Difference between 1962 missal and previous years?

[UKcatholicGuy]

Hello,

I’m looking into buying the St. Andrew Daily Missal, which is a re-print of the one from 1945. I would obviously use it at the indult Latin Mass I attend. I’m wondering: Since the indult Latin Mass is celebrated according to the 1962 roman missal, would there be any huge differences I would notice if I used a 1945 missal?

Also, can someone briefly explain or list the years that the Mass was updated or changed, say from about 1920 until Vatican II? This has always confused me. For example, what is the missal of 1962? What was the one before that and how is it different? Also, if anyone knows of any good websites with this information please let me know.

Thanks.

 

[Jaypeeto4]

I think Pope Pius XII revised the Holy Week celebrations around 1953 or 1954 or 1955. Those would not be in the Saint Andrew Missal, but would be in the 1962 Missal.

I have the 1962 Missal and a missal from 1943, and I don’t notice any major differences at all.

God bless,
Jaypeeto4 (aka Jaypeeto3)

 

[demerzel85]

Older 1962 Missals would have the Pius XII Psalter and 1943 Missals would still have the Vulgate Psalter. Fresh 1962 Missals use the Vulgate Psalter.

In 1956 the rubrics of the Mass were changed and again in 1960.

 

[Psalm45_9]

I believe the 1945 missal still has the altar boy saying the confetitor again prior to recieving communion.

 

[AJV]

Hello,

I’m looking into buying the St. Andrew Daily Missal, which is a re-print of the one from 1945. I would obviously use it at the indult Latin Mass I attend. I’m wondering: Since the indult Latin Mass is celebrated according to the 1962 roman missal, would there be any huge differences I would notice if I used a 1945 missal?

Also, can someone briefly explain or list the years that the Mass was updated or changed, say from about 1920 until Vatican II? This has always confused me. For example, what is the missal of 1962? What was the one before that and how is it different? Also, if anyone knows of any good websites with this information please let me know.

Thanks.

Your question is quite vast.

A rough timeline:
1920’s: the reforms of Divino Afflatu begin to be implemented properly under Benedict XV. Feast of Christ the King introduced with preface.
1950’s: New Holy Week introduced. The missal is modified by the rubrics of Cum Nostra.
1960: Bl. John XXIII intorduces new rubrics and rankings effective 1961. Revised Ritus Servandus makes no mention of the Confiteor before Communion. Prayers at the foot of the altar and Last Gospel omitted on certain occasions
1962: St. Joseph in the Canon
1964: Inter Oecumenici- removal of the kissing of the priest’s hand.
1965: Ordo Missae omits the Last Gospel and the psalm Iudica Me. Revised Ritus Servandus omits many signs of the cross in the Canon and genuflections. mThe priest is now required to conduct the Masss from the chair until the Offertory. The moving from the center of the altar to the left and back for the postcommunion is suppressed- the priest remains at the center at all times. Allowance of the sign of peace uses a pax-brede (a board which is kised)
: Rite of Concelebration introduced
1967- Tres Abhic Annos- further simplication of ritual gestures including the holding of the forefinger and thumb after the ablution.
1968- 4 new Eucharistic Prayers

There are far more changes in the 60’s- I just don’t know about them. They included the changing of the forumla of administration of communion to “Corpus Cristi”, gradual permission for the vernacular, etc.

I has started typing this around 2 weeks back in response to another post. It deals with the main changes of the 50’s in 1951 and 1955.

I will try and write on the changes of Divino Afflatu over the weekend (Friday) and the changes of 1961.

 

[AJV]

Before I begin, a few things to note about the old rite.

The order in the Roman calendar was:
Double of the I Class,
Double of the II Class,
Greater Doubles (Double major)
Double (double minor)
Semidoubles
Simples
Commemoration *

There were also many vigils observed in the eve of feasts like those of the apostles. These were also given ranks.

A feria was a day on which no feast was celebrated. Most ferias throughout the year used the texts of the previous Sunday Mass. Some like those of Advent and Lent has ‘proper’ texts. There were priveldged ferias like Ash Wednesday and Holy Week during which no feast could be celebrated. Others like those of Advent and Lent (including Passiontide) ranked only above Simple feasts.

Octaves were observed for a period of 8 days after a feast. During an Octave depending on rank as given below texts of the octaves were used, prefaces associated with the octaves [unless there was a very high ranking feast with a different preface], and for Easter, Epiphany, Ptentecost, Christmas and Ascension, a proper communicantes. The Octaves were divided into

Privileged Octave I Class: Easter and Pentecost. Absolutely nothing could be celebrated within these days. If any saints feast fell it was either transferred to the first available day after the octave, or omitted/commemorated, depending on rank.
Priv. Octave II Class: Epiphany and Corpus Cristi. Only if a ‘Double of the 1st Class’ fell within this octave it could be celebrated. All others were omitted/commemorated or transferred.
Priv. Octave III Class: Sacred Heart, Nativity and Ascension: outranked all doubles during the octaves

Common Octave: This outranked all simple feasts during the octave. On the eight day, the Octave day, it outranked Greater Doubles and below. Examples: All saints, Assumption, St. Joseph (Solemnity), Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Immac. Conception of the BVM. Also local patron saints who in local calendars became Doubles of the I Class.

Simple Octaves: Very few: only outranking simple feasts on the Octave Day (the eighth day)

**Collects, Secrets and Postcommunions **were not restricted to one they they are now. The general rule (there were exceptions) was:
Double: one collect (not counting commemorations as given in (2) below)
Semidouble: 3 collects
Simple and Ferias: 3-7 collects.

What are these collects? They are:
1)Collects of the Mass of the day.
2)Collects for commemorations (see below)
3) Collects ordered by the bishop ‘simpliciter’ or ‘pro re gravi’ (for a grave cause)
4) Collects prescribed for the season (semidoubles and below)
5)Collects for various occasions/people : These include: for preserving concord in a congregation/ for rain/ for the priest/ for the king/ for the heriachy/ for famine. Etc, etc.- around 40 in all.
6)Votive collects in honour of a particular saint (a little rare- usually (2) and (3) were deemed sufficient)
7)Collects for the dead.*

 

[AJV]

Semidouble collects were prescribed by the season. There was usually one in honour of the BVM, and then one either for the Pope or for the Church, for the intercession of the saints, or the priest could choose from one of the collects in (5). If there was a commemoration, 3 collects were still said- the last was usually omitted.
Example:
January 23- St. Raymond of Penafort, semidouble, with a commemoration of St. Emerentiana.
The day falls between the Nativity and the Purification of the BVM (Feb. 2). The collects prescribed for the season are ‘Deus qui salutis’ (BVM) and one for the Pope or Church. This would be said on every semidouble, simple and feria. But there is a commemoration of St. Emerentiana, so the order would be:
Collect for St. Raymond
Collect for St. Emerentiana
Collect for the BVM
Usually only 3 collects allowed on semi-doubles, so the priest stops.

On simple and ferias, the collects of the season could be said along with others at the option of the priest until the number 5 or 7 was reached.
**
Commemorations:** When feasts and other liturgical days overlapped, they were either transferred or not celebrated. When they were not celebrated they were commemorated. To commemorate a day, after the collect/secret/postcommunion of the Mass of the day, the collect/secret/postcommunion of the day to be commemorated was added. Taking two examples:

It is one of the Sundays of the year (a ‘green’ Sunday because of the colour of the vestments, what we now call Ordinary Time). However, the Sunday coincides with a feast of Our Lady under a certain title, who is the patron of your parish. So your local feast gets upgraded to a Double of the I Class and therefore outranks Sunday. So the Mass is of the feast, with one collect, secret and postcommunion as appropriate for Doubles. But you also commemorate the Sunday, so what you do is you add the collect/secret/ postcommunion of the Sunday after that of Our Lady. You will also say the gospel of the Sunday as the Proper last Gospel (see below)

Second example: it is Lent. It also happens to be the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. So you will say the Mass with the texts proper to him but you will add the collect/secret/postcommunion of the feria of Lent. The Gospel of the Lenten feria will be read as the Proper Last Gospel (see below).

Note that the ferias of Advent and Lent are commemorated because they have proper texts. Most of those throughout the year are not because they don’t have proper texts- they use those of the preceding Sunday.

**The Proper Last Gospel: **Normally the Last Gospel is that of St. John Chap 1:1-14. However, when two high ranking days overlapped and a commemoration of one was made, if the commemorated feast had a proper (special) Gospel assigned to it (NOT one from a ‘common’ texts which could be used for a certain class of saints like martyrs, confessors, etc.]), at the end of the Mass, that was read instead of the Prologue to St. John.
There were some ‘set’ Proper Last Gospels (i.e. they occurred every year): e.g. On Trinity Sunday the Last Gospel was the Gospel of the First Sunday after Pentecost.

 

[AJV]

The following are the changes that took place:

1951/1952
A new Easter Vigil Office was promulgated. This could be used with the permission of the local bishop and began an hour before midnight instead of in the morning as was previously customary. It differed form the old in the following:

In the blessing of the Holy Fire there is only one prayer instead of 3.
Holy water is only sprinkled on the fire and not on the 5 grains of incense to be put into the Paschal candle. The antiphon Asperges me was not said.

In the old Vigil, there was a triple candle used. After the blessing of the fire and incense, the deacon would enter the Church. At the entrance, the middle and then in the sanctuary, one candle each would be lit- each time the deacon would sing ‘Lumen Cristi’ – each time higher and higher- and everyone would genuflect/kneelrespond “Deo gratias”. The deacon would then ask the priests blessing exactly like as before the Gospel except that instead of the words “proclaim His holy Gospel” was said “proclaim his Paschal praises”. As at the Gospel everyone would rise and the deacon would chant the Exultet. . At the words: “In hujus igitur noctis gratia” he would fix the incense grains in the form of cross, at the words ‘Qui licet sit divisus in partes’ (Which, although divided into parts’) the candle was lit, and at the words ‘O vere beata nox’ (O truly blessed night) the other lamps in the Chruch were lit.

In the new Vigil the priest cut a cross into the candle saying the prescribed sentences (Christ, yesterday and today….) and also cut in the candle the initials of the year. The five grains of incense were then blessed and censed and inserted into the candle again with the priest saying prescribed words. The candle was then blessed by the priest using the pray originally for the blessing of the incense in the old Vigil. The deacon then carried the Paschal candle into the Church and sang Lumen Christi thrice, each time higher, with genuflections, and at the third time all the candles and lamps were lit from it.
The deacon then placed the candle in the center, received the blessing, then incensed both the book and the candle and then sang the Exultet which was shortened.

12 prophecies followed in the old Vigil, with tracts and collects before which in all save the last was said “Let us pray. Let us kneel. Arise”. In the new Vigil this was replaced by 4 prophecies.

In the old Vigil, the priest and ministers processed to the font with the paschal candle while a Tract was sung. Then the blessing of the water took place. After the blessing of the water, the litany of saints was sung for which the priest, deacon and subdeacon prostrated and at the words ‘We sinners beseech Thee to hear us’ went to the sacristy to vest for the Mass. The litany was doubled.

In the new Vigil, the litany of saints was sung until the words ‘We sinners’. The prostrations were omitted and the priests knelt. The water was blessed in a container in the sanctuary and then taken to the Font in procession with the tract being sung. The litany was then continued and was not doubled.

The Mass then followed but after the Mass a form of Lauds rather than Vespers was said.

 

[AJV]

In 1955, the decree Cum Nostra was issued. It introduced simpler rubrics. Part of these changes were:

Semi-doubles were abolished . Semi-double feasts were reduced to Simples, and semi-double Sundays were made Doubles. Simple feasts were made Commemorations.

Sundays of Advent and Lent were made Doubles of the First Class and thus could not be outranked by other feasts (like of saints).

All the Vigils (for example those before the feasts of Apostles, the Immaculate Conception, the Epiphany, and All Saints) were abolished, only the following Vigils were retained: Christmas, Ascension, Pentecost, Sts. Peter & Paul, St. John the Baptist, and St. Lawrence.

All octaves except for Easter, Christmas and Pentecost were abolished. Prior to this there has been numerous octaves divided into 3 classes. During the Octave, Mass was said of the feast unless impeded (like if the feast of an important saint was celebrated),- they were at least commemorated i.e. the Collect, Secret and Postcommunion of the feast was said after the Collect, Secret and Postcommunion of the day. For some octaves like Epiphany and the Ascension, the proper Communicates could be used. Usually the preface used at the feast was also used throughout the octave unless impeded (again, in case a high ranking feast of a saint was celebrated and it had a certain preface).

The number of collects was limited to three in low Mass and one in High Masses. The prescribed Collects, Secrets and Postcommunions to be said in honour of the Virgin Mary, the saints, or for the Pope, for the Church,etc. on semidoubles and lower during the various seasons were abolished. However, the 40 collects, secrets and postcommunions remained at the back of the missal to be said by the priest when the number of collects were only 2, in order to make the number 3.

The proper Last Gospel was abolished. The only Proper Last Gospels retained were for the Third Mass of Christmas, and Palm Sunday.

In Lent, previously, Mass was said of the feast and the feria was commemorated. This was changed so that on all feasts other than Double of the I and II Class, in private Masses, Mass could be said of either the feast or the feria and the other one was commemorated.

The number of times the Dies Irae was required at Masses of the Dead was reduced.

The number of commemorations was strictly regulated for various days
These are the main changes- if you want the others I can send you a document.

 

[AJV]

In November 1955, the document Maxima redemptionis nostrae was promulgated, This made the new Easter Vigil obligatory. It also changed the Holy Week rites. The explanation would be too long (even for this piece) so I’ll just point out the main things:

PALM SUNDAY:
The “Asperges me” was abolished
The entire ceremony of the fore-mass was abolished. Before 1955, the blessing of the palms resembled a Mass. It has its own Epistle, Gospel, Preface and a Sanctus and was thus known as the fore Mass.
Various aspects of the procession were changed. Palms were held by the laity and blessed instead of being blessed then distributed. An alternative was blessing the palms at a table in the sanctuary- previously it was dome at the altar.
The ceremony whereby at the return to the Church, the door was closed, and ‘Gloria, laus et honour’ was chanted, before the door was opened after the subdeacon knocked three times with the foot of the cross was abolished. The colour of the vestments at the procession became red. The ceremonies for the reading of the Gospel were changed.
The Prayers at the foot of the altar including the Confiteor were omitted.
The Gospel was shortened and its ceremonies changed.
The Last Gospel was omitted.

MAUNDY THURSDAY
The washing of the feet took place within the Mass instead of after it. The bishop no longer washed the feet of 13 men but 12.
The Confiteor before communion was omitted for the first time.
The Agnus Dei was changed- ‘miserere nobis’ was said thrice.
The prayer ‘Domine Jesu Christi’ was omitted.
The Last Gospel and Blessing were omitted at the end of the Mass.

GOOD FRIDAY
The blessing before the Gospel was omitted and its veremonies changed slightly.
To the prayer for the Jews was added the words “Let us pray. Let us kneel. Arise”.
The ceremonies for the Adoration of the Cross were slightly changed.

At the end of the adoration, the hymn Vexilla Regis was usually sung as the Sacred Host consecrated the previous day was born back to the altar. This was omitted in the new service, and three antiphons prescribed instead.

The Mass of the Presanctified (a service which incorporated the ceremonies and prayers of the Mass but omitted the Offertory Prayers [though not the prayers when incensing], Secret and Canon) was abolished and replaced with Communion. The priest and people together said the Our Father.

The vestments and the colour were changed slightly. From black, violet was used for the communion. A cope was also used instead of a black chasuble and a dalmatic and tunicle instead of the folded chasubles and stolone (a broad stole).(Originally, folded chasubles and the broad stole were worn by the deacon and subdeacon- a carryover from the practice when all, even the acolytes wore chasubles. The dalmatic and the tunicle were for more festive occasions)

The altars were also stripped even more thoroughly in the new services whereas in the old, for example, candles still remained but they were changed to unbleached ones (yellow)

For a more detailed comparison I would suggest the following article critical of the reforms:
perso.orange.fr/civitas.dei/gromier.htm

Later, the ceremony of the Vigil of Pentecost, which resembled that of the Vigil of Easter, with prophecies, the blessing of water, etc. was abolished.

If you would like to see some pictures of the Holy Week rites as they were before:
jdtreat.com/sccphotos.htm
sgg.org/general-info/photo-gallery/

The first one is an Anglican Church that follows an adaptation of the Roman Missal using the rituals of 1949.
For the second, you have to click on an icon at the bottom left which looks like a table with six cells, and select the day you want. They are sedevacantists though.

 

[Rykell]

Wow, this exigesis leaves a layperson scratching his head —wha???

It is a good reminder to post this from author unknown:

There is another principle of capital importance which I cannot sufficiently stress: The Mass is the Mass. It is the sacrifice of Jesus; it is the sacrifice of His Church. In any celebration of the Eucharistic liturgy according to any of the liturgical books recognized by the Church celebrated by a validly ordained priest with the intention to do what the Church does (facere quod facit Ecclesia), the sacrifice of Christ is made present on the altar.** It cannot be made more present or less present depending on the rite followed; it is either made present or it is not.** The Church recognizes a preference with regard to the rite followed as legitimate, but it is wrong to absolutize the rite [or canon?] over the mystery of faith itself and can do immense harm to souls.

The Church which we call our Mother is not some ideal and unreal Church but this hierarchical Church herself; not the Church as we might dream her but the Church as she exists in fact, here and now. Thus the obedience which we pledge her in the persons of those who rule her cannot be anything else but a filial obedience. … And every true Catholic will have a feeling of tender piety towards her. He will love to call her “mother” – the title that sprang from the hearts of her first children, as the texts of Christian antiquity bear witness on so many occasions. He will say with St. Cyprian and St. Augustine: “He who has not the Church for mother cannot have God for Father”[22]

 

[batteddy]

think Pope Pius XII revised the Holy Week celebrations around 1953 or 1954 or 1955. Those would not be in the Saint Andrew Missal, but would be in the 1962 Missal.

I have the 1962 Missal and a missal from 1943, and I don’t notice any major differences at all.

Well, the differences to Holy Week are rather “major”.

But for most of the rest of the year, it will simply be a change in the Ranking system of feasts (“First class” instead of stuff like “major double” etc)

But there were a few new rubrics in 1955, and a more substantial rubrical changes in 1962.

I honestly wish the indult would be for 1954 instead of 1962 (but with the new feasts). So much was lost already in the 1950’s and early 60’s that people aren’t aware of (like the gutting of matins from 9 lessons to 3 in most cases)…

Almost all the old octaves and vigils were done away with in 1956. Then there were even more changes in 1960-1963

I have both the 1945 hand missal and a 1962 hand missal to cover both the pre-1950’s form and the post 1950’s form.

I also have a 1948 altar missal, and a 1962 one.

 

[AJV]

Wow, this exigesis leaves a layperson scratching his head —wha???

Yikes! Well, if you (or anyone else) have any questions on my exigesis I’ll try and answer them.

 

[Rykell]

Double of the I Class,
Double of the II Class,
Greater Doubles (Double major)
Double (double minor)
Semidoubles
Simples

Dear AJV,

This is waaaaay over my head. Thanks for your offer to explain, but I have no idea what a double is.

 

[AJV]

Double of the I Class,
Double of the II Class,
Greater Doubles (Double major)
Double (double minor)
Semidoubles
Simples

Dear AJV,

This is waaaaay over my head. Thanks for your offer to explain, but I have no idea what a double is.

They are the ranks given to different feast days. The purpose of these ranks was to distinguish between saints. For example, the feast of the Transfiguration merits a greater mention than the feast of St. X. So the Transfiguaration is a Double of the I Class while St. X is a semidouble.

Another reason is because there are two cycles in the Church year. One is fixed with respect to the Gregorian calendar and occurs at the same date every year. St. Joseph is on March 19, St. John Crysostom is on September 13, The Immaculate Conception is December 8 and Christmas is December 25.
The second is moveable and depends on the date of Easter. For example: the Ascension is 40 days after Easter, Pentecost is 50 days after Easter, Holy Trinity is the first Sunday after Pentecost and Corpus Cristi is the first Thursday after Holy Trinity. Sunday are also determined by this: the First Sunday of Lent will be 5 weeks before Easter, etc.

Because of this, feasts and Sundays will overlap every year. Therefore one should know whether to omit a feast, celebrate a feast, celebrate one feast but remember another through the use of a special text, etc. That is the purpose of ranks.

Originally, there were 3 ranks- Doubles, Semidoubles and Simples. But as new saints were added they found there were too many doubles and so divided them into Doubles, Greater Doubles, Doubles of the II Class and Doubles of the I Class. Most feasts of Christ will all be Doubles of the 1st Class. All apostles’ feasts except for Ss. Peter and Paul are Doubles of the II Class. And so on.

What is the origin of these names? One theory is that they follow the way of reciting psalms in the Divine Office (also now known better as the Liturgy of the Hours). When recited a psalm is preceded and followed by an antiphon.

e.g. the psalm 16 has the ferial antiphon “Incline your ear * to me O Lord and listen to my words.”
So on doubles it is said like this:

Ant. Incline Your ear * to me O Lord and listen to my words

Hear O Lord a cause that is just…………and shall be world without end. Amen

Ant. Incline Your ear * to me O Lord and listen to my words

But on semidoubles like this:

Ant. Incline Your ear

Hear O Lord a cause that is just…………and shall be world without end. Amen

Ant. Incline Your ear * to me O Lord and listen to my words

As you can see on doubles the whole antiphon is said before and after the psalm i.e. it is ‘doubled’. On semidoubles, only half the antiphon is said before and the whole antiphon after the psalm.

Is this better?

 

[Rykell]

Dear AJV,

Oh, now I see. This a major difference in terminology that is terribly confusing if a person did not know the old missal. I pray the LOTH of today, where these are referred to as “memorial, feast, and solemnity.” No wonder the V-II Council called for simplicity of language!

Thank you for your help.

 

[batteddy]

I think it’s sad that we lost the “quaint” distinctly Catholic terminology, even when it could be a little confusing.

As for how these liturgical changes affected the Chant volumes…

The last edition of the Graduale (I think) was in 1952. But there are supplements you can find that have the “new rite of holy week with Gregorian chant” or “the plainchant of the new rite of holy week” from after 1955. Besides that…the only thing really changed about the chant in the mass was a few new feasts. These were mainly First Class feasts, so the proper chants would be available in a Liber Usualis from the early 60’s.

The last Roman Antiphonale (for the day hours) was published (I think) in 1949. The rubrical changes shouldn’t effect this much…but as for new feasts…I think they too should be mainly available in a Liber Usualis from the early 60’s because the liber usualis contains: Vespers and Compline for Sundays and feast days; Prime, Terce, Sext and None for Sundays and feasts of the First and Second Class; Matins for four festivals – Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and Corpus Christi; Lauds for
feasts of the First Class

So you should be able to get Vespers and Compline for sure from the Liber Usualis of the early 60’s, and also Prime, Terce, Sext, and None for feasts of the first and second class (and they almost all were) and even Lauds for feasts of the first class (and most of the new feasts since 1949, to my knowledge, were in fact First Class feasts).

But for any feasts (and I can’t think of any off the top of my head) that weren’t first class but which were added between 1949 and 1962…I don’t know where you’d get the chant for the “missing hours” not contained in the liber usualis. Probably it was never composed, but you often can use chant settings from other days, as the antiphonale and graduale often reference other days and just cite things from another feast (ie, “for the tract, use #303 on page 853” or something)

Matins chant is available in a traditional Nocturnale. The only edition I know of (for the non-monastic Roman liturgy, at least) was published in 2002…and I’m not sure what year (ie, 1955 or 1962) it uses. But though the lessons of matins were cut…the lessons usually just had a few common Tones for reading them anyway, and so I’m not sure how much affect the rubrical changes to the breviary had on Nocturnal Chant. Probably not much. The new Nocturnale probably pretty much contains all the chant that would be needed for both pre-1995, pre-1960, and 1961 matins.