Extraordinary Community News: Classes of Feasts, and Extraordinary Faith on EWTN

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News (August 24, 2014):

Classes of Feasts

The Catholic Calendar contains four primary classifications of Feast Days. Though the terminology has changed over the years, the concepts remain fairly consistent. The Vatican has established that those of us who follow the Extraordinary Form are to use the rubrics of 1962, plus whatever adaptations have been issued since the establishment of the Pontifical Commission Ecclésia Dei in 1988. Because so many hand missals exist, both originals and reprints, from the era prior to 1962, it is worth mentioning the former terminology.


First Class Feasts (Extraordinary Form 1962) / Doubles of the First Class (Extraordinary Form 1960 and prior) / Solemnities (Ordinary Form): These are the most important Feasts of the Church Year. Examples include Christmas, the days of Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost, and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A Funeral Mass, also known as the Exequial Mass, is classified as First Class. The Feast of the Patron Saint of a Parish or Diocese, and the Anniversary of the Dedication of the Cathedral of a Diocese are also First Class, though in practice the latter is rarely given note at the parish level.

Second Class Feasts (EF 1962) / Doubles of the Second Class (EF 1960 and prior) / Feasts (OF): These are significant but not primary Feasts. Sundays After Pentecost, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Feasts of the Apostles are examples. The Greater Ferias of Advent, which are the Ferias in the week before Christmas, are a rare example of Ferias elevated to Second Class, as the Church wants the faithful to focus on preparing for the commemoration of our Lord’s Nativity. A Nuptial [Wedding] Mass is classified as Second Class, however it may not take place on a Sunday. If a Wedding Mass is scheduled on a First Class Feast Day, then the Mass of the Feast is observed instead of the Nuptial Mass Propers.

Third Class Feasts (EF 1962) / Greater Doubles, Doubles, and Semidoubles (EF 1960 and prior) / Memorials (OF): Most weekday Masses are Third Class Feasts, such as St. Hedwig, St. Lucy, and St. Ignatius Loyola. The Ferias of Lent and the Ferias of Advent excepting those in the week before Christmas are also Third Class Feasts, as the Church does not want them to be as easily replaceable as Fourth Class Feasts (see below). A Requiem Mass celebrated on the third, seventh, or thirtieth day after death is classified as Third Class.

Fourth Class Feasts (EF 1962) / Simples and Commemorations (EF 1960 and prior) / Optional Memorials (OF): These are either Ferias (repetition of the previous Sunday’s Mass Propers) or Saints of lesser significance. On Fourth Class Feasts, the Church allows for substitution of other Mass Propers at the celebrant’s discretion. Here in Detroit and Windsor, there is a demand for Requiem Masses – the Daily Mass for the Dead, usually followed by the ceremony of Absolution at the Catafalque – on many Fourth Class Feasts. Indeed, as you can see below, this Tuesday, August 26, a Requiem Mass displaces the Fourth Class Feast of St. Zephyrinus. Other options on Fourth Class Feasts include using one of the Votive Masses, such as the Votive Mass of the Angels or the Votive Mass for Pilgrims and Travelers. The Mass of any Saint may also be offered on any Fourth Class Feria. This means, for example, that the Mass of St. Raphael the Archangel may be celebrated, just as on his actual Feast Day.

Some Feast Days have Commemorations, a second set of Collects (Opening Collect, Secret, and Postcommunion) added for the Feast of secondary Saint(s) of the day. In rare instances a third set of Collects may be added, for example to commemorate the anniversary of ordination of the celebrating priest. On Sundays on which the celebrated Feast is not one of Our Lord, for example when the First Class Feast of the Assumption displaces a Sunday After Pentecost, a Commemoration of the displaced Sunday is made. A Commemoration is not made when the celebrated Feast is one of our Lord, for example when Corpus Christi is transferred to the Sunday.

Episode 2 of Extraordinary Faith: Now Viewable On-Line

The second episode of Extraordinary Faith, filmed at St. Paul’s Choir School in Boston, is now available for viewing on-line, at: www.extraordinaryfaith.tv/episodes/episode-2.

For those who prefer YouTube, it is also available there: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt7u243zrqE, albeit at slightly lower quality.

The third episode of the series has been delivered to EWTN and is awaiting scheduling.

No Mass at the Academy on September 7

Because the school needs the chapel for the opening Mass of the school year, there will be no Tridentine Mass at the Academy of the Sacred Heart on Sunday, September 7. Mass will resume at the Academy on September 14 at 9:45 AM. The monthly reception will be held after Mass on September 14.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

• Mon. 08/25 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Joseph (St. Louis IX, King & Confessor)
• Tue. 08/26 7:00 PM: High Requiem Mass at St. Benedict/Assumption-Windsor (Daily Mass for the Dead)
• Fri. 08/29 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto (Beheading of St. John the Baptist) – Deacon Ed Gardner, ICRSS will preach the homily. Dinner for young adults age 18-35 follows Mass, organized by Juventútem Michigan

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and Assumption (Windsor) bulletin inserts for August 24, 2014. Hat tip to A.B., author of the column.]