Q: A brother seminarian inquired whether a 3-month Memorial Mass for his uncle can be celebrated (with a Mass for the Dead) on this upcoming Friday of the Octave of Easter. My initial answer was no, but it seems that the Canadian Ordo says otherwise, as it permits FM (Funeral Mass) during the Octave, and does not permit RM (Ritual Masses) and V1 (Various Needs 1), while does not seem to be forbidding D2 or D3 (please see attached scanned document from the CCCB Ordo for context). I would assume that the Memorial Mass is not D2 but is D3.
Oddly enough, the Weekdays of the Easter Season (two rows after the Easter Octave) does not permit V3 or D3 – which I find to be odd, since the Octave I know is higher rank than a Weekday of Easter.
Would you be able to look at the document and see if the Canadian Ordo has made a mistake on this table? And in short, can a Mass for the Dead for a 3-month Memorial be said during the Friday Octave of Easter (with readings of the Mass of the Dead)? My intuition is no, but I would like some clarification.
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A: The only Mass for the Dead permitted on weekdays during the Octave of Easter is a funeral Mass. The Canadian Ordo is correct, but I admit that these tables are difficult to read.
When it lists FM, that DOES forbid D2 and D3. FM is the only option that may be used during the Octave. When the table says D2 or D3, it includes the higher categories, such as the funeral Mass. That’s how you are to read the weekdays for the rest of Easter Time: Certain Masses for the Dead may be celebrated (D2), which DOES include the funeral Mass. But a daily Mass for the Dead is not allowed.
Your brother seminarian may request a Mass be said for his uncle on Friday of the Octave of Easter, but the readings and prayers will be those of that Friday. They are beautiful texts, and they will suit the 3-month marker very well. Intercessions for his uncle may be included in the universal prayer.
My condolences to him on the loss of his uncle.
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