"Mass of Ressurection", "of Christian Burial" or just "Funeral Mass"

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Has the Church made an official declaration that the Funeral Mass is not to be called “Mass of Resurrection”?
 
Magnum_V8 said:
Has the Church made an official declaration that the Funeral Mass is not to be called “Mass of Resurrection”?
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I don’t know of any. But the only resurrection we’re celebrating in the present is that of Jesus… it’s a bit rude to deprive the souls of the faithful departed of our prayers, and instead spend time blissfully imagining them already in heaven.
 
The current funeral policies for our archdiocese state that it should be considered to refer to it as a Funeral Mass or a Mass for the Dead, and not use the other terms (“Mass of Christian Burial” and “Mass of Resurrection” are on the list, and crossed out). It doesn’t go so far as to state that the terms are wrong, though. 🤷
 
Interesting. I posed this question because I got into a mild debate with a priest who is beginning to learn the Tridentine Mass. We were talking about Requiem Masses. I asked if he had any black vestments and he said “no, we don’t use black anymore.” I just looked at him with a “huh?” expression, and he went on about how its a Mass of Resurrection and they wear white…as in we are celebrating a glorious event or something. I told him, “Father, the first words of the Mass (of the propers at least) are ‘Requiem aeternam’. That doesn’t equate with a resurrection.”

I didn’t press the issue with him. But I’m going to mention to him the next time I see him that there has been only ONE resurrection so far, and that’s celebrated on Easter.

While searching around the Net, I found many diocesan websites that discourage the use of “Mass of Resurrection.”
 
Magnum_V8 said:
I asked if he had any black vestments and he said “no, we don’t use black anymore.” I just looked at him with a “huh?” expression, and he went on about how its a Mass of Resurrection and they wear white…as in we are celebrating a glorious event or something.
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GIRM 346/e: “Besides violet, white or black vestments may be worn at funeral services and at other Offices and Masses for the Dead in the Dioceses of the United States of America.”
 
Magnum_V8 said:
Interesting. I posed this question because I got into a mild debate with a priest who is beginning to learn the Tridentine Mass. We were talking about Requiem Masses. I asked if he had any black vestments and he said “no, we don’t use black anymore.” I just looked at him with a “huh?” expression, and he went on about how its a Mass of Resurrection and they wear white…as in we are celebrating a glorious event or something. I told him, “Father, the first words of the Mass (of the propers at least) are ‘Requiem aeternam’. That doesn’t equate with a resurrection.”

I didn’t press the issue with him. But I’m going to mention to him the next time I see him that there has been only ONE resurrection so far, and that’s celebrated on Easter.

While searching around the Net, I found many diocesan websites that discourage the use of “Mass of Resurrection.”
Click to expand...
Well, there has been the Assumption, too, depending on how you want to split that hair, but that is neither here nor there.

As far as the black vestments, I have been told that black=purple=black. This is why there aren’t many places that still have black vestments. If your parish wants them, someone may have to have some made.
 
One of the curious notes about Masses for the Dead in the Ordinary Form is that the word “soul” (anima) is distinctly missing from all the prayers. I did a comparison of the Masses for November 2 (All Souls Day) in the Extraordinary Form versus the Ordinary Form. I should probably do one of the (general) Masses for the Dead as well. It’ll help me improve my Latin.
 
Magnum_V8 said:
Has the Church made an official declaration that the Funeral Mass is not to be called “Mass of Resurrection”?
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I’m not sure. But I do know that an overwhelming majority of the Funeral Masses I have attended were essentially Masses of Canonization.

James
 
I have yet to see black and I haven’t even seen it on EWTN unless I missed it.?
 
dessert said:
I have yet to see black and I haven’t even seen it on EWTN unless I missed it.?
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The EWTN priests wear black on All Souls Day. I have also seen them wear it on Franciscan All Souls Day.

They wear the other color that seems out of use…old rose…on the third Sunday of Advent and the fourth Sunday of Lent.
 
PacoG said:
They wear the other color that seems out of use…old rose…on the third Sunday of Advent and the fourth Sunday of Lent.
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One would think old rose would make a comeback, what with the feminization and all that… 😉

But seriously, that color went out of fashion (at least in most of the US) when the third Sunday of Advent and the fourth Sunday of Lent became just like every other Sunday of Advent or Lent. No longer is it Gaudete or Laetare. It’s just… Sunday.
 
EasterJoy said:
Well, there has been the Assumption, too, depending on how you want to split that hair, but that is neither here nor there.

As far as the black vestments, I have been told that black=purple=black. This is why there aren’t many places that still have black vestments. If your parish wants them, someone may have to have some made.
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…or check e-bay (if they have relics, they must have vestments)

Lux
 
japhy said:
One would think old rose would make a comeback, what with the feminization and all that… 😉

But seriously, that color went out of fashion (at least in most of the US) when the third Sunday of Advent and the fourth Sunday of Lent became just like every other Sunday of Advent or Lent. No longer is it Gaudete or Laetare. It’s just… Sunday.
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Honestly, I think it’s budget constraints and (maybe, sometimes laziness) on the part of whoever orders and buys vestments for a parish. From having watched the vestments worn by priests, it seems that a parish can buy the basics (green, white, red, violet) as a package because the decorations seem to be similar or the same and the fabrics seem to be the same. It would seem that the non-basic colors (black, old rose, gold) have to be purchased separately. It could be just that simple.

Let’s give our priests the benefit of the doubt and not ascribe the lack of black, old rose and gold vestments to vanity and hetrodoxy.

My pastor is a very orthodox and holy man. He says Mass with a high degree of reverence. I doubt that the reason he doesn’t wear old rose on the third Sunday of Advent and the fourth Sunday of Lent is because “is it out of style.” I think the same applies to the lack of black vestments.
 
PacoG said:
Honestly, I think it’s budget constraints and (maybe, sometimes laziness) on the part of whoever orders and buys vestments for a parish. From having watched the vestments worn by priests, it seems that a parish can buy the basics (green, white, red, violet) as a package because the decorations seem to be similar or the same and the fabrics seem to be the same. It would seem that the non-basic colors (black, old rose, gold) have to be purchased separately. It could be just that simple.

Let’s give our priests the benefit of the doubt and not ascribe the lack of black, old rose and gold vestments to vanity and hetrodoxy.

My pastor is a very orthodox and holy man. He says Mass with a high degree of reverence. I doubt that the reason he doesn’t wear old rose on the third Sunday of Advent and the fourth Sunday of Lent is because “is it out of style.” I think the same applies to the lack of black vestments.
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I’ve had various pastors tell me they would never wear ‘pink’. It had nothing to do with the color’s availablity.

One even mocked the color before Mass on Gaudete Sunday, saying that if he wore ‘pink’ that people who infer something bad, nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more.
 
The parish of a priest friend of mine had recently bought new vestments and I was commenting on the “pink” one. He and the deacon both corrected me - saying that it was ROSE (not pink).
 
Phemie said:
I’ve had various pastors tell me they would never wear ‘pink’. It had nothing to do with the color’s availablity.

One even mocked the color before Mass on Gaudete Sunday, saying that if he wore ‘pink’ that people who infer something bad, nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more.
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Well, priests are guys, too. Some guys cannot make themselves wear pink, at least not without apologizing or telling you all about how they were forced to do it, no matter what name you put on it.

As far as I know, the only liturgical color used for our first four centuries or so was white. I’m not arguing in favor of liturgical mavericks, but whether a priest wants to wear, doesn’t want to wear, or refuses to wear rose during the allowed Sundays of our penitential seasons is not a major point of faith. As long as they are obedient to the dictates of Mother Church, let them be.
 
acadian said:
The parish of a priest friend of mine had recently bought new vestments and I was commenting on the “pink” one. He and the deacon both corrected me - saying that it was ROSE (not pink).
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Our priests at my parish also will wear the pink… oops! rose vestments. A couple of ladies and myself had commented once on the lovely “pink” vestments and the priest also “corrected” us by saying it was “rose”. 🙂 Another priest in our parish wears them, but has referred to them as pepto bismal pink. (They actually kind of look like the color of Pepto Bismal.)

I’ve never seen the black vestments for funeral masses. Most of the priests will wear the white. I can’t remember if they do wear the purple.
 
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