Monday, August 20, 2007

Confused

Fr Zuhlsdorf had an article on his blog on 8th August about what is a real 1962 missal. The issue is to do with the inclusion of St Joseph`s name in the canon. I have a missal that was published in 1962. The first document is a letter of approval by Cardinal Spellman dated the 10th April 1962. The letter states that this missal conforms to the typical edition approved in Rome on 21st October 1961. This missal does not include St Joseph in the canon. Fr Zuhlsdorf has a missal with a Roman decree of 23rd June 1962 (which mine naturally lacks) and does include St Joseph. While I am happy to concede that the decree of June 1962 establishes the authoritative text for the 1962 missal when I look in Ochoa`s Leges Ecclesiae (a collection of all laws and significant documents published by the Holy See from 1917-1985) I find the decree that asked for St Joseph to be included was published on 13th November 1962 and the change was to come into effect on 8th December 1962. Was there another editio typica published after November 13th 1962? Ochoa does not have the decree of 23rd June 1962 and so may not have included another decree authorising the publication of a missal with the name of St Joseph included.
Then there`s the question of the Confiteor before Communion. It was abolished by the time of the 1962 missal but many people, myself included, like to have it. I believe that in the past Ecclesia Dei said it was ok to use it. Maybe there will be a clarification about this and other matters from that office.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well it does sound kinda confusing!

Anonymous said...

Reverend and Dear Father: It is confusing. It may be that the edition you have is one of those produced by publishers having permission of the Holy See to produce liturgical books. So, that publisher actually were able to print their edition of the 1961 version in 1962, around the same time the Holy See was issuing the 1962 edition. So, they both show 1962, but one of them is actually the 1961 version. In any event, I have some useful photos in a blog entry.

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2007/08/caveat-emptor-a-missal-on-sale-advertised-as-1962/

o{]:¬)

Fr Michael Brown said...

Thanks, Father, for taking the time to leave a comment. I have looked at your photos. My `1962` missal which is from April 1962 does not have the Roman decree of 15th January 1962 which I find odd. I know these things take time to put together but I would have thought that if that decree came out in January it could have been included in an edition which came out in at least April.
Does the June decree establish the authentic 1962 missal and if so how does St Joseph get in there as he wasn`t included until December. Could it be that the photos show a missal that was published later? To incorporate a change announced in November 1962 and to come into force in December they must have been quick off the mark to get to the printers. Quicker it would seem than the Benziger Brothers. Is there a letter in the front of permission to print from the relevant bishop such as the letter from Cardinal Spellman in my edition and does it have a date?

Anonymous said...

I used to think that the confiteor before the people's communion shouldn't be used if you are being faithful to the '62 missal. However, now I think, that if it is missing, it leaves a gap which slighlty breaks the rhythm of the mass. It's also nice to hear it chanted by the deacon at High Mass.

Fr Michael Brown said...

Anonymous, I agree totally. Maybe there will be a future clarification about this and other matters by the Ecclesia Dei office soon.