| ROME, 7 APRIL 2009 (ZENIT) Answered by Legionary of Christ Father
Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum
university.
Q: In the reading of the Passion with several readers
—
where there is a deacon, should he, as normal minister of the Gospel,
take the part of Christ? If so, what part should the priest take?
—
C.M., Drogheda, Ireland
A: In 1988 the Holy See published a circular letter on the Easter
celebrations. No. 33 deals with the readings of the Passion:
"The passion narrative occupies a special place. It should be sung or
read in the traditional way, that is, by three persons who take the part
of Christ, the narrator, and the people. The passion is proclaimed by
deacons or priests, or by lay readers. In the latter case, the part of
the Christ should be reserved to the priest.
"The proclamation of the passion should be without candles and incense;
the greeting and the signs of the cross are omitted; and only a deacon
asks for the blessing, as he does before the Gospel. For the spiritual
good of the faithful, the passion should be proclaimed in its entirety
and the readings that precede it should not be omitted."
In fact, this document omits another possibility, that of a choir taking
up the part of the multitude so that there would be four and not three
agents for the reading. This is the procedure at the Vatican on both
Palm Sunday (when the text is sung in Italian) and Good Friday (when it
is sung in Latin). The parts of Christ, the narrator and individual
speakers are chanted by deacons whereas the text of multiple speakers is
usually sung in polyphony by the choir.
From this document it appears that the ideal situation is for the
Passion narrative to be sung or read by three deacons while the priest
remains at the chair, a situation that occurs mainly in cathedrals and
seminaries. This is because reading the Gospel is not considered a
presidential function in the Roman rite, and the deacon is the proper
minister of this liturgical action. Indeed, in normal circumstances, a
priest should not read the Gospel if a deacon is present.
If no deacons are present, then it would appear that the next preferred
situation is that the Passion narrative be read by three priests. This
situation is more likely to occur on Good Friday, when there is only one
celebration, than on Palm Sunday when the priests are occupied with
several Masses.
If there are no deacons and only one priest, then the priest takes the
part of Christ while lay readers take the other parts.
If there are one or two deacons, the indication that the deacon asks for
a blessing would suggest that the priest may remain at the chair while
the deacon proclaims the Passion narrative along with one or two lay
readers.
In this case it is not stated that the deacon take the part of Christ.
It would appear that he may take any part. For example, as the most
experienced reader, it might be better for the deacon to take the
extensive part of narrator on Good Friday's reading of the Passion
according to St. John.
The document speaks of deacons or priests and makes no mention of a
priest reading with one or two deacons. I believe, however, that because
these two days are somewhat out of the ordinary, this situation cannot
be excluded a priori and is not prohibited by the norms. In some cases
it might even be necessary. If this situation were to arise, it would be
congruous to reserve the part of Christ to the priest.
* * *
Follow-up: Deacons and the Passion Narrative [4-28-2009]
In the wake of our April 7 comments on reading the Passion narrative,
several readers asked further questions.
An Ohio reader asked: "I would like to know if it is appropriate to play
background music (on organ or piano) during the reading of the Passion
on Palm Sunday/Good Friday. If it is not appropriate, please cite the
rule that defines this. I have read through various sections of the
Roman Missal, and I cannot find any specific rule prohibiting this
practice."
I would first comment on a question of liturgical interpretation.
Usually the missal and other liturgical documents say what is to be done
and not the reverse. Therefore the fact that nothing is written against
a practice does not mean that it is automatically permitted. Indeed,
since Church law generally follows the principles of Roman law, and not
Anglo-Saxon common law, the presumption is that what is not expressly
permitted is forbidden.
Explicit prohibitions usually arise as the result of people initiating
practices that are not contemplated in the norms and that are perceived
as going against the letter or the spirit of the liturgical norm.
That said, I would reply that the playing of instrumental music during
the Passion reading, and indeed during any readings except the psalms,
does not correspond to Catholic tradition which emphasizes the priority
of the Word. Throughout the history of the Latin liturgy the readings
have been chanted according to simple tones without musical
accompaniment.
If this is true of all readings, It is especially so during the
proclamation of the Passion in which habitual liturgical solemnities
such as incense are left aside.
Finally, on Good Friday the use of all musical instruments is excluded —
hence, also during the Passion narrative.
Another American reader asked: "What is the official stance of the
Church regarding members of the assembly, the people in the pews,
reading the chorus parts of the Gospel during the proclamation of the
Passion on Palm Sunday and Good Friday?"
As far as I know, there is no official position on this. I once held the
opinion that this was possible, deducing that since a choir can take the
part of the multitude, the people could substitute a choir. Both
reflection and pastoral experience led me to change my opinion. The
proclamation of God's word is best assimilated in silence. I found that
when the people were asked to take an active part in this reading, many
were so attentive to intervening at the right moment that they lost
track of the whole reading. Therefore, based on the legal principle
mentioned above and on personal experience, I would not recommend this
practice.
A reader from Birmingham, England, asked: "Can a deacon officiate as the
only minister at the solemn Commemoration of the Passion on Good Friday
afternoon? In our parish, we now have two churches but with only one
priest. Our priest celebrates the solemn liturgy in one church at 3
p.m., whilst our deacon celebrates the same solemn liturgy
simultaneously in the other church. (Both churches enjoy a full
congregation for this particular service.) The deacon even wears his red
dalmatic Mass vestments. I have been told that the solemn liturgy on
Good Friday can only be celebrated by a priest. Please let me know which
is correct."
Effectively, this rite is reserved to the priest, although not
necessarily the same priest. Moreover, since the Mass of the Lord's
Supper and the Celebration of the Passion are intimately connected, the
norms are explicit that both must be celebrated in the same church. It
is forbidden to reserve or transfer the Blessed Sacrament to another
church for the purpose of adoration or distribution of holy Communion.
Consequentially for there to be two celebrations of the Passion, there
would necessarily have to be two separate Masses of the Lord's Supper,
one in each church. This is certainly allowable, but the priest would
also have to celebrate two rites of the Passion, perhaps one at 3 p.m.
and the other at 6.
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