All Souls Masses – changes to rubrics when saying three Masses continuously

I am getting ready to say my three Masses today.

On two days of the year, the priest has the privilege of saying three Masses: Christmas and All Souls.  On Christmas, he can keep three stipends for the Masses.  On All Souls he can keep one stipend and if he celebrates the other Masses they must be for the Poor Souls in Purgatory and, traditionally, for the Intentions designated by the Roman Pontiff.  More on that Intentions thing, which also impacts on the gaining of indulgences, such as those for the dead during THIS November HERE.

When the priest says his Masses back to back, the rubrics change a little in the Traditional Mass – which every priest really ought to know.  If he doesn’t know how to say the Traditional Latin Mass, then, if he is a Latin Rite priest, he doesn’t know his own rite.  He is, in that sense, incomplete.

Here are some rubrical changes for saying three Requiem Masses back to back.  Click for larger.

After Communion of the 1st and 2nd Masses, the priest does NOT purify the chalice as usual, but rather places it on the corporal and covers it with the pall.  He says the Quod ore sumpsimus and then purifies his fingers, saying the Corpus tuum while drying them.  He removes the pall from the chalice, replaces the purificator and paten with a new host to be consecrated, covers with the pall and veil and places as for Mass.  He must not remove the chalice from the corporal.   If he slips and purifies the chalice as habitual, he can still celebrate the other Masses.

At the second and third Masses, if celebrated right away, after removing the veil he sets the chalice still on the corporal toward the Epistle side.  It helps to have a larger corporal today (as I do).  He does not wipe the inside of the chalice with the purificator before putting in wine and water and he does not use the purificator on the inside of the cup.

If his Masses are not in a row, he purifies as usual, but should use only water in purifying the chalice (so he doesn’t break his Eucharistic fast).  But if he slips and uses both wine and water, he can still celebrate Mass even within the three hours (that was prescribed at the time of the 1962 Missal).

Everything is set up.  I withdrew from storage a black vestment I have rarely used, quite striking with the olive branches and chi-rho vexillum.  It would be good on Good Friday, too.

However, I have two other black vestments for the other two Masses.

 

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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9 Comments

  1. Andrew says:

    Father, this is a very interesting post from an altar server’s perspective too. Thank you. And those vestments are beautiful.

  2. SKAY says:

    Beautiful , Father Z.

  3. Suburbanbanshee says:

    Subject to previous definition above… The papal intention this month is that robotics and artificial intelligence be used to help and not hurt humanity, which (in a November) is equal parts wacky and eerily timely. Maybe it is a St. Isidore thing.

    The magisterium, man. It sneaks up on you.

  4. Fr. Pius, OP says:

    I would argue that the special procedures for the purification of the vessels in these Masses is no longer required, although a priest may observe them. Those requirements existed because of the Eucharistic fast that was imposed. This is a matter not of liturgical law, but of the Code of Canon Law. Under the current Code, such fasting is no longer required by priests before a second or third Mass, only before the first (see can. 919 §2). It is a laudable custom, but I think priests would not be in violation of the law if they purified the vessels in the normal way between each Mass.

  5. iPadre says:

    “The priest purifies his fingers.” How does he do this? The chalice is covered. Does he use the lavabo bowl?

  6. iPadre says:

    By the way, I have the same chasuble in violet. I acquired it from DeRitas.

  7. rollingrj says:

    All three sets of vestments are stunning. The ones used for the second Mass recalled for me the concept of noble simplicity; they fit it to a “t”.

  8. Kathleen10 says:

    Those vestments may be my favorite yet. It’s all beautiful, all of it, the altar, everything.

  9. Beauty. I’m really trying!

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