I must hand it to our friends at Rorate, who are always on top of this stuff.
Today is the 50th “birthday” of the 1962 Missale Romanum!
As per Rorate:
The Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites establishing the 1962 edition of the Missale Romanum was promulgated exactly 50 years ago today: June 23, 1962, a few months before the opening of the Second Vatican Council and with all rubrics and classifications fully aligned with the Codex Rubricarum promulgated along with the motu proprio Rubricarum Instructum of 1960.
Spiffy!
And because it is the Vigil of my Name Day, I am glad to have received a nice box of Macanudo cigars from one of you readers. I shall enjoy one in honor of this festive occasion!
UPDATE 24 June:
If yesterday was the day of the Missal’s promulgation, then today could be the anniversary its “First Mass”. If it was signed and promulgated on 23 June, then it came into force after most priests in Rome had said their morning Masses. Thus, today could have been the first day of its use. No? Also, in 1962, 24 June was a Sunday. It seems appropriate that Pope John would want it to go into force on a Sunday which was also the Feast of the Nativity of John.
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Are you a fan of Gurkha cigars, Father?
Isn’t it strange that the 1962 MR was promulgated by Pope John XXIII just a few months before the start of the Second Vatican Council in which the the groundwork was laid for the RADICAL changes to the way the Church celebrates the Mass now in accordance with the Novus Ordo Missal of Pope Paul VI in 1970?
Nice cigars. I am partial to Macanudos since those were the first cigars I ever smoked. Have moved on to Punch now and the occasional Avo Domain whenthe budget permits.
frjim4321: I too like the Punch. It has been long time since I have had an Avo.
I used to travel on business to Central America. The Honduran and Costa Rican cigars were very good! I preferred the Costa Rican ones.
Avo are about twelve bucks here – a bit much to go up in smoke. I can get 25 of the Punch from Cigars International (www) for about 3.50 each which is affordable for me.
I gave up cigars three years ago for lent fully intending to start up again after Easter. I haven’t smoked one since. I realized it was better for me and my wallet if I gave them up for good. However, when I hear of or see someone enjoying one, there is a longing in my soul….
OK, I know the longing is in my body, but currently the two are connected, so it feels like my soul.
acardnal says:
Isn’t it strange that the 1962 MR was promulgated by Pope John XXIII just a few months before the start of the Second Vatican Council in which the the groundwork was laid for the RADICAL changes to the way the Church celebrates the Mass now in accordance with the Novus Ordo Missal of Pope Paul VI in 1970?
Like Veterum Sapientia, probably an attempt to preempt the liberals at the upcoming Council.
Congratulations to the ancient and venerable Extraordinary Form of Mass on her 50th birthday!
Some of the commenters at Rorate cannot restrain themselves from seeing in the 1962 Missal, what has been known as “creeping Novus-Ordoism.” As we do not seem to be immune from that here — I mean, we’ve got the motu proprio now, let’s find something else to complain about, huh guys? — I would present this defense of the Missal written by one “Professor Basto” in its entirety:
I believe that it is right that the 1962 Missal is used as the Missal representing the traditional form of the Roman Rite (now called usus antiquior or extraordinary form).
Firstly, I see no reason to challenge the authority of the code of rubrics approved by the Motu Proprio Rubricarum instructum of 1960 and made public by the decree Novo rubricarum Breviarii ac Missalis of the Sacred Congregation for Rites.
Pius XII had made changes to Holy Week, St. Pius X had made changes to the Breviary and to the code of rubrics of the Missal. Benedict XV approved a new edition of the Missal, incorporating the changes made under St. Pius X. Earlier Popes, such as Clement VIII, also altered the Codification first approved by St. Pius V. The original edition promulgated by Pius V was prior to the Clementine Vulgate, so under Clement VIII the readings of the Missal were adapted to the Vulgate. In 1634 Urban VIII also approved a revision of the Missal.
The changes introduced under bl. John XXIII are all minor, even if they are sometimes historical firsts – such as the inclusion of St. Joseph in the Canon, the first modification of the Canon, not in history, but since the Tridentine Codification. But a change that adequately reflects the new reality created since the 19th century, by bl. Pope Pius IX, who proclaimed St. Joseph Patron of the Church universal.
Some changes we may not like, such as the removal of the second Confiteor, but that is not enough reason to repudiate a Missal issued by legitimate authority. Also, it is not a good enough reason to consider that the 1962 Missal is not part of the great tradition of the usus antiquior.
Precisely because the 1962 Missal of bl. John XXIII IS A LEGITIMATE REPRESENTATIVE of the usus antiquior, that Missal should be now used, and NOT earlier editions.
The 1962 edition is the most recent edition of the Traditional Missal.
Ruputre, that does exist in the practical, disciplinary field of the liturgy, was introduced only by the Second Vatican Council and by subsequent actions of the Holy See that were either based on, or that claim to be based on, the authority of the Council’s Constitution on the Liturgy.
The 1965 Ordo Missae, the instructions issued from 1964 onwards are all tainted because they are already acts of implementation of the Conciliar liturgical reform, even if those initial steps precede the Novus Ordo. But the 1962 Missal cannot be considered a part of the Conciliar reform, since it precedes the Conciliar Constitution and even the opening of the Council.
The fork was stuck on the road with the approval of Sacrosanctum Concilium by the Council under Paul VI.
Under the Council’s mandate for liturgical reform, a new form of the Roman Rite was created, that cannot be said to be in continuity with the previous form. It is a new composition.
That’s why the reformed Missals do not contain the Apostolic Constitution of St. Pius V, but that of Paul VI. The novus ordo is a new Rite, different from the traditional Rite codified by St. Pius V.
The Pian Codification substantially remained, even with modifications, after the reforms of Clement VIII Urban VIII, St. Pius X, Benedict XV, Ven. Pius XII and bl. John XXIII.
The Pauline Missal, on the other hand, codifies a new creation.
That is why the 1970 Novus Ordo Missal and subsequent editions, up to and including the current third edition, are numbered from Paul VI’s Constitution Missale Romanum.
If the 1962 Missal was already part of the liturgical reform, then it would have been abrogated by the subsequent acts of that reform. Yet the 1962 Missal is not abrogated. And it is not abrogated precisely because the “new path” came after it. So the 1962 Missal is to date the most recent and current example of the “old path”.
There it is.
I read that post of “Prof. Basto’s ” at the Rorate-Caeli site. I am looking forward to reading the upcoming series they are going to do on the 1962 Missal of John XXIII.
My friend came back from Ireland a few years ago, and smuggled a true Cuban. We shared it together. Talk about heaven-on-earth!
Congratulations on your Name Day! And I hope that you enjoyed the cigar!