The Fifth Sunday after Easter

Today is the Fifth Sunday after Easter, it is of semi-double rite. The Gospel from St. John has the pericope where the LORD tells His disciples to ask for anything in His name after He has ascended to the Father.

The Sunday Office began with Vespers yesterday afternoon. At Vespers a commemoration of the preceding Office of St. Ubald is sung followed by a commemoration of St. Paschal Baylon. As the latter is a double feast the Commemoration of the Cross is not sung at Vespers and the Dominical preces omitted at Compline.

At Mattins in the first nocturn the Incipit of the first Epistle of St. Peter is read. In the second nocturn the lessons are from the writing of St. Ambrose on faith in the Resurrection and in the third nocturn the lessons are a homily of St. Augustine on St. John's Gospel on the LORD's words "Amen, amen, I say to you: if you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you."

At Lauds a commemoration is sung of St. Paschal Baylon. Hymns of Iambic metre have the Paschal Doxology and tone. At Prime the Dominical preces are not sung because of the occuring double feast.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of St. Paschal Baylon, the Credo is sung and the preface is that of Paschaltide.

At Vespers a commemoration of the following Office of St. Venantius is sung and then a commemoration of St. Paschal Baylon.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the usual cuts are made: no commemorations at Vespers, Mattins down to one nocturn of three lessons; no commemorations at Lauds; no Paschaltide Doxology at the Little Hours; no commemorations at Mass etc.

Tomorrow sees the first day of the 'Lesser Litanies' before the feast of the Ascension of the LORD. After next Sunday, the Sunday within the Octave of the Ascesnion the splendid, if rarer than hens' teeth, Vigil of Pentecost comes into sight.

Art: Jerome Nadal