I have recently started attending daily Mass using the 1962 Missal. Sometimes, I find it very frustrating to encounter *feria *days. I see some guidance given above, but how are we to know actually know what readings are being used for a given day.
For example yesterday, it was a mass for the dead. I look in the back of the Angelus press missal for propers for masses for the dead, but there are so many I don’t know which one is being used. Additionally, they don’t contain the Scripture readings.
Help? How do you know what the readings are in this kind of circumstance?
The propers for the Daily Mass of the Dead is taken from the THIRD Mass of All Souls Day. The reading is from Revelation and the Gospel of St. John. I don’t know exactly how the things are arranged in the Angelus Press Missal but regarding the collects, secrets and postcommunions the following is the custom:
According to the 1953 edito typica, under the section for daily Mass of the dead, 3 collects are given: the first for the souls of deceased priests and bishops, the second for benefactors and relatives* and the third for all the faithful departed**. These are for Masses of the Dead in general.
According to the rubrics, the first could be replaced by another set and the missal gives many- for the father and mother, for a man, for a woman- and this collect was directed for those to whom the Mass was applied. The second could be said at the option of the priest but the last was always reserved for all the faithful departed (Collect for the first Mass of All Souls). Any number of collects upto I think 7 could be said as long as it was an odd number- 1,3,5,7.
The reason I’ve mentioned this, even though the Indult uses the 1961 missal, is because I have read that some Traditional priests tend to adhere to the former rubrics in certain cases. Certain SSPX sites with the propers for the daily Mass also seem to adhere to these Pius X rubrics.
If one goes by the 1961 Rubricae Generales (a.k.a John XXIII rubrics) then it should be as follows:
For a sung Mass of the dead- only one collect. With this you will have a problem since the collect is then chosen from any one of those given in the missal, depending for whom the Mass is offered for. If you don’t know that, then unless you catch on and flip very very quickly, you probably won’t be able to follow.
For a low Mass(non conventual): An additional votive collect MAY be said after the first collect which is for the person for whom the Mass is applied. Chances are that the priest will pick the one for the departed benefactors and relatives* or for All the Faithful Departed**. However there is nothing in the rubrics of the 1961 missal to say that he HAS to, at least, as far as I can tell.
The collects may never exceed 3 according to the 1961 rubrics. Also, the sequence Dies Irae may be omitted in Daily Masses for the dead, whether sung or said.
*(Collect for the THIRD Mass of All Souls)
**(Collect for the FIRST Mass of All Souls)
P.S. Wherever collects are mentioned above, take it to include the secrets and the postcommunions of that set also.
