Commemoration (prayer)
Encyclopedia
In the Roman Rite
, when a higher-ranked liturgical celebration
impedes the celebration of a lesser one that, either permanently or (in a particular year) by coincidence, falls on the same day, the prayer of the lower-ranked celebration is usually added to that of the higher. This additional prayer is referred to as a commemoration of the lesser celebration.
In the post-Tridentine usage, on Sundays lacking the commemoration of a feast of Double rank, or of an Octave, a second and a third prayer was added to that of the Sunday. These were called "seasonal" (in Latin, pro diversitate temporum) prayers, not "commemorations". For instance, from Advent to 2 February, the first of these additional prayers was in honour of Saint Mary and the other was either that "Against the persecutors of the Church" or that "For the Pope".
At Mass, commemorations were made by adding the Collect, Secret, and Postcommunion of the commemorated celebration after the ones for the higher-ranking celebration. If three or more commemorations were made, the conclusion ("Per Dominum..." or its variants) was omitted in all but the first and last. In the Office, commemorations were made only at Vespers and Lauds, using the Antiphon on the Magnificat or Benedictus, the Versicle and Response normally following the hymn, and the collect, all said after the collect of the current day. Also at Matins, the ninth Lesson was usually read of the commemorated day, except on Sundays and on certain high-ranking feasts.
In his 1960 Code of Rubrics
Pope John XXIII
limited the number of commemorations allowed to two.
The 1970 Mass of Paul VI
eliminated commemorations, laying down that only one prayer should be used, admitting some flexibility in the choice of the prayer. The new Missal uses "Memorials", celebrations of saints at a level lower than that of Feast or Solemnity, which are not to be confused with commemorations.
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
, when a higher-ranked liturgical celebration
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
impedes the celebration of a lesser one that, either permanently or (in a particular year) by coincidence, falls on the same day, the prayer of the lower-ranked celebration is usually added to that of the higher. This additional prayer is referred to as a commemoration of the lesser celebration.
In the post-Tridentine usage, on Sundays lacking the commemoration of a feast of Double rank, or of an Octave, a second and a third prayer was added to that of the Sunday. These were called "seasonal" (in Latin, pro diversitate temporum) prayers, not "commemorations". For instance, from Advent to 2 February, the first of these additional prayers was in honour of Saint Mary and the other was either that "Against the persecutors of the Church" or that "For the Pope".
At Mass, commemorations were made by adding the Collect, Secret, and Postcommunion of the commemorated celebration after the ones for the higher-ranking celebration. If three or more commemorations were made, the conclusion ("Per Dominum..." or its variants) was omitted in all but the first and last. In the Office, commemorations were made only at Vespers and Lauds, using the Antiphon on the Magnificat or Benedictus, the Versicle and Response normally following the hymn, and the collect, all said after the collect of the current day. Also at Matins, the ninth Lesson was usually read of the commemorated day, except on Sundays and on certain high-ranking feasts.
In his 1960 Code of Rubrics
Code of Rubrics
The Code of Rubrics is a three-part liturgical document promulgated in 1960 under Pope John XXIII, which in the form of a legal code indicated the rules governing the celebration of the Roman Rite Mass and Divine Office....
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
limited the number of commemorations allowed to two.
The 1970 Mass of Paul VI
Mass of Paul VI
The Mass of Pope Paul VI is the liturgy of the Catholic Mass of the Roman Rite promulgated by Paul VI in 1969, after the Second Vatican Council...
eliminated commemorations, laying down that only one prayer should be used, admitting some flexibility in the choice of the prayer. The new Missal uses "Memorials", celebrations of saints at a level lower than that of Feast or Solemnity, which are not to be confused with commemorations.