The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent, it is a semi-double Sunday of the second class. The Gospel pericopes are from St. Luke with St. John the Baptist's famous words "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."

At Vespers yesterday the antiphons from Lauds were sung with the psalms of Saturday. The antiphon on the Magnificat was O radix Jesse that was sung in its entirety before and after the canticle with all standing.

At Mattins the first nocturn lessons are from the prophet Isaiah. In the secondnocturn the lessons are from a sermon of St. Leo and in the third nocturn homily on the Gospel from St. Gregory provides the lessons. At Lauds the antiphons on the psalms are proper. At Prime the Dominical preces are sung.

At Mass the second collect is of the BVM, Deus, qui de beate, the third for the Church, Ecclesiae, the Creed is sung and the dismissal is Benedicamus Domino. The ministers, of course, wear folded chasubles.

Vespers are of St. Thomas the Apostle, the antiphon on the Magnificat is proper and the Sunday is commemorated with the Great O antiphon O clavis David.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' Mattins is reduced to one nocturn of three lessons. No preces are sung at Prime. At Mass there is only one collect. The dismissal is Ite, missa est. The ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle. Vespers is of the Sunday without even a commemoration of St. Thomas.

Art: Jerome Nadal