Changed Date for Feast of Corpus Christi

[SnowAngels]

Hi everyone!

I was looking at my EWTN calendar the other day, and I saw that Thursday, June 19th said it was Corpus Christi. I failed to notice the pink lettering that continued on to say: “(Trad; Thursday after Trinity Sunday)”. As you can imagine I was quite surprised when the priest at Mass wished us a Happy Feast of Corpus Christi today. Checking my calendar, I see that it says that today is also the Feast of Corpus Christi (New). Why are there two datrs? Is one the old feast day, abd the other is the new? Why was rhe date changed? I tried to find thus information on my own, but my search was fruitless. Thank you for your help!

 

[ProVobis]

My pastor told us that when the only EF Mass celebrated at a parish on Sunday, the priest has a little leeway in whether to celebrate a major feast like Corpus Christi or the Sunday Mass (after Pentecost). I just came back from the FSSP Corpus Christi Mass myself.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Some holy days have been transferred to Sunday. I assume it is to increase attendance and observance of these days. Epiphany is another that is celebrated on Sunday and in most US dioceses the Ascension is moved to Sunday as well.

 

[AlexV]

Yes, in certain parts of the USA, for example, the Ascension Thursday feast…which dates back only a few centuries, indeed with biblical origins for its observance on that day as the fortieth day, etc., has been “transferred” to Sunday…which also, incidentally, ruins the observance of the traditional novena for the coming of the Holy Ghost.

Epiphany as the twelfth day, too, on 6 January, dates back only a few centuries, but that has also been moved in most locales now to the Sunday, even if that Sunday is 2 January, which creates a very odd calendar for the Christmas season, etc., etc.

Corpus Christi dates back only to the 13th century, of course, so it’s perhaps the least lamentable of these three transfers.

Later ages may well look back on the Ascension issue in particular as a sign of a liturgically impoverished era.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

It’s hard to know what to think about moving these observances from their traditional dates. I understand the desire to have more people observe them, but it’s sad to lose the traditional timing of 12 days or 40 days after another holy day.

On the other hand, around me at least, attendance at holy day Masses is barely above the attendance at regular weekday Masses. So most people aren’t observing them on the traditional date anyway. It would be different if there was a general secular observance as with Christmas. I think a lot of people simply forget that some random day is a holy day and they’re supposed to go to Mass, or they don’t fit it in with their regular activities of the day.

 

[babochka]

Yes, in certain parts of the USA, for example, the Ascension Thursday feast…which dates back only a few centuries, indeed with biblical origins for its observance on that day as the fortieth day, etc., has been “transferred” to Sunday…which also, incidentally, ruins the observance of the traditional novena for the coming of the Holy Ghost.

Can you give a reference to the claim that the feast dates back only a few centuries? According to your sources, at what point was it added to the calendar. This feast is celebrated by the Church in both the East and West. Such an occurrence is usually an indicator of great antiquity of a feast. It is mentioned in the writings of St. John Chrystostom and St. Gregory of Nyssa. St. Augustine claimed apostolic origin for the feast.

Epiphany as the twelfth day, too, on 6 January, dates back only a few centuries, but that has also been moved in most locales now to the Sunday, even if that Sunday is 2 January, which creates a very odd calendar for the Christmas season, etc., etc.

I can’t speak to the history of the Liturgical celebration on Epiphany of January 6 in the west, but in the East the celebration of Epiphany/Theophany predates the observance of Christmas and certainly dates back much further than a few centuries.

In reading your entire post, I wonder if maybe you meant that these feasts date back to the first few centuries of the Church, in which case you would be entirely correct. It isn’t clear to me in the way it is phrased.

 

[AlexV]

I was being ironic. I deplore the removal of feasts from their day of celebrations when said days/dates have been in observance since antiquity.

 

[babochka]

I was being ironic. I deplore the removal of feasts from their day of celebrations when said days/dates have been in observance since antiquity.

Ah… irony can be difficult to discern online.

 

[Chatter163]

The 1970 missal and kalendar of Paul VI say the same for both the feast of the Epiphany and Corpus Christi: In countries where they are not holy days of obligation, they are moved to Sunday.

In the EF, there has long been a custom permitted by the Holy See of observing the “external solemnity” of Corpus Christi on the following Sunday. This means that one of the Sunday Masses may be followed by the procession and Benediction.

 

[Megan7]

The 1970 missal and kalendar of Paul VI say the same for both the feast of the Epiphany and Corpus Christi: In countries where they are not holy days of obligation, they are moved to Sunday.

In the EF, there has long been a custom permitted by the Holy See of observing the “external solemnity” of Corpus Christi on the following Sunday. This means that one of the Sunday Masses may be followed by the procession and Benediction.

Thanks.