Thursday, December 13, 2007

Traditional Mass Proper for Our Lady of Guadalupe

I have also tracked down the Traditional Proper Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe, at least that given in the U.S. Supplement to the 1945 St Andrew Missal and Marian Missal!   And here is a better-set-out copy of the Proper Mass, from the 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal.


The Introit, Secret, Preface (of course), and Postcommunion are all taken from the Common Mass for Feasts of the Blessed Virgin.


The passage from Ecclesiasticus xxiv, 23-31 (Vulg.; in the RSV, the chapter and verse reference is 24:17-22, but omitting several verses and phrases that the Vulgate, based on the Septuagint, includes; and note that this book is referred to as 'Wisdom' at Mass, as all readings from the sapiental books were called readings from (one of)  the book(s) of wisdom – libri Sapientiæ), which is given as the 'Epistle' for the feast, alludes to Our Lady's words to St Juan Diego in her role as evangelist of her Son.  The Gospel (St Luke i, 39-47) is that of the Visitation, being applied to Our Lady's "visitation" of the Americas, that she might bring Christ to them.


The Gradual (Cant. vi, 9; V/. Ecclus l, 8) and Alleluia (Cant. ii, 12) allude to her wondrous apparition on the hill Tepeyac, effulgent, and her having St Juan Diego pick the roses blooming there out of season.  The Offertory verse (II Paral. vii, 16 – that's 2 Chronicles for those not referring to an old Catholic bible) refers to the establishment of a Marian shrine on the hill, and the Communion (Ps. cxlvii, 20), to the miraculous image imprinted on the tilma.


Lastly (not in order!), this is the traditional collect, rather less 1960's-sounding than the modern text I critiqued in my last post; there is a misprint on the first website I found this on; according to the second, it must read, not:


Deus, qui beatissimæ semper Deus, qui sub beatissimæ Virginis....


But:


Deus, qui sub beatissimæ Virginis Mariæ singulari patrocinio constitutos, perpetuis beneficiis nos cumulari voluisti: præsta supplicibus tuis; ut cujus hodie commemoratione lætamur in terris, ejus conspectu perfruamur in cœlis.  Per...


(O God, who hast willed us to be heaped with perpetual benefits, being constituted under the singular patronage of the most blessed Virgin Mary, grant unto thy supplicants, that we who joy today in the commemoration of her on earth, may enjoy fully the sight of her in heaven.  Thro'...)

The new collect (see last post) is clearly based on the opening phrase of this prayer, but rather unusually for the Roman Mass adding a further address to God as "Father of mercies", and shortening qui sub beatissimæ Virginis Mariæ singulari patrocinio constitutos, perpetuis beneficiis nos cumulari voluisti to  qui sub sanctissimæ Matris Filii tui singulari patrocinio plebem tuam constituisti.


I can see why this collect was altered, without necessarily agreeing with its alteration.  Many collects in the old rite have the formulaic phrase xxx in terris, (ut) xxx in cælis, almost to the point of weariness, IMHO – not that these sentiments are anything other than good!   For it's clearly far more important to come to see Our Lady in heaven, since if so we shall be saved, than to "seek with faith more eager the progress of peoples in the ways of justice and peace"; though it may be that through doing the latter, in a God-pleasing manner, we shall be judged worthy of the former.  


It is wrong to neglect our neighbour's welfare; it is through our love of our brother, whom we can see, that our love of God, whom we cannot see, is proven: frightening thought.

No comments: