Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany - The Holy Family

The feast of the Holy Family is of greater-double rite and its liturgical colour is white. The feast was granted by Leo XIII in 1893 in response to numerous petitions from Ordinaries and originally placed on the third Sunday after the Epiphany. Following the reforms of 1911-13 - which aimed to remove the celebration of feasts assigned to Sundays - Benedict XV assigned the feast to the Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany and extended it to the Universal Kalendar. Although of only greater-double rite it is classed as a feast of the LORD and so takes precedence over the semi-double Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons Jacob autem etc were sung, doubled, with psalms 109, 112 & 121, 126 & 147. The Office hymn was O lux beata caelitum. After the collect of the feast commemorations were sung of the Octave of the Epiphany (the antiphon on the Magnificat being proper to the 11th January, Admoniti Magi etc) and of the Sunday within the Octave. At Compline Te lucis was sung with the Doxology of the feast Jesu, tuis obediens etc.

At Mattins the invitatory is proper to the feast, Christum Dei Filium etc and the Office hymn is Sacra jam splendent. In the first nocturn the antiphons Cum inducerent etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 8, 18 & 23 and the lessons are from St. Paul's Epistle to the Colossians. In the second nocturn the antiphons Consurgens Joseph etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 44, 45 & 86 and the lessons are taken from a brief of Leo XIII. In the third nocturn the antiphons Ibant parentes Jesu etc are sung with psalms 95, 96 & 97. The homily is from St. Bernard on St. Luke's Gospel. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the antiphons Post triduum etc are sung, doubled, with the Dominical psalms. The Office hymn is O gente felix hospita. After the collect of the feast commemorations are sung of the Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany and of the Octave of the Epiphany (the antiphon on the Benedictus being proper to the 12th January, Manifeste magnus est etc.

At Prime and the Hours the antiphons from Lauds are sung in the usual order. The hymns of the Hours have the Doxology proper to the feast. At Prime, Pss. 53, 118(i) & 118(ii), the versicle Qui Mariae et Joseph subditus fuisti is sung in the short responsory and the lectio brevis is Semetipsum exinanivit.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany and the third collect is of the Octave of the Epiphany. The Creed is sung, the preface and communicantes are of the Epiphany.

After None first Vespers of the Octave Day of the Epiphany are sung.  The antiphons Ante luciferum genitus etc are sung, doubled, with Pss. 109, 110, 111, 112 & 116 as on the feast. The Office hymn is Crudelis Herodes Deum. After the, proper, collect of the Octave Day commemorations are sung of the Holy Family and  of the Sunday within the Octave. At Compline Te lucis has the Doxology of the Epiphany.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the feast of the Holy Family has been raised to II Class (in order for it to precedence over the Sunday) and gains a first Vespers at which there were no commemorations. The Octave of the Epiphany has been abolished.  At Compline on Saturday, and at the Hours the hymns have the ordinary Doxology. At Lauds there are no commemorations. At Prime and the Hours the antiphons and psalmody are of the Sunday (at Prime Pss. 117, 118(i) & 118(ii), and  the lectio brevis is of 'Epiphanytide'. At Mass there is a single collect. Vespers are of the Holy Family without any commemorations.

The Holy Name of Jesus & The Vigil of the Epiphany

The feast of the Holy Name of Jesus and is a Double of the Second Class and its liturgical colour is white. The Vigil of the Epiphany is commemorated in the Office and at Mass. This feast takes the place of the second 'vacant' Sunday after the Nativity or, when no Sunday falls between the Circumcision and the Epiphany, it is kept on January 2nd. The feast was granted to the Franciscan Order in 1530 to be kept on 14th January. In 1721 the feast was extended to the Universal Calendar to be kept on the second Sunday after the Epiphany. Following the 1911-13 reform the feast was moved to the Sunday between the Circumcision and Epiphany or kept on January 2nd if no such Sunday occurrs. In the Sarum Rite the feast was kept on August 7th - that date still appears in the Calendar of the Book of Common Prayer.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the, proper, antiphons Omnis qui invocaverit etc were sung, doubled, with psalms 109, 110, 111, 112 and 115. The Office hymn was Jesu, dulcis memoria. After the collect of the feast a commemoration was sung of the Vigil of the Epiphany. At Compline Te lucis was sung with the Doxology and melody of the Incarnation and the Dominical preces were omitted.

At Mattins the invitatory is Admirabile nomen Jesu etc and the Office hymn is Jesu, Rex admirabilis etc. In the first nocturn the antiphons Domine, Dominus noster etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 8, 18 & 23 and the lessons are from the Acts of the Apostles. In the second nocturn the antiphons Memores erunt etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 44, 45 & 86 and lessons are taken from a sermon of St. Bernard. In the third nocturn the antiphons Cantate Domino etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 95, 96 & 97. The homily is also from St. Bernard. The ninth lesson is of the Vigil of the Epiphany. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the antiphons are again proper, Oleum effusum etc sung, doubled, with psalms 92, 99, 62, Benedicite and 148. The Office hymn is Jesu, decus angelicum. After the collect of the feast commemorations are sung of the Vigil of the Epiphany and of St. Telesphorus.

At the Hours the antiphons from Lauds are sung in the usual order with the festal psalms. The Doxologies of the hymns at the Little Hours are changed in honour of the Incarnation, Jesu, tibi sit gloria etc. At Prime, Pss. 53, 118(i) & 118(ii), the short lesson is proper, Omne quodcumque.

The Mass is proper, In nomine Jesu. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Vigil of the Epiphany, (in private Masses the third collect is of St. Telesphorus). The Creed is sung, the preface is of the Nativity and the last Gospel is of the Vigil of the Epiphany.

After None first Vespers of the great feast of the Epiphany are sung. The antiphons Ante luciferum genitus etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 109, 110, 111, 112 & 116. The Office hymn is Crudelis Herodes. After the collect of the feast a commemoration is sung of the Holy Name. At Compline Te lucis is sung with the Doxology Jesu, tibi sit gloria, Qui apparuisti Gentibus etc.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Vigil of the Epiphany has been abolished. The hymns at the Little Hours do not have their Doxologies changed. At the Hours the antiphons are from the Sunday Office, not the feast (at Prime Pss. 117, 118i & 118ii and the short lesson is from the season, Ipsi peribunt). At Vespers there is no commemoration of the feast of the Holy Name. At Compline Te lucis is sung with the ordinary Doxology.

Art: Jastrow, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Octave of the Nativity of the LORD

Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity of the LORD

Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity is of semi-double rite and its liturgical colour, from Mattins, is white.

Yesterday afternoon Vespers of the Holy Innocents were sung in violet vestments. The antiphons, doubled, and psalms (109, 110, 111, 129 & 131) of the Nativity were sung. From the chapter, Vidi supra montem etc., the Office was of the Holy Innocents with the Office hymn was Salvete, flores Martyrum. After the collect of the feast commemorations were sung of the Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity, of St. Thomas of Canterbury and of the Octave of the Nativity.

At Mattins the liturgical colour changes to white. The invitatory and hymn, antiphons (not doubled) and psalms are those that were sung on the feast of the Nativity. In the first nocturn the lessons are the Incipit of the Epistle to the Romans. In the second nocturn the lessons are from St. Leo on the Nativity. In the third nocturn the homily is taken from St. Augustine's writings on the second chapter of St. Luke's Gospel. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the antiphons from the Nativity, Quem vidistis etc., are sung (not doubled) with psalms 92, 99, 62, Benedicite and 148. The chapter and antiphon on the Benedictus are proper to the Sunday as is the collect. The Office hymn is A solis ortus cardine. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of St. Thomas of Canterbury and of the Octave of the Nativity.

At the Hours the antiphons from Lauds are sung in the usual order. The hymns of the Hours are sung with the Doxology and melody of the Incarnation. At Prime, Pss. 53, 118(i), & 118(ii) the lectio brevis is proper to the Sunday, Itaque jam non est servus.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Mass formulary isDum mediumetc. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of St. Thomas of Canterbury, the third collect is of the Octave of the Nativity. The Creed, preface and communicantes are of the Nativity are sung.

Vespers of the Nativity are sung, from the chapter of the Sunday. The Office hymn is Jesu, Redemptor omnium. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the Octave of the Nativity (the antiphon on the Magnificat being Hodie Christus natus est etc) and of St. Thomas of Canterbury.

In England the feast of St. Thomas of Canterbury is a Double of the First Class or Double of the Second Class, depending on particular dioceses, and takes precedence over the Sunday. The feast is celebrated in red vestments. The Sunday within the Octave and Octave are commemorated.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' at Vespers red vestments were worn and there was a commemoration of the Sunday only. Mattins has the psalmody of the Nativity (with the curtailed Ps. 88 ) and the usual cut-down single nocturn of three lessons. At Lauds there are no commemorations. At the Hours the antiphons and psalmody of Sunday are sung, rather than the festal ones of the Octave (at Prime Pss. 117, 1181, 118ii and the lectio brevis of 'the season'). There is no proper Doxology (or melody) at the hymns of the Hours. Mass has but a single collect. Vespers are of the Nativity without any commemorations.

The Nativity of the LORD and Comites Christi

The fourth week of Advent

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Fourth Sunday of Advent

The fourth Sunday of Advent is a semi-double Sunday of the second class and its liturgical colour, from Mattins this year, is violet. Only a double of the first class feast may displace the Sunday in occurrence. The Gospel pericopes from St. Luke concern the preaching of St. John the Baptist preaching the baptism of repentance by the Jordan and the reference to Isaias "Prepare ye the way of the LORD: make straight His paths: every valley shall be filled: and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways plain: and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

Yesterday afternoon at second Vespers of the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle the antiphons Juravit Dominus etc were sung, doubled, with psalms 109, 112, 115, 125 & 138. The Office hymn was Exsultet orbis gaudiis. After the collect of the feast a commemoration of the Sunday wa sung with the Great 'O' Antiphon O Oriens proper to the twenty-first day of December. At Compline the Dominical preces were omitted.

At Mattins the invitatory is Prope est jam Dominus * Venite adoremus and the Office hymn is Verbum supernum prodiens. In the first nocturn the lessons are taken, as usual in Advent, from Isaias. In the second nocturn the lessons are again taken from St. Leo's sermon on the fast of the tenth month. The homily in the third nocturn is from the twentieth homily of St. Gregory on St. Luke's Gospel. A ninth responsory, Intuemini, quantus sit iste, is sung in place of the Te Deum. At Lauds the antiphons proper to the Sunday, Canite tuba etc., are sung with the Dominical psalms. The Office hymn is En clara vox. The Suffrage is omitted in Advent.

At the Hours the antiphons from Lauds are used in the usual sequence. At Prime the versicle in the short responsory is Qui venturus es in mundum and the Dominical preces are sung.

Mass is sung after Terce. The ministers wear violet folded chasubles. The Gloria is omitted. The second collect is of the BVM in Advent, Deus qui de beate, the third collect Ecclesiae etc. The Creed and the preface of the Trinity are sung. As the Gloria is not sung the dismissal is Benedicamus Domino, sung by the deacon facing the altar.

At Vespers the antiphons, Canite tuba etc, are sung, not doubled, with Pss 109, 110, 111, 112 & 113. The Office hymn is Creator alme siderum. The antiphon on the Magnificat is O Rex Gentium which is sung doubled with the choir standing. At Compline the Dominical preces are sung.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Sunday takes precedence in concurrence over the feast of St. Thomas so Vespers are of the Sunday without a comemmoration of St. Thomas. Therefore, this year, St. Thomas' feast does not have Vespers at all in 1962-land. Mattins is cut down to a single nocturn of three lessons as usual. The Dominical preces have been abolished. At Mass the ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle, there is only one collect and the dismissal is Ite, missa est.

Art: Jerome Nadal