Holy Mass should never begin with a greeting or an injunction that is not in the Roman Missal. The first words the congregation hears from the celebrant should be the liturgical words of greeting prescribed in the Sacramentary....
Far too many lectors, including many of the best, begin the responsorial psalm inappropriately, saying, “The responsorial psalm is…”—and then reciting the antiphon to the psalm, which is not “the responsorial psalm” but its antiphon....
The Communion antiphon, typically linked to the Gospel of the day, is just as typically AWOL at Mass. If it is not sung by the choir, it should be recited prior to the distribution of holy Communion, not afterwards, as if it were some sort of afterthought.
...The re-sacralization of the English used in the liturgy affords all of us an opportunity to ponder just what it is we are doing at Holy Mass: we are participating, here and now, in the liturgy of angels and saints that goes on constantly around the Throne of Grace where the Holy Trinity lives in a communion of radical self-gift and receptivity. This is, in short, serious business, even as it is joyful business. We should do it well, as the grace of God has empowered us to do it well.
More (some even more persnickety) at the link.
3 comments:
"Holy Mass should never begin with a greeting or an injunction that is not in the Roman Missal."
Doesn't that create a risk that someone will have forgotten that the green vestments aren't due to it being Packer season again?
Shouldn't all the visitors be identified at the beginning of mass so that other members of the congregation can greet them?
"People should wear name tags.
Everyone would be a lot friendlier." --Frank Costanza
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