), the Roman rite has not had a close analogue to the Byzantine Little Entrance. In a typical non-pontifical solemn EF Mass, the subdeacon merely receives the lectionarium (book of epistles and gospels) and sings the epistle. Then the deacon receives the celebrant’s blessing and processes with the lectionarium, candle-bearers, and thurifer to stand facing north, often in a place outside the sanctuary. In my experience, and perhaps according to Tridentine-era rubricists, the lectionarium is held at chest height. The earlier Roman practice is more “subdued” (for lack of a better word) than the Byzantine practice.

      I don’t wish to criticize the practice of clergy who lift the book of the Gospels well above their shoulders, or stop show the evangeliarium to the assembly. Perhaps at one time this was also the practice in the various medieval western liturgies, but in the past 500 years the practice more often has been to discreetly carry liturgical books. If a liturgical scholar has demonstrated or will demonstrate that a liturgical action similar to the Byzantine Little Entrance was once common in western Christianity, then I would be more supportive of borrowing from eastern liturgies.

      In my view, the restoration of the very ancient tradition of chanted readings is much more important than discussions of liturgical processions. One of the greatest losses of the postconciliar era has been an almost total disappearance of sung readings, particularly given that little thought has been given to the vernacularization of the cantorial traditions. Perhaps it would be better for Roman Christianity to begin with a rediscovery of the sung Word, and then configure a reformed but distinctly Roman practice around this rediscovery.

      Reply
      1. John Swencki

        @Jordan Zarembo – comment #12:
        In western liturgies does the deacon or presider bless the assembly after the proclamation of the gospel by making a sign of the cross with the book over them? It’s done in some latin liturgies.

      2. Fritz Bauerschmidt

        @John Swencki – comment #14:
        In the current rite this is only done by the bishop.

      3. Elisabeth Ahn

        @Jordan Zarembo – comment #12:

        “In my view, the restoration of the very ancient tradition of chanted readings is much more important than discussions of liturgical processions.”

        Why do you think so?

        As long as the Word is heard, how does it matter so much whether it is chanted/sung, or read?

        Not arguing; just curious as one of the faithful in the pew.

      4. Jordan Zarembo

        @Elisabeth Ahn – comment #15:

        I think that the spoken word and the chanted word are complementary. Still, the custom of chanting readings in Latin offers another viewpoint on scripture that is not necessarily present when readings are recited. In Tridentine solemn liturgy, the complexity of the chant varies according to the context of the reading as well as the level of solemnity of the day. The ability of chant to stress certain words or syllables imparts greater understanding above the instructive meaning of the reading. Chanted readings impart the way the Church has received and understood the didactic meaning of scripture over the centuries.

        Certainly, chanted readings were also relatively rare before the Council, at least in a parish setting. My criticism centers on the near loss of a tradition, regardless of the evolution of liturgy. Also, it’s important to consider, as Paul Inwood has noted, that the cantillation of scripture might also be difficult for some in the assembly to understand. For that reason alone, the spoken Word has an important place in liturgy. Still, solemnities might lend themselves to chanted readings, at least at one Mass of the Sunday or feast.

  11. Lee Bacchi

    Without a clear, vibrant proclamation of the Gospel reading using a proclaim-able translation (people hear differently than they read), what good does all the rest of the stuff do? The current translation used in Catholic Churches here in the U.S. is not often very proclaim-able.

    Reply
  12. Jeremy Helmes

    Our parish does nearly exactly what Fr. Jack describes in the first comment. On Sundays and solemnities, and other solemn occasions when the Evangelary is used, the candles that are carried in the entrance procession with the cross end up at the altar. They remain there until the Gospel procession, and then go with the Evangelary/deacon to the ambo, where empty candlestands await them. The servers stand there holding the candles on stands until they depart the ambo with the deacon. The candles then burn at the ambo through the rest of Mass. The now-empty candle stands at the altar are then occupied with the pair of candles that leads the bread and wine in procession at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

    Our Evangelary has a gold plated cover, which allows it to stand upright. Its gold cover – on the altar before the Gospel, mounted on front of ambo after Gospel through end of Mass – is a nice complement to the gold tabernacle. It gets at the norm found in Dei Verbum and CCC that the Church has always shown the same veneration to the scriptures that we have shown to the Blessed Sacrament (albeit in different ways.) Of course, we in the West haven’t always lived this out fully, but the way we enthrone the Gospel book somewhat parallel to the tabernacle which is visible from the nave helps fulfill this norm.

    As to comment 4, it would seem the Book of the Gospels for the Roman Rite only includes readings for Sundays and solemnities and a few other occasions (ritual Masses, common of dedication of a church, etc.) because those are the only occasions the GIRM envisions the book itself being used. It’s mentioned in the Order of Christian Funerals as a potential “symbol” to be placed on the casket itself, so that’s probably why Gospels for Masses for the Dead are in there. This is always a problem when we observe a proper solemnity (e.g. our patronal feast, which is only solemn for us!) and I have to clip a photocopy into the book…oh well!

    Reply
  13. Jeremy Helmes

    On a different note, I have noticed a resurgence in the practice of the bishop venerating the book himself, and then blessing the people with it.

    I believe this calls for…no, demands…some acclamation, or at leaset music to follow the concluding dialogue between deacon and people. It has always seemed awkward (unless the ambo is right near the cathedra) for the procession of the book to the bishop, the veneration and blessing, to be done in silence.

    The lack of music here also leads people to want to sit (as they would normally do for the homily), and that’s odd too. We have experienced in our archdiocese, at some recent pontifical liturgies, that due to a lack of acclamation or music here, or instructions given in the worship aid, that the young concelebrating clergy militantly remain standing until after the blessing with the Evangelary, and the older clergy and assembly just sit down as they normally would. Awkard ritually, and sign of disunity to be sure!

    I know the practice of reprising the Alleluia after the Gospel has found usage in some places on some occasions. I don’t always love it, but it seems that if you’re going to do something ritually with the Evangelary after the proclamation of the Gospel, you should probably do something musically to accompany it. Whether you sing the refrain of the Gospel Acclamation again, or just organ voluntary, etc., some music helps connect it to the other elements of the Gospel proclamation.

    But, as of late, it seems that the rubricist mindset prevalent in so many places has seen the lack of explicit permission given for this practice as meaning it is forbidden. A shame…

    Reply
  14. John Corbyn

    I am the Vicar of a C of E parish in the diocese of Canterbury. We have a gospel procession (with cross and lights) to the crossing where the gospel is read surrounded by the people and with minister reading the gospel facing north. Thus we combine the symbolism of the gospel being at the the heart of our life and by proclaiming to to the north ( the ancient practice in Rome when the unconverted lived in the north ) the symbolism of the need to share the gospel with those who have not heard/responded to the gospel.

    Reply
  15. Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh

    While I was on sabbatical at CTU in Chicago, one of the liturgies was planned by the African students in the house. Two things happened during that liturgy that had a powerful impact on me. First, the Book of the Gospels was placed in an African print satchel – similar to a tote bag – and borne in on the back of the priest who would later proclaim the text. He “carried” the Word of God into the liturgy, expressing both the burden and the joy of being a Christian.

    The second was the way we were asked to pray the Our Father. The celebrant asked each one present to pray in his/her own native tongue. We were asked to use a low tone of voice so that all the languages would be audible. In that gathering of the Church I must have heard 20 different languages raised in prayer and had one of the strongest senses of “This is what heaven must be like” that I have ever had.

    Reply

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