1950s Mass in U.S. - is this accurate?

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I am a children’s librarian, and I have a blog on which I review children’s books. Whenever possible, I like to praise books which do an exceptional job of accurately and respectfully portraying the faith. I am about to review a novel by Linda Sue Park entitled Keeping Score. The main character of the story is a girl named Maggie who lives in Brooklyn in the early 1950s. Though the plot is about baseball and the Korean war, there are many references throughout the text to the character’s faithful attendance at Mass. Most of these are pretty vague, but there is one specific one that gave me pause. As she reflects upon whether it is appropriate to pray for the success of a baseball team, Maggie describes the following situation:

“Every week in church, Father John or one of the other priests asked for intercessions, and then everyone prayed for other people. Usually, the intercessions were for people who were sick or hurt. Or had lost their jobs, or had gone off to Korea to fight in the war.” (p. 51)

I was born in the 1980s, so my familiarity with pre-Vatican II Masses is limited to anecdotes from older relatives and the few times I have attended the Latin Mass at a local parish. Does anyone know whether intercessions such as these were a part of Mass prior to Vatican II? I want to be able to mention in my review whether this detail is accurate or out of place.

Thank you!
 
Michael12 said:

Posting this on behalf of another:​

I am a children’s librarian, and I have a blog on which I review children’s books. Whenever possible, I like to praise books which do an exceptional job of accurately and respectfully portraying the faith. I am about to review a novel by Linda Sue Park entitled Keeping Score. The main character of the story is a girl named Maggie who lives in Brooklyn in the early 1950s. Though the plot is about baseball and the Korean war, there are many references throughout the text to the character’s faithful attendance at Mass. Most of these are pretty vague, but there is one specific one that gave me pause. As she reflects upon whether it is appropriate to pray for the success of a baseball team, Maggie describes the following situation:

“Every week in church, Father John or one of the other priests asked for intercessions, and then everyone prayed for other people. Usually, the intercessions were for people who were sick or hurt. Or had lost their jobs, or had gone off to Korea to fight in the war.” (p. 51)

I was born in the 1980s, so my familiarity with pre-Vatican II Masses is limited to anecdotes from older relatives and the few times I have attended the Latin Mass at a local parish. Does anyone know whether intercessions such as these were a part of Mass prior to Vatican II? I want to be able to mention in my review whether this detail is accurate or out of place.

Thank you!
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This is sometimes done at Mass today and is inappropriate. No way it was done in the Mass during the early 50s.
 
I was born in the 1940’s and virtually never missed Mass in the decade of the ‘50’ s in New York. What you describe never happened there. Best, Joe
 
Phemie said:
This is sometimes done at Mass today and is inappropriate. No way it was done in the Mass during the early 50s.
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Maybe, it was a request for secret intercessions? Like, before the Mass starts, the congregation is asked to give their prayers for someone secretly, while the Mass is going?
 
Never heard of it. The only things said in vernacular were the readings, the sermon, and the Leonine Prayers.
 
Was an altar server 1955-1964. This never occurred in any Mass I ever attended during that period. However, Brooklyn was mentioned by the OP. I guess I can just barely imagine a occasional reference to praying for the Dodgers, but as a regular thing such as today’s Prayer of the Faithful - no.
 
Michael12 said:

Posting this on behalf of another:​

I am a children’s librarian, and I have a blog on which I review children’s books. Whenever possible, I like to praise books which do an exceptional job of accurately and respectfully portraying the faith. I am about to review a novel by Linda Sue Park entitled Keeping Score. The main character of the story is a girl named Maggie who lives in Brooklyn in the early 1950s. Though the plot is about baseball and the Korean war, there are many references throughout the text to the character’s faithful attendance at Mass. Most of these are pretty vague, but there is one specific one that gave me pause. As she reflects upon whether it is appropriate to pray for the success of a baseball team, Maggie describes the following situation:

“Every week in church, Father John or one of the other priests asked for intercessions, and then everyone prayed for other people. Usually, the intercessions were for people who were sick or hurt. Or had lost their jobs, or had gone off to Korea to fight in the war.” (p. 51)

I was born in the 1980s, so my familiarity with pre-Vatican II Masses is limited to anecdotes from older relatives and the few times I have attended the Latin Mass at a local parish. Does anyone know whether intercessions such as these were a part of Mass prior to Vatican II? I want to be able to mention in my review whether this detail is accurate or out of place.

Thank you!
Click to expand...
Keep in mind there were other kinds of weekly services besides Mass in the 1950s. At devotions or public rosaries there could be time for intercessions. You may be making an assumption that this took place at Mass. Maybe that is specified somewhere in the work cited, maybe that is just being inferred that it was happening at Mass.
 
I’ve seen this at half-hour masses said in small chapels, but not in Sunday mass or anything like that.
 
Note that the quote posted does not say anything about this happening during Mass.
 
Nope, asking for intercessions did not happen in the Tridentine Mass in the 50s and early 60s.
 
We were told to bring all of our needs to Mass and to place them spiritually on the altar during Mass. This was in class, not during the Mass itself.
 
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