Feast (liturgy)

In the current liturgical order of the Catholic Church, a feast (Latin: festum ) is the middle stage of solemnity between the solemn festival and the due day of remembrance . The divine service of the festivities is partially aligned with Sunday ( mass with Gloria ), in some cases elements of the daily divine services are retained - especially in the prayer of the hours .

Certain events from the life of Jesus are celebrated as feasts (including the feasts of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2, the Transfiguration of the Lord on August 6), the memory of some apostles and other important saints (such as that of the arch-martyr Stephen on August 26) . December).

There are usually no celebrations if they are replaced by a solemn festival or a Sunday in the year in question . The feasts of the Lord are an exception : These are also celebrated if they fall on a Sunday in the annual cycle or at Christmas time. On the other hand, the Sundays of Advent , Lent and Easter have a higher liturgical rank . Whether a festival is celebrated results from the liturgical ranking and is indicated in the respective directory of the diocese or the religious community .

historical development

Since the High Middle Ages there has been an almost inflationary increase in commemorative days and feast days; Numerous festivals of devotion and ideas took place on the commemoration days of the saints . More often, festivals were upgraded with a vigil (pre-celebration the day before) and an octave (post-celebration in the entire following week or only on the eighth day after the festival). This led to a devaluation and a certain "holidayization" (everyday life) of the lower fixed ranks - according to the liturgical scholar Philipp Harnoncourt - since these could no longer be celebrated by the entire congregation with rest and worship for economic reasons. In the course of time there were few festa fori (which were celebrated by the whole congregation with holiday rest) compared to a large number of festa chori , which were only celebrated liturgically as "feasts". According to the liturgical scholar Hansjörg Auf der Maur , this terminological contradiction was not eliminated by the calendar reform after the Second Vatican Council .

The classification in the order of precedence of the liturgical celebrations (solemnity, feast, day of remembrance) was in the context of the liturgical reform with the reorganization of the church year and the Roman general calendar after the Second Vatican Council on February 14, 1969 by the Motu proprio Mysterii paschalis of Pope Paul VI. approved and entered into force on January 1, 1970. It replaced a differentiated hierarchy of liturgical celebrations that had been in effect since the 16th century.

Individual evidence

^ Philipp Harnoncourt: The calendar. Festivals and feasts of the saints. In: Hansjörg Auf der Maur: Celebrating in the rhythm of time II / 1. Regensburg 1994, ( Church service. Handbuch der Liturgiewwissenschaft , edited by Hans Bernhard Meyer , Part 6.1), p. 52.
↑ Hansjörg Auf der Maur: Festivals and memorial days of the saints. In: ders .: Celebrating in the rhythm of time II / 1. Regensburg 1994 ( Church service. Handbuch der Liturgiewwissenschaft , edited by Hans Bernhard Meyer, Part 6.1), p. 185.

[1] Philipp Harnoncourt: The calendar. Festivals and feasts of the saints. In: Hansjörg Auf der Maur: Celebrating in the rhythm of time II / 1. Regensburg 1994, ( Church service. Handbuch der Liturgiewwissenschaft , edited by Hans Bernhard Meyer , Part 6.1), p. 52.

[2] Hansjörg Auf der Maur: Festivals and memorial days of the saints. In: ders .: Celebrating in the rhythm of time II / 1. Regensburg 1994 ( Church service. Handbuch der Liturgiewwissenschaft , edited by Hans Bernhard Meyer, Part 6.1), p. 185.