XVII Sunday after Pentecost

The seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost is also the fifth Sunday of September this year. It is of course of semi-double rite. The Gospel at Mattins and Mass is from St. Matthew and is the account of the Pharisees asking the LORD what was the great commandment and the LORD responding "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and first commandment."

At Vespers yesterday the antiphon on the Magnificat was Domine, Rex omnipotens for the Saturday before the fifth Sunday of September. A commemoration of SS Cosmas and Damian was sung and the Suffrage of the Saints wss sung also. The preceding Office, of the BVM on Saturday ended with None and so was not commemorated at Vespers. The Domincial preces were sugn at Compline.

At Mattins the lessons in the first nocturn are the Incipit , the beginning, of the Book of Esther. In the second nocturn the lessons are a commentary on Esther from the book of Offices of St. Ambrose. In the third nocturn the homily is from St. Chrysostom 72nd homily on St. Matthew's Gospel.

At Lauds a commemoration of SS Cosmas and Damian is sung followed by the Suffrage of the Saints. At Prime Quicumque is sung as are the Dominical preces.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of SS Cosmas and Damian, the third collect A cunctis. The Creed is sung and the preface that of the Trinity.

At Vespers a commemoration of the following Office of St. Wenceslas, Duke of Bohemia, is sung, a commemoration of SS Cosmas and Damian and the Suffrage of the Saints.

In the 'ancient' rite of the early 1960s the, arguably rational, decision to count the first Sunday of the month as the first Sunday in the month means the 62ists celebrated Ember Saturday yesterday. The 1962 Ember Saturday has a chunk of the Canticle of Moses cut out to ease the burden of the Office. Prime, although ferial, has the feastal Regi saeculorum. The 1962 Ember Saturday Mass can be made into a pathetic mini-Mass with just one OT lesson, Benedicamus Domino is replaced by Ite, missa est even though the vestments are violet, but the ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle not folded chasubles. Vespers are without commemorations or Suffrage and the Dominical preces not sung at Compline.

Mattins is stripped down to one nocturn of three lessons. At Lauds there are no commemorations or Suffrage. At Prime there is neither Quicumque nor preces. At Mass there are no commemorations and only one collect. Vespers are sung without any commemorations or Suffrages and Compline has no preces.

St. Matthew Apostle & Evangelist

Today is the feast of Saint Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist. The feast is a double of the second class.

At Mattins in the first nocturn the antiphons, psalms, lessons and responsories are all taken from the Common of Apostles. In the second nocturn the lessons are for the feast. In the third nocturns the homily on the Gospel is from St. Jerome's Commentary on St. Matthew's Gospel. The Office is festal and at Lauds the Sunday pslams sung under antiphons from the Common of Apostles.

At the Little Hours the psalms of Sunday are sung, those at Prime being as on feasts (53, 118(i) & 118(ii). At Prime the lectio brevis is Ibant Apostoli.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria and Credo are sung and the preface is that of the Apostles.

Second Vespers are sung of the feast with a commemoration of the following Office of St Thomas of Villanova.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the feast retains its three nocturns. However, at the Little Hours ferial psalmody is used. At Prime the short lesson is of the season. At Vespers (the only one) there is no commemoration of the following Office. When was it ever the tradition of the Roman rite to have a cursus of psalmody at the Horae Minorae one wonders?

XVI Sunday after Pentecost

The sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost is also the fourth Sunday of September this year. The Gospel is from St. Luke and records the LORD healing the man with dropsy on the Sabbath.

At Mattins the lessons in the first nocturn are the Incipit of the Book of Judith. In the second nocturn the lessons are from the book of Ambrose on Elias and fasting and, in the third nocturn, the homily on the Gospel is again from St. Ambrose's commentary on St. Luke's Gospel.

At Lauds a commemoration of St. Eustace and Companions is sung. At Prime there is neither Quicumque nor the Dominical preces as a double feast occurs.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, a commemoration of St. Eustace is made, the Creed is sung and the preface is of Sunday.

Before the 1911-13 reform today was the feast of the Seven Sorrows of the BVM (the third Sunday in September - not being calculated as the Sunday nearest the first of the month as in the Breviary). One Mass of the Seven Sorrows may be celebrated in white vestments with a commemoration and proper last Gospel of the Sunday.

At Vespers the liturgical colour changes to red and first Vespers of St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist are sung with a commemoration of the Sunday.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' mattins is cut down to one nocturn. The Scriptural lessons are those of the third Sunday of September, not the fourth. SS Eustace and Companions get omitted this year and there are is no commemoration at Lauds or Mass. Vespers are of the Sunday without even a commemoration of St. Matthew.

Art: Jerome Nadal

Ember Saturday - Vigil - SS Januarius & Companions

Today is Ember Saturday in September. The double rite feast of SS Januarius and his companions is the Office of the day. In addition, as the feast of St. Matthew the Apostle falls on Monday, its Vigil is also celebrated today. However, the anticipated Vigil does not get commemorated in the Office because of the Ember Saturday.

This week has been interesting from the perspective of the arrangement of mattins lessons. The feasts of the Holy Cross (Monday) and the Seven Sorrows of the BVM (Tuesday) both had proper lessons in their respective first nocturns. Likewise so did the feast of the Impression of the Stigmata of St. Francis (Thursday) and St. Joseph of Cupertion (Friday). So today, instead of having recourse to the Common the lessons from the Book of Tobias from Tuesday are transferred to today. In the third nocturn the ninth lesson is homily from the commemorated Ember Saturday (its three lessons may be read as one).

At Lauds a commemoration of the Ember Saturday is sung (but not of the Vigil), this has a proper antiphon on the Benedictus and collect.

The Mass, of SS Januarius and his Companions, is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Ember Saturday (the first collect after the Kyrie and invitation to pray - Omnipotens...), the third collect is of the Vigil, the common preface is sung and the last Gospel that of the Ember Saturday.

Private Masses may be of the Ember Saturday celebrated in violet vestments with the deacon and subdeacon wearing folded chasubles rather than dalmatic and tunicle. The Mass, sung after None, has the usual, ancient form, for Ember Saturdays. After the Kyrie there are a series of structural units comprising of the invitation Oremus, followed by Flectamus genua, Levate, a collect, O.T. reading and gradual. The first and second OT readings are from the Book of Leviticus. The third lesson is from Micheas the Prophet, the fourth from the Prophet Zachararias. The fifth is from the Prophet Daniel describing the LORD protecting Azarias and his two companions in the Babylonian fiery furnace. After the reading from Daniel instead of a gradual the hymn of the Three Men in fiery furnace is sung, Beneditus es, Domine, Deus patrum nostrorum and its collect Deus, qui tribus pueris. The feast of SS Januarius is then commemorated with its collect being sung and then the collect of the Vigil of St. Matthew. A Tract is sung between the Epistle and Gospel. Mass then continues as usual (with of course kneeling for the orations and from the Canon through to the Fraction as usual on penitential days) with Benedicamus Domino as the dismissal and the last Gospel of the Vigil.

Private Masses may also be of the Vigil celebrated in violet but with the ministers wearing dalmatic and tunicle. The second collect is of SS Januarius and Companions, the third of the Ember Saturday. Benedicamus Domino is sung as the dismissal and the last Gospel is that of the Ember Saturday.

In Cathedral and Collegiate Churches two Masses are celebrated. The Mass of the feast takes place after Terce without any commemorations. The Mass of the Ember Saturday is sung after None with the second collect (before the Epistle) of the Vigil and third collect A cunctis . The dismissal is Benedicamus Domino and the last Gospel that of the Vigil.

When orders are conferred the Tonsure is given after the Kyrie. After the first OT lesson Door-keepers are ordained; after the second, Readers; after the third, the Exorcists; after the fourth, the Acolytes; after the fifth, the Subdeacons; after the Epistle, the Deacons, and before the last verse of the Tract, the priests.

Vespers of the Sunday are sung, the antiphon on the Magnificat is Adonai, Domine of the Saturday before the fourth Sunday of September. A commemoration of the preceding Office of SS Januarius and Companions is sung and then a commemoration of SS Eustace and Companions. The preces are omitted at Compline because of the occurring double feasts.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' Ember Saturday is postponed by a week and when it does arrive may be celebrated in a typical cut down mini-version. SS Januarius gets cut down to a third class feast of three lessons. Scripture is from last Saturday. The Vigil is not anticipated or celebrated at all as it has been abolished. Vespers has the antiphon that was sung last Saturday in the Old Rite, Ne reminiscaris. No commemorations are made.

Ember Friday - St Joseph of Cupertino

Today is Ember Friday in September. The day is also the double feast of St. Joseph of Cupertino.

At first Vespers yesterday a commemoration was sung of the preceding Office of the Impression of the Stigmata of St. Francis.

At Mattins the lessons in the first nocturn are proper to the feast with the responsories from the Common. (If a feast occured today without proper lessons, the vast majority, then the rubric mentioned in Ember Wednesday's post would come into effect and there would be a transfer of lessons as the Ember Friday, like all Ember Days and the days of Lent has a homily, not Scriptural lessons). In the second nocturn the lessons are historical. In the third nocturn the homily is from St. Gregory the Great and the ninth lesson that of the Ember Friday (its three lessons may be read as one but the first suffices).

At Lauds the antiphon on the Benedictus is proper to the feast, Ostendit mihi etc, and a commemoration of the Ember Friday is made which too has a proper antiphon, Mulier etc and a proper collect.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Ember Friday and the last Gospel that of the Ember Friday. Private Masses may be of the Ember Day (the Ember Friday Masses do not have additional OT lessons unlike those of Wednesday and Saturday). The Mass is proper and celebrated in violet vestments, the ministers wear folded chasubles. The feast of St. Joseph of Cupertino is commemorated. Benedicamus Domino is sung as the dismissal.

In Cathedral and Collegiate Churches two Masses are celebrated. The Mass of the feast takes place after Terce without any commemorations or additional collects. The Mass of the Ember Day is sung after None with the second collect A cunctis the third at the choice of the Dean and Benedicamus Domino as the dismissal.

Vespers are from the chapter of the following Office of SS Januarius and Companions. A commemoration of St. Joseph of Cupertino is sung. Ember Days are not commemorated at Vespers as their Office runs from Mattins to None inclusive.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Ember Day is postponed to next week. St Joseph of Cupertino has been cut down to a third class feast of three lessons. Vespers on Thursday were ferial (the Impression of the Stigmata of St Francis has been chopped down to a mere commemoration in Lauds and Mass). Mattins has but one nocturn. Vespers are of the feast without a commemoration of the following Office. If today were an Ember Day in the Extraordinary Form of the Novus Ordo its antiphon on the Benedictus is used again at Vespers as antiphon on the Magnificat. Quite remarkably, and of course a complete committee-work fabrication, Ember Days get Vespers - how traditional is that?

Ember Wednesday - SS Cornelius & Cyprian

Today is September Ember Wednesday, or sometimes referred to as the Michaelmas Ember Wednesday. The Ember Day is commemorated in the Office and Mass of SS Cornelius and Cyprian whose feast is of semi-double rite. The Ember Days are ancient liturgical celebrations and, traditionally, times of fasting and penance. It seems the Christians in Rome developed these penitential practices from a very early period and, rather like Lent, the days developed their own liturgical character. Ember Saturdays, in particular, were days when ordinations took place, along with the Vigils of Easter and Pentecost.

At Mattins the scriptural lessons in the first nocturn are taken from Monday when they could not be read because of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. A rubric in the Breviarium Romanum after the third Sunday of September states that if the lessons of Monday and Tuesday cannot be read on their appointed day and that on one of the Ember Days (which don't have Scriptural lessons) a feast occurs then rather than having recourse to the Common of that feast the lessons for Monday and/or Tuesday are transferred. So today Monday's lessons are read with the responsories of Wednesday. In the second nocturn the lessons three and four are historical ones for St. Cornelius Pope and Martyr and the sixth from St. Jerome's writings on St Cyprian. In the third nocturn the homily is from St. Gregory and the ninth lesson is of the commemorated Ember Wednesday. (All three lessons of the Ember Day may be read as one).

At Lauds a commemoration of the Ember Wednesday is sung, its antiphon on the Benedictus and collect are proper, and also of SS Euphemia, Lucy and Geminianus (if today were not an Ember Day then a ninth lesson of these martyrs would have been read).

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Ember Wednesday, the third collect of SS Euphemia etc. The last Gospel is of the Ember Wednesday. Private Masses may be of the Ember Wednesday celebrated in violet vestments with the deacon and subdeacon wearing folded chasubles rather than dalmatic and tunicle. There is no Gloria, an OT reading preceded by Flectamus genua and a collect, then after the 'main' collect SS Cornelius and Cyprian are commemorated followed by SS Euphemia etc. Benedicamus Domino is sung as the dismissal.

In Cathedral and Collegiate Churches two Masses are celebrated. The Mass of the feast takes place after Terce with a commemoration of SS Euphemia, but not the Ember Day, and with the third collect A cunctis. The Mass of the Ember Day is sung after None with the second collect A cunctis and third at the choice of the Dean and Benedicamus Domino as the dismissal.

Vespers are of the following feast of the Impression of the Stigmata of St Francis with a commemoration of the preceding Office.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' Ember Wednesday is postponed a week due to the novel way introduced of calculating the first Sunday of the month. SS Cornelius and Cyprian are cut down to a third class feast with three lessons. The occurring Scripture is what traditionalists read last Wednesday. SS Euphemia etc get a commemoration at Lauds and Low Mass. Vespers are of SS Cornelius and Cyprian without any commemorations.

Seven Sorrows of the BVM

The September feast of the Seven Sorrows is a double of the second class. The feast on the Friday before Palm Sunday is significantly the older of the two celebrations dating from 1432 as a local feast. The September celebration was first permitted by Clement IX in 1667 granting the concession of one votive Mass, in violet vestments, on the third Sunday of September. He also granted a proper Office the following year. In 1673 the liturgical colour was changed to white by Clement X. Pius VII extended the feast to the Universal Calendar and raised it to a greater-double. Pius X further elevated it to a double of the second class in 1908 and moved it to the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin (so effectively removing the Octave Day) in the 1911-13 reform.

The Office is proper. As mentioned yesterday a proper Doxology is sung at the conclusion of hymns of Iambic metre: Jesu tibi sit gloria, Qui passus es pro servulis, Cum Patre, et almo Spiritu, In sempiterna saecula. At Mattins the invitatory and hymn are proper. In the first nocturn the lessons are from the Prophet Jeremiah. In the second nocturn the lessons are from a sermon on the twelve stars by St. Bernard. In the third nocturn the homily is from St. Ambrose. The ninth lesson is of St. Nicomedes, a first century Roman martyr. At Lauds the antiphons are proper and the 'Sunday' psalms sung. A commemoration is sung of St. Nicomedes.

At the Little Hours the 'Sunday' psalms are sung with the antiphons from Lauds. At Prime in the short responsory the versicle Qui passus es propter nostram salutem is sung and the short lesson is proper, Deduc quasi.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung (there is a second collect for St. Nicomedes in private Masses) the Sequence Stabat mater is sung as is the Creed. The preface is that of the Blessed Virgin.

Vespers is of the feast with a commemoration sung of the following feast of SS Cornelius and Cyprian.

Observant readers will have noted that both today and yesterday have had proper lessons in the first nocturn of Mattins. There is an interesting rubric before Monday's lessons, which of course were not sung - more on that with tomorrow's Ember Wednesday.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' there is no ninth lesson for St. Nicomedes. The ferial psalter (and its antiphons) is used at the Little Hours. The proper Doxology is omitted. At Prime the short lesson is of the season. Vespers are without any commemorations.

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is of greater double rite. The origin of the feast was the dedication of Constantine's basilica in Jeruasalem in 335, the feast appears to have been celebrated in Rome since the seventh century. A double feast in the Tridentine Missal of 1570 it was raised to a greater double by Clement VIII.

The Office is proper. At Mattins the lesson in the first nocturn are taken from the Book of Numbers with the account of Moses and the brazen serpent, a prefigurement of the Cross. In the second nocturn the lessons describe the taking of the Cross from Jerusalem and its triumphant return. In the third nocturn the lessons are from a homily on the Passion of the Lord from St. Leo the Great.

At the Hours the 'Sunday' psalms are sung under the antiphons of the feast. At Prime the short lesson is proper, Humiliavit semetipsum.

Mass is sung after Terce and has the Gloria, Credo and preface of the Holy Cross.

Vespers are of the following feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin with a commemoration of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. A Doxology proper to the feast of the Seven Sorrows is sung with all hymns of Iambic metre, e.g. at Compline.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' although the feast has been raised in rank at the Little Hours the ferial psalter is used without the antiphons of the feast, at Prime the seasonal short lesson is sung. Vespers are of the Exaltation of the Cross without a commemoration of the following Office.

Icon from the Greek Catholic Church.

XV Sunday after Pentecost

Today is the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost and the third Sunday of September. It is, of course, of semi-double rite. It is also Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity of the BVM, although following the 1911-13 reform, the Octave has become a 'simple' one and is barely, liturgically, apparent. The theme of St. Luke's Gospel at Mattins and Mass is the raising of the widow's son at Naim. The week following sees the feasts of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Seven Dolours of the BVM and the September Ember Days.

At Vespers yesterday the Office hymn, Jam sol recedit igneus, was sung to the melody used for feasts of the BVM with the Doxology Jesu, tibi sit gloria due to the occurring feast of the Holy Name of Mary. A commemoration of this feast was sung after the Magnifcat. Likewise at Compline the proper Doxology was sung.

At Mattins the lessons in the first nocturn the lessons are the Incipit (beginning) of the Book of Tobias with their responsories. In the second nocturn the lessons are from the ninth sermon on the fast of the seventh month and, in the third nocturn, the homily on the Gospel is from the writings of St. Augustine. At Lauds the Suffrage of the Saints is sung.

At Prime Quicumque, the 'Athanasian Creed' is sung after the second stanza of Ps. 118 and the Dominical preces are sung.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is A cunctis and the third collect chosen by the Dean or the celebrant. The Creed is sung and the preface that of Sunday.

At Vespers the liturgical colour changes to red and first Vespers of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross are sung. The Office is proper and the hymn the magnificent Vexilla regis last heard on May 3rd for the sister feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross. The Sunday is commemorated.

Prior to the 1911-13 reform Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity of the BVM was occupied by the feast of the Holy Name of Mary. One Mass may be sung of the feast may be sung with Gloria, second collect of the Sunday, Creed, preface of the Blessed Virgin and with the last Gospel of the Sunday. This Mass is celebrated in white vestments.

In the unpleasant 1960s committee work product there is no commemoration of the feast of the Holy Name at Vespers, neither is there a proper Doxology to the hymns of Vespers and Compline. The antiphon at the Magnificat will be a week behind that used in the traditional rite. Mattins is is cut down to a single nocturn of three lessons. The Suffrage of the Saints is omitted from Lauds. At Prime the 'Athanasian Creed' is not sung, neither are the Dominical preces. At Mass there is but a single collect. Vespers are of the Sunday without even a commemoration of the following feast. The discrepancy of how the first Sunday of the month is appointed means that the 1962ists will not keep Ember Days until a week after those celebrating the traditional rite.

XIV Sunday after Pentecost

The fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost and the second Sunday of September is of semi-double rite. The theme of the Gospel is the 'lilies of the field'. The liturgy is the classical liturgy for a semi-double Sunday with Suffrage, preces at Compline and Prime and the Athanasian Creed.

Yesterday at Vespers the antiphon on the Magnificat was In omnibus his for the Saturday before the second Sunday of September. A commemoration was sung of the preceding Office of St. Laurence Justinian and the Suffrage of the Saints. At Compline the Dominical preces were sung.

At Mattins in the first nocturn the lessons are from the Book of Job. In the second nocturn the lessons are from St. Gregory the Great's Book of Morals and, in the third nocturn, the homily is from the writings of St. Augustine. At Lauds the Suffrage of the Saints is sung.

At Prime Quicumque, the Athanasian Creed, is sung as are the Dominical preces.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is A cunctis and the third collect chosen from the many available by the celebrant or Dean. The Credo is sung and the preface is that of Sunday.

At Vespers the Suffrage of the Saints is sung and at Compline the Dominical preces are sung.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' no commemoration or suffrage is sung at Vespers. The antiphon on the Magnificat will be that of the Saturday before the first Sunday of September. The third of mattins remaining will have the scripture that was read last week in the Traditional rite read. There is no Suffrage at Lauds, no Quicumque and no preces at Compline. At mess there is one collect only. At Vespers no suffrage and no preces at Compline. Another good example of the 'levelling' of liturgical days in modern liturgy.

Art: Jerome Nadal