I, sadly, agree with the writer from India about the apparent haste to “get ‘er done” at Sunday Masses here in the US.
I feel at times that the priest, who we all know is much busier these days owing to the shortage of those answering this vocational call, has a stopwatch running on the Mass. The same goes with some of us in the congregation: prayers that are sung, such as the Sanctus, are not even finished when a great many in the congregation are already (literally) dropping the kneelers and kneeling as a somewhat passive/aggressive way of speeding the Mass along.
Lectors also should be more aware of not only reading more carefully: i.e. Slowly — enunciating each word in a clear voice, but not one that is overly loud — and, most particularly, without overly dramatizing Holy Scripture.
Too often recently, I have been at Masses where I am more distracted by the lector’s overly-emotive “performance.” When I was trained as a lector many years ago, we were instructed to simply read the Holy Word, leaving space for the Holy Spirit to speak directly to each and every person as they need.
We live in a busy, fast-paced society. However, shouldn’t the little time we devote to God be an escape from all that?
D. Brosky
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
