Wednesday Liturgy: Follow-up: Honoring the Book of the Gospels

ROME, DEC. 2, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.


After our Nov. 18 comments on the honors attributed to the Book of the Gospels, a reader from Sweden asked: "I would like to ask, is it right that the deacon gives the Book of the Gospels to the bishop after reading the Gospel, so that the bishop can kiss the book? Someone told me that this does not belong to the Roman rite. When we are celebrating a Pontifical Mass, this is how it is usually done in our parish. I think this is a beautiful sign of veneration for Christ, but is this gesture foreign to the Roman rite?"

It is most certainly not foreign to the Roman rite but is a legitimate option offered in the Ceremonial of Bishops, No. 141, to wit:

"After the gospel reading, the deacon takes the book to the bishop, who kisses it, saying inaudibly, 'May the words of the Gospel [wipe away our sins]'; alternatively, the deacon himself kisses the book and inaudibly says the same words."

The Book of the Gospels is usually kept open on the text that has been read while the deacon brings it to the bishop, who customarily kisses it at the passage's opening words.

The 2001 General Instruction of the Roman Missal (No. 176) also provides that on solemn occasions the bishop may also impart a blessing with the book after having kissed it. This custom was probably introduced on the initiative of Pope John Paul II, who frequently imparted this blessing.