St. Vincent - Crookes, Sheffield at 40 Pickmere Road, Crookes, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S10 1GY UK - Prayerful pauses in the Mass (St Vincent's)
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Prayerful pauses in the Mass (St Vincent's) |
 | Saint Vincent's Catholic Church 40 Pickmere Road, Crookes, Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 1GY Telephone 0114-268-0716 |  |
| A church site of Diocese of Hallam |
THE USE OF PRAYERFUL PAUSES
As I said already, please allow the people to sit down and get settled before you begin the reading. Don't rush.
On ringing the bell at the beginning of Mass organists should wait until all the people are standing before they begin the music. The bell is the signal for the people to stand, not for the music to start.
People should at least look at the congregation after they say: 'A reading from the letter of St Paul etc…..' They should also look at the congregation when they say in a slow distinctive voice: 'This is the Word of the Lord'. Maintaining eye contact throughout the reading is also highly recommended. Practice makes perfect.
According to new regulations there should be a short pause of about eight or nine seconds after the Reader says: 'This is the Word of the Lord'. May I ask the organists or guitar players to respect this pause and not come in immediately after the Readings are finished with music or singing - please wait those few vital seconds. The same applies after the second reading. Please pause for a few seconds before you start playing and singing the Gospel acclamation. We're talking here about very short pauses not long embarrassing silences.
If there is one Reader for the two readings and there is no singing then the Reader at the end or the reading, after she says 'this is the Word of the Lord' should step back slightly from the Lectern for the seven or eight seconds pause with head slightly bowed before she comes forward to read the psalm. The same applies at the end of the Second Reading before they begin the Acclamation. If the acclamation or psalm is sung then it is the organist or guitar player or cantor who is responsible for the short pause. In this case the reader goes immediately to his/her place at the end of the Readings.
I notice, on rare occasions, it happens that the Reader stays standing at the lectern while the psalm is being sung. It would be better to sit down while the Cantor sings the psalm.
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