Q: What would be your reaction when, as master of ceremonies, the bishop instructs before the Mass that the Book of the Gospels can be brought in procession if only there is no procession with it before the reading of the Gospel, and if there is procession with the book of the Gospel before reading the Gospel, the Book of the Gospel should not be brought in the entrance procession, but should be already put on the altar?
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A: Permission for the Book of the Gospels to rest on the altar before Mass is at GIRM 117. References to the Book of the Gospels in the entrance procession can be found in places such as GIRM 120d and 172. References to processing the Book of the Gospels from the altar to the ambo are in places such as GIRM 133 and 175.
If the bishop thinks that the Book of the Gospels carried in the entrance procession must go directly to the ambo, and if he thinks he is quoting the GIRM, he may simply be mistaken. Furthermore, the procession of the book from the altar to the ambo does not require that it be placed on the altar before Mass. What would my reaction be? I guess I’d ask him where he found this information and offer him the pertinent passages from the GIRM, assuring him all the while that you’re certain he wants to do what the rubrics of the Mass say.