Thursday 22 April 2010

Within the Octave of the Solemnity of St. Joseph

Within the Octave of the Solemnity of St. Joseph the Office of feasts of semi-double rank and above are celebrated in preference to the Office of Octave.

Today, the Office is of SS Soter and Cajus. The Paschaltide Doxology is sung at all hymns of the Little Hours. At Lauds a commemoration is sung of the Octave of St. Joseph. The Commemoration of the Cross is omitted because of the Octave. At Prime the Dominical preces are omitted because of being within an Octave.

At Mass the Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Octave, the third collect is Concede nos. The Creed is sung because of the Octave and the preface is that of the Octave. Private Masses may be of the Octave of the Solemnity of St. Joseph with the Gloria, second collect of SS Soter and Cajus, third collect Concede nos, the Creed and preface of St. Joseph.

Vespers are from the chapter of the following feast of St. George with commemorations of the preceding feast of SS Soter and Cajus and of the Octave. The Commemoration of the Cross is omitted being in an Octave as are the Dominical preces at Compline.

(Of course, here in England where the Ordo is compiled Vespers are first Vespers of St. George Patron of England, where the feast is a Double of the First Class with Octave. Here the two Octaves overlap and are both celebrated - the Octave of St. Joseph being commemorated before that of St. George).

On Friday, St. George's feast, again the Paschaltide Doxlogy is sung at all hymns of Iambic metre. At Lauds a commemoration is sung of the Octave of St. Joseph. The Commemoration of the Cross is omitted because of the Octave. At Prime the Dominical preces are omitted because of being within an Octave.

At Mass the Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Octave, the third collect is Concede nos. The Creed is sung because of the Octave and the preface is that of the Octave. Private Masses may be of the Octave of the Solemnity of St. Joseph with the Gloria, second collect of St. George, third collect Concede nos, the Creed and preface of St. Joseph.

Vespers are of the following feast of St. Fidelis of Sigmaringa with a commemoration of the preceding Office of St. George and the Octave of St. Joseph.

In 'the liturgical books of 1962' the semi-double feast of SS Soter and Cajus is cut down to a third class feast of three lessons. There is no Octave to commemorate. At Mass there is one collect. Vespers are said without any commemorations. St. George is reduced even further to a mere commemoration in the ferial Office.

2 comments:

Andy said...

Rubricarius,

On most Saints' feasts of Double Major rank or lower this rubric is given after the Lessons of the second nocturn:

"Si hoc Festum ad instar Simplicis redigatur, et de ipso IX Lectio juxta Rubricas sit dicenda, sumi potest sequens."

When is this rubric actually used, and could you give an example?

God bless you,

Andy Hoxie

Rubricarius said...

Andy,

The rubric to which you refer is applied when a feast of nine lessons is said to be 'simplified'. This happens, for example when a feast of higher rank e.g. a D II Cl falls on an 'ordinary' double feast. The historic lessons have been compressed into a single lesson which becomes the ninth lesson of the Office being celebrated.

I will try and write a post about it to try and explain it better than the above.