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Public reading is not public speaking, and lectoring requires nothing less, not more, of the lector.
In the past I have taught college speech, many times. Along with requiring students to deliver the usual species of speeches conforming to the usual categories, I always included sections on poetry recitation and public reading before a group. Both are art forms, I think (I may exaggerate but at least I taught them that way). Certainly they are a craft, and lectoring is a craft by itself.
Done well, reading scripture publicly is more than just a Bible reading. It is the lector’s job to read a passage into life so we may hear God’s story for us, first hand, for ourselves.
So here’s the first thing. Public reading is not public speaking. That runs the other way, too: Public speaking is not public reading. Too many times the one is mistaken for the other. Nearly every lector’s manual I’ve read emphasizes eye-contact with worshipers, even to the point of providing scripted clues for when to leave the text and look up at people.
I could not disagree more. So let me say it again: public reading is not public speaking. Here’s why:
In public speaking, the speaker must visibly connect with the audience to establish rapport and create an authentic relationship. Public speaking require sustained eye-contact, and gesture, and an engaged and energetic body language with facial emphasis; all of that. The speaker puts these together with the words to draw the listener’s attention to himself, to gain an audience for what he says. It is the speaker’s presence in the moment that conveys as much of the speech to the hearer as the words themselves. We see the speaker and thereby learn something about his or her character, all to the point so we gain a better appreciation of his remarks.
But a lector reading in public should be invisible, hidden within the text being read. A public reading of scripture in worship is an appointment with a text from scripture, and often a text that is not unfamiliar to the listeners. It is the text―familiar though it may be―that must capture our attention, not the lector. Looking up from the text to catch somebody’s eye is a distraction from the text. The lector must stand aside, so to speak, from him or herself. Thus, the lector’s job is to speak the text in such a way that the text itself, and not the lector, may to speak to us.
Some of the usual rules for public speaking of course apply to lectors: Careful attention to enunciation, pronunciation, vocal quality, microphone use, word pacing (not too fast, not too slow). Nonetheless, the very features that in fact go into public speaking detract from a public reading. Reading scripture in worship is to bring our attention to the text, not to the lector. Public reading, I will say it again, is not public speaking.
There are only two occasions that actually require a lector to look at anybody the congregation, and neither happens during the reading itself. The first is the introductory proclamation line, “A reading from …” Look those people straight in the eye when you do it, so they’ll know you’re up to something serious. Pause after saying the introduction and mentally count to three before launching into the text.
The last occasion is the concluding proclamation, “The Word of the Lord.” After the reading, pause again, same count to three, and then say the conclusion. Punctuated silence is the best attention-getter available. Use it well.
Otherwise, your eyes should be on the text you are proclaiming. Your attention to the text will draw our attention to what is being read.
Preparation? Practice aloud; reading the text 10 times is not too many. Out loud. That is after you have read the text silently to yourself perhaps an equal number of times. You must become familiar with the words, their flow, and learn where a pause or vocal emphasis will aid clarity.
Word emphasis? Explore the different ways the text might be illuminated by the tone of your voice. There is irony in scripture, humor, playfulness, somber warnings, heart-rending lament, conversational exchanges, snarky jokes (“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”), narration, and more. I cannot think of any verbal characterization that is not in scripture. Let the weight of the words indicate mood and tone and delivery for the reading.
Microphone? Do not depend on the microphone to project your voice. Find the right distance you need from it so your voice is neither lost nor overwhelming. And listen for your p’s and t’s; they sometimes explode out of a sound system like cap pistols. Move slightly back from the microphone if you hear the pops as you practice.
There you go. That’s some of the technical stuff.
Non-technical: Say a prayer, one of gratitude for the service you have been selected to perform. In fact, start there first, and then tackle the technique.
This is a revised version of a piece published online elsewhere.
għaċ-Ċelebrazzjoni
tal-Quddiesa
u tal-Liturġija tas-Sigħat
u Aġenda Ekkleżjastika
Mill-Martiroloġju Ruman
It-titlu tal-Imqaddsa Marija Omm il-Knisja kellu l-bidu tiegħu meta twieled minnha Kristu, ir-Ras tal-Knisja, u hija saret Omm il-Knisja qabel ma’ binha miet fuq is-Salib. San Pawlu VI, Papa, ikkonferma dan it-titlu tagħha solennement fid-diskors li kien għamel lill-Isqfijiet fil-Konċilju Vatikan II fil-21 ta’ Novembru 1964 u ordna li għandha “tingħata dan il-ġieħ billi tissejjaħ b’dan l-isem ħelu li anki llum jintuża mill-poplu nisrani kollu”.
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Published on 10 Jun 2019
On the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church (Monday after Pentecost, Jun 10, 2019), Fr. Alan relates the reasons behind the declaration of this new memorial, decreed by Pope Francis in 2018.
“Mother of the Church” is the Marian title proclaimed officially by Pope St. Paul VI at the Second Vatican Council, and expresses the Church’s filial veneration for her mother, the Mother of Christ and of all the members of His Mystical Body. As the Council prayed and yearned for the realization of a “new Pentecost,” the Church now gathers around Mary, just as the Apostles did in the Upper Room before the first Pentecost, awaiting in prayerful vigil the powerful intervention of the Holy Spirit and His gift of the new life of grace.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
Readings:
1st: Acts 1:12-14
Resp: Ps 87:1-2, 3 and 5, 6-7
Gsp: Jn 19:25-34
New Marian feast must be celebrated beginning this year (2018)
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has clarified that the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, must be celebrated by everyone, beginning this year.
A “Notification” from the Church’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has clarified that the new Obligatory Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, must be celebrated in the Ordinary form of the Roman Rite beginning this year.
The new feast is to be observed on the Monday following Pentecost.
New feast to be preferred
The notification, signed by Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Prefect of the Congregation, notes that an exception still exists, in accordance with the rubrics in the Roman Missal: “Where the Monday or Tuesday after Pentecost are days on which the faithful are obliged or accustomed to attend Mass, the Mass of Pentecost Sunday may be repeated, or a Mass of the Holy Spirit may be said.”
Nevertheless, the document insists, “all else being equal, the Obligatory Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church is to be preferred.”
Because Pentecost is a movable feast, tied to the celebration of Easter, it is possible that the new Memorial could coincide with another Memorial of a Saint or Blessed; and when this happens, the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church, will take precedence.
History of the feast
The new feast was inserted into the Universal Calendar for the Latin Church earlier this year by Pope Francis, in a decree dated 11 February 2018 – the 160th anniversary of the apparition of Mary at Lourdes. Previously, permission to celebrate a feast of Mary had been extended to Poland and Argentina, as well as St Peter’s Basilica, and several Religious Orders and Congregations.
The title of “Mother of the Church” was famously bestowed on the Blessed Virgin Mary by Blessed Pope Paul VI during the Second Vatican Council. The understanding of Mary’s motherhood has developed in the decades following Vatican II, especially as the Church has reflected on the Council’s teaching about Mary in chapter 8 of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen gentium).
Below, please find the full text of the Notification from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
NOTIFICATION on the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
Following the inscription of the Obligatory Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church into the Roman Calendar, which must already be celebrated by everyone this year on the Monday after Pentecost, it seemed opportune to offer the following directions.
The rubric found in the Roman Missal after the formularies for the Mass of Pentecost, “Where the Monday or Tuesday after Pentecost are days on which the faithful are obliged or accustomed to attend Mass, the Mass of Pentecost Sunday may be repeated, or a Mass of the Holy Spirit, may be said” (Missale Romanum, p. 448), is still valid because it does not derogate precedence between liturgical days whose celebration are solely regulated by the Table of Liturgical Days (cf. Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, n. 59). Likewise, precedence is regulated by the norms on Votive Masses: “Votive Masses are in principle forbidden on the days on which there occurs an Obligatory Memorial, on a weekday of Advent up to and including 16 December, on a weekday of Christmas Time from 2 January, or on a weekday of Easter Time after the Octave of Easter. However, for pastoral reasons, as determined by the rector of the church or the Priest Celebrant himself, an appropriately corresponding Votive Mass may be used in a celebration of Mass with the people” (Missale Romanum, p.1156; cf. General Instruction of the Roman Missal, n. 376).
Nevertheless, all else being equal, the Obligatory Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church is to be preferred. The texts of the Memorial were attached to the Decree along with indications for the readings, which are to be held as proper because they illuminate the mystery of Spiritual Motherhood. In a future edition of the Ordo lectionum Missæ the rubric at n. 572 bis will expressly indicate that the readings are proper and, even though it is a Memorial, are to be adopted in place of the readings of the day, (cf. Lectionary, General Introduction, n. 83).
In the case where this Memorial coincides with another Memorial the principles of the Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and Calendar are to be followed (cf. Table of Liturgical Days, n. 60). Given that the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church is linked to Pentecost, as the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary is similarly linked to the celebration of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, then, in the case where it coincides with another Memorial of a Saint or Blessed, and following the liturgical tradition of pre-eminence amongst persons, the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary is to prevail.
From the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 24 March 2018.
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Pope institutes new celebration of Mary, Mother of Church
Pope Francis inserts the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, into the Roman Calendar on the Monday following Pentecost Sunday.
Cardinal Sarah: ‘New Marian memorial aid to Christian life’
The newly-instituted Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, will help Christians plant their lives on the Cross, the Eucharist, and the Mother of God, according to Cardinal Robert Sarah.
THE GOSPEL ON MONDAY FOLLOWING PENTECOST SUNDAY Jn 19:25-34 -- "Behold your son. Behold your mother - Hawn hu Ibnek, hemm hi ommok."
MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH Il-Festa ta’ Marija Omm il-Knisja
Evanġelju
Hawn hu Ibnek, hemm hi ommok. Ġw 19, 25-34
Qari mill-Evanġelju skont San Ġwann
F’dak iż-żmien [Ġw:19:25] kien hemm wieqfa ħdejn is-salib ta' Ġesù ommu, oħt ommu, Marija ta' Kleofa, u Marija ta' Magdala. [Ġw:19:26] Mela kif Ġesù lemaħ lil ommu u lid-dixxiplu li kien iħobb wieqaf ħdejha, qal lil ommu: "Mara, hawn hu ibnek."
[Ġw:19:27] Imbagħad qal lid-dixxiplu: "Hawn hi ommok." U minn dak il-ħin id-dixxiplu ħadha għandu. [Ġw:19:28] Wara dan, Ġesù, billi issa kien jaf li kollox kien mitmum, biex isseħħ l-Iskrittura qal: "Għandi l-għatx!" [Ġw:19:29] Kien hemm bieqja mimlija bil-ħall; huma xarrbu sponża bil-ħall, waħħluha ma' qasba ta' l-issopu, u ressquhielu lejn ħalqu. [Ġw:19:30] Kif Ġesù ħa l-ħall, qal: "Kollox hu mitmum!" Mbagħad mejjel rasu u radd ruħu. [Ġw:19:31] Billi kien Jum it-Tħejjija ta' l-Għid, il-Lhud ma ridux li f'jum is-Sibt l-iġsma jibqgħu fuq is-salib, għax dak is-Sibt kien jum solenni għalihom. Talbu mela lil Pilatu biex jiksrulhom riġlejhom u jneħħu l-iġsma. [Ġw:19:32] Għalhekk ġew is-suldati u kisru r-riġlejn ta' l-ewwel u tat-tieni wieħed li kienu msallbin miegħu. [Ġw:19:33] Iżda meta waslu għal Ġesù, billi raw li kien ġa mejjet, ma kisrulux riġlejh. [Ġw:19:34] Madankollu wieħed mis-suldati nifidlu ġenbu b'lanza, u minnufih ħareġ demm u ilma.
Il-Kelma tal-Mulej R/. Tifħir lilek Kristu
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L-Isqof Joe Galea Curmi fuq t-Talba tal-Papa Franġisku lil Marija Omm il Knisja - mill-Enċiklika ta' Papa Franġisku - LUMEN FIDEI (ID-DAWL TAL-FIDI) Marija, Omm il-Knisja u Omm il-Fidi
Għin, ja Omm, il-fidi tagħna!
Iftħilna s-smigħ tagħna għall-Kelma, biex nagħrfu l-leħen ta’ Alla u s-sejħa tiegħu.
Qajjem fina x-xewqa li nimxu warajh, aħna u ħerġin minn artna u nilqgħu l-wegħda tiegħu.
Għinna biex inħallu mħabbtu tmissna, biex inkunu nistgħu mmissuh bil-fidi.
Għinna nafdaw fih bis-sħiħ, nemmnu f’imħabbtu, fuq kollox fil-waqtiet tat-tribulazzjoni u s-salib, meta l-fidi tagħna tissejjaħ biex timmatura.
Iżra’ fil-fidi tagħna l-hena tal-Irxoxt.
Fakkarna li min jemmen qatt mhu waħdu.
Għallimna nħarsu b’għajnejn Ġesù, biex hu jkun dawl fil-mixja tagħna. U dan id-dawl tal-fidi ħa jikber dejjem fina, sa ma jasal dak il-jum bla tmiem, li hu l-istess Kristu, Ibnek, Sidna!
A Catholic elementary school in Nashville has banned the seven books of the Harry Potter series due to concerns the books promote witchcraft and black magic. An exorcist and a Catholic author talked with CNA about the Harry Potter books and the Catholic faith.
“These books present magic as both good and evil, which is not true, but in fact a clever deception,” Fr. Dan Reehil, pastor at Saint Edward School in Nashville, said to parents in an Aug. 28 email.
“The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells; which when read by a human being risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text,” the priest added.
Reehil said that the books “glorify acts of divination; of conjuring the dead, of casting spells among other acts that are an offense to the virtue of religion — to the love and respect we owe to God alone. Many reading these books could be persuaded to believe these acts are perfectly fine, even good or spiritually healthy.”
Reehil told parents he made the decision to ban the books after consulting exorcists in both the United States and Rome.
Saint Edward teaches students from pre-K through eighth grade.
The Harry Potter books have been controversial since the first book was published in 1997. The American Library Association listed the Harry Potter series as its first-most challenged books in 2001 and 2002. The books were challenged due to claims of being “anti-family,” containing “occult/satanism” content, and violence.
Series author J.K. Rowling has rejected the idea that her books contain anti-Christian messages. In a 2007 interview, the author said that she believed there were parallels between the series’ title character, Harry Potter, and Jesus Christ.
Monsignor Charles Pope, a diocesan priest who has participated in numerous exorcisms over the past 10 years, told CNA that “it’s always good to err on the side of caution in these matters,” adding that the decision to remove the books from the library was a “prudential judgment.”
“I think that in times like these we need to be extra cautious, and so as a general rule I’d support it, but I think every individual parent would have to work with their own kids on these matters,” Pope said.
Pope told CNA that he has not read the Harry Potter books nor seen the movies apart from “some excerpts,” and said with a laugh that the series is “way past (his) age.”
Rosamund Hodge, an author of young adult fantasy novels and a lay Dominican, told CNA she thinks concerns about the “magic” in Harry Potter are overblown.
“The magic in these books is about as ‘real’ as Cinderella’s fairy godmother singing ‘bibbidi- bobbidi-boo,’” she told CNA.
“While [Author J.K.] Rowling does occasionally draw from actual occult folklore for some of her world-building…the spells her characters use are usually just fake Latin describing what they’re supposed to do.”
Hodge does not believe there is a risk of children accidentally conjuring evil spirits through repeating the “spells” used in the books.
“Children are about as likely to summon demons by play-acting Harry Potter as
they are to accidentally sell their souls by proclaiming ‘Abracadabra!’ while performing card tricks,” Hodge said.
Hodge said that while Rowling “does not write with a Catholic imagination,” she is not concerned with the allegations of “occult” content in the Harry Potter books.
The author told CNA that Catholic children might learn something from the books, even though the series characters do not possess a Catholic worldview.
“I think the proper response is not to ban the books, but to discuss them,” she said. “If children learn how to cope with Harry and his friends sometimes believing the wrong things, perhaps they’ll be prepared for the Thanksgiving dinner where their favorite uncle announces that euthanasia should be legal.”
Pope told CNA that, no matter their decision about Harry Potter, Catholics should guard against any sort of dabbling with the occult or witchcraft.
“Once you’re into actual witchcraft you are in the dark side, since there’s nothing of God in this. It’s a violation of the First Commandment,” he said.
“I mean, I’ve had to look this devil in the face,” the priest added. “He’s very real. He’s very pernicious. He’s also very sly. We need to be sober about his present action in the world.”
Do not be late. Remember God is waiting for you to fill you with love, to speak to your ear, to tell you what you need to hear, to forgive you. He gave you a special place at his table. Do not keep him waiting.
Do not wear inappropriate clothing. Do it for you, and for others.
Do not enter the church without greeting the Lord. When you arrive, make the Sign of the Cross. God is there, happy to see you. Thank him for the invitation.
Do not be lazy when it comes to bowing or genuflecting. If you walk in front of the altar, which represents Christ, bow. If you pass before the Tabernacle, where Christ is, genuflect.
Do not chew gum, eat, or drink during Mass. Only water is allowed if necessary for health reasons.
Do not sprawl or slump in the pew. Your body should express your devotion.
There is no need to add “extra sentences” to the Readings and the Psalm. That is, do not read the red letters or say “First Reading” or “Responsorial Psalm.”
Never recite the Alleluia in advance. Wait a few seconds. Surely someone will sing it. If neither the priest nor anybody sings, omit it, but never recite it.
Do not make the Sign of the Cross before the proclamation of the Gospel. Make three small crosses: one on your forehead, one on your lips and the last over your heart, asking the Word of God to be in your mind, on your lips and in your heart.
Do not respond in the plural when the Creed is prayed in the form of questions. The presider at Mass may ask: “Do you Believe in God the Father Almighty?” In this case, do not answer “yes, we do,” because faith, although collective, is also personal: you cannot believe “for” someone else. You should simply reply “Yes, I do.”
Do not collect the offering during the Universal Prayer. The offering should be collected during the presentation of the gifts, when all are seated and the priest thanks God for the bread and the wine and purifies the hands.
Do not sit during the Consecration. If you cannot kneel, consider standing up, but try to leave sitting for times of illness or caring for a child. Your posture during the consecration should reflect your great respect and reverence for the Real Presence of Christ on the altar.
There is no need to pray out loud during the Consecration. There are people who, during the Consecration, say the Apostle Thomas’ prayer out loud: “My Lord, My God.” But this can distract those who are making a personal prayer in silence.
Do not repeat “Through him, and with him, and in him …” (that is, the Doxology that concludes the Eucharistic Prayer). The only person who should say this is the priest who presides over the Mass.
Do not leave your place to go and give peace. You should only greet those who are close to you in the pew. Neither should you use this moment to go congratulate someone or give condolences.
If your soul is not prepared with the one hour fast and in the state of grace, do not take Communion.
Do not insist on taking Communion from the priest. Jesus is present in the Consecrated Host, regardless whether you receive it from the priest or from an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, who is a person prepared and authorized by the Church to distribute Communion at Mass and to take it to the elderly and sick.
After receiving Communion, do not talk to others. Go back to your place and talk to the Lord. If you have not received the Eucharist, make a spiritual communion and talk to Him.
Once Communion has been distributed take a moment of sacred silence, in which each person simply dialogues with God.
Turn off the phone. Do not message or talk on the cell phone during Mass, as it distracts you and others. Turn your attention to the Lord, who is dedicating His attention to you.
Keep your kids in sight, next to you. Teach them to enjoy their time at the Father’s house.
Do not leave until the Mass is over. You don’t want to miss the final blessing, through which the priest sends you into the world to bear witness in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Come out of the church with a new purpose, inspired by the Lord, to build his Kingdom of love.
