Questions concerning the 1962 Missal

[TempleofTheSoul]

For the past few weeks I have been contemplating getting the 1962 Missal for when I attend the Latin Mass, when lo and behold someone left an old copy of their Missal for others to take at a table reserved in the church hall for those who don´t want to throw their used Catholic items away so they put them on the table so that other Catholic's may take them if they want them.

The missal copy left at the table is pretty new (2004) and in good condition. I thank the Lord for it!!

Ok, getting to my questions... The missals structure reminds me alot of the Divine Office. Since we are in the 31st Sunday of Ordinary time, does that mean that we would only revert to the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Proper of the Saints and nothing else?

What other tips would you give me in terms of following along with the missal at mass? I thank God that in my praying Christian Prayer regularly I am somewhat familiar with the Proper of the Saints and Seasons...if not I would be completely lost.


Thanks and God bless

[MarkThompson]

Originally Posted by TempleofTheSoul

For the past few weeks I have been contemplating getting the 1962 Missal for when I attend the Latin Mass, when lo and behold someone left an old copy of their Missal for others to take at a table reserved in the church hall for those who don´t want to throw their used Catholic items away so they put them on the table so that other Catholic's may take them if they want them.

The missal copy left at the table is pretty new (2004) and in good condition. I thank the Lord for it!!

Ok, getting to my questions... The missals structure reminds me alot of the Divine Office. Since we are in the 31st Sunday of Ordinary time, does that mean that we would only revert to the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Proper of the Saints and nothing else?

What other tips would you give me in terms of following along with the missal at mass? I thank God that in my praying Christian Prayer regularly I am somewhat familiar with the Proper of the Saints and Seasons...if not I would be completely lost.


Thanks and God bless

The calendar used in the 1962 missal does not have Ordinary Time. It has "Sundays after Epiphany" and "Sundays after Pentecost." Today would ordinarily have been the 20th Sunday after Pentecost, except that in 1925 the feast of Christ the King was created and designated to be celebrated on the last Sunday falling in October. Next Sunday will be the 21st Sunday after Pentecost. There should be a set of rubrics in the front of your missal explaining the precedence of liturgical days. The topic is, admittedly, fairly complicated. In general, for Sundays and moveable feasts you will follow the Proper of Time, except when superseded by an important feast from the Proper of Saints; and on weekdays you can expect to follow the Proper of Saints, unless there should be something relating to the yearly cycle (Ember Days, weekdays of Lent, etc.) that would have precedence. True ferial days are comparatively rare, and will generally be celebrated as a votive Mass or a Mass of the dead (at the celebrant's option; there is no way to know in advance).

[corsair]

Well, for starters, in the EF we are not in the 31st sunday of Ordinary time but rather in the Feast of Christ the King or the Kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ. The EF calender is slightly different than the Ordinary Form.

The Ordinaries of the Mass remain mostly the same throughout the year, while the Propers change from Feast to Feast. So if you were to really pray the Mass with the priest you would need to switch back and forth. This is what the various ribbons are there for.

I always prep the missal the night before Mass so that I'm not fumbling through the book during Mass.

And, yes, if you pray the Divine Office, you'll be flipping around for the various parts, which is why its best to pre-mark your places.

I would advise not to let yourself get too involved with trying to keep up with the priest as some are able to read the Latin faster than you can read the english side of the book. Just let yourself get caught up in the solemnity and reverence of the Mass. It is beautiful.

[TempleofTheSoul]

Thank you both for your very informative posts. I''m looking to prayerfully follow along with the mass and am not into playing Latin/English/page flipping gymnastics that would take away from my showing proper reverence for the mass.

I just want to understand the Latin Mass more deeply from an interior spiritual level. If that makes any sense. Even though I have been attending the Latin Mass on and off for the past two years I am still a mere babe in understanding it. The Latin is not a problem since I am a native Spanish speaker and the similarities between the two languages helps me to get a good sense of what it is I am hearing/reading during the mass.

I really appreciate the explanation on the differences between the OF and EF's calendar.

Thanks again to both of you and God bless.

[Vincent1984]

For checkable calendars, try Divinum Officium (choose the 1960 calendar) or the Latin Mass Society (English calender, in the sidebar of the page).

[TempleofTheSoul]

Originally Posted by Vincent1984

For checkable calendars, try Divinum Officium (choose the 1960 calendar) or the Latin Mass Society (English calender, in the sidebar of the page).

Thanks for the links! They are very helpful.

God bless