First Sunday of Advent

The first Sunday of Advent is a semi-double Sunday of the first class and its liturgical colour is violet. The liturgy of Advent is perhaps the most exquisite of the entire liturgical year with 'layers' of meaning for both the First and Second Comings of the LORD. There is a weave of expectant joy and penance to be found in the liturgical texts. The eschatalogical theme of last Sunday's Gospel continues with St. Luke's Gospel today and the Coming of the Divine Judge. From Vespers of Advent Sunday the Pars Hiemalis of the Breviary begins. The feast of St. Andrew is transferred to Monday.

During Advent bishops of the Roman rite exchange their violet choir cassocks for black ones (with train) which are worn with either a black mozzeta or black mattelletum with violet linings. Cardinals of the Court of Rome wear their 'winter' violet merino apparel (in contrast to their summer mourning dress of violet watered-silk) in place of their watered-silk scarlet dress.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon (the liturgy of the Vigil of St. Andrew ended with Mass after None) the antiphons In illa die etc were sung with the psalms of Saturday. The Office hymn was Creator alme siderum. The Suffrage was omitted being Advent. At Compline the Dominical preces were sung.

At Mattins the invitatory is Regem venturum and this is sung in both the Dominical and ferial Offices of Advent until the third Sunday. The Office hymn is Verbum supernum. In the first nocturn the antiphons Veniet ecce Rex etc are sung with the usual psalms for Sunday. In the first nocturn the lessons are the Incipit of the prophet Isaiah. In the second nocturn the antiphons Gaude et laetare etc are sung and the lessons are taken from the writing of St. Leo on the fast of the tenth month, the theme of which is preparing for the Coming. In the third nocturn the antiphons Gabriel Angelus etc are sung and the homily is from St. Gregory continuing the theme of Coming with his commentary on St. Luke's Gospel about the end times. A ninth responsory is sung and the Te Deum is omitted in the Office of Advent. At Lauds the antiphons proper to the first Sunday In illa die etc, are sung with the Dominical psalms. The hymn is En clara vox. The Suffage is omitted during Advent.

At Prime the first antiphon from Lauds, In illa die, is sung with the usual Dominical psalms (117, 118i, 118ii). In the short responsory the versicle Qui venturus es in mundum replaces Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris for all of Advent except when an occurring feast has a proper versicle. The Dominical preces are sung. At the other Hours the remaining antiphons of Lauds are sung in the usual order.

Mass is sung after Terce. During Advent for ferial and Dominical Masses in the Roman rite the deacon and sub-deacon do not wear the dalmatic and tunicle but violet folded chasubles, an ancient feature of the Roman liturgy. The Gloria in not sung, the second collect is Deus, qui de beate, the third collect is Ecclesiae. The Creed is sung, the preface that of the Blessed Trinity and, as the Gloria was not sung, the dismissal is Benedicamus Domino, sung by the deacon facing the altar not turned towards the people.

At Vespers a colour change to red is made and first Vespers of St. Andrew the Apostle are sung. The antiphons Salve, crux pretiosa etc, proper to the feast are sung doubled with psalms 109, 110, 111, 112 and 116. The Office hymn is Exsultet orbis gaudiis. After the collect of the feast a commemoration of the Sunday is sung. At Compline the Dominical preces are omtted.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' so much has been excised from the Breviary that there are only two volumes not four and Advent Sunday marks the beginning of the Pars Prior, which runs until first Vespers of Trinity Sunday. The Vigil of St. Andrew has been abolished and even the feast of St. Andrew, the first called Apostle, is omitted this year in the universal calendar! Mattins is cut down to a single nocturn of three lessons. At Prime there are no Dominical preces. At Mass the there is the novelty for the the Roman rite of the deacon wearing the dalmatic and the sub-deacon the tunicle in a penitential Mass of the season. Folded chasubles, so ancient and so quintessentially Roman, have been tossed aside. There is only one collect and the dismissal is Ite, missa est. Vespers are of the Sunday with no commemorations.

Art: Jerome Nadal

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XXIV Sunday after Pentecost

Today is the twenty-fourth, and last, Sunday after Pentecost. It is also the fifth Sunday of November. The liturgical colour is green. The Gospel pericopes from St. Matthew's Gospel contain the prophetic words of the LORD concerning the last days and the coming of the Antichrist.

[Customers are asked to forgive the 'typo' in the title of today's entry in Ordo MMXIV and to be assured that Ordo MMXV - available from later today - is a far superior production. Ordo MMXIV was produced in a great rush but considerably more time has been taken over next year's edition but more of that in a separate post.]

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons and psalms of Saturday were sung. The Office hymn was Jam sol recedit igneus. The antiphon on the Magnificat was Super muros tuos for the Saturday before the fifth Sunday of November. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the preceding Office of St. Cecilia and then of St. Clement and of St. Felicitas. The Suffrage of the Saints was omitted due to the double feasts as were the Dominical preces at Compline.

At Mattins the invitatory is Adoremus Dominum etc and the Office hymn is Primo die. In the first nocturn the lessons are the Incipit of the Prophet Micheas. In the second nocturn the lessons are from St. Basil on the thirty-third psalm. In the third nocturn the homily is from St. Jerome on St. Matthew's Gospel. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the Office hymn is Aeterne rerum Conditor. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of St. Clement and of St. Felicitas. The Suffrage of the Saints is omitted.

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

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of St. Clement, the third collect is of St. Felicitas. The Creed is sung and the preface of the Blessed Trinity.

Vespers are of the Sunday. The Office hymn is Lucis creator. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the following Office of St. John of the Cross, of St. Clement and of St. Chrysogonus. The Suffrage of the Saints is omitted as are the Dominical preces at Compline due to the occurring and concurring double feasts.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' there are no commemorations at either Vespers. Mattins is cut down to a single nocturn of three lessons. At Lauds there are no commemorations. At Mass there is a single collect.

Art: Jerome Nadal Nadal's image of the Antichrist enthroned whilst the clergy and people give him false worship.

XXIII Sunday after Pentecost

The twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost is of semi-double rite and its liturgical colour is green. Today is also the fourth Sunday of November. The Gospel pericopes from St. Matthew contain the passages where the LORD heals a woman with an issue of blood and raises Jairus' daughter from the dead.

As Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons and psalms of Saturday were sung. The Office hymn was Jam sol recedit igneus. The antiphon on the Magnificat was Qui caelorum for the Saturday before the fourth Sunday of November. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the preceding Office of St. Albert the Great and of St. Gertrude. The Suffrage was omitted due to the occurring double feast as were the Dominical preces at Compline.

At Mattins the invitatory is Adoremus Dominum and the Office hymn is Primo die. In the first nocturn the lessons are from the Incipit of the book of the Prophet Osee. In the second nocturn the lessons are from St. Augustine's City of God. In the third nocturn the homily is from St. Jerome on the ninth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the Office hymn is Aeterne rerum Conditor. After the collect of the Sunday a commemoration is sung of St. Gertrude. The Suffrage of the Saints is omitted due to the occurring 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. Gertrude. There is no third collect. The Creed is sung as is the preface of the Blessed Trinity.

Vespers are of the Sunday. The Office hymn is Lucis creator. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the following feast of St. Gregory Thaumaturgus and St. Gertrude. The Suffrage of the Saints is omitted as are the Dominical preces at Compline.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' there are no commemorations at Vespers. Mattins is cut down to a single nocturn and three lessons. There are no commemorations at Lauds. There is a single collect at Mass. At Vespers there are no commemorations.

Art: Jerome Nadal

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Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Today is the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. It is a Double of the Second Class and the liturgical colour for the feast is white. Today is also the twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost and the third Sunday of November. The Sunday is commemorated at both Vespers, Mattins, Lauds and Mass. The second Sunday of November and the second week of November are omitted this year.

On November 9th, 324, St. Sylvester of Rome consecrated the basilica under the title of St. Saviour. This is believed to be the first public consecration of a church. The feast's title in the Breviary and Missal retains this ancient dedication: In Dedicatione Archbasilicae Ssmi Salvatoris. The texts for the Office come from the Common of the Dedication of a Church except for some of the Mattins lessons.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons Domum tuam, Domine etc were sung, doubled, with Pss.109, 110, 111, 112 & 147. The Office hymn is Caelestis urbs Jerusalem. After the collect of the feast commemorations are sung of the Octave Day of All Saints and of the Sunday (the antiphon on the Magnificat being Muro tuo for the Saturday before the third Sunday of November. The Suffrage is omitted as are the Dominical preces at Compline.

At Mattins the invitatory is Domum Dei decet sanctitudo, Sponsum ejus Christum adoremus in ea and the Office hymn Caelestis urbs Jerusalem. In the first nocturn the antiphons Tollite portas etc are sung with psalms 23, 45 & 47. The lessons are proper to the feast and are taken from the book of the Apocalypse of St. John with the responsories from the Common. In the second nocturn the antiphons Non est hic aliud etc are sung with psalms 83, 86 & 87, the lessons are again proper to the feast. In the third nocturn the antiphons Qui habitat etc are sung with psalms 90, 95 & 98. The homily is from St. Ambrose on St. Luke's Gospel. The ninth lesson is of the Sunday and is a homily from St. Hiliary on St. Matthew's Gospel. The Te Deum is sung.

At Lauds the antiphons Domum tuam, Domine etc are sung with the Sunday psalms (92, 99, 62, Benedicite & 148. The chapter is Vidi civitatem sanctam etc and the Office hymn Alto ex Olympi vertice. After the collect of the feast commemorations are sung of the Sunday and of St. Theodore. The Suffrage is omitted.

At Prime the antiphon Domum tuam Domine is sung with the festal psalms (53, 118i, 118ii), the Dominical preces are omitted and the lectio brevis is Et absterget Deus. Quicumque and the Dominical preces are omitted. The antiphons from Lauds are sung at the other Hours with the Dominical psalms in the usual manner.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Mass formulary from the Common Terribilis est locus iste. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Sunday. In said Masses the third collect is of St. Theodore. The Creed is sung the preface is of the Blessed Trinity and the last Gospel is of the Sunday.

At Vespers the antiphons Domum tuam, Domine etc are sung with psalms 109, 110, 111, 112 & 147. The Office hymn is Caelestis urbs Jerusalem. The versicle and response, and the antiphon on the Magnificat are proper to second Vespers. After the collect of the feast commemorations are sung of the following Office of St. Andrew Avellino and of the Sunday. The Suffrage is omitted as are the Dominical preces at Compline.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the feast is considered to be a 'feast of the Lord' and falling on a Sunday gains a first Vespers despite being a II Class feast. No commemoration of the Sunday, or of the abolished Octave Day, is made. At Mattins there is no ninth lesson of the Sunday. At Lauds a commemoration of St. Theodore is sung but not one of the Sunday. At Prime and the Hours the antiphons of Sunday, not of the feast are sung. At Prime the lectio brevis is of the Season. At sung Mass there is a single collect, the last Gospel is In principio. At Vespers there are no commemorations. The second Sunday of November and its week are always omitted.

Photo: Wikipedia

All Souls' Day

All Souls' Day is of Double rank. Since 1917 it has a standing almost like that of a primary Double of the First Class of the Universal Church. Only when November 2nd is a Sunday, as yesterday, it transferred to Monday. The day gained an independent Office after the 1911-13 reform. Prior to then Vespers, Mattins and Lauds of the Dead was sung in addition to the Office of the second day within the Octave of All Saints (as indeed was the Office of the Dead sung on the Mondays of Lent and Advent and certain other days). The reforms of Pius X gave the day its own Office with the creation of Little Hours of the Dead and some adjustments to the lessons of Mattins. The day excludes the occurrence of any other Office.

At Mattins the invitatory and psalms are those used for Mattins of the Dead. The invitatory is Regem cui omnia vivunt, * Venite adoremus. In the first nocturn the antiphons Dirige etc (hence the English term Dirge) are sung with psalms 5, 6 & 7. As at Vespers yesterday Requiem aeternam is sung in place of Gloria Patri at the end of each psalm. The lessons are taken from the Book of Job. The first lesson, Parce mihi, is the first lesson from the Office of the Dead but the second and third lessons are now proper to the day in their current arrangement. Homo natus de muliere etc, the second lesson (the fifth lesson before 1911), is highly poignant being familiar as a Funeral Sentence in the Book of Common Prayer, its source being the Sarum Office. In the second nocturn the antiphons In loco pascuae etc are sung with psalms 22, 24 & 26. The lessons in the second nocturn are new and taken form the book of St. Augustine on the care for the Dead. In the third nocturn the antiphons Complaceat etc are sung with psalms 39, 40 and 41. The lessons are from the First Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (pre-1911 these too were taken from the Book of Job). At Lauds the antiphons Exsultabunt etc are sung with psalms 50, 64, 62, Ego dixi and 150. After the antiphon on the Benedictus has been sung at the end of the canticle the choir kneels, as at Vespers yesterday, and a Pater noster is said followed by a series of versicles and their responses and the collect Fidelium.

The Hours have a special form, introduced in the 1911-13 reform. At Prime the Office begins after the silent recitation of the Pater, Ave and Credo with psalms 87, 27 & 31 without antiphons. Although the Miserere is sung at Lauds the displaced psalm is not transferred to Prime as on other days. At the reading of the Martyrology a special preamble is read, Hac die Commemoratio Omnium Fidelium Defunctorum..., before the announcement of the next day Tertio Nonas Novembris.etc. The psalms are sung either to the tone in directum or to a tone introduced with the Office of All Souls Day. Terce follows a similar, simplified, form and has psalms 37i, 37ii & 55. Sext has psalms 69, 84 & 85 and None psalm 101 divided into three sections. The Office of the day ends, as always, with None.

In the Universal Church three Masses may be celebrated by every priest on this day. This practice was first observed in Spain with an indult from Benedict XIV and extended to the Universal Church by Benedict XV in 1915 after the carnage of the First World War. The accepted practice of Collegiate churches is for the first Mass to be celebrated after Lauds, the second after Prime and the third after None. In all three Masses the sequence Dies irae is sung and the preface of the Dead is sung. Common practice is to have the Absolution of the Dead at a catafalque after the principal Mass. The Office of the day ends with the Mass after None.

Vespers see a colour change to white and Vespers of the following feast of St. Charles Borromeo are sung with a commemoration of the Octave of All Saints.

In 'the liturgical books of 1962' the sequence Dies irae may be omitted in the second and third Masses when they are not sung. The last Gospel is omitted when the Absolution takes place. Vespers of the Dead are sung this afternoon followed by Compline of the Dead. The Octave of All Saints has been abolished..

XXI Sunday after Pentecost - Sunday within the Octave of All Saints

The twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost is of semi-double rite and its liturgical colour, from Mattins, is green. This year it is the first Sunday of November and the Sunday within the Octave of All Saints. The Gospel pericopes from St. Matthew contain the parable of the unjust and ungrateful servant who, forgiven his debts by the King, demands what is owed to him from others and shews complete ingratitude.

At Mattins the invitatory is Adoremus Dominum and the Office hymn is Primo die. In the first nocturn the lessons are from the Incipit of the book of Ezechiel. In the second nocturn the lessons are from an exposition of St. Gregory on Ezechiel. In the third nocturn the homily is from St. Jerome on the eighteenth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the Office hymn is Aeterne rerum Conditor. After the collect of the Sunday, a commemoration is sung of the catve of All Saints, the Suffrage of the Saints is omitted being within an Octave.

At Prime (Pss. 117, 118i & 118ii) both Quicumque and the Dominical preces are omitted being within an Octave.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Octave. Being a Sunday within an Octave there is no third collect. The Creed is sung as is the preface of the Blessed Trinity.

Vespers are of the Sunday. The Office hymn is Lucis creator. After the collect of the Sunday a commemoration of the Octave is sung. After Benedicamus Domino the verse Fidelium is omitted and the choir sits as the green of the Sunday is removed and is exchanged for the black of mourning. Vespers of the Dead are then sung in choir. These begin with the antiphon Placebo Domino in regione vivorum. Psalms 114, 119, 120, 129 and 127 are sung. Requiem aeternam etc is sung at the end of each psalm in place of Gloria Patri etc. After the psalms there is a versicle and response but no hymn. After the antiphon on the Magnificat the choir kneels for a Pater noster, some versicles and the collect. Following the 1911-13 reform Compline takes a special form, 'Compline of the Dead', with psalms 122, 141 and 142.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Octave of All Saints has been abolished. Mattins is cut down to a single nocturn of three lessons. At Lauds there are no commemorations. At Mass there is but a single collect. Vespers are of the Sunday without any commemorations. Vespers of the Dead are sung in the afternoon of All Soul's Day.

Art: Jerome Nadal

All Saints

The feast of All Saints is a Double of the First Class with an Octave. The universal celebration of this feast developed from the dedication of the Pantheon to St. Mary and the Martyrs. This dedication took place on May 13th, 610. In some places, and the in Byzantine East to this day, a celebration of All Saints took place after Trinity Sunday. The celebration of the feast spread and Gregory IV transferred the feast and dedication to November 1st in 835. Louis the Pious spread the celebration throughout his empire and the feast entered the Universal Calendar. Sixtus IV gave the feast an Octave in the fifteenth century. The liturgical colour for the feast, and its Octave, is white.

At Mattins the invitatory is proper to the feast and octave, Regem regum Dominum venite adoremus, Quia ipse est corona Sanctorum omnium, and the Office hymn is Placare, Christe, servulis. In the first nocturn the antiphons Novit Dominus etc are sung with psalms 1, 4 & 8. The lessons are taken from the book of the Apocalypse. In the second nocturn the antiphons Domine, qui operati etc are sung with psalms 14, 23 & 31 and the lessons are taken from a sermon of the Venerable Bede. In the third nocturn the antiphons Timete Dominum etc are sung with psalms 33, 60 & 96. The homily on St. Matthew's Gospel is from St. Augustine. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the antiphons Vidi turbam magnam etc are sung with the Sunday psalms (Pss. 99, 92, 62, Benedicite & 148) and the Office hymn is Salutis aeterne dator.

At Prime the antiphon Vidi turbam magnum is sung with the festal psalms (Pss. 53, 118i & 118ii), the lectio brevis is proper to the feast, Benedictio et claritas,. At the other Hours the same antiphons from Lauds are sung with the Dominical psalms.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria and Creed are sung.

At second Vespers the antiphons Vidi turbam magnam etc are sung with psalms 109, 110, 111, 112 & 115. The Office hymn is Placare, Christe, servulis. After the collect of the feast a commemoration is sung of the Sunday (the antiphon on the Magnificat being Vidi Dominum for the Saturday before the first Sunday of November). At Compline the Dominical psalms are sung and the Dominical preces are omitted being within an Octave.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' both the Vigil and Octave of All Saints have been abolished. At Prime the lectio brevis is of the season and at the Little Hours the antiphons are doubled.