Sunday 18 September 2011

XIV Sunday after Pentecost


The fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost is of semi-double rite and its liturgical colour is green. This year it is the third Sunday of September, the Sunday preceding the week of the autumn Ember Days. The pericopes from St. Matthew's Gospel contain the famous passages about the 'lilies of the field' and seeking first the Kingdom of God.

At Vespers yesterday the antiphons and psalms of Saturday were sung. The antiphon on the Magnificat was Ne reminiscaris for the Saturday before the third Sunday of September. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the preceding Office of the Impression of the Stigmata of St. Francis and of St. Joseph of Cupertino. The Suffrage of the Saints was omitted at Vespers as were the Dominical preces at Compline because of the occurring double feasts.

At Mattins there are the usual three nocturns. The invitatory and hymn are as sung on previous 'green' Sundays. In the first nocturn the lessons are the Incipit of the Book of Tobias. In the second nocturn the lessons are from a sermon on fasting of St. Leo. In the third nocturn the lessons are a homily from St. Augustine on St. Matthew's Gospel. At Lauds a commemoration is sung of St. Joseph of Cupertino. The Suffrage of the Saints is not sung because of the double feast.

At Prime (Pss. 117, 118i & 118ii) both Quicumque and the Dominical preces are omitted due to the occurring double feast.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of St. Joseph of Cupertion. There is no third collect. The Creed is sung and the preface is of the Holy Trinity.

As the third Sunday in September was, prior to the reform of 1911-13, the feast of the Seven Dolours of the BVM one Mass, other than the Conventual one, may be of the Seven Dolours of the BVM, celebrated in white vestments, with a commemoration and last Gospel of the Sunday etc.

Vespers are of the Sunday. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the following feast of SS Januarius & Companions and of St. Joseph of Cupertino.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' there are no commemortions at both Vespers or at Lauds. Mattins is cut down to one nocturn of three lessons. At Prime both Quicumque and the preces are always omitted on 'green' Sundays. At Mass there is only one collect.

Art: Jerome Nadal

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Since the Lessons at the Second Nocturn concerned the Ember Days, I think it's fair to ask the following as a comment on this post. Prior to St. Pius X's reduction of the number of holy days of obligation, what became of the Ember Day fast on those occasions, as we find this year, that Ember Wednesday coincided with the feast of St. Matthew? In other words, in those places where St. Matthew was of obligation, was the fast dispensed? (I am assuming that St. Matthew's Day was not moved in the 1911-1913 reforms, but I have not checked.)

Rubricarius said...

St. Matthew was not a holyday as far as I am aware but a Day of Devotion and had been for some centuries.

St. Matthew's feast day didn't change after 1911-13.

The fasting associated with the Ember Day would still have been kept even when a feast occurred.