A
AlbertDerGrosse
Guest
Last night I assisted at my very first Extraordinary Form (EF) Requiem of any kind (for All Souls Day, of course). The turnout was impressively larger than I expected given that the EF on non-Sundays and non-Holy Days of Obligation isn’t very well attended at our parish, sadly. I was originally under the impression that it was going to be a Low Mass and was pleasantly surprised when a couple choristers began chanting the Introit from the loft. Missa Cantata it is!
I’m no stranger to daily Mass in the EF and so I was familiar with the fact that the Creed wouldn’t be said, and was vaguely familiar with the fact that the Gloria and doxology, whenever it should normally appear, wouldn’t in a Requiem. I had never actually been to an EF Requiem though, and I stood/sat/knelt at all the same places I would’ve in the regular Missa Cantata.
This is where it got a little weird. At the Collect I was pretty much the only person who stood. At first I chalked this up to the fact I’ve already mentioned: that very few of these people are daily Mass TLM goers and so they were a little confused by the lack of the Gloria before the Collect, which would’ve already caused them to stand prior to the Collect in the first place.
The Lesson then began and I sat but noticed most people still kneeling. This is where I started to wonder if it was I who was behaving atypically. It was about halfway through the Dies Irae sequence that most people tapped out and started to sit but there were still some kneeling all the way up until the Gospel, as if it were a Low Mass. Then the priest intoned the “Dominus vobiscum” right before the Offertory. We all stood as is customary and then as he started the silent Offertory I sat down again as we typically do for the Missa Cantata. Everyone else remained standing until the ushers began the collection. This lead me to revert to believing that most everyone was confused and remained standing expecting the Creed, which is not said at Masses for the dead. Once it became obvious that the Creed wasn’t going to be said everyone else sat down.
At the end during the Post-Communion prayer everyone remained kneeling and I was, again, the only person standing, just like during the Collect. So now I’m back to wondering if it was I who was clueless. It could easily be the case that both I and everyone was clueless at different points of the Mass! I understand that there are not any strict rules as to the postures of the laity during Mass but I do know from experience that there is a certain amount of shared custom involved, especially in the rigid Anglophone world, so could anyone help me out here? Are the customary postures different during Masses for the dead? Or just for All Souls specifically? Or was I right all along and it should’ve been treated like any other Missa Cantata?
I’m no stranger to daily Mass in the EF and so I was familiar with the fact that the Creed wouldn’t be said, and was vaguely familiar with the fact that the Gloria and doxology, whenever it should normally appear, wouldn’t in a Requiem. I had never actually been to an EF Requiem though, and I stood/sat/knelt at all the same places I would’ve in the regular Missa Cantata.
This is where it got a little weird. At the Collect I was pretty much the only person who stood. At first I chalked this up to the fact I’ve already mentioned: that very few of these people are daily Mass TLM goers and so they were a little confused by the lack of the Gloria before the Collect, which would’ve already caused them to stand prior to the Collect in the first place.
The Lesson then began and I sat but noticed most people still kneeling. This is where I started to wonder if it was I who was behaving atypically. It was about halfway through the Dies Irae sequence that most people tapped out and started to sit but there were still some kneeling all the way up until the Gospel, as if it were a Low Mass. Then the priest intoned the “Dominus vobiscum” right before the Offertory. We all stood as is customary and then as he started the silent Offertory I sat down again as we typically do for the Missa Cantata. Everyone else remained standing until the ushers began the collection. This lead me to revert to believing that most everyone was confused and remained standing expecting the Creed, which is not said at Masses for the dead. Once it became obvious that the Creed wasn’t going to be said everyone else sat down.
At the end during the Post-Communion prayer everyone remained kneeling and I was, again, the only person standing, just like during the Collect. So now I’m back to wondering if it was I who was clueless. It could easily be the case that both I and everyone was clueless at different points of the Mass! I understand that there are not any strict rules as to the postures of the laity during Mass but I do know from experience that there is a certain amount of shared custom involved, especially in the rigid Anglophone world, so could anyone help me out here? Are the customary postures different during Masses for the dead? Or just for All Souls specifically? Or was I right all along and it should’ve been treated like any other Missa Cantata?
It would still be weird if, say, somebody were to stand for the Final Blessing (it’s customary to kneel), chant the Our Father along with the priest (it’s customary for the priest alone to chant this), or if someone were to sit or kneel for the Gospel (this goes without saying for either form). Even if postures aren’t strictly regulated there is still some amount of custom involved that informs worshippers on how to act. This is what I’m curious about vis. a vis. Requiems in the TLM and their relationship to the other liturgies.