Rubrics for Changes in the Mass by 1967

Inter oecumenici 1964

Chapter II. Mystery of the Eucharist

a. The celebrant is not to say privately those parts of the Proper sung or recited by the choir or the congregation.

b. The celebrant may sing or recite the parts of the Ordinary together with the congregation or choir.

c. In the prayers at the foot of the altar at the beginning of Mass Psalm 42 is omitted. All the prayers at the foot of the altar are omitted whenever there is another liturgical rite immediately preceding.

d. In solemn Mass the subdeacon does not hold the paten but leaves it on the altar.

e. In sung Masses the secret prayer or prayer over the gifts is sung and in other Masses recited aloud.

f. The doxology at the end of the canon, from Per ipsum through Per omnia saecula saeculorum. R. Amen, is to be sung or recited aloud. Throughout the whole doxology the celebrant slightly elevates the chalice with the host, omitting the signs of the cross, and genuflects at the end after the Amen response by the people.

g. In recited Masses the congregation may recite the Lord's Prayer in the vernacular along with the celebrant; in sung Masses the people may sing it in Latin along with the celebrant and, should the territorial ecclesiastical authority have so decreed, also in the vernacular, using melodies approved by the same authority.

h. The embolism after the Lord's Prayer shall be sung or recited aloud.

i. The formulary for distributing holy communion is to be, Corpus Christi. As he says these words, the celebrant holds the host slightly above the ciborium and shows it to the communicant, who responds: Amen, then receives communion from the celebrant, the sign of the cross with the host being omitted.

j. The last gospel is omitted; the Leonine Prayers are suppressed.

k. It is lawful to celebrate a sung Mass with only a deacon assisting.

l. It is lawful, when necessary, for bishops to celebrate a sung Mass following the form used by priests.

II. READINGS AND CHANTS BETWEEN READINGS (SC art. 51)

49. In Masses celebrated with a congregation, the lessons, epistle, and gospel are to be read or sung facing the people:

a. at the lectern or at the edge of the sanctuary in solemn Masses;

b. at the altar, lectern, or the edge of the sanctuary -- whichever is more convenient -- in sung or recited Masses if sung or read by the celebrant; at the lectern or at the edge of the sanctuary if sung or read by someone else.

50. In nonsolemn Masses celebrated with the faithful participating a qualified reader or the server reads the lessons and epistles with the intervening chants; the celebrant sits and listens. A deacon or a second priest may read the gospel and he says the Munda cor meum, asks for the blessing, and, at the end, presents the Book of the Gospels for the celebrant to kiss.

51. In sung Masses, the lessons, epistle, and gospel, if in the vernacular, may simply be read.

52. For the reading or singing of the lessons, epistle, intervening chants, and gospel, the following is the procedure.

a. In solemn Masses the celebrant sits and listens to the lessons, the epistle, and chants. After singing or reading the epistle, the subdeacon goes to the celebrant for the blessing. At this point the celebrant, remaining seated, puts incense into the thurible and blesses it. During the singing of the Alleluia and verse or toward the end of other chants after the epistle, the celebrant rises to bless the deacon. From his place he listens to the gospel, kisses the Book of the Gospels, and, after the homily, intones the Credo, when prescribed. At the end of the Credo he returns to the altar with the ministers, unless he is to lead the prayer of the faithful.

b. The celebrant follows the same procedures in sung or recited Masses in which the lessons, epistle, intervening chants, and the gospel are sung or recited by the minister mentioned in no. 50.

c. In sung or recited Masses in which the celebrant sings or recites the gospel, during the singing or saying of the Alleluia and verse or toward the end of other chants after the epistle, he goes to the foot of the altar and there, bowing profoundly, says the Munda cor meum. He then goes to the lectern or to the edge of the sanctuary to sing or recite the gospel.

d. But in a sung or recited Mass if the celebrant sings or reads all the lessons at the lectern or at the edge of the sanctuary, he also, if necessary, recites the chants after the lessons and the epistle standing in the same place; then he says the Munda cor meum, facing the altar.

III. HOMILY (SC art. 52)

53. There shall be a homily on Sundays and holydays of obligation at all Masses celebrated with a congregation, including conventual, sung, or pontifical Masses. On days other than Sundays and holydays a homily is recommended, especially on some of the weekdays of Advent and Lent or on other occasions when the faithful come to church in large numbers.

54. A homily on the sacred text means an explanation, pertinent to the mystery celebrated and the special needs of the listeners, of some point in either the readings from sacred Scripture or in another text from the Ordinary or Proper of the day's Mass.

55. Because the homily is part of the liturgy for the day, any syllabus proposed for preaching within the Mass during certain periods must keep intact the intimate connection with at least the principal seasons and feasts of the liturgical year (see SC art. 102-104), that is, with the mystery of redemption.

IV. UNIVERSAL PRAYER OR PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL (SC art. 53) 56. In places where the universal prayer or prayer of the faithful is already the custom, it shall take place before the offertory, after the Oremus, and, for the time being, with formularies in use in individual regions. The celebrant is to lead the prayer at either his chair, the altar, the lectern, or the edge of the sanctuary. A deacon, cantor, or other suitable minister may sing the intentions or intercessions. The celebrant takes the introductions and concluding prayer, this being ordinarily the Deus, refugium nostrum et virtus (MR, Orationes diversae no. 20) or another prayer more suited to particular needs. In places where the universal prayer or prayer of the faithful is not the custom, the competent territorial authority may decree its use in the manner indicated above and with formularies approved by that authority for the time being.

V. PART ALLOWED THE VERNACULAR IN MASS (SC art. 54)

57. For Masses, whether sung or recited, celebrated with a congregation, the competent, territorial ecclesiastical authority on approval, that is, confirmation, of its decisions by the Holy See, may introduce the vernacular into:

a. the proclaiming of the lessons, epistle, and gospel; the universal prayer or prayer of the faithful;

b. as befits the circumstances of the place, the chants of the Ordinary of the Mass, namely, the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus-Benedictus, Agnus Dei, as well as the introit, offertory, and communion antiphons and the chants between the readings;

c. acclamations, greeting, and dialogue formularies, the Ecce Agnus Dei, Domine, non sum dignus, Corpus Christi at the communion of the faithful, and the Lord's Prayer with its introduction and embolism. Missals to be used in the liturgy, however, shall contain besides the vernacular version the Latin text as well.

58. The Holy See alone can grant permission for use of the vernacular in those parts of the Mass that the celebrant sings or recites alone.

59. Pastors shall carefully see to it that the Christian faithful, especially members of lay religious institutes, also know how to recite or sing together in Latin, mainly with simple melodies, the parts of the Ordinary of the Mass proper to them.

VI. FACULTY OF REPEATING COMMUNION ON THE SAME DAY (SC art. 55) 60. The faithful who receive communion at the Mass of the Easter Vigil or the Midnight Mass of Christmas may receive again at the second Mass of Easter and at one of the Day Masses of Christmas.

Tres abhinc annos 1967

III. Changes in the Order of the Mass

7. The celebrant genuflects only:

a. on going to or leaving the altar if there is a tabernacle containing the Blessed Sacrament;

b. after elevating the Host and the chalice;

c. after the doxology at the end of the Canon;

d. at communion, before the words Panem caelestem accipiam;

e. after the communion of the faithful, when he has placed the remaining Hosts in the tabernacle.

All other genuflections are omitted.

8. The celebrant kisses the altar only: at the beginning of Mass, while saying the Oramus te Domine, or on going to the altar, if the prayers at the foot of the altar are omitted; at the end of Mass before the blessing and dismissal of the people.

The kissing of the altar is otherwise omitted.

9. At the Offertory, after offering the bread and wine, the celebrant places on the corporal the paten with host and chalice, omitting the signs of the cross with paten and with chalice.

He leaves the paten, with the Host on it, on the corporal both before and after the Consecration.

10. In Masses celebrated with a congregation, even when not concelebrated, the celebrant may say the Canon aloud. In sung Masses he may sing those parts of the Canon that the rite for concelebration allows.

11. In the Canon, the celebrant:

a. begins the Te igitur standing erect and with hands outstretched;

b. makes one sign of the cross over the offerings at the words benedicas + haec dona, haec munera, haec sancta sacrificia illibata, in the prayer Te igitur. He makes no other sign of the cross over the offerings.

12. After the Consecration, the celebrant need not join thumb and forefinger; should any particle of the host have remained on his fingers, he rubs his fingers together over the paten.

13. The communion rite for priest and people is to have the following arrangement: after he says Panem caelestem accipiam, the celebrant takes the Host and, facing the people, raises it, saying the Ecce Agnus Dei, then adding three times with the people the Domine, non sum dignus. He then communicates himself with the Host and chalice and immediately distributes communion in the usual way to the people.

14. The faithful receiving communion at the chrism Mass on Holy Thursday may receive again at the evening Mass on the same day.

15. A Mass celebrated with a congregation should include, according to circumstances, either a period of silence or the singing or recitation of a Psalm or Canticle of praise, e.g., Ps 33 [34], I will bless the Lord, Ps 150, Praise the Lord in his sanctuary or the Canticle Bless the Lord [Dn 3:35] or Blessed are you, O Lord [1 Chr 29:10].

16. At the end of Mass the blessing of the people comes immediately before the dismissal. It is recommended that the priest recite the Placeat silently as he is leaving the altar.

Even Masses for the dead include the blessing and usual dismissal formulary, Ite, Missa est, unless the absolution follows immediately; in this case, omitting the blessing, the celebrant says: Benedicamus Domino and proceeds to the absolution.