Sunday 2 November 2014

XXI Sunday after Pentecost - Sunday within the Octave of All Saints


The twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost is of semi-double rite and its liturgical colour, from Mattins, is green. This year it is the first Sunday of November and the Sunday within the Octave of All Saints. The Gospel pericopes from St. Matthew contain the parable of the unjust and ungrateful servant who, forgiven his debts by the King, demands what is owed to him from others and shews complete ingratitude.

At Mattins the invitatory is Adoremus Dominum and the Office hymn is Primo die. In the first nocturn the lessons are from the Incipit of the book of Ezechiel. In the second nocturn the lessons are from an exposition of St. Gregory on Ezechiel. In the third nocturn the homily is from St. Jerome on the eighteenth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the Office hymn is Aeterne rerum Conditor. After the collect of the Sunday, a commemoration is sung of the catve of All Saints, the Suffrage of the Saints is omitted being within an Octave.

At Prime (Pss. 117, 118i & 118ii) both Quicumque and the Dominical preces are omitted being within an Octave.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Octave. Being a Sunday within an Octave there is no third collect. The Creed is sung as is the preface of the Blessed Trinity.

Vespers are of the Sunday. The Office hymn is Lucis creator. After the collect of the Sunday a commemoration of the Octave is sung. After Benedicamus Domino the verse Fidelium is omitted and the choir sits as the green of the Sunday is removed and is exchanged for the black of mourning. Vespers of the Dead are then sung in choir. These begin with the antiphon Placebo Domino in regione vivorum. Psalms 114, 119, 120, 129 and 127 are sung. Requiem aeternam etc is sung at the end of each psalm in place of Gloria Patri etc. After the psalms there is a versicle and response but no hymn. After the antiphon on the Magnificat the choir kneels for a Pater noster, some versicles and the collect. Following the 1911-13 reform Compline takes a special form, 'Compline of the Dead', with psalms 122, 141 and 142.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Octave of All Saints has been abolished. Mattins is cut down to a single nocturn of three lessons. At Lauds there are no commemorations. At Mass there is but a single collect. Vespers are of the Sunday without any commemorations. Vespers of the Dead are sung in the afternoon of All Soul's Day.

Art: Jerome Nadal

2 comments:

Capreolus said...

Carissime,
A very happy feast and octave of All Saints to you!

A question, if I may: in my breviary there is a rubric for All Souls stating that when this solemn commemoration is displaced to Monday (Nov. 3rd, of course), after II Vespers of Sunday and Vespers of the Dead, Compline of Sunday is recited; was that superseded by other considerations? (I notice in the Ordo that Compl. Deff. is indicated.)

Thank you as always!

Rubricarius said...

Fr. Capreolus,

The rubric in my breviaries says that if All Saints falls on a Saturday then a commemoration of the Sunday is made in second Vespers and that on Sunday a commemoration of the day within the Octave is made. The reference to Compline is after second Vespers of All Saints on Saturday evening.