January 1 EF
  • David Sullivan
    Posts: 355
    I'm in a conversation with my pastor about the Mass for January 1 in the traditional form, planning to sing the Octave of Christmas, as given in the 1962 Missal.
    In the 1962 liturgy, there are elements of a feast of the Mother of God. In the Mass, itself, the collect and post-communion prayer are specifically Marian. The chant propers are mostly the same as Christmas Day.
    The Office antiphons are more strongly Marian.

    Gueranger's Liturgical Year: "The holy Church of Rome used formerly to say two Masses on the first of January; one was for the Octave of Christmas Day, the other was in honour of Mary."

    My question for the forum is--do we know what were the propers (chants, orations, lessons) for the former Mass in honor of Mary? Where might I look to find out? (Keep in mind that Gueranger died in 1875 with his work, The Liturgical Year, unfinished.)
  • mmeladirectress
    Posts: 1,100

    As St Bernadette said, Jesus and Mary are inseparable;
    so you could say that whosoever honors the Son, honors the Mother, and vice versa.
    Why not use the propers, etc., for the Octave of Christmas, and sing Kyriale IX, Cum Jubilo ?
    Additionally, at Distribution of Holy Communion on that day, we will sing the Magnificat with Alleluias as found in the Cantus Selecti (which may predate Dom Gueranger, not sure).
    Thanked by 1Incardination
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,216
    Perhaps the relevant material can be found at October 11: that was the feast of the Divine Maternity of Mary, instituted by Pope Pius XI to commemorate the 1500th anniversary of the Council of Ephesus. I don't know whether it was designed to draw on ancient traditions.
    Thanked by 2David Sullivan eft94530
  • Andris Amolins
    Posts: 154
    Somewhat more recent scholar, Bl. Ildefons card. Schuster, OSB, does not mention any second, Marian, Mass. The most ancient Roman calendar entry of this liturgical day is "de octava Domini". The Circumcision is a Frankish designation. According to him, the Marian connection comes from the stational Mass being held in a Marian church - S. Maria trans Tiberim. So it is possible that there was no other Mass formulary.
    Thanked by 1David Sullivan
  • David Sullivan
    Posts: 355
    Thanks for the comments so far, including about about Bl. Schuster.

    The pastor's question was: In the 1962 Missal, which Mass is more like the modern solemnity of the Mother of God, the Octave of Christmas or the Maternity of Mary (Oct 11)?

    I would characterize the Octave Mass as a Christmas season Mass, whereas the October feast is more Marian. In the modern Missal, there are options to use either Christmas season chants or Marian chants. Interestingly, the Christmas options come from the Dawn Mass, but the 1962 Octave uses the Day Mass of Christmas.

    I looked up some old Roman Missals online (one right here on Musicasacra via Wikipedia). For a 1920 update of a 1634 typical edition, and for the 1474 Missale Romanum (Henry Bradshaw Society edition), the Mass formula for the Octave of Christmas is the same as in the 1962 Missal. Unsurprisingly, neither contains the October 11 feast that was instituted later.

    Locally, at a church called Mary Mother of God, there is has been discussion over the years whether January 1 or October 11 should be considered the parish solemnity.
  • Incardination
    Posts: 832
    If celebrating an EF Mass on the feast of the Circumcision AKA Octave of Christmas, there is no choice of Mass Propers in the '62 Missal - it would be Puer Natus Est in the United States. The Circumcision is a first class feast - there is no corresponding votive Mass that could take its place.

    Part of the permission for using the '62 Missal includes following the rubrics of the same, including using the '62 calendar, not the current calendar. Although there are times when you can choose between Masses, the choice itself must be an allowable choice.

    The rephrase of your question would point to Oct 11th.
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,471
    The preliminary notes in my (date unknown) Missal say
    ... as is still apparent, from the wording of various parts of the Offices and Mass, the Octave day of Christmas was anciently a day kept in honour of our Blessed Lady, as Mother of God. As such, in some places, it is now replaced by the Feast of the Maternity, appointed for October 11.
    And at Oct 11: it says 'Oct 11, or other appointed day' ; notes that 'In the first ages ... Jan 1' ; and 'a day, usually in October, has been assigned by the Holy See ...'.
    If the church dedication was before the institution of the feast then that might suggest the Holy See would have assigned the appropriate day for that church, and if there was no special instruction then it would default to Oct 11.
    Thanked by 1David Sullivan
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,782
    This from Fr. Hunwicke will be of help,

    http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/circumcision.html

    Note nothing about two Masses! Just two feasts.

    Have just checked the Sarum Missal, and apart from the collects having different texts and the addition of a sequence, all is the same as in the EF.
    Thanked by 1David Sullivan
  • David Sullivan
    Posts: 355
    Interesting that the Sarum Missal has a different collect, as that's one thing that wasn't changed for the modern solemnity. Having now done a more detailed comparison of the texts, the other things, in addition to the collect, that overlap are the one sentence about the circumcision and the alleluia verse option "Multifarie." In the 1962, the Gospel is the single sentence about the circumcision; in the modern solemnity, there's a longer passage ending with that same sentence.

    Also, the only overlap of the October 11 feast is the post-communion prayer, which is the same as the 1962 Christmas octave. (Nothing in the modern solemnity overlaps with October 11.)
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • David Sullivan
    Posts: 355
    "Other appointed day." St Mary's was founded in 1845, current church built about 1891, so it predates the October 11 feast established by Pius XI. I'll check with a fellow parishioner who's studied parish history if he's heard of another date having been appointed.
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