Sunday 19 March 2017

Third Sunday in Lent


The third Sunday in Lent is a semi-double Sunday of the first class and its liturgical colour is violet. The Gospel pericope from St. Luke at Mattins and Mass recounts the LORD casting out evil from a demoniac. The feast of St. Joseph Spouse of the BVM is transferred to Monday.

At Vespers yesterday morning the antiphons and psalms were of Saturday, the chapter was proper to the Sunday, and the Office hymn was Audi, benigne conditor. After the collect of the Sunday a commemoration was sung of the preceding feast of St. Cyril of Jerusalemen. The Suffrage of the Saints was omitted as were the Dominical preces at Compline due to the double feast.

At Mattins the invitatory is Non sit vobis and the Office hymn is Ex more, as on the other Sundays in Lent. The antiphons and psalms of Sunday are sung. In the first nocturn the lessons are from Genesis and the story of Joseph, his coat of many colours and his brothers casting him into a pit. In the second nocturn the lessons are taken from the Book of St. Augustine on Joseph. In the third nocturn the lessons are a homily of the Venerable Bede on St. Luke's Gospel. A ninth responsory, Lamentabatur Jacob, is sung in place of the Te Deum.

At Lauds the antiphons are proper to the Sunday, Fac benigne etc., and the second scheme of Psalms sung (50, 117, 62, Benedictus es, 148). The chapter is proper to the Sunday and the Office hymn is O sol salutis. After the collect of the Sunday the Suffrage of the Saints is sung.

At Prime and the Hours the antiphons are proper to the Sunday, Et cum ejecisset Jesus etc. At Prime the psalms are Pss. 92, 99 (displaced from Lauds) and the first two divisi of Ps. 118. The Dominical preces are sung.

Mass is sung after Terce. The deacon and subdeacon wear violet folded chasubles. There is no Gloria. The second collect is A cunctis, the third collect Omnipotens. A Tract is sung after the Gradual, the Credo is sung, the preface is of Lent and the dismissal is Benedicamus Domino, sung by the deacon facing the altar and celebrant.

In the afternoon the liturgical colour changes to white and first Vespers of the feast of St. Joseph are sung. The proper antiphons Jacob autem etc are sung, doubled, with Pss. 109, 110, 111, 112 & 116. The Office hymn is Te, Joseph, celebrent agmina caelitum. After the collect of the feast a commemoration of the Sunday is sung. The Suffrage is omitted as are the Dominical preces at Compline.

In 'liturgical books of 1962' there are no commemorations at Vespers which are sung in the afternoon as at any other time of the year. Mattins is cut down to a single nocturn of three lessons. At Lauds there is no Suffrage. At Prime the psalms are Ps.53 and the first two divisi of Ps.118, the Domincial preces are never sung. At Mass the ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle, as in Septuagesima. There is only one collect and the dismissal is Ite, missa est. Vespers are of the Sunday with a commemoration of St. Joseph.

Art: Jerome Nadal

7 comments:

Patrick Gray said...

Many thanks. It is interesting to note that in the English O.R. of 1865, S. Joseph's feast is transferred to the Wednesday, S. Cuthbert and S. Benedict's Double feasts intervening on the Monday and Tuesday.

Anonymous said...

I commented on this before but now I am curious.
Why did the 1962 rubrics change dismissal from Benedicamus Domino to Ite Missa Est?

Rubricarius said...

Thank you, Patrick. That is interesting and also the fact that St. Cuthbert was observed with an Octave even in Lent.

Anonymous, the idea was that one meant something else followed - the experimentation began with Mandy Thursday in 1956.

Patrick Gray said...

Yes - apparently the cult of S. Cuthbert has been described as second only to that of S. Thomas of Canterbury. His corporal was borne as a banner at the Battle of Neville's Cross in 1346, I think. I cannot now recall the source. His body was found incorrupt by the Henrician ''commissioners'' and their lackey who broke open the shrine.

Incidentally I find it interesting that S. Benedict, to-day, such a great Saint, has but the Common Mass Os justi of Abbots - symbolically it is very beautiful, suggesting he is the perfect model of an Abbot, and that Abbot might as well stand for S. Benedict and vice versa.

Anonymous said...

I'm aware of the Pius XII changes starting in 1945 and 1951.

Rubricarius said...

Anonymous,

The Benedicamus Domino rule changed first in the Mandy Thursday reform.

Anonymous said...

"What Catholics Believe" on the SSPV YouTube channel "WCBOHIO" recently answered my questions about Pius XII.
The video is entitled
"Pius XII Honorious I"
Our chapel rejects Pius XII changes from 1951-1958 and we observe after midnight holy Communion fast.
Fr.Jenkins response,while typically long winded and rambling,was respectful but I disagree with him 100%.