When/where did the requiem Mass change?
  • AnimaVocis
    Posts: 235
    Honestly, where in any documents did the change of focus of the Requiem Mass change from praying for the departed soul to God, to all this expectation of heaven and canonization of the departed?

    Has the church formally changed her focus for the funeral Mass or is this a colloquially effected thing that has happened?
  • novusgordo
    Posts: 38
    IMO it's mostly colloquially-affected.

    Yes, the Missa pro defunctis saw massive changes in the 1970 Missal:
    • the singing of Alleluias, etc. based on the season;
    • the suppression of the Sequence, which is now used in the Office for the last weeks of ordinary time;
    • the greater variation of propers and of vestments permitted
    But both the actual texts and the actual rubrics emphasize hope rooted in Christ's sacrifice, not the "all dogs go to heaven" mentality so prevalent in modern Christian culture.

    IMO the bigger issue is not one specific to the funeral liturgy, but rather a general weakening of the Church's penitential discipline. To be fair, this was in response to a penitential culture than in many cases had become toxic, more about ticking off boxes than growing in holiness and virtue — but as is so often the case, the reformers let themselves swing on the devil's pendulum and massively over-corrected, and far too little has been done to remedy matters since.
    Thanked by 2OMagnumMysterium hilluminar
  • SponsaChristi
    Posts: 818
    Requiem Masses are still for the repose of the soul with the exception of infants (those under the age of reason). I am unsure if it is so with those who have disabilities that make them mentally below the age of reason and are thus not capable of committing actual sin. I was fairly certain the Church also included them as infants when deciding which Mass to say, but this became confusing when my Diocese posted a RIP on social media for an 11 year old autistic boy whose intellect was below that of a 5 year old. We don’t pray for the repose of the soul of baptized infants because they’re assumed to be in Heaven.
  • rich_enough
    Posts: 1,112
    Vatican II (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 81) said that "The rite for the burial of the dead should express more clearly the paschal character of Christian death, and should correspond more closely to the circumstances and traditions found in various regions. This holds good also for the liturgical color to be used."

    Here's Archbishop Bugnini's own commentary the changes to the funeral rite:
    "The Introduction [to the new rite] emphasizes the point that a Christian funeral is a celebration of the paschal mystery of Christ as accomplished in his faithful followers. The need to bring this out was one of the main concerns guiding the reformers.

    "To this end they drew from the treasury of euchological tradition texts that would best express this aspect of funerals. At the same time, they got rid of texts that smacked of a negative spirituality inherited from the Middle Ages. Thus they removed such familiar and even beloved texts as the Libera me, Domine, the Dies irae, and others that overemphasized judgment, fear, and despair. These they replaced with texts urging Christian hope and giving more effective expression to faith in the resurrection.

    "These changes explain the closer and more organic connection between the funeral and the Eucharistic celebration in the new rite, the restoration of the Alleluia, and the abandonment of the color black for another, which, in the judgment of episcopal conferences, will inspire a calmer approach to sorrow and suggest a hope that is illuminated by the paschal mystery" (Bugnini, The Reform of the Liturgy, pp. 773-74).
    Thanked by 2hilluminar PaxMelodious
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