I chose the reading. It was not in any Lectionary, and was not a reading recommended for the occassion by the the bishops, and since Bibles are not normally present during a Mass, the reading was not available.
The occasion was a funeral Mass and the reading was Ezekiel 37,The Valley of Dry Bones.
Ezekiel 37:1-14, "The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know. ”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord. ’”"
Since there are theologians out there, maybe they can commnet on whether, or not this reading was appropriate for the occassion, and why a Bible was not and is not normally present at a Mass so that this reading was available and at hand to be read aloud.
Then you shouldn't be reading it in place of the readings prescribed in the Missal, and the celebrating priest erred if he gave you permission to read it.
The OT reading at the Funeral Mass are to be chosen from 2 Macc 12, Job 19, Wisdom 3, Wisdom 4, Isaiah 25, Lamentations 3, and Daniel 12. Those readings should be present in the Lectionary.
The Mass, including the selection of Scriptures to be read, is not something we make up as we go. It's not even something priests should make up as they go. It's the public prayer of the whole church.
why a Bible was not and is not normally present at a Mass so that this reading was available and at hand to be read aloud.
See above.
That's unfortunate. If you had chosen one of those prescribed by the Church it would have been at hand and available for all to read along.
What was the purpose of the prepared notes you forgot?
why a Bible was not and is not normally present at a Mass so that this reading was available and at hand to be read aloud.
A Bible is normally present, but the Church provides the written Scripture readings for all. And again, the purpose of the Mass is not for Bible study as your study of the day's Scripture readings should be done before attending Mass. One of the reasons the Church provides the Scripture readings of the day through the Missal for everyone attending is because people often forgot their Bibles, just as you did.