Proclamation of the Birth at the Vigil Mass
  • lagunaredbob
    Posts: 161

    Dear Folks, because the bishop will be celebrating at our Christmas Vigil Mass, is it liturgically proper, okay, to use the Proclamation of the Birth for this Mass? Thank you in advance.
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,704
    liturgically proper

    Was it not traditional to chant it before Mass? therefore Liturgically it would not be part of the Mass.
    Thanked by 1lagunaredbob
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,371
    1/ Is this the Vigil Mass, or the Mass during the Night (familiarly Midnight Mass)?
    2/ I don't know how authoritative this is, but it is after 1980 :
    The rubrics for the Christmas proclamation state
    The announcement of the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord from the Roman Martyrology draws upon Sacred Scripture to declare in a formal way the birth of Christ. It begins with creation and relates the birth of the Lord to the major events and personages of sacred and secular history. The particular events contained in the announcement help pastorally to situate the birth of Jesus in the context of salvation history.
    This text, The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, may be chanted or recited, most appropriately on December 24, during the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours. It may also be chanted or recited before the beginning of Christmas Mass during the Night. It may not replace any part of the Mass.
    Thanked by 1lagunaredbob
  • Liam
    Posts: 4,942
    Traditionally, it was part of Prime, right, since that's when the Martyrology was read?
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen lagunaredbob
  • ClemensRomanusClemensRomanus
    Posts: 1,023
    Liam, yes, that’s correct.
    Thanked by 2StimsonInRehab lagunaredbob
  • Caleferink
    Posts: 429
    Because the quote from the rubrics @a_f_hawkins referenced above states specifically the Liturgy of the Hours (Office of Readings with extended vigil in this case) or before the Mass during the Night, my answer would be "no" to the original question.
    Thanked by 1lagunaredbob
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,371
    It depends whether one, particularly the bishop, takes a permissive or a restrictive view of the rubrics. The restrictive view would be 'no', it's not what is suggested. The permissive view would argue that a) it can be proclaimed on the 24th, b) it can be before Midnight Mass as a stand alone, hence it can be a stand alone not immediately before Midnight Mass, in particular before the Vigil Mass. A similar permissive argument might be (assuming Caleferink is right about the Office of Readings with vigil extension) that, as we are having a Vigil Mass instead of the extended Office of Readings, we move the Proclamation to immediately before that.
    By analogy with the Exultet (which is a rather thinly stretched analogy) it should come before a set of Vigil Readings. OTOH if it pairs with the Martyrology at prime, that would be early on Christmas Eve, not on 25th, since we have already celebrated Mass twice (during the night, and at dawn) by the relevant time. Confusing!
    Thanked by 1lagunaredbob
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