Dear Catholic Exchange:
Is the reading of the Daily Missal book while attending mass still an acceptable practice?
Mr. Tapan
Dear Mr. Tapan,
Greetings in Christ. I hope this response will adequately address your question.
Yes, it is still an acceptable practice to follow along in the Missal during Mass. Many parishes provide a copy of the readings in a “Missalette” book. Personal copies of the complete Missal are available as well. This issue is specifically addressed in the FAITH FACT on liturgical devices.
Reading along with the lector can promote a deeper understanding and participation of the lay faithful, which is encouraged by the latest edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal:
17. It is therefore of the greatest importance that the celebration of the Mass — that is, the Lord's Supper — be so arranged that the sacred ministers and the faithful taking part in it, according to the proper state of each, may derive from it more abundantly those fruits for the sake of which Christ the Lord instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of his Body and Blood and entrusted it to the Church, his beloved Bride, as the memorial of his Passion and Resurrection.
18. This will best be accomplished if, with due regard for the nature and the particular circumstances of each liturgical assembly, the entire celebration is planned in such a way that it leads to a conscious, active, and full participation of the faithful both in body and in mind, a participation burning with faith, hope, and charity, of the sort which is desired by the Church and demanded by the very nature of the celebration, and to which the Christian people have a right and duty by reason of their Baptism.
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