Saturday 6 September 2008

Saturday Office of the BVM


As there is no occuring semi-double, or higher ranking feast, today is the Saturday Office of the Blessed Virgin. The rite is simple.


A commemoration of the Saturday Office would have been made in Friday's second vespers of St. Lawrence Justinian. Because the BVM was being commemorated the Suffrage of the Saints would be sung in its second form. In addition, as a feast of the BVM was commemorated, all hymns of Iambic metre, so not Iste Confessor, are sung to the chant special to feast of the BVM with a proper doxology. Thus at Compline Te lucis would follow this tone and have the doxology changed to that proper to the BVM.


Mattins has one nocturn of three lessons: the first two lessons are from occuring Scripture (the first week of September) and the third proper to the month of September for the BVM's Saturday Office. At Lauds the second form of the Suffrage of the Saints is sung.


At Prime the versicle is the short responsory is changed to Qui natus es de Maria Virgine and the Dominical preces are sung. At Mass the Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Holy Ghost, Deus, qui corda, the third collect Ecclesiae, for the Church, or the collect for the pope, the Preface of the BMV is sung with the clause Et te in Veneratione. The Office ends after None.

2 comments:

Kevin said...

I just found this blog. I think it's wonderful and thank you for the effort. I normally pray the Monastic Breviary, but I do have a Roman Breviary from 1956 (Editio Quinta Post Typicam). It uses the Pius XII Psalter, but the calendar and rubrics otherwise appear traditional. I did notice, though, that for the Feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist the rubrics seem to indicate the Psalms of the common of one Martyr, with proper Antiphons at vespers, as opposed to those of the Apostles as you and the Monastic Breviary indicate. Is this a change to the Rubrics post 1945 or a misprint?

If I may also ask, when will the 2009 Ordo be published?

Rubricarius said...

Kevinc,

Thank you for the compliment.

The psalms for first vespers of a martyr are those from the common of apostles. Interesting that your breviary is different in its indication of the common (although the same in practice).

Ordo 2009 is at the second proof stage and should be available from October.