Vespers December 31, 2023
  • avscvltaavscvlta
    Posts: 80
    For Vespers on December 31 this year, are we singing Holy Family 2nd Vespers or Mother of God 1st Vespers?
  • FSSPmusic
    Posts: 217
    I believe it should be Mother of God, as first vespers for a solemnity takes precedence over second vespers for a feast. See no. 61:
    https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/precedence-in-evening-prayer-4747

    Thanked by 1avscvlta
  • DCM
    Posts: 70
    A squeezed Advent with a Monday Christmas is making things a bit tricky this year.
    Thanked by 1RachelR
  • RevAMG
    Posts: 162
    From the USCCB's Committee on Divine Worship's Newsletter of November 2023 (Volume LIX):

    On Sunday evening, December 31, [2023], the Mass of the Holy Family is celebrated, while at the Liturgy of the Hours Evening Prayer I of the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God is used. In celebrations with the people, however, Evening Prayer II of the Holy Family may take place. Because Holy Mary, Mother of God falls on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated, and Funeral Masses are permitted.


    A more thorough discussion of the issues surrounding consecutive celebrations is found in the May-June 2016 Newsletter, “The Liturgical Celebration of Consecutive Feast Days (and Nights).” At the heart of this article are the new guidelines from “De Calendario Liturgico Exarando pro Anno 1984-1985,” in Notitiæ 20 [1984], 603-605. The 1984 guidelines established principles of priority that are applicable today. These guidelines may be summarized as follows:
    1. In the celebration of Mass, precedence is always to be given (“præcedentia semper danda est”) to the feast of precept, regardless of the ranks of the two consecutive feasts; and

    2. At celebrations of Evening Prayer on a holy day of obligation in which the people participate, the older guidelines would still apply, except that the texts of Evening Prayer I of the following day may be replaced by Evening Prayer II of the current day.


    The older guidelines from 1974 referenced above stated:
    “Should… Vespers (Evening Prayer) of the current day’s Office and First Vespers (Evening Prayer I) of the following day be assigned for celebration on the same day, then Vespers (Evening Prayer) of the celebration with the higher rank in the Table of Liturgical Days takes precedence; in cases of equal rank, Vespers (Evening Prayer) of the current day takes precedence.”

    Thanked by 1avscvlta
  • avscvltaavscvlta
    Posts: 80
    Thanks for that blurb from the Committee on Divine Worship's newsletter. That settles it!

    This particular case is clouded for me, because it's a Feast (Holy Family) falling on a Sunday. Since it's on a Sunday, is it still just a Feast? Or does the fact that it's also a Sunday during Christmas elevate it further? It is hard for me to tell precedence between Holy Family and Mother of God here, since I don't really know the rank of Holy Family on a Christmas Sunday.
  • bangerman
    Posts: 45
    Table of Liturgical Days

    It’s still just a feast, and a Solemnity of the BVM outranks a Feast of the Lord.
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,160
    Going by the quotation above from the USCCB liturgy committee, the prescriptions are a bit odd.

    It seems one could celebrate Vespers at 5 pm on December 31 (with or without the people) according to the solemnity of January 1, but any Masses offered that evening would need to remain as Masses for the Feast of the Holy Family.
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