Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
November Prayers	Anthony	Friday, November 16, 2012
Question: I remember that during my Catholic grammar school days back in the early 1960s, there was a ritual at our church every morning during the month of November in which there was a coffin like structure covered with a black and gold mantle in the middle of the aisle. The priest also had on a black and gold chasuble and would recite prayers for the dead while incensing the coffin. For some reason, I used to feel so close to God during this ritual. I was wondering how come this beautiful and at the same strange ritual is no longer in use? Was it suppressed during the 1960s when Pope Paul VI changed a lot of things in the church? Thanks for your reply and God bless you.
Question Answered by Mr. Jacob Slavek Dear Anthony, Sorry but I've never heard of anything like this. It struck me as odd that is happened every morning in November rather than just on Nov. 2nd, to me it sounds more like a local custom rather than something that happened in the worldwide Church. I have NEVER heard of such thing as a "mock coffin". If the priest was wearing liturgical vestments, then strictly speaking it should have been a liturgical function. (that doesn't mean it actually was) It could have been something done mostly for the benefit of the school children, to explain to them the necessity of praying for the dead rather than immediately "canonizing" them. But I wasn't really around in the 60's so if this sounds familiar to someone else, I encourage you to "report" it here and help Anthony remember what was happening. Mr. Slavek Footer Notes: (a) A Eucharistic Minister is clergy (Ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion). Laity are *Extraordinary* Ministers of Holy Communion and should never be called Eucharistic Ministers. (b) There is no such Mass called the Novus Ordo. The Current Mass is the Roman Missal of 2000, or the Oridinary Form of the Mass. The Tridentine Mass is the Roman Missal of 1962, or the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. Please refrain from using the term, Novus Ordo. Thanks. (c) The titles of Acolyte and Lector belong exclusively to the Installed Offices of Acolyte and Lector, who are men (only) appointed by the Bishop. These roles performed by others are Altar Servers and Readers, respectively.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

November Prayers

Anthony

Friday, November 16, 2012

Question:

I remember that during my Catholic grammar school days back in the early 1960s, there was a ritual at our church every morning during the month of November in which there was a coffin like structure covered with a black and gold mantle in the middle of the aisle. The priest also had on a black and gold chasuble and would recite prayers for the dead while incensing the coffin. For some reason, I used to feel so close to God during this ritual. I was wondering how come this beautiful and at the same strange ritual is no longer in use? Was it suppressed during the 1960s when Pope Paul VI changed a lot of things in the church? Thanks for your reply and God bless you.

Question Answered by Mr. Jacob Slavek

Dear Anthony,

Sorry but I've never heard of anything like this. It struck me as odd that is happened *every* morning in November rather than just on Nov. 2nd, to me it sounds more like a local custom rather than something that happened in the worldwide Church. I have NEVER heard of such thing as a "mock coffin". If the priest was wearing liturgical vestments, then strictly speaking it should have been a liturgical function. (that doesn't mean it actually was) It could have been something done mostly for the benefit of the school children, to explain to them the necessity of praying for the dead rather than immediately "canonizing" them.

But I wasn't really around in the 60's so if this sounds familiar to someone else, I encourage you to "report" it here and help Anthony remember what was happening.

Mr. Slavek

Footer Notes: (a) A Eucharistic Minister is clergy (Ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion). Laity are Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and should never be called Eucharistic Ministers.

(b) There is no such Mass called the Novus Ordo. The Current Mass is the Roman Missal of 2000, or the Oridinary Form of the Mass. The Tridentine Mass is the Roman Missal of 1962, or the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. Please refrain from using the term, Novus Ordo. Thanks.

(c) The titles of Acolyte and Lector belong exclusively to the Installed Offices of Acolyte and Lector, who are men (only) appointed by the Bishop. These roles performed by others are Altar Servers and Readers, respectively.