Westminster Cathedral - Holy Week Services

Click the image to enlarge.

Alas, not for 2009 but seventy years ago in 1939 when some of the more unpleasant revisions were still a decade and a half away.

This notice, taken from the April 1st edition of 'The Tablet', does not list all the Hours. The standard practice at the Cathedral in 'better days' was to have Prime and Terce at 10:10, Capitular High Mass at 10:30 followed by Sext and None. Vespers, outside of Lent, at 15:15 followed by Compline and finally Mattins and Lauds at 18:00. When the Cardinal Archbishop pontificated Terce or None was sung in a side chapel at 10:00. When two High Masses were required Prime began at 10:00.

The Lenten practice of following Mass with Vespers can be observed in the entry for Spy Wednesday but note Compline followed by Tenebrae (Mattins and Lauds) in the late afternoon.

Clearly an early start was planned for Maundy Thursday for the Consecration of the Holy Oils, procession to the altar of repose etc. Vespers are not mentioned but I believe it safe to assume they would have been recited by the Canons whilst the Cardinal devested and before the stripping of the altar. The Mandatum took place in the afternoon again celebrated by the Cardinal. Compline and Tenebrae again in the late afternoon. After Tenebrae the Ceremonial washing of the altar took place. A mixture of wine and water is poured onto the altar and brushes and towels used to clean the mensa. The service involves the bishop, if present, canons and beneficiati each in hierarchical order cleaning the altar whilst the antiphon Diviserunt and psalm 21 (as used at the earlier stripping of the altar) are chanted. At the end of the service the Miserere is chanted in a low voice followed by the collect Respice.

On Good Friday an auxillary bishop pontificates coram Cardinali. I believe it safe to assume that Vespers would have been monotoned after the Pre-Sanctified liturgy along with the Little Hours beforehand. Again Compline and Tenebrae in the late afternoon.

On Holy Saturday again an early start for a Pontifical blessing of fire etc. The Cardinal then 'took over' for Mass with its interpolated Vespers. (The Ordinary could do this, a priest celebrant had to celebrate the entire ceremony himself). Again late afternoon Compline followed by perhaps the most important, and often most neglected, service of the Liturgical Year Mattins and Lauds of Pascha with the triumpal invitatory Surrexit Dominus vere, Alleluia - The lord is truly risen, Alleluia. In many Medieval rites immediately prior to Paschal Mattins was the time when the images were unveiled and the array removed.

I suspect contemporary services are somewhat diminished.

Passion Sunday

Passion Sunday is the fifth and penultimate Sunday of Lent. It is a semi-double Sunday of the first class.

The most apparent feature of this Sunday is the Roman practice of veiling all crosses and images with violet cloth. The practice of veiling images at the beginning of Lent in some Western rite has been mentioned here. The practice of Passiontide veiling appears to have arisen from the words in the day's Gospel 'Jesus autem abscondit se' - but Jesus hid himself. It is probable too that the practice developed from an idea of wishing to focus on the sufferings of the Lord and not to be distracted by joyful images. The veiling takes place after None on the morning of Saturday before Passion Sunday.

From yesterday morning's Vespers along with the veiling certain more penitential aspects affect the Office. The Gloria Patri is omitted from the invitatory of mattins, from the responsories of mattins and from the short responsories of the Hours. It is also omitted from the Asperges ceremony before Mass this Sunday and on Palm Sunday. In Masses 'of the season' Gloria Patri is also omitted from the introit and Lavabo along with the psalm Judica me Deus. The Suffrage of the Saints is also omitted until after Trinity Sunday.

At Mattins the invitatory is Hodie, si vocem Domini audieritis, Nolite obdurare corda vestra from Ps. 94 and a special rubric indicates the omission of that verse in the psalm. The hymn is Pange, lingua. The same invitatory and hymn are sung until the Sacred Triduum. The antiphons given in the Psalter for Sundays are used. As usual Mattins has three nocturns and nine lessons. In the first nocturn the lessons are the Incipit of the book of Jeremiah. In the second nocturn they are from St. Leo the Great on Lent and preparing for Easter and in the third nocturn the lessons are a homily of St. Gregory on St. John's Gospel. There is no Te Deum but a ninth responsory in its place. At Lauds the antiphons are proper to the Sunday and the second scheme of Psalms sung (50, 117, 62, Canticle Benedictus es, 148). The chapter is proper to the Sunday and hymn is Lustra sex.

At Prime and the Hours the antiphons are proper to the Sunday. At Prime the psalms are 92, 99 (displaced from Lauds) and the first two stanzas of 118. The Dominical preces are sung and the short lesson is Faciem meam.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is not sung. The second collect is Ecclesiae, for the Church (There is no third collect 'of the season' during Passiontide), a Tract is sung after the Gradual, the Credo is sung, the preface is of the Passion and the dismissal Benedicamus Domino. The ministers wear folded chasubles.

Note the veiled altar cross and images and the use of the folded chasuble in the photograph from the New Liturgical Movement above.

Vespers are of the Sunday (sung at the normal time). The antiphons and psalms are those used on Sundays, the chapter is proper and the hymn Vexilla regis prodeunt. At Compline the Dominical preces are sung.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' Mattins is cut down to three lessons as usual. At Prime the psalms are 53 and the first two stanzas of 118, the Domincial preces are omitted. At Mass the second is omitted. The dismissal is Ite, missa est. At Compline the Dominical preces not sung.

My apologies for being late in the day posting this. I have been in Ireland for several days and got back late last night. That along with the curse of British Summer Time...

Art: Jerome Nadal

The Annunciation of the BVM

The great feast of the Annunciation is a double of the first class. The feast was celebrated as New Year in England and some other places in times past. The Office is proper.

The celebration began yesterday morning with First Vespers. The antiphons were proper and the psalms taken from the Common of the BVM. A commemoration of the Lenten feria was made. At Compline, and at the Hours today, all hymns of Iambic metre are sung to the melody used for the BVM and the hymns conclude with the Marian Doxology: Jesu, tibi sit gloria, Qui natus es de Virgine, Cum Patre et almo Spiritu, In sempiterna saecula.

At Mattins the invitatory is the Angelic Salutation Ave Maria gratia plena; Dominus tecum. The antiphons are taken from the common along with the psalms. The ninth antiphon is proper and the familiar Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae, et concepit de Spiritu Sancto. In the first nocturn the lessons are taken from Isiah and are particulary beautiful.

Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel. He shall eat butter and honey, that he may know to refuse the evil, and to choose the good.

And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root.

And that which was dry land shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water.

The responses are proper to the feast. The ninth lesson is of the Lenten feria after which the Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the antiphons are those used at First Vespers and the Sunday psalms are sung. A commemoration is made of the Lenten feria. At the hours the antiphons of Lauds are used, at Prime festal psalms (53, 118(i) & 118(ii) are sung, in the short responsory the versicle is Qui natus es de Maria Virgine and the short lesson proper, Egredietur virga.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, a commemoration made of the Lenten feria after the collect of the day. At Tract is sung after the Gradual. The Gospel is the account of the Annunciation by St. Luke, the Credo is sung, the preface is that of the BVM and the last Gospel is of the Lenten feria. During the singing of the Creed the celebrant and ministers kneel for the verse Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine: Et homo factus est.

Second Vespers follow Sext and None after Mass, the antiphons are the same as First Vespers and Lauds and a commemoration of the Lenten feria is made. Compline concludes the celebration.

As mentioned above in England today's feast used to be New Year's Day. The current 'tax year' still reflects this beginning on April 5th. In the Julian Calendar (which England used until 1752) there were then eleven days difference between the Gregorian and Julian Calendars hence March 25th was what became April 5th.

The Byzantine rite has a beautiful tropar for the feast (translation Hapgood):

Today is the crown of our salvation, and the manifestation of that mystery which is from everlasting: The Son of God becometh the son of a Virgin, and Gabriel announceth the glad tidings of grace. Wherefore let us also cry aloud with him unto the Birth-giver of God: Hail, thou that art full of grace, the Lord is with thee!

In 'the liturgical books of 1962' there is a relatively high concordance with the traditional liturgy however the Marian Doxology is omitted from hymns of Iambic metre and the standard Doxology used. At Prime the short lesson is feria, that for Lent, Quaerite Dominum. Of course the usual non-seasonal differences are present e.g. the duplication of antiphons at the Little Hours, bows to the missal being made instead of to the Cross, the rules regarding the position of the celebrant's hands, the omission of the 'mid voice' etc. but it would be tiresome to list these each time.

Art: An icon of the Annunciation from the Church of St Climent in Ohrid, Macedonia (first quarter of the 14th century) from Wikipedia.

Laetare Sunday, the Fourth in Lent

The Fourth Sunday of Lent is known as Laetare Sunday after the opening words of the Introit at its Mass Laetare, Jerusalem - Rejoice Jerusalem, and is also known as 'mid-Lent' Sunday and is also Mothering Sunday in many countries including the United Kingdom. It is another semi-double Sunday of the first class.

The distinguishing feature of this Sunday is the use of rose coloured vestments. Originally on this Sunday the pope gave a Golden Rose to monarchs and other rules. The link is for an excellent article on this practice in the Catholic Encyclopedia. From this practice the association of rose was made for the colour of vestments. The old Roman colour for Lent (the earliest Roman, as opposed to Gallican, colour sequence is mentioned by Innocent III) was black with the practice using lighter shades (i.e. purple-violet) on Sundays in some places. One suspects that the use of rose vestments grew from both of these practices. So the developed practice was to dress the altar after None yesterday morning with rose antipendia for Vespers of the Sunday. At Mass the deacon and subdeacon do not wear folded chasubles but dalmatic and tunicle. As folded chasubles are not worn the organ is played. Where rose vestments were not available the deacon and subdeacon wore violet dalmatic and tunicle as they done in Septuagesima.

Cardinals of the Court of Rome wore rose choir dress too on this Sunday along with the corresponding Gaudete Sunday in Advent. In Lent Cardinals wore their 'winter violet' cassock, mantelletum and mozzeta (not the violet watered silk of their 'summer violet). The 'winter' material was of merino but on Laetare Sunday they wore watered rose silk and, presumably, hoped for mild weather. An interesting photograph was posted on several blogs of Cardinal Pell's visit to see Cardinal Newman's room at the Birmingham Oratory. If one looks carefully Cardinal Newman's rose watered silk choir dress can be seen in about the middle of the rail.

At Mattins the invitatory is, as previous Sundays of Lent, Non sit vobis and the hymn Ex more. The antiphons given in the Psalter for Sundays are used. As usual Mattins has three nocturns and nine lessons. In the first nocturn the lessons are from Exodus and the story of Moses and the Burning Bush. In the second nocturn they are from St. Basil the Great on fasting and in the third nocturn the lessons are a homily of St. Augustine on St. John's Gospel.

At Lauds the antiphons are proper to the Sunday and the second scheme of Psalms sung (50, 117, 62, Canticle Benedictus es, 148). The chapter is proper to the Sunday and hymn is O sol salutis. After the collect of the day the Suffrage of the Saint is sung. At Prime and the Hours the antiphons are proper to the Sunday. At Prime the psalms are 92, 99 (displaced from Lauds) and the first two stanzas of 118. The Dominical preces are sung and the short lesson is Quaerite Dominum.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is not sung. The second collect is A cunctis, the third Omnipotens (for the Living and the Dead), a Tract is sung after the Gradual, the Credo is sung, the preface is of Lent and the dismissal Benedicamus Domino. As noted above the organ is played and the altar may be decorated with flowers.

Vespers are of the Sunday (sung at the normal time). The antiphons and psalms are those used on Sundays, the chapter is proper and the hymn Audi, benigne Conditor. The Suffrage of the Saints is sung after the collect of the Sunday. At Compline the Dominical preces are sung.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' Mattins is cut down to three lessons as usual with all of St. Basil getting the proverbial 'chop'. At Lauds the Suffrage of the Saints is omitted. At Prime the psalms are 53 and the first two stanzas of 118, the Domincial preces are omitted. At Mass the second and third collects are omitted. The dismissal is Ite, missa est. At Vespers the Suffrage of the Saints is omitted and at Compline the Dominical preces not sung.

Art: Jerome Nadal

St. Joseph Sponse of the BVM

The feast of St. Joseph Sponse of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a double of the first class. The Office is proper.

The feast began with Vespers yesterday morning with proper antiphons and the psalms from the Common of Apostles in Paschatide (without, of course, the Alleluias). The hymn was Te Joseph celebrent agmina caelitum. A commemoration of the Lenten feria was made. At Mattins the invitatory is proper, the hymn Caelitum, Joseph decus atque nostrae. The antiphons are proper and the lessons in the first nocturn are from the Book of Genesis and the story of Joseph, using the Old Testament Joseph as a 'type' for St. Joseph. The second nocturn lessons are a sermon from St. Bernard and in the third nocturn a homily from St. Jerome on the first chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. The ninth lesson is of the Lenten feria. The Te Deum is sung after the ninth lesson. At Lauds the antiphons are again proper and the Dominical psalms sung. A commemoration is made of the Lenten feria.

At the Hours the antiphons are proper and the psalms festal. Mass follows Terce with Gloria, a commemoration of the Lenten feria, Credo, Preface of St. Joseph and the last Gospel is of the Lenten feria. Vespers is again, as for all weekdays of Lent, sung before mid-day. A commemoration of the Lenten feria is made.

St. Joseph suffered much at the hands of the twentieth century reformers. Historically, the feast had appeared as a simple in the Universal Calendar in 1475. It was raised to a double by Innocent VIII. In the Tridentine Breviary (1568) it gained a new Office. Clement X raised the feast to a double of the second class in 1670. In 1714 the feast gained its proper antiphons, versices and its current first nocturn lessons. Pius IX raised the rank of the feast to that of a double of the first class on the 8th December 1870.

Pius X's Commission for Reform moved the feast to the Sunday after the 19th March and gave the feast an octave on the 2nd July 1911. Twenty-two days later, on the 24th July 1911, they removed the octave and returned the celebration of the feast to the 19th March. Two years later on the 28th October 1913 Pius X reduced the rank of the feast to a double of the second class. Benedict XV restored the feast to the rank of double of the first class in December 1917 and granted a proper preface in 1919. The later feast in Paschaltide, the Solemnity of St. Joseph (originally the Patronage of St. Joseph), shewed a similar history of development but, unlike the 19th March celebration, lacked the 'happy ending' and was shamefully cast aside, along with its octave, in 1955 by Pius XII. In 1948 it was suggested that the two feasts be fused and that the 19th March feast become known as 'S Joseph Sponsi BMV Confessoris et Ecclesiae universalis Patroni' (Memoria riforma sulla liturgica, #116, 4, p.111). The Solemnity of St. Joseph will be the subject of its own post in due course. The title of today's feast in the 1962 missal is S Joseph Sponsi BMV Confessoris et Ecclesiae universalis Patroni.

Hooray Array!

The photograph above shews the High Altar of the Church of St. Birinus at Dorchester upon Thames in Oxfordshire. St. Birinus is a small Victorian Catholic church built in the Gothic style. The altar is seen through the opening of the Rood Screen and is an example of the Northern European custom of Lenten Array. The photograph is from a series taken by a Br. Lawrence OP of St. Birinus. One many note the candles on the Riddle Posts that screen the altar and wonder at the incongruity of the row of six candlesticks.

Lenten Array is essentially the absence of colour. Mediaeval churches were richly decorated and a blaze of colour. For Lent this colour was literally hidden by the Array, an unbleached linen with stencils, usually of the Instruments of the Passion, in red, black and sometimes blue. Vestments too were 'Lenten White' or ash-coloured, ash being a derivative of black that was originally the Roman colour for Lent.



The above photograph is from a collection by Vitrearum and is of a Mediaeval (Anglican) Church in North Cerney, Gloucestershire. Both examples are probably a little over decorated and too colourful in themselves. Images too were veiled, from the beginning of Lent, with unbleached linen with usually a Cross in red stenciling or applique. Unveiling took place at the traditional point during the Sacred Triduum i.e. before Paschal Mattins. Lenten white vestments were changed to a very dark 'ox blood', a type of dark brown-red for Passiontide. This 'red' must not be confused with the red of martyrs which is in reality a completely different colour.

The Altar was partially hidden too by a veil, the great Lenten Veil, that also hid the Rood for Lent. This veil was generally lowered and removed during the singing of the Passion according to St. Matthew on Palm Sunday when the words "Et ecce velum templi scissum est in duas partes a summo usque deorsum" - And behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. Herbert Thurston mentions the use of the Lenten Veil in scattered Continental churches up to 'modern' times.

The Roman practice of violet veilings from Passiontide appears to be of much later origin than Lenten Array and not universally adopted until the late eighteeth / early nineteenth century.

Third Sunday in Lent

The Third Sunday of Lent is, like all the Lenten Sundays following the 1911-13 reform, a semi-double of the first class. No feast can take precedence over such a Sunday.

At Mattins the invitatory is Non sit vobis and the hymn Ex more. The antiphons given in the Psalter for Sundays are used. As usual Mattins has three nocturns and nine lessons. In the first nocturn the lessons are from Genesis and the story of Joseph. In the second nocturn they are from St. Ambrose on holy Joseph and in the third nocturn the lessons are a homily of St. Bede the Venerable on the eleventh chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, where the LORD casts out the demoniac. There is no Te Deum but in a ninth responsory in its place.

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

At Prime and the Hours the antiphons are proper to the Sunday. At Prime the psalms are 92, 99 (displaced from Lauds) and the first two stanzas of 118. The Dominical preces are sung and the short lesson is Quaerite Dominum.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is not sung. The second collect is A cunctis, the third Omnipotens (for the Living and the Dead), a Tract is sung after the Gradual, the Credo is sung, the preface is of Lent and the dismissal Benedicamus Domino.

Vespers are of the Sunday (sung at the normal time). The antiphons and psalms are those used on Sundays, the chapter is proper and the hymn Audi, benigne Conditor. The Suffrage of the Saints is sung after the collect of the Sunday. At Compline the Dominical preces are sung.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' Mattins is cut down to three lessons as usual. At Lauds the Suffrage of the Saints is omitted. At Prime the psalms are 53 and the first two stanzas of 118, the Domincial preces are omitted. At Mass the ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle rather than the ancient Roman practice of folded chasubles, the second and third collects are omitted. The dismissal is Ite, missa est. At Vespers the Suffrage of the Saints is omitted and at Compline the Dominical preces not sung.

Art: Jerome Nadal

Festal Office in Lent -SS Perpetua & Felicity - Ember Day

Today is the feast of SS Perpetua and Felicity. It is of double rite. Today is also Ember Friday in the first week of Lent. The day is typical of a Festal Office in Lent.

At Mattins the invitatory and hymn are from the Common of Martyrs. The antiphons and psalmody are taken from the Psalter for Friday, the antiphons being doubled at Mattins and Lauds as the feast is of double rank. As the Lenten weeks do not have Scripture for the first nocturn the lessons are taken from the Common, Confitebor etc, with the responsories also coming from the Common. In the third nocturn the ninth lesson is that of the Ember Day. Normally the ninth lesson of the feast was omitted and the first lesson of the commemorated ferial day read as the ninth lesson. in its place. The better practice was to combine the ninth lesson of the feast with the eighth lesson and then, for the ninth lesson read all three lessons for the Ember Day together as the ninth lesson. The Te Deum is sung.

Again at Lauds the antiphons and psalms are from the Psalter for Friday (the first scheme of psalms). The chapter, hymn, versicle & response and antiphon on the Benedictus are from the Common. After the repetition of the antiphon after the Benedictus the Ember Day is commemorated. Its antiphon and collect are proper.

At Prime the fourth pslam is not added. The chapter is the festal Regi saeculorum, there are no Dominical preces (as the feast is of double rite) and the lectio brevis is of the feast, Laudabit.

Mass follows Terce. The Gloria is sung, the feria is commemorated, the preface is that of Lent and the last Gospel is of the Ember Day.

Private Masses may be of the Ember Day, with a commemoration of SS Perpetua and Felicity, there is no Gloria, the dismissal is Benedicamus Domino and the ministers wear folded chasubles.

In Cathedral and Collegiate Churches, following Tridentine practice, a Mass of the feast follows Terce, without a commemoration of the feria. After None the Mass of the Ember Day is sung with the second collect A cunctis and third collect Omnipotens. Following the reforms of 1911-13 a Low Mass of the feast takes place without the chorales being present and Mass of the Ember Day is sung after None. Westminster Cathedral, as far as my understanding goes, carried on with the more authentic practice and had two High Masses, praeter legem.

Vespers, of course follow Mass in the morning, and are from the chapter of the following feast of St. Thomas Aquinas with a commemoration of SS Perpetua and Felicity, and of the feria. In the afternoon Compline is sung without preces.

Ferial Office in Lent

Today is Tuesday of the first week in Lent and is of simple rite and a 'greater non-privileged feria'.

At Mattins the invitatory is, as on Sunday, Non sit vobis and the hymn Ex more. The antiphons and psalms are taken from the Psalter for Tuesday. The antiphons are not, of course, 'doubled' before the psalms but only sung in their entirety after each psalm. Mattins has one nocturn of nine psalms and three lessons. After the ninth psalm the Pater is said silently and then the versicle Et ne nos inducas in tentationem and the response Sed libera nos a malo sung. Then the seasonal versicle Scapulis suis obumbrabit tibi is sung and its response Et sub pennis ejus sperabis. The absolution is Ipsius pietas and the first blessing Evangelica lectio. A Gospel fragment from Matthew (21: 10 -17) is chanted and then a homily of the Venerable Bede interspersed with three responsories.

In Choral Office the second scheme of Lauds follows immediately, again from the Psalter for Tuesday (Pss. 50, 42, 66, Canticle of Ezechiel, 134). The chapter is Clama, ne cesses and the hymn O sol Salutis. The antiphon on the Benedictus is proper to each Lenten feria, today Venite, benedicti. After the antiphon has been sung in full after the Benedictus the Choir kneels and the ferial preces are sung, a series of intercessions in the form of versicle and response. The Hebdomadarius rises at Oremus and sings the collect Respice, Domine. The Suffrage of Saints is then sung. Normally Mattins and Lauds are anticipated after Compline on the previous evening.

At Prime the psalmody is Pss. 24(i), 24(ii), 24(iii) and 95. The ferial chapter Pacem et veritatem is sung. After the short responsory both the ferial and Domincial preces are sung, kneeling. The Choir stands for the reading from the Martyrology. A short series of ferial preces are also sung, kneeling, at Terce, Sext and None.

Mass follows None. Four candles are lit on the altar and the ministers wear folded chasubles. The Mass texts for all the Lenten feriae are proper. The second collect is A cunctis, the third Omnipotens. The preface of Lent is sung and Bendicamus Domino is the dismissal. This is sung by the deacon facing the altar, not the people. The Choir kneels for the collects, from the Sanctus until the end of the response to Pax Domini, for the post-communions and for the Oratio super populum. The latter is a feature of the Lenten ferial Masses. After the last post-communion the celebrant sings Oremus and the deacon, facing the people sings Humiliate capita vestra Deo and then the celebrant sings the prayer. The text of the Oratio super populum should be compared to the oration for ferial Vespers in Lent.

Vespers follow Mass. First Vespers of St. Casimir are sung. A commemoration of the Lenten feria is made (the antiphon at the Magnifcat and collect proper to each feria), of St Lucius PM and the Suffrage of the Saints is sung. At Compline the Dominical preces are sung, standing.

First Sunday of Lent

The First Sunday of Lent is a semi-double of the first class. No feast can take precedence over such a Sunday. The Pars Verna, Spring volume, of the Breviarium begins with Vespers on the Saturday before this Sunday.

At Mattins the invitatory is Non sit vobis and the hymn Ex more. These are used throughout the first four weeks of Lent. The antiphons given in the Psalter for Sundays are used. As usual Mattins has three nocturns and nine lessons. In the first nocturn the lessons are from the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians. In the second nocturn they are from a sermon on Lent by St. Leo the Great and in the third nocturn the lessons are a homily of St. Gregory the Great on St. Matthew's account of the tempation of the LORD in the desert. As in Septuagesima there is no Te Deum but a ninth responsory.

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

At Prime and the Hours the antiphons are proper to the Sunday. At Prime the psalms are 92, 99 (displaced from Lauds) and the first two stanzas of 118. The Dominical preces are sung and the short lesson is Quaerite Dominum.

Mass is sung after Terce. In all Masses de Tempore, of the season, from Ash Wednesday the deacon and subdeacon wear folded chasubles, planetis plicatis, instead of dalmatic and tunicle. Folded chasubles are a truly ancient feature of the Roman liturgy and date from the time that the planeta/paenula or chasuble was the common form of dress at liturgical functions. The chasuble was, and indeed should be, a very full garment. When the subdeacon needed to take the Epistolarium to sing the lesson originally the chausble was folded up at the sides to allow his arms free movement. Eventually, for reasons of practicality, the chasuble was taken off completely and ended up being folded, or simply made short, at the front. The subdeacon resumes his chasuble after he has received the celebrants blessing. The deacon takes off his chasuble and, originally folded it length ways and draped it across his shoulder over his stole. In later times due to the weight of embroidery and stiffness of fabric a 'broad stole' replaced the folded over chasuble. As he assists the celebrant throughout the Mass he does not resume his chasuble until after Communion. When folded chasubles are worn the organ is not played.

In this photograph from St. Clement's Church the celebrant is being censed at the beginning of Mass. The deacon and subdeacon are wearing folded chasubles.

Here the deacon has removed his chasuble and is wearing the 'broad stole.'

At Mass there is no Gloria. The second collect is A cunctis, the third Omnipotens (for the Living and the Dead), a Tract is sung after the Gradual, the Credo is sung, the preface is of Lent and the dismissal Benedicamus Domino.

Vespers are of the Sunday, sung at the normal time. The antiphons and psalms are those used on Sundays, the chapter is proper and the hymn Audi, benigne Conditor. The Suffrage of the Saints is sung after the collect of the Sunday. At Compline the Dominical preces are sung.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' Mattins is cut down to three lessons as usual. At Lauds the Suffrage of the Saints is omitted. At Prime the psalms are 53 and the first two stanzas of 118, the Domincial preces are omitted. At Mass the ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle, as in Septuagesima, the second and third collects are omitted. The dismissal is Ite, missa est. At Vespers the Suffrage of the Saints is omitted and at Compline the Dominical preces not sung.

The art at the top of the post is Jerome Nadal's interpretation of the Gospel for this Sunday.