Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

The fourth Sunday after Pentecost is the first 'green' Sunday since the beginning of February (not counting the anticipated fifth Sunday after Epiphany that was celebrated on the Saturday before Septuagesima) so time for sacristans to take out and dust down the best sets of green vestments. Although the first 'green' Sunday almost all Masses can be in white for St. John the Baptist as will be noted below.

At Vespers yesterday commemorations were sung of the day within the Octave of St. John the Baptist and St. Irenaeus. The Dominical preces were omitted at Compline because of being within an Octave and also the occurring double feast.

At Mattins the 'summer' hymn Nocte surgentes is sung. In the first nocturn the lessons are taken from the First Book of Kings. In the second nocturn the lessons are from a sermon of St. Augustine and in the third nocturn from St. Ambrose on the Gospel of St. Luke on the huge catch of fish at the lake of Genesareth.

At Lauds a commemoration of the occuring feast day of St. Irenaeus is sung and also the Octave of St. John the Baptist. At Prime Quicumque and the Dominical preces are omitted because of the occurring double feast etc.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung and after the collect of the day the second collect is of St Irenaeus, the third of the Octave of St. John the Baptist. The Creed is sung and the preface is that of Sunday.

For a short period at the beginning of the twentieth century the Feast of St. John the Baptist was moved from the 24th June to the fourth Sunday of June. Following the restoration of the feast to its authentic date there remained the possibility (SRC 4308) of celebrating the Mass of St. John the Baptist with a commemoration of the Sunday, Creed because of the Sunday and last Gospel of the Sunday. All Masses with the exception of the Conventual Mass may be of the feast.

Vespers are first Vespers of the following feast of SS Peter and Paul with a commemoration of the Sunday.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' both Corpus Christi and the Sacred Heart are considered less important than in previous times and so both feasts have lost their Octaves and the 1962 people have had two 'green' Sundays already. At Vespers there were no commemorations. Mattins is cut down to one nocturn. There are no commemorations at Lauds. Mass has a single collect. St. Irenaeus has been moved to July 3rd. St. John the Baptist has been stripped of his Octave.