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Jude Perera
wrote:
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Hi, guys —
I am a Sri Lankan. I'm confused about a few issues
regarding Sunday Holy Mass. Please be kind enough to
give me the answers to the following questions.
- Is it possible, a priest can omit the Homily of a Sunday
Holy Mass and instead, have a talk or testimony by a lay
person?
- Can a Priest walk around the sanctuary, leaving the pulpit,
while giving a Homily on a Sunday Mass?
- Is clapping, shouting, or other ways of praise and worship
allowed during the Sunday Holy Mass, especially in an Asian
country like Sri Lanka?
- Can a lay person give commentaries about each and every
part of Sunday Holy Mass while the priest is simultaneously
celebrating the Mass?
- Is it allowed to play the melodies of hymns, using diskettes, CD's, or any other external drives, during Sunday Holy Mass?
- Do you have any comment on using a electric organ
with loud drum beats, when singing hymns during Sunday Holy
Mass?
Please state the relevant quotation or paragraph numbers when referring
to documents of the Catholic Church such as:
- the Code of Canon Law
- GIRM (General Instruction of the Roman Missal), or
- any other valid publication.
Jude
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{
For a Sri Lankan, are these practices allowed by the Church during Holy Mass on Sunday? }
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Richard replied:
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Hi, Jude!
It's great to get a question from a Catholic in Sri Lanka! Since I have
to run off to a class, let me get right to answering your questions:
For Question 1: Is it possible, a priest can omit the Homily of a Sunday
Holy Mass and instead, have a talk or testimony by a lay
person?
Preaching the homily at Mass is exclusively the task of
an ordained priest, deacon, or bishop.
The General Instruction on the Roman Missal has this guidance:
[Paragraph 66.] The Homily should ordinarily be given by the priest celebrant
himself. He may entrust it to a concelebrating priest or occasionally,
according to circumstances, to the deacon, but never to a lay person.
In particular cases and for a just cause, the homily may even be given
by a Bishop or a priest who is present at the celebration but cannot concelebrate.
The GIRM mentions, (paragraph 90), that there is a proper
place at the end of Mass for announcements -- after the
post-communion prayer -- so if there is a testimony by
a lay person, it should be placed there. |
For Question 2: Can a Priest walk around the sanctuary, leaving the pulpit,
while giving a Homily on a Sunday Mass?
The GIRM has this directive about the homily (paragraph
136):
136. The priest, standing at the chair or at the ambo itself or, when
appropriate, in another suitable place, gives the homily. When the homily
is completed, a period of silence may be observed. |
For Question 3: Is clapping, shouting, or other ways of praise and worship
allowed during the Sunday Holy Mass, especially in an Asian
country like Sri Lanka?
| The GIRM doesn't regulate the posture and gestures of
the faithful in the congregation at Mass in total detail, leaving some
room for national customs. The bishops' conference has a role to play in
setting norms. From my American point of view, clapping and shouting are
not customary, and I would be surprised if they were part of Sri Lankan
Catholic customs. Perhaps this is a matter you could submit to your bishop
for his guidance. |
For Question 4: Can a lay person give commentaries about each and every
part of Sunday Holy Mass while the priest is simultaneously
celebrating the Mass?
It is permitted for a lay commentator to present brief
explanations of the Mass:
105. The following also exercise a liturgical function:
[...]
The commentator, [who] provides the faithful, when
appropriate, with brief explanations and commentaries
with the purpose of introducing them to the celebration
and preparing them to understand it better. The commentator's
remarks must be meticulously prepared and clear, though
brief. In performing this function the commentator stands
in an appropriate place facing the faithful, but not
at the ambo. |
For Question 5: Is it allowed to play the melodies of hymns, using diskettes, CD's, or any other external drives, during Sunday Holy Mass?
Recorded music is always improper during Mass. The performance
of music in Mass is an act of worship, and if a machine is playing music,
who is worshipping?
The 1958 Instruction on sacred music De musica sacra provides:
71. The use of automatic instruments and machines, such as the automatic
organ, phonograph, radio, tape or wire recorders, and other similar machines,
is absolutely forbidden in liturgical functions and private devotions,
whether they are held inside or outside the church, even if these machines
be used only to transmit sermons or sacred music, or to substitute for
the singing of the choir or faithful, or even just to support it.
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For Question 6: Do you have any comment on using a electric organ
with loud drum beats, when singing hymns during Sunday Holy
Mass?
As for an electronic organ with drum beats, there
is no universal law about this point. (It sounds like this would be in
bad taste!)
The organ is acceptable everywhere, of course. For other
instruments, it is necessary to consider the practice
of your culture. The norms for "inculturation" provide
that if an instrument is associated only with secular
music in your culture, then it should not be used in
Mass. |
Thanks for writing; I hope this will be helpful information.
God bless!
— Richard Chonak
for AskACatholic.com
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Jude replied:
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Hi, Richard!
Thank you very much for your quick response.
Your explanations
are very clear and of course the information is very
helpful to me. There are a few things I need
to get further details on. Please find a little time to
guide me on the correct path.
Referring to Question No. 2, you said:
The GIRM has this directive about the homily (paragraph
136):
136. The priest, standing at the chair or at the ambo itself or, when
appropriate, in another suitable place, gives the homily. When the homily
is completed, a period of silence may be observed.
- What does GIRM mean by 'in another suitable place'?
- What is this place?
- Is it within the Sanctuary itself
or is it in the isle or nave?
- Can a priest give
a Homily, walking around the nave?
Referring to Question No. 3, clapping and shouting are actually not a part of Sri
Lankan Catholic customs. There are very few instances
where some priests try to use it as a rite during
the Sunday Holy Mass. They want to celebrate the Mass
as a healing service or a prayer meeting
but fortunately, this is not wide spread here in Sri
Lanka.
Referring to Question No. 4, Now that I understand that a lay commentator
is permitted to present brief explanations of the Mass:
- I want to be clear on whether
he is allowed to give commentaries, while the Mass is
being celebrated?
- If so, wouldn't the celebrant priest have to wait
until the commentator finishes his explanation?
- Isn't
it disturbing the flow of the Mass?
Referring to Question No. 5, No. 71. of the 1958 Instruction On Sacred Music De musica sacra gives
a very good explanation to my question.
- I totally agree with you but since
this publication is very old, are these instructions still valid or in use?
- Are there any web sites that I can get a free download
of the publications:
- GIRM
- Code of Canon Law
- 1958
Instruction on sacred music "De musica
sacra"? (Preferably in .PDF format)
Please let me know.
Thank you!, and
God bless you.
- Jude
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Richard replied:
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Hi, Jude —
The (GIRM) General Instruction of the Roman Missal is available on-line:
The Code of Canon Law is on-line at:
Laws about conferring the sacraments are here but regulations about liturgical
procedures are, in general, not. They are scattered across numerous liturgical
books and documents, such as the GIRM and various follow-up Instructions
issued to clarify it or correct misinterpretations. Some directives are
issued in the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (SCDWDS)'s newsletter Notitiae, which is not on-line.
About your particular questions related to documents from the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.
Referring to Question No. 2
GIRM 136 does not explain what a suitable place is,
so it intends to leave some flexibility. However, it does say that the
priest is to give the homily standing, not
walking.
Referring to Question No. 4
If a commentator is interrupting the Mass with improvised
comments and causing the priest to wait, that is certainly
wrong. No one, not even a priest, is allowed to add to
the words of the Mass.
Referring to Question No. 5
De musica sacra was, of course, issued before the liturgical
reform of 1970; however, its regulations on general principles should be
regarded as still in effect, unless some later document overrides them
explicitly or implicitly. In fact, the post-conciliar documents such as Musicam
Sacram (1967) cite the pre-conciliar ones explicitly
at times.
Just a tip on correcting abuses. If you are planning to
write to your bishop or pastor about the abuses you've
witnessed, there's no need to cite the regulations being
broken, at least not in detail. No one likes being told
in detail how to do their job, of course! It's sufficient
to:
- describe the practices that you've witnessed
- explain
that they are disturbing, seem undignified for the
Mass, or tend to disrupt the Mass
- and ask if these
are proper procedures.
If contacting your pastor doesn't fix the problem, you can add a copy
of those letters when you write to the bishop. Of course, you always have
the right to go straight to the bishop; it may be necessary if the pastor
seems to not recognize the problem.
With best wishes,
— Richard Chonak
for AskACatholic.com
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Jude replied:
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Dear Richard,
Thank you very much for your detailed answers to my
queries. They have cleared up some confusion I had
on these topics.
Though the cyber links you gave me, I was able to view
the Church documents I needed.
Thanks!
It's a great service you are providing; a great service for
people like us.
God Bless You!
— Jude
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