We had Mass...but didn't say the Creed!?

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I attended a different parish than the one I normally attend yesterday. I was surprised by two things:
  • The Sign of Peace was done immediately at the beginning of Mass. I’d read in the Wanderer that the Pope was considering this change, but I hadn’t heard this was official.
  • We didn’t say the Creed! After the homily, they went right into the Prayers of the Faithful. I thought the Creed was an absolute mandatory.
This was the Saturday evening Mass, but I don’t think that makes any difference. Is the Creed really optional?
 
refulgence said:
I attended a different parish than the one I normally attend yesterday. I was surprised by two things:
  • The Sign of Peace was done immediately at the beginning of Mass. I’d read in the Wanderer that the Pope was considering this change, but I hadn’t heard this was official.
There’s nothing decided on that. Was it the Liturgical “Sign of Peace” or was it just a 'turn and greet your neighbor ’ kind of thing? If it wasn’t just the casual ‘turn and greet…’ it was an abuse.
  • We didn’t say the Creed! After the homily, they went right into the Prayers of the Faithful. I thought the Creed was an absolute mandatory.
This was the Saturday evening Mass, but I don’t think that makes any difference. Is the Creed really optional?

Was it the anticipated Sunday Mass or was it the Saturday Mass? The Creed is to be said at all Sunday Masses but is not required at the weekday Masses unless it’s a solemnity or a feast day. There wasn’t a Baptism by any chance, was there?
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Saturday evening, being the anticipated Mass of the Sunday, has the same rubrics as the Sunday Mass, including recitation of the Creed.

The Sign of Peace is actually not mandatory, I believe. Although I think it would be an abuse to either do it at another point of the Mass than specified or to have a ‘greet your neighbour’ at the beginning.

As to whether the omission of the Creed was an abuse or not - well, it should be included, but I’ve seen stranger things happen in Mass if the priest is distracted for some reason. Once our priest left a daily Mass after making announcements about the next day (which was Ash Wednesday), but without giving the final prayer or blessing!

Because I go regularly, I was fortunate enough to know that this was a one-off incident and clearly not intentional on his part.
 
This was a mass at 4:30pm, termed the Saturday Vigil Mass in the parish’s bulletin.

It occurred to me that perhaps the priest simply forgot the Creed or was distracted. Still, in my mind the readings, homily, and creed all go together, so it was very odd.

As for the Sign of Peace, there was no other Sign of Peace, and the priest walked down the aisle saying “peace be with you.” He stopped and greeted my wife and I in person because he didn’t recognize us (which I thought was nice). It was very much everyone saying “peace be with you” to one another, not simply a hello.

There was another point in the Mass, after the Prayers of the Faithful, where they asked us to turn to the back of our missals and recite a prayer which apparently is a very old tradition in that parish.
 
Somewhere just today I read (I think somewhere on this board) that when the reading is of St. Paul’s conversion (an option for this week), the Creed can be omitted. Our pastor included it, though. Can anyone confirm this? If it’s true, that might explain it.
 
refulgence said:
This was a mass at 4:30pm, termed the Saturday Vigil Mass in the parish’s bulletin.

It occurred to me that perhaps the priest simply forgot the Creed or was distracted. Still, in my mind the readings, homily, and creed all go together, so it was very odd.
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Well, same argument could be made about announcements after Communion and final prayer and blessing, I guess, but there ya go 🤷
 
Luvadoxi said:
Somewhere just today I read (I think somewhere on this board) that when the reading is of St. Paul’s conversion (an option for this week), the Creed can be omitted. Our pastor included it, though. Can anyone confirm this? If it’s true, that might explain it.
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It shouldn’t make a difference because the Creed is not optional on Sundays.

And even though the first reading and the Gospel were from the “Conversion of St. Paul” we still had to read the second reading from the 3rd Sunday O.T.
 
Luvadoxi said:
Somewhere just today I read (I think somewhere on this board) that when the reading is of St. Paul’s conversion (an option for this week), the Creed can be omitted. Our pastor included it, though. Can anyone confirm this? If it’s true, that might explain it.
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Definitely not true.

In fact, the decree set forth by the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments allowing for the celebration of the Conversion of Saint Paul today specifically states that the creed is to be recited:
Therefore, in force of the faculties attributed to this Congregation by the Supreme Pontiff, Benedict XVI, grants, in an extraordinary way, that next 25 January 2009, the Third Sunday “per annum”, the singular churches can celebrate a Mass according to the formula Conversion of St Paul, Apostle, as found in the Roman Missal. In this case, the Second Reading of the Mass is taken from the Roman Lectionary for the Third Sunday “per annum”, and the Creed is recited (Source).
 
Wow, thanks, Passus, for that great documentation!

Now what about the feast day for the Baptism of Our Lord? I thought the asperges could substitute for the Creed, as can renewal of our baptismal promises when someone is baptised? I’m just asking…I really don’t know. I remember being upset when the Creed was skipped, though at that time.
 
Phemie said:
:confused:
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I was referring back to my example of the priest who omitted final prayer and blessing - just as refulgence stated that ‘readings, homily and creed all go together’, so in my mind would announcements after communion, final prayer and blessing. Didn’t stop the priest accidentally omitting them.
 
This raises a question I have had for a while.

Even though the Saturday evening Mass counts towards the Sunday obligation, is it going to be the same Mass as is said on Sunday?
 
refulgence said:
I attended a different parish than the one I normally attend yesterday. I was surprised by two things:
  • The Sign of Peace was done immediately at the beginning of Mass. I’d read in the Wanderer that the Pope was considering this change, but I hadn’t heard this was official.
  • We didn’t say the Creed! After the homily, they went right into the Prayers of the Faithful. I thought the Creed was an absolute mandatory.
This was the Saturday evening Mass, but I don’t think that makes any difference. Is the Creed really optional?
Click to expand...
Indeed the sign of peace at the beginning of Mass is a liturgical abuse according to the GIRM

usccb.org/liturgy/current/GIRM.pdf

The sign of peace should be done at its proper place in time during mass and not before. It is also a liturgical abuse to have the sign of peace at beginning of mass and at its proper time (2x at the same mass). In some cases Credo is optional
 
LilyM said:
I was referring back to my example of the priest who omitted final prayer and blessing - just as refulgence stated that ‘readings, homily and creed all go together’, so in my mind would announcements after communion, final prayer and blessing. Didn’t stop the priest accidentally omitting them.
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Oh, ok. Though I would prefer not to have announcements after Communion if at all possible. In our parish they are usually made before the Prayer After Communion which drives me nuts.
 
gelsbern said:
This raises a question I have had for a while.

Even though the Saturday evening Mass counts towards the Sunday obligation, is it going to be the same Mass as is said on Sunday?
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Yes. Saturday evening is Sunday as far as the liturgy is concerned.

There is a different set of readings for Saturday Mass. My Parish doesn’t have daily Mass on Saturday. They typically have weddings on Saturday.
 
This reminds me, but it’s not exactly the same…

At my geographic parish the priest starts Mass with the Sign of the Cross, says “The Lord be with you” “and also with you” and then he says to greet our neighbors then. Is that allowed? I know at my old parish that would happen before the entrance hymn so it was legal.
 
justinkolo said:
At my geographic parish the priest starts Mass with the Sign of the Cross, says “The Lord be with you” “and also with you” and then he says to greet our neighbors then.
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There is no “greeting of neighbors” during the Mass. After the Sign of the Cross and the greeting by the priest, there is no “say howdy”. That’s not what the Mass is for. Have social time before or (preferably) after Mass. Not during Mass. The priest is not respecting the liturgy.
 
1holycatholic said:
Yes. Saturday evening is Sunday as far as the liturgy is concerned.

There is a different set of readings for Saturday Mass. My Parish doesn’t have daily Mass on Saturday. They typically have weddings on Saturday.
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Ordinarily, all the readings and prayers are the same, however there are some occasions on which the propers for the vigil vary from those of the actual feast day.
 
Luvadoxi said:
Now what about the feast day for the Baptism of Our Lord? I thought the asperges could substitute for the Creed, as can renewal of our baptismal promises when someone is baptised? I’m just asking…I really don’t know. I remember being upset when the Creed was skipped, though at that time.
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This might help answer your question. There are some occasions on which the Creed may be interchanged for a renewal of baptismal promises, although the Baptism of the Lord would not seem to be one of them.
That approval by the Holy See, or a personal initiative of the Pope who is the supreme legislator, is required for such a change would indicate that a priest should not presume to introduce it into the liturgy on his own initiative. This also applies even when the change would appear appropriate, such as for the feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Source).
 
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