I decided the information of this brief post was a bit too tangential to include in one of the specific posts on the parts of the Mass, but I still believe it behooves us to consider the details I’ll present.
What I want to look at now are the locations from which the readings are proclaimed, as well as the position of the reader. To begin, I will simply state some general facts.
Within history there became what were known as the Epistle side and the Gospel side of the sanctuary. These names came about due to the fact that, within the Extraordinary Form, the Epistle was read from the side bearing its name, i.e. the right if one were facing the altar, and the Gospel was proclaimed from the side of its name, i.e. the left.
In the Extraordinary Form, at a Low Mass, i.e. one without a choir and deacon and subdeacon, and at a Sung Mass, i.e. one with a choir but without a deacon and subdeacon, the readings are done by the priest from the altar. The Epistle, Gradual, and Alleluia are done on the Epistle side, the Gospel is done on the right, but with the priest tilted slightly away from the altar. This tilt comes from the manner of proclamation of the Gospel during a Solemn High Mass and a Pontifical Mass. In those forms of celebrating the Extraordinary Form, the Epistle is chanted by the subdeacon facing the East (i.e. toward the altar, which represents the East, even if not actually facing east) and the Gospel is chanted by the deacon facing towards the north and in the northern side of the sanctuary.
This position of facing northward for the Gospel seems to hold a twofold purpose. The first is symbolic and is that the Gospel was preached to the north of Jerusalem. The Apostles went forth to all nations, true, but Rome became the center of Christendom, and from there the preaching went forth into the rest of Europe. It wasn’t until after the Liturgy of the Roman Rite became more firmly established that the preaching from Rome moved to distant Asia, Africa (exceptingthe northern parts), and the Americas began. The second purpose of facing north is more of a practical one; facing northwards provided a means whereby the deacon would face towards the people for proclaiming the Gospel, even though it was only sideways, and thus he also wouldn’t turn his back to the altar or bishop.
Within this desire to face the people, we can see a remnant of an older manner of proclaiming the Word of God. There was, in the early Church, a place specifically designed for the lector and the deacon – an elevated reading-desk. This desk would face towards the people, and was later developed into an ambo (basically a simple elevated podium) and then a pulpit, which might be defined as the “uber-podium.”
What made the pulpit so special was that it was highly elevated for the purpose of projection to the entire, probably large, church it was in (obviously before the development of sound systems). It was richly adorned and was generally placed somewhere between the nave and the sanctuary. Additionally, it was often in the area that the schola and/or choir were present in.
There is much symbolism we can draw from this design of the pulpit and apply to the Ordinary Form, which has few regulations in regard to the manner in which the readings should be done. The only thing the Ordinary of the Mass says is, “The reader goes to the ambo and reads the First Reading, while all sit and listen (The Roman Missal).” With the historical use of the pulpit though, we can see a level of gradations in its usage.
The only thing that would be read from the top of the pulpit was the Gospel itself. The rest of the readings or chants, were actually done from the steps, thus allowing for an elevation, but also showing the preeminence of the Gospel reading. In fact, that was how the Gradual got its name; there was a “gradual” ascending of the steps as the readings got closer to the Gospel. Thus, the lectors and cantors would chant or proclaim the readings and psalms from the steps, and thenleave and return to their choir seats. Finally, the deacon would ascend the pulpit to proclaim the Gospel. This was also the spot from which the homily would be given, showing its importance.
Let us for a moment consider the grandiose details of the pulpit. As I mentioned, it was generally richly ornamented. This was done in order to provide an exterior sign of the importance of what was being proclaimed from it. Additionally, because it was not part of the sanctuary, but neither amongst the people, it shows the difference in the Liturgy of the Word as opposed to the Liturgy of the Eucharist, without overshadowing it. The Mass might be described as literally a two way street. It is us going to God, but also God coming to us. Sacrosanctum Concilium mentions the presence of Christ:
“Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister, . . . but especially under the Eucharistic species. By His power He is present in the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ Himself who baptizes. He is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church. He is present, lastly, when the Church prays and sings . . . . (Paragraph 7).”
The proclamation of the Word is, therefore, one of the means whereby Christ comes to us, and this was well shown by the readers coming forth from the altar in order to proclaim the Holy Scriptures. The Liturgy of the Word happens among the Faithful. The Word of God is proclaimed to them. I once again quote Sacrosanctum Concilium, “In the liturgy God speaks to His people and Christ is still proclaiming His gospel. And the people reply to God both by song and prayer (Paragraph 33).” As Jesus preached to the people from the mountain top (Matthew 5-7), so we can see a similarity for the sacred minister preaching from an elevated point.
What, then, can we all gleam from these methods and historical details? As cool as I believe it would be for a pulpit to be put in our churches, it isn’t particularly practical. However, it is reasonable, and often already the case in many churches, to have a separate ambo specifically reserved to the reading of the Gospel and the preaching of the homily. This ambo could be a bit more pronounced with slightly more elevation and be more richly decorated. The other readings and the psalms and alleluia take place then at the other ambo by the lectors and the cantors.
These two ambos, of course, would use the traditional Extraordinary Form setup for their sides. While it may seem unimportant, and of course it isn’t absolutely necessary, we should be hesitant to simply disregard the symbolism. A transference of sides shows the moving from the Old Law into the New Law in Christ, which works wonderfully to underscore the theme I have been discussing in the other posts that the readings move us from the Old Law and prophecies into our New Life in Christ, in which rejoice and come to a deeper understanding and love of Jesus.
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