A Pray Tell reader writes in to ask about Sunday readings books and booklets. Is it a good idea to provide these? Which type do you recommend? Should they be put in all the pews? Or as the reader advocates, is it better to make only a few copies available for those who truly can’t hear?
Non solum: Sunday Readings Books
Comments
48 responses to “Non solum: Sunday Readings Books”
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In addition to my hearing problems, I am one who tends to be a more visual learner.
I frequently begin my homilies by asking “What was the first reading about?” Very few can tell me although people are getting used to the question and some are paying more attention..
Unfortunately not every lector truly proclaims the message.
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We have excellent lectors, but many people (maybe half) read along with the readings (which are in our hymnal). I realize that this is verbotten in some circles, but I have a hard time seeing what is wrong with it. If you have a few copies to accommodate the hard of hearing, why not have enough to accommodate visual learners? Why is one difference worthy of accommodation and not the other?
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Reading also allows a person to “skip-stop” through the lesson, like a subway train which stops only at the high-traffic stations. I don’t need to read in illo tempore or “then said Jesus unto his disciples”, because these phrases are really just speed bumps which are not content-rich. I prefer to focus on a word or sentence which summarizes the passage.
When I am in a region where English is the minority language, such as Quebec, I need the leaflet missal. I can read French well enough, but I can’t understand the spoken French of a lector, deacon, or priest. Some who attend Mass in English might read and speak the language well, but encounter a few words which they must decode by context. A spoken pace of language might hinder this comprehension.
Maybe missalettes are not necessary in the pews. It would be courteous and helpful for some if a number of them were placed in the vestibule.
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As a lector, my goal is to not hear the turn of pages in the assembly during the reading. I am not always successful.
One pastor I was personally fond of was opposed to having missalettes (what we used) in the pew because people were reading instead of listening. In his view, one needs to hear the Word, not simply read it. I could understand that. Try reading today’s Gospel to yourself, and then read it out loud and listen to your voice and see the difference.
But, that said, taking readings away only makes people who want Missals buy them for themselves. That’s okay for those who can afford it, but what about those who can’t? Why is that a way to attract people to worship?
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@Charles Day – comment #4:
I second Charles’s point. If we have read effectively, that word will become the revealed Word and everyone will be engaged in it, not just following along. Most of the people who gather for our masses in English use English as their second language, and I could understand their continuing reliance on the printed word as I read. At the same time, I gauge my effectiveness on the number of them who look back at me as I look on them.
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There’s more to this than the combination of acoustics, sound system, and quality of readers.
Educators have long demonstrated that different people have different learning styles. Some absorb more by hearing/listening, others by reading/listening. It should be up to the individuals to decide which style they prefer. After all, Father, did you read Thomas Aquinas or listen to him on audio books?!
The church shouldn’t make an issue by limiting access to the written word. (How tenth century even!) Setting a few out front for people to pick up on the way in leaves new or forgetful attendees without the lesson. And whether it happens or not, some poor reader will hear, or at least imagine, the “tsk tsk” from the folks who moved them out of the pews in the first place.
Put ’em in the pews.
(Some will choose to not-hear, not-read, and not-learn, but that’s a different kettle of fish.)
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Seems that we haven’t got to real issue yet. What about the theology of proclamation? Very few of us hear the readings as information: “Oh, so I guess he wants us to love one another.” The readings are about recognition: “Yes, this is what I believe.”
I’ve tried to explain to lectors and deacons – when sitting in the pew at masses in which they are not ministering – that they should avoid reading along from the hymnal as it diminishes their ministry. I am frequently met with looks of “What do you possibly mean?”
Can we stray into a discussion about this theology of proclamation?
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Are we not assembled to proclaim and celebrate a word that we already know? I am always puzzled by people who, in addressing this topic, say they are visual learners. This is not about learning. The Liturgy of the Word is about proclaiming God’s presence and action in our lives here and now, and I feel that reading along diminishes that experience, distancing the participants from the “nowness” of it. Yes, Lector preparation and and acoustics are important, but the issue is also formation of the assembly. Why is this not a word that they already know?
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@Mike Novak – comment #7:
I am a cradle Catholic who has been attending Mass regularly since childhood. Yet a few times a year, I find myself thinking at Mass, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard that Gospel reading before!” Because of this, I struggle to understand the assertion that going to Mass is not about learning. When I go to Mass, I want to engage deeply with the Scriptures – not the general idea of them, but with the actual texts. Reading helps me to do this.For me, reading also focuses the mind and keeps my attention from wandering. This is particularly beneficial when I confront a text I already know well (e.g., EP2). I like to think my mind would not have wandered while listening to Jesus preach. But because we have heard some readings countless times, and because most lectors lack the charisma we normally associate with Jesus, I’m sure I’m not alone in sometimes zoning out during Mass. The missal helps me avoid this.
In a perfect world, missals might not be necessary. But don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
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We provide about 30 missalettes, including ten in large print, for people to pick up if they need. A few always go to waste, so I think we’re spot on there. Given the number of people with smart phones, the readings are readily available in the pews, even if we don’t provide.
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I don’t understand this “learning” business. If it’s so important that people have books to follow along with the readings at Mass (readings that you could read before Mass via any number of mediums), why stop there? Isn’t it just as important to have all of the prayers, the preface, the EP… and what about the homily??? Should we hand out scripts? I’m not trying to be a smart alec, I’d like to know what people who promote the books think about the rest of the Mass texts.
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@Sean Whelan – comment #10:
I am a Lutheran, married to a Roman Catholic. When the new translation of the Missal came out, my wife’s parish had folders in the pews with the new texts. After a few months, they disappeared. Since we no longer have the texts of the Creed, or Sanctus, etc. in common, I am at a loss at Mass (we have no worship aids in the pews, just a service leaflet with hymns) to even begin to participate. After a couple of weeks of this, I simply quit attending Mass with my wife, except perhaps at Christmas. The priest at my wife’s parish is of the opinion that “they should have learned the new texts by now,” which says to me, we’d just as soon that non-Catholics not attend our services. -
@Sean Whelan – comment #10:
Most missalettes have the ordinary of the Mass in the center of the booklet. Persons with hearing difficulties, as well as Christians from other churches who are visitors (perhaps for a wedding or funeral, or just because) might want to read the eucharistic prayer. I’ve found that Protestant churches are often miles ahead when it comes to worship aids. Often the greeter will give you a leaflet specifically written for the day’s service with more than enough information for participation.
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“[Christ] is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church” (CSL, 7).
I think the calls for more catechesis in this thread are on the spot. Who is Christ speaking to? Just me? The parish? Our city? And why should I listen without following along? People need to understand the role of Scripture in the Mass, why it is proclaimed in Mass, and their own role and obligations as hearers of the Word.
We have to remember that at least a few books with readings (and maybe prayers) should be available for people who are deaf and hard of hearing.
As a side note to this, sometimes I feel that we want people to participate fully, consciously and actively but–by gosh–they better participate in the way that we tell them.
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1. It is a great idea to provide these.
2. It depends on what your seating is like, and how they can be kept with the seating.
3. They should be in all pews, as well as the basic order of the Mass, though there need not be one for each notional pewsitter.That’s just one part of hospitality. A failure here is a basic failure of hospitality, even if masked by noble intentions. When one intentionally fails here, it reads to many (not all) pewsitters: we know better than you, and you should be ashamed of your ignorance and/or need in this regard.
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@Karl Liam Saur – comment #12:
How hospitable is it to hand someone a book and expect them to figure out where everything is? Should we announce which preface the priest will use? Which prayer? Which form of the Penitential Act?
Again, no one has answered the issue about the homily. If the books are there with prayers and readings because many people learn a certain way, then are all those people lost when it comes to the homily?
And I’m sorry (not really) but lack of pew cards is a pretty lame reason to stop going to Mass. Print off your own copy for free. Get a missal. Go to a church that uses it. And I put pew cards with the new responses in a different category than books with readings.
If its this big of a deal for some, why don’t we just hand out full scripts?
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@Sean Whelan – comment #16:
Protestant churches often do hand out full orders of service, particularly when expecting a lot of non-regulars.
Apart from time and printing cost, I don’t really see any good reason why we should not provide such resources.
It is certainly better than large projector and TV screens which are the other thing in use for this purpose (which distract everyone, not just those who might find them helpful). Tablet / smart phone apps with the full order of service (including all the chosen options) might be a better technology enabled option going forward.
The ideological rejection of worship aids has past its used by date.
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@Sean Whelan – comment #16:
After hearing a particularly good homily, I’ve often wished I could have a printed copy. Some priests and deacons post their homilies online – the Deacon at the Deacon’s Bench comes to mind. I think a collection of great homilies would be a wonderful way to reflect on the liturgical year – sort of like making one’s own Office of Readings. I think I’ll start doing this!That said, homilies are readily distinguishable from other parts of the Mass. Generally, they’re delivered in everyday language, without the long and complex sentences you sometimes get from OT or Epistle readings. (I generally don’t need a written text to understand my pastor, but a text can be very helpful for understanding a run-on sentence from St. Paul.) We’ve also (hopefully!) never heard a given homily before, so the problem of “overfamiliarity,” which can lead the mind to wander during the fixed parts of the Mass, is not present. Simple + novel means that a written text is less likely to be needed.
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I liked the missalettes when I was in RCIA. Sadly we didn’t have any large print ones, but I would take one home to read later with a magnifier. It helped me remember the order of everything.
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The Lumen Christi Missal is a wonderful resource to have in your pews.
I find disposal books that are thrown away annually or quarterly to be a terrible waste of resources, paper, etc.
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Growing up Presbyterian, when I became Roman Catholic i couldn’t understand why there were no service bulletins and no bibles in the pews to follow along with the readings
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@Jonathan Ziegler – comment #20:
My late advisor, who was an Anglican priest, encouraged me to bring my pocket Greek New Testament to Mass at her church. She thought it would be good practice to listen in English and read in Greek. Turns out it was, as hearing the English filled in the difficult words.
I say go for it and bring whatever Bible you’d like to Mass, regardless of language.
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For me, part of the joy of being Catholic is that in so many areas we are “both/and” – like in this situation. Are the readings a proclamation? Yes. Are they didactic? Yes.
I think there are many who approach a parish where the history of focus has been on only one side of this (or any number of other Catholic both/and issues) by heavily catechizing or “pushing” the other side. Fine.
But once the other side has been given due exposure, let’s make sure that the other side of the both/and issue isn’t portrayed as being “wrong.”
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I just don’t get it. You can read the scriptures before Mass.
We don’t go to the opera and read along with the script. We don’t attend a performance of The Planets and follow along in the conductor’s score.
It seems like some here are saying we must have the scriptures in a book for every person in the pews, and they should use them. Yet NO one has addressed the issue of comprehension of the homily.
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@Sean Whelan – comment #23:
I think opera was a bad example. Numerous opera companies project English translations above the stage. No need to bring your own script (missal): a projection (missalette) is provided for you! -
@Sean Whelan – comment #23:
I’ve been to rehearsals of operatic orchestras. The sheet music was freely passed among those who were not playing.
At the EF I read from a pdf copy of the Missale Romanum 1962. I find it easier to follow the cantillated proclamation of the epistle and gospel while reading the Latin text.
The best homilists I have known, clergy both Protestant and Catholic, spend a significant amount of time preparing their sermons or homilies. I suspect that they also read the sermon to themselves before proclaiming it to the assembly. It appears to me that poor clerical preparation is a significant culprit in poor homily comprehension. Often poor comprehension is not the fault of the congregation.
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@Sean Whelan – comment #23:
So if we can read them before Mass, then why have the readings during mass at all?Once Brahms was invited to go see Don Giovanni, but he turned it down saying he could hear a better performance in his head just from reading the score.
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Comment 26: The best homilists I have known, clergy both Protestant and Catholic, spend a significant amount of time preparing their sermons or homilies. I suspect that they also read the sermon to themselves before proclaiming it to the assembly. It appears to me that poor clerical preparation is a significant culprit in poor homily comprehension. Often poor comprehension is not the fault of the congregation.
Too bad the architects of Roman Missal 3 didn’t heed your advice.
Well, I’m not sold. Guess I’ll be the grumpy curmudgeon. I believe there should be a few for those who are truly hard of hearing. Otherwise, read the scriptures before you come to Mass. Sit in the pew and LISTEN. Otherwise, why am I spending all this time on lector preparation if it’s going to be like a second grade class read a long?
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@Sean Whelan – comment #27:
“I believe there should be a few for those who are truly hard of hearing. Otherwise, read the scriptures before you come to Mass. Sit in the pew and LISTEN. Otherwise, why am I spending all this time on lector preparation if it’s going to be like a second grade class read a long?”
Because…it’s not about you.
You’re not the only lector, perfect as your proclamation may be. If your church happens to have supernally lovely acoustics for the proclaimed word, it’s not only about your particular church. Perfect proclamation – in an acoustically superior space – is relatively uncommon. EVEN when present, there are legitimate reasons that people may still need to read while in church. Get over it. It’s not an insult to you unless you choose to make it so. And if God can indulge people many things, this is a pretty small thing for God to indulge of the PIPs, but yes, I could be projecting on that score. Maybe God is having some severe words with second-grade read-alongers in lower levels of Purgatory as I type.
Copping to being a curmudgeon doesn’t serve as a credible excuse.
Btw, I fully endorse publication of homilies, fwiw.
Reading doesn’t negate attentive listening for everyone. It can reinforce, support and even further illuminate listening.
I am reminded of the Propers fundamentalists who resent those who call for translations of Latin propers to be provided to the PIPs. Because it’s not meant to be a didactic experience, but an immersion in a transcendent reality of beauty and truth, blah blah blah. (Perhaps illustrating how ideological rationalisations of liturgical praxis are a Mobius strip.)
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@Karl Liam Saur – comment #30:
“Because….. it’s not about you.” Ohh, I am copying and saving your response for sure 🙂
Never said it was. People are free to bring their own books. Our parish does not have to promote their usage though.
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@Sean Whelan – comment #31:
So you say, but it was you who ended a comment with a rather exasperated:“Sit in the pew and LISTEN. Otherwise, why am I spending all this time on lector preparation if it’s going to be like a second grade class read a long?”
That made it about you. Perhaps no longer your intention, granted, but that comment sounds very frustrated by those PIPs who don’t appreciate the work you’re doing.
That’s all.
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Sean Whelan : Guess I’ll be the grumpy curmudgeon. I believe there should be a few for those who are truly hard of hearing.
Perhaps there is, somewhere, a Church of Sts. Statler and Waldorf?
I have many comments to make, and will attempt to make them chronologically. I apologize in advance for taking up multiple boxes to do so.
As to the OP: I think the option of texts in the pews should be there for anyone who needs or desires it, and not simply as a fail-safe in the event of a poorly trained lector. Some people may hear something that strikes a chord with them, and might not remember it later — they can immediately (or during a period of silence later in the Mass) refer to the missalette. Some people concentrate better, and absorb better, when they are both hearing and reading simultaneously, and don’t we want those people to be worshiping to their fullest potential?
This seems like an area where we should be as accommodating as possible, and we can be very accommodating! Do we really want to turn people off (or away) who delight in the reading of the Word, even as it is proclaimed to them? Heaven forbid Catholics read Scripture at Mass!
Onto individual comments that I haven’t addressed by my opening remark.
#6 by Michael Silhavy — I’d love another post where we can discuss theologies of proclamation.
#7 by Mike Novak — As much as we catechize, we can never be so insular as to assume that all in our congregation already know this Word. We must work toward ideals, not from them. And the reading/proclaiming of Scripture in the Mass is didactic, although not exclusively so. You’d need to explain to me in more detail, and not just by your feelings, how the printed word diminishes the experience of the nowness of God’s presence and action.
#10 by Sean Whelan — My mother’s old 1961 Missal has, if I’m not mistaken, all the propers. Granted, there were less options and variations back then (one year of readings, a dozen or so Prefaces, and one EP), but it had pretty much everything. That’s no so easy nowadays. And I can’t take it seriously that you “don’t understand this ‘learning’ business.”
#13 by John Schuster-Craig — The decision by the pastor was unfortunate (and not very pastoral, I think), because it can clearly be a stumbling block for persons who are still trying to make the transition, or who, like you, are visitors. “Never … put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.”
#16 by Sean Whelan — Assuming the person has ever used a book before (and that the book is organized well) the table of contents and directions on each page should be sufficient for the most part. The WLP missalettes at my parish give clear indications of what pages things are on, and when to jump ahead several pages. Options are clearly marked, and after the first few words you can tell which option is being used. Homilies are a special case which, like theologies of proclamation, deserve a separate post.
#17 by Scott Smith — “The ideological rejection of worship aids has past its used by date.” Hear, hear!
#18 by Paul Schlachter — “everyone will be engaged in it, not just following along.” Those who are following along need not be just following along. As for “I gauge my effectiveness on the number of them who look back at me as I look on them,” I just made a similar remark to my wife. I lector at my current parish, and see very few people looking up at me when I read; at my previous parish, it was quite the opposite. Needless to say, they are two very different parishes.
#23 by Sean Whelan — You can read them before Mass. You can read them after Mass. And why shouldn’t you also be able to read them during Mass? And as for operas, etc., when I’ve been to performances of Carmina Burana, the playbill has included the words (and a translation) to aid in comprehension. And no, I don’t think anyone has said that “we must have the scriptures in a book for every person in the pews, and they should use them.” I’m hearing “we should make the Scriptures available if people want/need them.”
#27 by Sean Whelan — “Otherwise, read the scriptures before you come to Mass. Sit in the pew and LISTEN.” Yours is the least accommodating suggestion here. Why is listening, and not reading along, the superior form of worship here? “Why am I spending all this time on lector preparation…?” It’s sounded since your first comment on this post like you have an axe to grind; maybe, like Paul (#18), not enough eyes meeting yours when you look up from the Lectionary? My first instinct was to make Karl’s remark, that it’s not all about you. What would you do if the priest was deaf, and the whole congregation hard of hearing? Would you not bother reading the Scriptures aloud at all? Doesn’t God enter the equation somewhere? Regardless, your lector preparations are (among other things) so that what is heard and what is read are not at odds with one another. It’s quite silly when the lector says one thing and the text says another. Who here hasn’t heard some lector proclaim from 1 Cor 16:13 that “the body is not for immortality”?
#32, #33, #34 by Jeffrey Pinyan — Spot on, you clever chap you. I think we’d get along splendidly.
Comment #27 Sean Whelan Otherwise, why am I spending all this time on lector preparation if it’s going to be like a second grade class read a long?
And after all that time spent in preparation, do you not still have the written words in front of you as you proclaim?
I think I’m a visual/textual learner too—I get furious when I follow a news link on the web and find out it’s a video with no text for me to read quickly—but I find a much fuller and happier experience listening to the readings at Mass than reading along with them. My mind wanders much more if my eyes are on the page than if my ears are open to the reader; I skip over things too much, thinking “Oh, I’ve seen that before.” When I listen, on the other hand, I hear echoes of other pieces of Scripture or similar godly subjects. On top of it all, listening makes the proclamation of the Word more of the group experience that I surmise it is supposed to be. Perhaps I’m lucky because the readers in my parish are taught to read slowly, to accommodate better listening, but I strongly urge all of you who say reading along works better for you to try just listening.
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@Paul R. Schwankl – comment #37:
Just to clarify, I am a listener when it comes to the readings at Mass. But I known other people well for whom listening alone is ordinarily less effective, for legitimate reasons, and I feel called to advocate for them when their legitimate needs are discounted.-
@Karl Liam Saur – comment #38:
Very rightly. And even though I believe listening-only has arguable advantages over reading along, I can think of four reasons for making books available even to those who can hear all right:
1. Forcing people to listen by depriving them of a book smacks of the nanny-church.
2. A person may want to read the readings before Mass or glance at them during the homily or after Communion, though keeping the book shut when they are proclaimed.
3. The comments of the editor (in my parish, it’s Jerry Galipeau) may aid appreciation of the Mass as a whole.
4. A person (maybe like me) may need a book to understand the priest’s prayers, especially the RM3 collects. (I believe this problem has been discussed on Pray Tell before.)
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First off – who ever said I was the lector? I prepare the lectors.
Learning – yes, I firmly believe the proclamation of the Scriptures are in a different category than sitting in a classroom reading a text book while someone reads it aloud.
My personal belief, (and you all have personal beliefs on this, obviously) is that the books are a hindrance except for those who truly cannot hear. This isn’t about absolute comprehension. It’s about being open to the Word of God – and perhaps it’s only one word, or a small phrase, but it’s God speaking.
Anyway, I guess I’ve just been in parishes that are not friendly to people’s learning styles. From small, blue collar towns, to the largest parish in the diocese – all five have not had books with readings. Terribly places, obviously.
Some priests DO memorize the Gospels. Bishop Utner comes to mind, and that was always something people delighted in. Years after his passing, people still remark about how touching that was. And it’s noticeably jarring when you have a lector who rarely looks up at the congregation while reading. So I find that argument silly.
Folks can demonize me as they wish, but I say the spoken word trumps. People are free to bring in their own missalette if they wish but there is no need for this parish to provide them for everyone. And I still say it’s hypocritical to advocate vociferously for the books with readings, but nothing else. If that’s truly how you felt, you’d hand everyone a complete script of the Mass, homily included (not available on a website after the fact.)
Amen.
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@Sean Whelan – comment #39:
You’re not being demonized. -
@Sean Whelan – comment #39:
You might believe that the books are a hindrance to the non-hard-of-hearing, but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence of people who can hear who find having the words in front of them, as they hear them, aids in their ability to be open to the Word of God.No need for “terrible places” and “demonize” over-reactions. People can disagree with you without attacking you. And I apologize for my misunderstanding; I took “lector preparation” to mean your own preparation as a lector, not your preparation of others as lectors.
I think the Scriptures are in a different class than certain other texts of the liturgy. I would certainly place them above the Preface. A resource that held all possible Prefaces (and other propers and commons) would be rather unwieldy. The Scripture readings for Sundays and solemnities, on the other hand, are almost always without variation: sometimes there are long/short versions, and rarely there’s a choice of reading, but otherwise it’s set in stone. So it isn’t as difficult to produce a small booklet with the readings for a few months.
The homily really is in a different class. It’s not a dialogue. It’s not the proclamation of Scripture. It’s not a prayer. It’s not a hymn. It’s not a profession of faith. It’s akin to a speech. Some priests write a homily down word-for-word, others work off outlines, others still are extemporaneous. That’s not the case with virtually any other part of the Mass.
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@Sean Whelan – comment #39:
To be a lector is very difficult. At one of the daily Masses in college, I had to take over as lector for a few days because the usual lector was not present. I lectored for a few days, and then told the sacristan never to select me again. For me, lectoring was an invitation to egotism, which must always be avoided.
Just as it is not wise to speak of reading from a missalette as an artificial exercise, it is not wise to speak of the task of lector, or instructing lectors, as a natural exercise above other forms of comprehension. I remember that when I lectored, I had to enunciate in a way which was extremely foreign to the way that I speak. I made “pirate r’s” even though I come from a region which is non-rhotic or soft-rhotic. I went to college in this same region, and still had to read and pronounce every letter on the page of the lectionary.
The speech of lectors is intrinsically artificial, as it must be comprehensible to all listeners. A missalette is just as “flat”, foreign, and artificial when viewed in a similar light.
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@Jordan Zarembo – comment #42:
Your description of your experience is intriguing. You “had” to pronounce every letter? Of the English language? I can vaguely understand people reading to an audience of a language dialect far afield from the speaker. Perhaps such persons would not be ideal lectors for Big Events. But I have people at my parish for whom English is not their first language, and many do quite well.But to be impelled to pronounce r’s in a region that communicates them softly? That’s just scrupulosity. I hope you weren’t made to pronounce those silent e’s at the ends of all those words.
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@Todd Flowerday – comment #43:
I thought he meant something more along the lines of not speaking casually, not eliding certain sounds that we might in common conversation, like the omission or softening of the “g” at the end of words ending in “-ing”. -
@Todd Flowerday – comment #43:
“But to be impelled to pronounce r’s in a region that communicates them softly? That’s just scrupulosity. I hope you weren’t made to pronounce those silent e’s at the ends of all those words.”
No, it’s a personal inadequacy. Silent ‘e’s are no problem, but I struggle with ‘r’. While growing up, I merely assumed most people spoke the way I did to some degree. When I lived abroad people though I was a curiosity. I had one “friend” who goaded me to say the phrase “dial the phone number.”
I supposed lectors and most public speakers are self-conscious about some aspect of their speech. Should these inadequacies be “ironed out” by a teacher, or allowed to flourish? Each of the international dialects of English, as well as the regional Englishes of the United States, have a distinctive phonology and rhythm. I’d say that this diversity should be celebrated, and that most people, with some training, can be good lectors.
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What about catechizing the people once in a while and inviting those who don’t need the printed word to listen without following the printed text? It seems to me that for most of the history of the church (and synagogue) God’s word was proclaimed by one and heard by the rest.
I understand that some people will benefit from a copy of the text in front of them. But this is a minority, based on earning styles. Watch the eyes of people listening to a speaker or storyteller who is good at the task. They get it without a script in front of them. I bet most people didn’t use the text when Bp. Untener proclaimed it.
Once in a parish we asked the people to consider putting down the missalettes and making a prayerful effort to listen more closely. It made a big difference for a number of them.
Like sitting in the back of the church (another thread someday), sometimes all we need to is to be invited/challenged to try things a different way.
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@Bruce Janiga – comment #45:
I have no problem with such a periodic invitation.So long as it avoids a trace of shaming or condescension. It’s funny how impulses the conciliar reform supposedly discouraged can come in through the back door, as it were.
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