Septuagesima Sunday

Today is Septuagesima Sunday, its rank is a semi-double of the second class. The liturgical mood becomes more sombre with first Vespers of Septuagesima. After the festivities of Christmas and Epiphany and their Octaves the mood becomes more sober but not yet as penitential as Lent itself. Although the colour of the season is violet the ministers at Mass do not wear folded chasubles but unusually violet dalmatic and tunicle for these three Sundays and for ferial days. The organ is still played until Ash Wednesday. From Septuagesima until Holy Saturday the dress of some prelates changes. Cardinals no longer wear scarlet choir dress but that of violet. Correspondingly bishops do not wear violet choir dress but their black, or mourning dress. In the case of the latter this is not to be confused with their habitus piano. The black choir cassock has a train, like the violet one, and the mozzeta or mantelleta is faced in violet.

In the Office some elements are the same as for the 'green' Sundays. A notable exception is that after Deus in adjutorium etc Alleluia is replaced by Laus tibi Domine Rex aeterne gloriae. At Mattins the invitatorium is Praeoccupemus as on preceding Sundays and the hymn Primo die. The antiphons and psalms are as on previous Sundays. In the first nocturn the Incipit of the Book of Genesis is read. In the second nocturn the lessons are from the Enchiridion of St. Augustine, in the third nocturn the lessons are a homily from St. Gregory on the Gospel of the labourers in the vineyard. The Te Deum is not sung but in its place a ninth responsory.

At Lauds the 'second scheme' of psalms is sung: Pss 50, 117, 62, Canticle of the Three Children (Benedictus es) and 148. The antiphons at Lauds are proper to the Sunday as are the versicle after the hymn Aeterne, chapter, antiphon at the Benedictus and collect. A commemoration is sung of St. John Bosco.

At Prime the order of psalmody is again changed. The Pss. are 92, 99 (displaced at Lauds) and the usual first two stanzas of 118. The Dominical preces are not sung because of the occuring double feast. At all the Hours the antiphons and chapters are proper.

In Mass there is no Gloria, the second collect is of St. John Bosco. A Tract replaces the Alleluia after the Gradual, the Credo is sung and the Preface is of the Blessed Trinity. Following the general rule as the Gloria is not sung Benedicamus Domino is sung as the dismissal. As noted above the ministers wear violet dalmatic and tunicle.

At Vespers the antiphons and psalms are those used on Sundays, the chapter is proper as in the antiphon at the Magnificat. Commemoration are sung of the following Office of St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. John Bosco. At Compline the Dominical preces are not sung because of the occurring double feasts.

Following the 'liturgical books of 1962' there are no commemorations at either Vespers. Mattins is reduced to one nocturn. At Lauds no commemoration is made of St. John Bosco. At Prime the arrangement of psalms is Pss. 53, 118(i), 118(ii), the festal arrangement in the Pius X Office! At Mass no commemoration is made and Benedicamus Domino is supressed in favour of Ite, missa est.

Art: Jerome Nadal

Anticipated Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Today is the anticipated Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany. It is of semi-double rite. The Gospel at Mattins and Mass is from St. Matthew and is the account of the LORD stilling the storm at sea.

In order to minimise the number of Sunday's omitted in the annual cycle this year the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany is anticipated with all the privileges of a Sunday as tomorrow is Septuagesima Sunday. Yesterday at Vespers, although the ferial psalter was used, the collect was from the Sunday and the Vespers were priviliged in concurrence with the double feast of St. Francis de Sales. Commemorations of St. Francis and St. Martina was sung.

At Mattins the psalms of Saturday are used but in the first nocturn the first lesson is the Incipit of the Epistle to the Philippians (from the fourth Sunday), the second lesson in the Incipit from the Epistle to the Colossians (from the Tuesday after the fourth Sunday) and the third lesson the Incipit from the First Epistle to the Thessalonians (from the Thursday after the fourth Sunday), with the responsories of the anticipated Sunday. The lessons in the second nocturn are from the Book of Morals of St. Gregory the Great and in the third nocturn the homily is from St. Jerome on the eighth chapter of St. Matthew. At Lauds the psalms of Saturday are sung but the antiphon at the Benedictus and the collect are of the Sunday. A commemoration of St. Martina is sung followed by the Suffrage of the Saints.

At Prime the chapter is Regi saeculorum as used on Sundays and feasts, the Dominical preces are sung. At the reading of the Martyrology the first entry is Dominica in Septuagesima etc. At the other Little Hours the collect of the Sunday is sung.

At Mass the Gloria is sung, a commemoration of St. Martina is made, the third collect is Deus, qui salutis. The Creed is sung and the Preface is that of Sunday.

Vespers are of Septuagesima Sunday celebrated in violet vestments. Commemorations of tomorrow's occuring Office of St. John Bosco and of St. Martina are sung. When the cantors chant Benedicamus Dominio two Alleluia's are added and also added the response Deo gratias. Then until Holy Saturday there is no Alleluia in the Roman Office. At Compline and at all Hours until the Triduum after Deus in adjutorium etc. Alleluia is replaced by Laus tibi Domine Rex aeterne gloriae.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany is not anticipated and so the liturgy is entirely different. On Friday Vespers were of St. Francis of Sales without any commemorations. Today the feast of St. Martina is reduced from a three nocturn semi-double to a third class feast with one nocturn. At Mattins the lessons of the Saturday after the third Sunday are read as first and second lesson. There is no anicipation of Scriptural lessons. At Mass the Gloria is sung, there are no additional collects. Vespers are of Septuagesima without any commemorations.

Art: Jerome Nadal

Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Today is the third Sunday after the Epiphany, it is of semi-double rite. The Gospel pericopes from St. Matthew record the LORD healing the leper and centurion's servant.

At Vespers yesterday the antiphon on the Magnificat Suscepit Deus was sung, and is sung, for all the Sundays after Epiphany (this year the fourth Sunday will be anticipated next Saturday as Septuagesima is only a week away). Commemorations were sung of the preceding Office of St. Raymund of Pennafort and of St. Timothy. As double feasts were commemorated at Vespers the Dominical preces are not sung at Compline.

At Mattins the invitatory is Adoremus Dominum and the hymn Primo die . In the first nocturn the lessons are the Incipit of St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians. In the second nocturn the lessons are from an exposition of the Epistle to the Galatians by St. Augustine and in the third nocturn the homily is from St. Jerome. At Lauds a commemoration of St. Timothy is sung. At Prime the Dominical preces are not sung because of the occurring double feast.

At Mass the Gloria is sung, the second collect is for St. Timothy. No other collect is sung (unless a pro re gravi collect is ordered by the Ordinary). The Credo is sung and the preface is that of Sundays.

At Vespers commemorations are sung of the following feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, then St. Peter and St. Timothy.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' there are no commemorations at either Vespers. Mattins is reduced by two-thirds to one nocturn of three lessons. St. Timothy is not commemorated at all this year.

Art: Jerome Nadal

Second Sunday after the Epiphany

The Second Sunday after the Epiphany is of semi-double rite. The Gospel fragment at Mattins and the Gospel at Mass are St. John's account of the Marriage Feast at Cana.

At Vespers on Saturday the antiphon on the Magnificat was Suscepit Deus (and the same is sung on all Saturdays until Septuagesima). Commemorations were sung of the preceding Office of St. Marcellus and of St. Anthony of Egypt. As a double feast was commemorated the Dominical preces were not sung at Compline.

At Mattins the invitatory is Adoremus Dominum and this is sung until Septuagesima. The hymn is Primo die and that is sung until the first Sunday in Lent. In the first nocturn the lessons are the Incipit of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. In the second nocturn a sermon of St. Chrysostom provides the lessons and, in the third nocturn, the homily is from St. Augustine. At Lauds a ccommemoration is sung of St. Anthony. At Prime the Dominical preces are omitted because of the occurring double feast.

At Mass the Gloria is sung, the second collect is of St. Anthony. The Creed is sung and the preface is that of the Trinity.

At Vespers commemorations are sung of the following Office of St. Peter's Chair at Rome, St. Paul, St. Anthony (note the 'typo' of a missing 'S Ab' in the Ordo) and St. Prisca. At Compline the Dominical preces are omitted due to the occurring double feast.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' there are no commemorations at either Vespers. Mattins is reduced to one nocturn of three lessons. No commemoration is made of St. Anthony at Lauds or Mass. The feast of St. Peter's Chair at Rome has been abolished entirely.

Art: Jerome Nadal

St. Hilary of Poitiers

The Feast of St. Hilary of Poitiers is celebrated today and is of double rite. St. Hilary was a bishop in fourth century Gaul.

Today, after yesterday's celebration of the Octave Day of the Epiphany, the season after the Epiphany really begins. The Suffrage of the Saints is resumed on all days of semi-double rank and below (so not actually sung today) along with the Dominical preces at Prime and Compline. At Prime the versicle Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris is resumed in the short responsory.

At Mattins in the first nocturn the responsories the Epistle to the Corinthians continues to be read but with the responsories from Monday belonging as they do to the Incipit of the Corinthians), in the third nocturn the ninth lesson is of St. Felix. At Lauds a commemoration is also sung of St. Felix.

At Mass, In medio, the Gloria is sung, a commemoration of St. Felix is made, the Creed is sung (as St. Hilary is a Doctor)and the Common Preface is used.

Vespers are from the chapter of the following feast of St Paul the First Hermit with a commemoration of the preceding Office of St. Hilary and a commemoration of St. Maurus, Abbot. As the feast day of St. Paul is not his die obitus the third verse of the hymn Iste Confessor is changed from Hac die laetus meruit beatas to Hac die laetus meruit supremos. In both the Breviary and Ordo this change is indicated by the letters 'mtv' - mutatur tertius versus.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the familiar pattern of a former three nocturn feast being reduced to a single nocturn of three lessons is repeated. The responsories from the Incipit of the Corinthians are omitted. St. Felix does not get a lesson at Mattins but is commemorated at Lauds. At Prime the lectio brevis is of the season rather than from the Common. At private Mass St. Felix is commemorated, the Creed is neither said nor sung. Vespers are of St. Hilary without commemorations. The hymn Iste Confessor is never changed and has as its third verse Hac die laetus meruit supremos always. The whole concept of concurrence of Office has been lost, largely due to the 1955 abolishment of first Vespers, a practice that reflected the truly ancient idea of the liturgical day beginning at Sunset.

Let it snow, let it snow...

The snow that has afflicted the United Kingdom over the last couple of weeks is causing some disruption to postal deliveries. The forecast is for mean temperatures to slowly rise over the next few days so, Deo volente, the snow will be gone soon and things return to normality.

A batch of orders was posted on Monday but there has not been a post delivery for several days so some orders may not have reached us yet.

A pdf file of the Ordo for the last two weeks of January is now available for download here.

The Octave Day of the Epiphany

Today is the Octave Day of the Epiphany, it is of greater-double rite.

At Mattins in invitatory and hymn are sung as on other days within the Octave, the special arrangment being for the feast only. The antiphons and psalms sung are those used on the feast. In the first nocturn the lessons are from the Epistle to the Corinthians, Audet aliquis (for Wednesday after the first Sunday after the Epiphany). The first responsory sung today is Hodie [pun intended!]. In the second nocturn the lessons are from a sermon of St. Gregory the Theologian and in the third nocturn the homily if from St. Augustine.

At Lauds all is as on the feast, including the antiphon on the Benedictus, but the collect is proper to the Octave Day Deus, cujus Unigenitus.

At the Hours the hymns have the Doxology and melody of the Epiphany. The antiphons and pslams are as on the feast with the collect of the Octave Day.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Mass formulary is the same as on the feast except the orations and Gospel are proper. The Gloria is sung, the Creed is sung and the preface and communicantes are of the Epiphany.

Vespers are of the Octave Day with commemorations of tomorrow's feast of St. Hilary of Poitiers and St. Felix.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Octave, and of course the Octave Day, have been abolished. The former Octave Day was 'resprayed' as the feast of the Baptism of the LORD in the 1955 assault on the Liturgy and celebrated as a greater-double. In the 1960/61 revisions the feast became II Class. Mattins and Lauds are as in the Old Rite. At the Hours the ferial psalter with its antiphons is used. The hymns do not have the Doxology in honour of the Epiphany. At Mass the special communicantes used throughout the Octave in the Usus antiquor are not said.

Within the Octave of the Epiphany

Monday and Tuesday of this week are both days within the Octave of the Epiphany and are of semi-double rite.

At Mattins the normal structure is followed, the special arrangement applying only to the feast itself. The antiphons and pslams are as on the feast (but the antiphons are not doubled) but in the third nocturn the psalm Fundamenta replaces the special arrangement of psalm 94. Lessons in the first nocturn are now, after the Sunday within the Octave, taken from St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians. Today the Incipit of the Corinthians is read, displaced from yesterday with the insertion of the Feast of the Holy Family on the Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany. The first responsory, today, is Hodie but tomorrow will be Tria sunt. The second nocturn lessons today are from the writings of St. Fulgentius and tomorrow from St. Leo. In the third nocturn the homilies are from the writings of St. Ambrose today and from St. Chrysostom tomorrow.

At Lauds the antiphon on the Benedictus is proper for each day. Today a commemoration is sung of St. Hyginus. At the Hours the antiphons and psalmody is as on the feast, the hymns having the Doxology and melody of the Epiphany.

Mass today is of the resumed Sunday within the Octave, In excelso throno, the Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Octave, the third is of St. Hyginus. The Creed is sung and the preface and communicantes are as on the Epiphany. Private Masses may be of the Octave with Gloria, second collect of the Sunday within the Octave, third collect of St. Hyginus, Creed, preface and communicantes of the feast. Vespers today are of the Octave with the antiphon on the Magnificat being proper to each day. Tomorrow Vespres will be first Vespers of the Octave Day of the Epiphany. Compline is festal.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the days after the Epiphany become IV class ferial days of Epiphanytide. Mattins has one nocturn and the psalmody is ferial. At the Hours the hymns do not have the Doxology in honour of the Epiphany and again have ferial psalmody. Mass today and tomorrow is of the former Sunday within the Octave Gloria is sung, the additional collects and Credo are omitted. St. Hyginus is commemorated at Low Masses today. Vespers has ferial psalmody as does Compline.

The Holy Family

The Feast of the Holy Family is celebrated on the Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany. The feast is of greater double rank. The celebration of the feast is relatively new for the universal Church having been assigned by Leo XIII in 1893 to the third Sunday after the Epiphany. In 1921 Benedict XV moved its celebration to the Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany. If the Epiphany falls on a Sunday the Holy Family is anticipated on the following Saturday, the Octave Day of the Epiphany being celebrated on the Sunday.

The Office is proper. At Vespers on Saturday afternoon the antiphons are proper to the feast, the hymn O lux beata caelitum is sung. Commemorations of the Octave and of the Sunday are sung. There is a special Doxology at the end of all hymns (except the hymn at Mattins), Jesu tuis obediens, Qui factus es parentibus, Cum Patre summo ac Spiritu, Semper tibi sit gloria.

At Mattins the invitatory, hymn and antiphons are proper. In the first nocturn the lessons are from St. Paul's Epistle to the Colossians. The second nocturn lessons are from the brief of Leo XIII establishing the feast. In the third nocturn the homily is from the writings of St. Bernard. Unusually, the ninth lesson of the Sunday is not read. This is because the gospel fragment at Mattins, and the Gospel at Mass, are the same as that for the Sunday within the Octave. At Lauds the antiphons are again proper and refer to the Finding in the Temple and the LORD growing in wisdom at Nazareth. Commemorations are sung of the Sunday within the Octave and the Octave of the Epiphany.

The antiphons from Lauds are used as usual for the Little Hours. At Prime psalm 53 is sung before the first two divisions of psalm 118, within the short responsory the verse Qui Mariae et Joseph subditus fuisti is sung, the short lesson is Semetipsum exinanivit.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Sunday within the Octave, the third collect is of the Octave. The Creed is sung, the preface and communicantes are of the Epiphany.

In second Vespers a commemoration is made of the following day within the Octave, the Sunday within the Octave and St. Hyginus.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the feast is second class and gains a Vespers as it falls (always) on a Sunday. If Sunday is the 'Baptism of the Lord' (basically the Octave Day in the Old Rite) the feast is omitted. Mattins does have nine lessons. At Lauds no commemorations are sung. At the Little Hours the antiphons of Lauds are not sung but the antiphons and psalms of Sunday. At Prime psalm 117 is sung in place of psalm 53. The short lesson is that of 'Epiphanytide'. The hymns at the Little Hours do not have the Doxology of the feast. At Mass the Gloria is sung, there are no commemorations. The Credo is sung, the preface is of the Epiphany but the proper communicantes are not said. Vespers are without any commemorations.

In the 'ordinary form' of the 1962 rite the feast is celebrated on the Sunday after the Nativity, unless that day is January 1st.

Within the Octave of the Epiphany

Today, Friday and Saturday are days within the Octave of the Epiphany. They are of semi-double rank.

At Mattins the normal structure is resumed with the opening verse Domine, labia, invitatory psalm and hymn. The antiphons and psalmody is as on the feast (but the antiphons are not doubled) but in the third nocturn the psalm Fundamenta replaces the special arrangement of psalm 94. Lessons in the first nocturn continue to be taken from St. Paul's letter to the Romans. The first responsory is Tria sunt, not Hodie as on the feast. The second nocturn lessons are from St. Augustine on Thursday and Friday and from St. Leo on Saturday. In the third nocturn the homilies are from the writings of St. Gregory.

At Lauds the antiphon on the Benedictus is proper for each day. At the Hours the antiphons and psalmody is as on the feast, the hymns having the Doxology and melody of the Epiphany.

At Mass the Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the BVM, Deus, qui salutis, the third for the Church, Ecclesiae, or the pope. The Credo is sung and the preface and communicantes are as on the feast. Vespers are of the Octave with the antiphon on the Magnificat being proper to each day. Compline is festal.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the days after the Epiphany become IV class ferial days of Epiphanytide. Mattins has one nocturn and the psalmody is ferial. At the Hours the hymns do not have the Doxology in honour of the Epiphany and again have ferial psalmody. Despite the ferial psalmody the antiphons are doubled. At Mass the Gloria is sung, the additional collects and Credo are omitted. Vespers has ferial psalmody as does Compline.

The Epiphany of the LORD

The feast of the Epiphany is a Double of the First Class with a privileged Octave of the Second Order. The Epiphany was kept in the East from the third century, or earlier, and spread to the West a century later. Originally, it seems, in the East at least that this 'manifestation' of the LORD was the same celebration as the Nativity. To this day those following the Armenian Rite keep Theophany (the Nativity & Epiphany as one feast) today - a happy Christmas to any Armenian readers!

The antiquity of the feast is clearly seen in the structure of the Office of Mattins, unique to this day. The (historically later) Domine labia me, invitatory and hymn are ommitted and the Office begins with the first antiphon Afferte Domino. In the first nocturn the lessons are from Isaiah. In the second nocturn the lessons are from a sermon on the Epiphany by St. Leo. In the third nocturn the usual invitatory psalm, Venite , is sung in the third nocturn, in a responsorial manner, with the verse Venite, adoremus eum: quia ipse est Dominus, Deus noster. A homily of St. Gregory is read in the lessons of the third nocturn. At Lauds the antiphons are proper and the Sunday psalms are sung.

At the Little Hours the antiphons from Lauds are sung with the festal psalms. At Prime in the short responsory a versicle Qui apparuisti hodie is sung today and during the Octave, the short lesson is Omnes de Saba. The Doxology Jesu, tibi sit gloria, Qui apparuisti gentibus etc is sung at the hymns of the Little Hours.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Mass, Ecce advenit, is proper. Th Gloria and Credo are sung. The preface and communicantes in the Canon are proper to the feast. According to the rubrics of the Graduale four cantors lead the choir today.

After the Gospel of the Mass the Moveable Feasts for the year are traditionally announced. The chant is very beautiful. The text is as follows:

Noveritis, fratres carissimi, quod annuente Dei misericordia, sicut de Nativitate DNJC gavisi sumus, ita et de Resurrectione ejusdem Salvatoris Nostri gaudium vobis annuntiamus.

Die Trigesima prima Januarii, erit Dominica in Septuagesima.

Decima septima Februarii, Dies Cinerum et initium jejunii Sacratissimæ Quadragesimæ.

Quarta Aprilis, Sanctum Pascha DNJC cum gaudio celebrabimus.

Decima tertia Maji, erit Ascensio DNJC.

Vigesima tertia Maji, Festum Pentecostes.

Tertia Junii, Festum Sacratissimi Corporis Christi.

Vigesima octava Novembris, Dominica prima Adventus DNJC, cui est honor et gloria in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

Vespers are of the feast.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the only textual changes today are the abolition of the Doxology in honour of the Epiphany at the hymns of the Little Hours and the duplication of antiphons at the same. Tomorrow however...

Vigil of the Epiphany

The Vigil of the Epiphany is a semi-double of the second class. It is a also a priviliged Vigil of the second class. The Vigil of the Epiphany takes the place of the Office of the Sunday which occurs from the 1st to 5th January and has all the privileges of a Sunday both in concurrence and occurence. (Rubric in the Breviary.)

Mattins has three nocturns and nine lessons. The invitatory, hymn, antiphons and psalms are those used for the Circumcision. In the first nocturn the lessons are from the Epistle to the Romans with the responsories from the Circumcision. In the second nocturn the lessons are from a sermon by St. Augustine and in the third nocturn the homily is from St. Jerome's commentary on the second chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. At Lauds and the Hours again the antiphons are those from the Circumcision, the antiphon on the Benedictus and collect are proper and a commemoration is sung of St. Telesphorus Pope & Martyr.

At the Hours the antiphons of Lauds are sung and the psalmody is festal (at Prime Pss. 53, 118(i), 118(ii). The hymns of the Little Hours are sung with the Doxology and melody in honour of the Incarnation.

At Mass the Gloria is sung, the second collect is of St. Telesphorus, the third collect of the BVM, Deus, qui salutis. The Credo is sung and the preface is of the Nativity.

Vespers are first Vespers of the Epiphany. For the feast and its octave a Doxology in honour of the LORD's manifestation is sung at all hymns of Iambic metre: Jesu, tibi sit gloria, Qui apparuisti Gentibus, Cum Patre, et almo Spiritu, In sempiterna saecula.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Vigil is abolished and the day is another feria of Christmastide. Mattins has one nocturn and three lessons. St. Telesphorus is commemorated at Lauds and said Masses. The hymns of the Little Hours are sung without the Doxology of the Incarnation. Vespers are the same as the Old Rite.

The Vigil and the Sunday between January 1st and the Epiphany have become fused in the 1570 missal and its successive editions. The celebration of the Octave Days of the comites Christi feasts as doubles meant that the Sunday, under the 1568-1911 rubrics, was moved until the first free day, the 5th and day of the ancient Vigil. Examining older books one can find two sets of formularies: one for the vacant Sunday with the collect Omnipotens as used today and one for the 'real' Vigil with the collect Corda nostra. These, distinct, celebrations were also found in Sarum practice and its closest surviving modern descendant the Dominican rite. With the 1911-13 reform reducing the rank of the comites Christi Octave Days the 'real' Sunday had the Feast of the Holy Name transferred from the Second Sunday after the Epiphany to the Sunday before the Epiphany or January 2nd. The 1948 Commission for General Liturgical Reform clearly didn't understand this and stated '..La vigilia ha semplicemente la liturgia della domenica dope il Natale..'

A Vigil Mass of the Epiphany has been restored in the 2002 edition of the new Roman Missal. The 2002 MR gives the collect as:

Corda nostra, quaesumus, Domini, tuae majestatis splendor illustret, quo mundi hujus tenebras transire valeamus, et perveniamus ad patriam claritatis aeterne.

The Missal of Robert of Jumièges, a favourite of mine, gives the following version for the Vigil:

Corda nostra quaesumus Domine venturae festivitatis splendor illustret, quo mundi hujus tenebris carere valeamus, et perveniamus ad patriam claritatis aeterne.

Another example of where some scholarship after Vatican II was of a higher calibre than that of the 1948 Commission?

Octave Day of the Holy Innocents

Today is the Octave Day of the Holy Innocents. It is of simple rite. The liturgical colour, unlike the feast itself, is red.

At Mattins the invitatory and hymn are as on the feast but the psalmody is ferial. In the nocturn the first and second lessons are from the Epistle to the Romans, the third lesson is proper to the feast and is followed by the Te Deum. At Lauds the psalmody is ferial but the chapter, hymn, antiphon on the Benedictus and collect are as on the feast.

At the Little Hours the psalmody is again ferial, the hymns have the Doxology and melody in honour of the Incarnation.

Mass is sung after Sext. The Mass is as on the feast but the Gloria is sung, the second collect is Deus, qui salutis the third collect Ecclesiae. Unlike the feast the Alleluia and its verse are sung in place of the Tract. The preface is that of the Nativity. Although a simple ranking Octave Day private Votive Masses are not allowed this day.

Vespers are of the Vigil of Epiphany. The antiphons are proper and the psalms are of the BVM. A commemoration is sung of St. Telesphorus.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the day is a ferial day of Christmastide. The Holy Innocents have lost their Octave. Although of Christmastide the hymns of the Hours do not have the Doxology or melody of the Incarnation. The Mass is as on January 1st with one collect. Vespers are of the feria - the Vigil of the Epiphany has been abolished too. Before 1911-13 the Octave Day was of double rite with nine lessons.

The Holy Name of Jesus

Today is the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus and is a Double of the Second Class. It is also the Octave Day of St. John the Evangelist. The liturgical colour is white. This feast takes the place of the second 'vacant' Sunday after the Nativity or, when no Sunday falls between the Circumcision and the Epiphany, it is kept on January 2nd. The feast was granted to the Franciscan Order in 1530 to be kept on 14th January. In 1721 the feast was extended to the Universal Calendar to be kept on the second Sunday after the Epiphany. During the 1911-13 reform the feast was moved to the Sunday between the Circumcision and Epiphany or kept on January 2nd if no such Sunday occurred. In the Sarum Rite the feast was kept on August 7th - the date still appears in the Calendar of the Book of Common Prayer.

At Mattins the invitatory is Admirabile nomen Jesu etc and the hymn Jesu, Rex admirabilis etc. In the first nocturn the lessons are from the Acts of the Apostles. In the second nocturn the lessons are taken from a sermon of St. Bernard and a homily from St. Bernard on the Circumcision also provides the homily in the third nocturn. At Lauds the antiphons are proper, the hymn Jesu, decus angelicum. A commemoration of the Octave Day of St. John is sung.

At the Hours the psalmody is festal and the antiphons from Lauds are used in sequence as usual. At Prime, as normal on feasts, psalm 53 is sung before the first two divisions of psalm 118. The short lesson is proper, Omne quodcumque. The Doxologies of the hymns at the Little Hours are changed in honour of the Incarnation, Jesu, tibi sit gloria etc.

The Mass is proper, In nomine Jesu, with Gloria, commemoration of the Octave Day of St. John in private Masses, Credo and preface of the Nativity.

Second Vespers are sung without any commemoration of the following simple Octave day.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the feast is second class but gains a first Vespers as it falls on a Sunday. Mattins and Lauds are the same as the Old Rite but there is no Octave day and consequently no commemoration of it. At the Hours the antiphons are from the Sunday Office, not the feast and there is no Doxology in honour of the Incarnation. At Prime psalm 117 is sung in place of psalm 53 and the short lesson is from the season, Ipsi peribunt. Vespers are the same.

In pre-1913 practice the Octave Days of the comites Christi were of double rite and took precedence, like their feasts, over the vacant Sunday. So today would have been celebrated as the Octave Day of St. John with three nocturns and the Te Deum sung at Mattins.

Octave Day of St. Stephen the Protomartyr

Today is the Octave Day of St. Stephen the Protomartyr. It is of simple rite. As on the feast the liturgical colour is red.

At Mattins there is one nocturn of three lessons. The invitatory is as on the feast Christum natum, qui beatum hodie coronavit Stephanum, Venite adoremus. The hymns at Mattins and Lauds are those for martyrs with the Doxlogy in honour of the Incarnation, but the antiphons and psalmody are from the Psalter for Saturday. The first and second lessons are from St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, the third lesson proper to the feast. At Lauds the psalmody is ferial but the rest of the Office is as on the feast, the collect being proper to the Octave Day. At the Little Hours ferial psalmody is used. The hymns have the Doxology and melody in honour of the Incarnation.

Mass is as on the feast, Sederunt principes, but the collect is proper for the Octave Day, Omnipotens sempiterne Deus. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the BVM Deus, qui salutis, the third collect Ecclesiae for the Church or the collect for the pope. The preface of the Nativity is sung but the proper communicantes in the Canon is not said outside of the Octave of the Nativity.

Vespers are of the following feast of the Holy Name of Jesus without commemorations.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Office is of the BVM on Saturday. At the Little Hours the Doxology of the hymns is however not changed in honour of the Incarnation. The Mass has the Gloria, one collect and preface of the BVM. Vespers will be the same as above.

Before the 1911-13 reform the octave days of the comites Christi were of double rank. The octaves of St. Thomas (in England), St. John the Evangelist and the Holy Innocents would have been commemorated in Lauds and Mass. The Mass was the same except the additional collects de tempore were omitted and the Creed was sung due to the commemoration of the octave of St. John.

Ordo Recitandi 2010

Those customers who placed their orders after the second week of December and whose Ordines have not arrived yet may find the first two weeks of January (and the announcement of moveable feasts) available for download here.

The Circumcision and Octave Day of the Nativity

Today is the feast of the Circumcision of the LORD and Octave Day of the Nativity. It is a Double of the Second Class.

Anciently two if not three Masses were celebrated this day in Rome. There was the Octave Day of the Nativity, a Mass in St. Mary Major in honour of Mary, Mother of God (c.f. today's orations in the Missal), and the Circumcision. Although the latter probably fused with the Octave Day at an early age. The eleventh century Missal of Robert of Jumieges (now recently re-published by the Henry Bradshaw Society) gives two sets of formularies: the first for the Octave Day all specifically referencing both the Circumcision and the Octave Day and, then, for the first Sunday after the Nativity are the set of orations as found in Pius V's Missal for today but with a proper preface.

This is the collect given for 'the Octave of the Lord':
Deus qui nobis nati savlatoris diem caelebrare concedis octavum fac nos quaesumus ejus perpetua divinitate muniri cujus sumus carnali commercio reparati. Per eundem etc.

At yesterday's first Vespers the antiphons were proper and the psalms those for a feast of the BVM. At Mattins the first nocturn lessons continue to be read from the Epistle to the Romans. Prior to the 1911-13 reform today chapter 3 and 4 of that letter formed the first nocturn lessons with the first verse 'What advantage then hath the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? and all of St. Paul's discourse on circumcison and the Gentiles. In the reform the readings from Romans started a day earlier, on the feast of St. Thomas Becket, with the result that the first part of chapter three is omitted and no longer formed the 'appropriated' first lesson for today. In the second nocturn the lessons are taken from St. Leo's seventh sermon on the Nativity of the LORD. In the third nocturn the homily is from the writings of St. Ambrose on St. Luke's Gospel. At Lauds the same antiphons as at Vespers are sung, the hymn is of the Nativity.

At the Hours, as usual, the antiphons from Lauds are used. The Doxology in honour of the Incarnation is sung at all hymns of Iambic metre. The chapters at the Hours of Sext and None are the same as those sung on the Nativity as is the short lesson of Prime.

At Mass the composite nature is apparent: the introit Puer natus, epistle, gradual, offertory and communion chant are of the Nativity; the orations of the BVM and the Gospel of the Circumcision. The Gloria and Credo are sung and the preface and communicantes are of the Nativity.

Second Vespers have the same antiphons and psalms of the BVM.

In 'the liturgical books of 1962' textually there are only a few differences in the liturgy today. The Circumcision has been renamed Octave Day of the Nativity and raised to first class rank. At the Little Hours the tone of the hymns will be different as the Doxology in honour of the Incarnation is omitted.