Mithras wrote:I have always thought that though singing is approved during the preparation of the gifts, the priest's offering may be done silently during that, and that if this is so the accompanying song/hymn need not directly refer to the offertory action but may be a commentary on the theme of the Mass. In any event, the priest singing the offertory prayers to the hymn you cite means that he deviates from the text in the Missal albeit slightly, and the congregational response is similarly adjusted. Over to you Gareth...
Indeed, a song in this slot need not have an explicit preparing-of-gifts theme.
What does one do when one inherits liturgies planned by schools which have the Nazareth song in the preparation slot, therefore the congregation is singing the priest's words even before the bread gets into my hands? As a pastoral shift in the right direction, I can at least reclaim the priest's part and make the response wait until its appropriate. And of course I'd never allow this to be sung without singing all the Mass parts.
A little Jesuitical logic might even allow the Nazareth setting to be construed as an antiphonal celebrant/congregation Preparation of the Gifts song whose words happen to almost correspond to the missal text to the extent that the priest has fulfilled his obligation to say the priestly words and the people need not say the prescribed words... because they are singing a (very similar) song instead. Otherwise I could always say the correct words over the cup sotto voce afterwards.
Of course, once the Nazareth tune is in the heads of the congregation it can be usurped for other Berakahs without needing to use it in Mass anyway!
FrGareth
