Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity of the LORD

Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity is of semi-double rite and its liturgical colour is white. It is also the Sunday within the Octaves of St. Stephen, St. John and of the Holy Innocents but since the reform of 1911-13 those Octave are all but invisible.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons and psalms of the Nativity were sung, the antiphons not being doubled. The Office hymn was Jesu, Redemptor omnium. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the Octave of the Nativity and of St. Sylvester. The Suffrage was omitted. At Compline the Dominical preces were omitted. Throughout the Octave hymns of Iambic metre are sung with the Doxology and melody of the Incarnation.

At Mattins the invitatory and hymn, antiphons (not doubled) and psalms are those that were sung on the feast of the Nativity. In the first nocturn the lessons are from the Epistle to the Romans. In the second nocturn the lessons are from St. Leo on the Nativity. In the third nocturn the homily is taken from St. Ambrose on the second chapter of St. Luke's Gospel. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the antiphons from the Nativity, Quem vidistis etc., are sung (not doubled) with psalms 92, 99, 62, Benedicite and 148. The chapter and antiphon on the Benedictus are proper to the Sunday as is the collect. The Office hymn is A solis ortus cardine. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of St. Sylvester and of the Octave of the Nativity.

At the Hours the antiphons from Lauds are sung with the festal psalms. The hymns of the Hours are sung with the Doxology of the Incarnation. At Prime (Pss. 53, 118i, & 118ii) the lectio brevis is proper to the Sunday, Itaque jam non est servus.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Mass formulary is Dum medium etc. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of St. Sylvester, the third collect is of the Octave of the Nativity. The Credo is sung and the preface and communicantes are of the Nativity.

Vespers are first Vespers of the feast of the Circumcision. The antiphons O admirabile commercium etc are sung, doubled, with Pss. 109, 112, 121, 126 & 147. The Office hymn is Jesu, Redemptor omnium. There are no commemorations. At Compline the Dominical preces are omitted.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' there are no commemorations at Vespers on Saturday. Mattins has the psalmody of the Nativity (with the curtailed Ps. 88 ) and the usual cut-down single nocturn of three lessons. At the Hours the antiphons and psalmody are of from the Sunday Office, not of the Nativity. There is no proper Doxology at the hymns of the Hours. Mass has but a single collect.

Vigil of the Nativity - Fourth Sunday of Advent

The Vigil of the Nativity takes precedence over the fourth Sunday of Advent which is commemorated in the Office and at Mass. The Office is of semi-double rite until the end of Mattins and then becomes of double rite. The liturgical colour is violet. At Mass the ministers do not wear folded chasubles but dalmatic and tunicle.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons Canite tuba etc (of the fourth Sunday) were sung with the psalms of Saturday. The Office hymn was Creator alme siderum. The antiphon on the Magnificat was that appointed for the twenty-third day of December, the last in the 'Great O' series, O Emmanuel etc. This was sung doubled before and after the Canticle. The collect was of the fourth Sunday of Advent. Being Advent the Suffrage was omitted. At Compline the Dominical preces were sung.

At Mattins the invitatory is Hodie scietis (from the texts appointed for the Vigil) and the Office hymn is Verbum supernum. In the first nocturn the antiphons and psalms are of Sunday, Veniet ecce Rex etc with Pss 1, 2 & 3. The lessons continue to be read from Isaias. In the second nocturn the antiphons Gaude et laetare etc are sung with Pss. 8, 9i & 9ii and the lessons are from St. Leo on fasting. In the third nocturn the antiphons Gabriel Angelus etc are sung with Pss. 9iii, 9iv & 10. The versicle and response after the psalms is from the Vigil Hodie scietis etc. The lessons and their responsories are those appointed for the Vigil with a homily from St. Jerome on St. Matthew’s Gospel. The ninth lesson is not of the Sunday (c.f. specific rubric in the Breviary). At Lauds the antiphons, Judaea et Jerusalem nolite timere etc, are sung, doubled, with psalms 92, 99, 62, Benedicite and 148. The Office hymn is En clara vox. The chapter, antiphon on the Benedictus, and collect are proper to the Vigil. After the collect of the Vigil a commemoration of the Sunday is sung.

Prime is festal with the first antiphon from Lauds, as usual, and psalms 53, 118(i) and 118(ii). The Martyrology is sung with extra solemnity today. The Hebdomadarius dons a violet cope and preceded by acolytes bearing candles and a thurifer with incense enters the choir. After reverencing the choir and altar the Martyrology is censed, as a Gospel book, three times. The the choir rise and the Hebdomadarius chants Octavo Kalendas Januarii. Luna septima. Anno a creatione mundi, quando in principio Deus creavit coelum et terram, quinquies millesimo centesimo nonagesimonono: A diluvio etc., listing the years since the birth of Abraham, the Exodus from Egypt, the anointing of David, the time since Daniel the Prophet, since the founding of Rome and the conception of the LORD by the Holy Ghost. He continues until ...novemque post conceptionem decursis mensibus, then raising the pitch of the chant, whilst the choir kneel, he continues, in Bethlehem Judae nascitur ex Maria Virgine factus Homo. Then, in the tone of the Passion: Nativitas Domini nostri Jesu Christi secundem carnem. The choir then rise and sit whilst in the normal tone the Hebdomadarius (or a lector, depending on the custom of the place) continues with the entries for the day: Eodem die natalis santae Anastasiae etc. The lectio brevis, Per quem accepimus, is proper to the Vigil. The antiphons from Lauds are used in sequence at the rest of the Hours in the normal order.

Mass is sung after Terce. Today the ministers do not wear folded chasubles but violet dalmatic and tunicle. As always the absence of folded chasubles means the organ may be played. After the collect of the Vigil a commemoration of the Sunday is sung. The last Gospel is In principio. The dismissal, Benedicamus Domino, is sung by the deacon to a most beautiful and ornate tone reserved for today, the feast of the Holy Innocents and pro re gravi Masses.

In the afternoon first Vespers of the Nativity are sung. The antiphons Rex pacificus etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 109, 110, 111, 112 & 116. The Office hymn is Jesu, Redemptor omnium. All hymns of Iambic metre have the Doxology Jesu, tibi sit gloria, qui natus es de Virgine for the Octave and up until the feast of the Epiphany. From this Vespers the until Candlemas the Marian antiphon is Alma Redemptoris with the versicle Post partum etc and the collect Deus, qui salutis. At Compline the Domincial psalms are sung, Te lucis has the Doxology of the Incarnation and the Dominical preces are omitted.

In the liturgical books of 1962 the Dominical preces are omitted at Compline. Mattins is cut down to a single nocturn with the three lessons of the Vigil. At Lauds there is no commemoration of the Sunday. At Mass there is no commemoration of the Sunday and the dismissal is Ite, missa est. At Compline Te lucis is sung without the Doxology of the Incarnation.

Main Image: Entry from an 1865 Ordo.

Ordines orders update

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Third Sunday of Advent

The third Sunday of Advent, often referred to as Gaudete Sunday from the words of its introit, Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico gaudete, sees a lightening of the Advent mood. 'Rejoice in the LORD always; again I say rejoice.' The same words begin the Epistle from Philippians (4:4). The Sunday's rank is that of a semi-double of the second class. The Gospel pericopes from St. John contain the Baptist's famous words "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the LORD." On this Sunday, mirroring Laetare Sunday in Lent, the penitential mood lifts a little with the deacon and sub-deacon wearing violet dalmatic and tunicle rather than their folded chasubles or, following the more modern praxis, with the use of rose-coloured vestments. The use of rose vestments is not obligatory. The absence of folded chasubles means that the organ may be played. On this Sunday Cardinals of the Court of Rome, in better days, removed their violet merino dress and wore rose watered-silk cassocks, with rose watered-silk mozzeta and mantelleta.

At Vespers yesterday the antiphons from tomorrow's Lauds, Veniet Dominus etc, were sung with the psalms of Saturday. The Office hymn was Creator alme siderum. Being Advent the Suffrage was omitted but at Compline the Dominical preces were sung.

At Mattins the invitatory is Prope est jam Dominus: Venite adoremus. This invitatory is now used until the 23rd of December inclusive. The Office hymn is Verbum supernum. In the first nocturn the antiphons Veniet ecce Rex etc are sung with the usual psalms for Sunday. The lessons are a continuation of Isaiah. In the second nocturn the antiphons Gaude et laetare etc are sung and the lessons are taken from St. Leo's sermon on the fast of the tenth month. In the third nocturn the antiphons Gabriel Angelus etc are sung and the homily is from St. Gregory on St. John's Gospel and the record of the Baptist. The Te Deum is omitted and in its place a ninth responsory, Docebit nos Dominus vias suas, is sung.

At Lauds the antiphons Veniet Dominus etc are sung with the Sunday psalms. The Office hymn is En clara vox. The Suffrage is omitted. At Prime the Dominical preces are sung.

Mass is sung after Terce. The ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle. The Gloria not sung. The second collect is Deus, qui de beatae, the third collect is Ecclesiae. The Creed is sung and the preface that of the Trinity. As the Gloria is not sung the dismissal is Benedicamus Domino sung by the deacon facing the altar.

At Vespers the antiphons, Veniet Dominus etc, are sung with the Sunday psalms. The Office hymn is Creator alme siderum. The antiphon on the Magnificat is O Sapientia which is sung doubled with the choir standing. At Compline the Dominical preces are sung.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Dominical preces have been abolished. Mattins is stripped down to a single nocturn of three lessons. At Mass there is but a single collect and the dismissal is Ite, missa est.

Art: Jerome Nadal depicts today's Gospel where the Jews sent priests and Levites to interrogate St. John the Baptist.

Second Sunday of Advent

The second Sunday of Advent (and the third and fourth) are semi-double Sundays of the second class in rank. This year it is also the Sunday within the Octave of the Immaculate Conception. The Gospel pericopes, from St. Matthew, tell of St. John the Baptist in prison sending two of his followers to meet the LORD. The liturgical colour is violet.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons Ecce in nubibus caeli etc were sung with the psalms of Saturday. The Office hymn was Creator alme siderum (sung with the ordinary Doxology, c.f. pre-1911 praxis). After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the Octave and of St. Melchiades. At Compline the Dominical preces were omitted being within an Octave.

At Mattins the invitatory is Regem venturum and the Office hymn is Verbum supernum. In the first nocturn the antiphons Veniet ecce Rex etc are sung with the usual psalms for Sunday. The lessons are a continuation of Isaiah and today contain the beautiful symbolism of the Rod of Jesse. In the second nocturn the antiphons Gaude et laetare etc are sung and the them of the Rod of Jesse is continued as the lessons are taken from St. Jerome's Expositon on Isaias the Prophet. In the third nocturn the antiphons Gabriel Angelus etc are sung and the homily is from St. Gregory. The Te Deum is omitted and in its place a ninth responsory, Ecce Dominus veniet, is sung.

At Lauds the antiphons, Ecce in nubibus caeli etc are sung with the Sunday psalms. The Office hymn is En clara vox. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the Octave and of St. Melchiades. At Prime the versicle in the responsory is Qui venturus es in mundum (again, c.f. pre-1911 praxis). The Dominical preces are omitted due to the Octave.

Mass is sung after Terce, the deacon and subdeacon wear violet folded chasubles. The Gloria is not sung. The second collect is of the Octave, the third collect is of St. Melchiades. The Creed is sung and the preface is of the Trinity. Benedicamus Domino is sung as the dismissal by the deacon facing the altar.

At Vespers the antiphons Ecce in nubibus caeli are again sung this time with Pss. 109, 110, 111, 112 & 113. The Office hymn is Creator alme siderum. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the following feast St. Damasus and of the Octave. At Compline the Dominical preces are omitted.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' at Vespers there are no commemorations. The Octave has been abolished. The Dominical preces are always omitted at Prime and Compline. Mattins is cut down to a single nocturn of three lessons. At Lauds there are no commemorations. At Mass the ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle, there is only one collect and the dismissal is Ite, missa est. At Vespers there are no commemorations.

Art: Jerome Nadal

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 throughout 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 first Vespers of Advent Sunday the Pars Hiemalis of the Breviary begins.

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 antiphons In illa die etc were sung with the psalms of Saturday. The Office hymn was Creator alme siderum. After the collect of the Sunday a commemoration was sung of St. Francis Xavier. The Suffrage was omitted being Advent. At Compline the Dominical preces were omitted.

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 Office hymn is En clara vox. After the collect of the Sunday a commemoration of St. Francis Xavier is sung. The Suffage is omitted.

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 omitted. 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 of St. Francis Xavier. 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 the antiphons In illa die etc are sung with the Dominical psalms. The Office hymn is Creator alme siderum. After the collect of the Sunday commemoration are sung of the following Office of St. Peter Chyrsologus, of St. Francis Xavier and of St. Barbara. The Suffrage is omitted as are the Dominical preces at Compline.

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 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.

Art: Jerome Nadal