IV Sunday after Pentecost

The fourth Sunday after Pentecost is of semi-double rite and its liturgical colour, until Vespers, is green. This year it is also the Sunday within the Octave of St. John the Baptist. The Vigil of SS Peter and Paul was anticipated yesterday.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons and psalms of Saturday were sung. The chapter was O altitudo, from Romans, and the Office hymn was Jam sol recedit igneus. This chapter and hymn are used now on all of the 'green' Sundays after Pentecost. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the preceding day within the Octave of St. John the Baptist and of St. Irenaeus. The Suffrage of the Saints was omitted as were the Dominical preces at Compline.

At Mattins the invitatory is Dominum qui fecit nos and the 'summer' Office hymn Nocte surgentes is sung. In the first nocturn the lessons are taken from the First Book of Kings. In the second nocturn the lessons are from a sermon of St. Augustine and in the third nocturn the homily is from St. Ambrose on the Gospel account from St. Luke on the huge catch of fish at the lake of Genesareth. At Lauds the Office hymn is Ecce jam noctis. After the collect of the Sunday commemoration are sung of SS Irenaeus and the Octave of St. John the Baptist. The Suffrage is omitted.

At Prime both Quicumque and the Dominical preces are omitted due to the occurring double feast and Octave.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of St. Irenaeus, the third collect is of the Octave of St. John the Baptist. The Creed is sung and the preface is of the Blessed Trinity.

Prior to the reform of 1911-13 the fourth Sunday of June was the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. All Masses, other than the Conventual Mass, may be of the feast and the liturgical colour is white. The Mass De ventre is sung, the second collect is of the Sunday, the Creed is sung, the preface is of the Blessed Trinity and the last Gospel is of the Sunday.

In the afternoon there is a colour change to red and first Vespers of the feast of SS Peter and Paul are sung. The antiphons Petrus et Joannes etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 109, 110, 111, 112 and 116. The Office hymn is Decora lux. After the collect of the feast a commemoration is sung of the Sunday. The Suffrage and the Dominical preces are omitted.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Octave of St. John the Baptist has been abolished. The Vigil of SS Peter and Paul is omitted this year. At Vespers there are no commemorations. 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

Sunday within the Octave of the Sacred Heart - Third Sunday after Pentecost

The Sunday within the Octave of the Sacred Heart, the third Sunday after Pentecost, is of semi-double rite and its liturgical colour is white. The structure of the Office is as last Sunday. The Gospel pericopes from St. Luke have the parable of the shepherd going after one sheep missing from his hundred strong flock.

At Vespers Yesterday afternoon the antiphons Unus militum etc were sung,not doubled, with psalms 109, 110, 115, 127 & 147. The chapter was of the Sunday and the Office hymn was En ut superba criminum, as on the feast. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the Octave of the Sacred Heart and of St. Aloysius Gonzaga. The Suffrage was omitted. At Compline the Dominical psalms were sung and Te lucis was sung with the Doxology and tone of the Octave. The Dominical preces were omitted.

At Mattins the invitatory is Cor Jesu amore nostri vulneratum, Venite adoremus and the Office hymn is Auctor beate saeculi, both as on the feast., In the first nocturn the antiphons from the feast, Cogitationes etc are sung, not doubled, with Pss. 32, 35 & 40 and the lessons are a continuation of the First Book of the Kings. The responses are of the Octave. In the second nocturn the antiphons Rex omnis terrae etc are sung with Pss. 46, 60 & 93. The lessons are from the Encyclical of Pius XI in 1928 that, inter alia, gave the feast an Octave. In the third nocturn the antiphons Qui diligitis Dominum etc are sung with Pss. 96, 97 & 107. The homily is from St. Gregory on St. Lukes Gospel. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the antiphons Unus militum etc are sung, again as on the feast but not doubled, with psalms 92, 99, 62 Benedicite & 148. The Office hymn is Cor, arca legem continens. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of St. Aloysisus Gonzaga and of the Octave. The Suffrage is omitted.

At the Hours the hymns have the Doxology Jesu tibi sit gloria, Qui Corde fundis gratiam etc. The antiphons from Lauds are sung in the normal sequence at the Hours. At Prime the festal psalms are sung (Pss. 53, 118i & 118ii). In the short responsory the versicle Qui Corde fundis gratiam is sung. The lectio brevis is of the Sunday, Deus autem.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, the third collect is of the Octave. The Creed is sung, the preface is of the Sacred Heart.

At Vespers the antiphons Unus militum etc are sung, not doubled, with psalms 109, 110, 115, 127 & 147. The Office hymn is En ut superba criminum. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the following feast of St. Paulinus, of St. Aloysius Gonzaga and of the Octave. The Suffrage is omitted as are the Dominical preces at Compline.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Octave of the Sacred Heart has been abolished. The liturgical colour of the day is green. There are no commemorations at either Vespers. Mattins is is cut down to a single nocturn of three lessons. At Lauds there are no commemorations. Mass has a single collect and the preface of the Trinity.

Art: Jerome Nadal

Sunday within the Octave of Corpus Christi

The Sunday within the Octave of Corpus Christi,  the second Sunday after Pentecost, is of semi-double rite and its liturgical colour is white, the colour of the feast and Octave.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons and psalms of the feast of Corpus Christi, Sacerdos in aeternum etc, were sung, not doubled, with psalms 109, 110, 115, 127 & 147. The chapter was of the Sunday, the Office hymn, Pange, lingua, as on the feast. The antiphon on the Magnificat and collect were of the Sunday. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the Octave, of St. Basil the Great and of St. Anthony of Padua. The Suffrage was omitted due to the double feasts and being within an Octave.  At Compline Te lucis was sung with the melody and Doxology of the Incarnation, Jesu tibi sit gloria, Qui natus es de Virgine, Cum Patre et almo Spiritu, In sempiterna saecula. The Dominical preces were omitted.

At Mattins the invitatory is Christum Regem adoremus dominantem Gentibus: Qui se manducantibus dat spiritus pinguedinem. The Office hymn is Sacris solemnis. The antiphons and psalms are as on the feast of Corpus Christi but the antiphons are not doubled.  The lessons are proper to the Sunday. In the first nocturn these are taken from the First Book of Kings. In the second nocturn they are taken from a sermon of St. Chrysostom to the people of Antioch and the homily in the third nocturn is from St. Gregory on St. Luke's Gospel. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the antiphons are those sung on the feast of Corpus Christi, Sapientia etc but they are not doubled. The chapter is of the Sunday, the Office hymn is Verbum supernum prodiens as on the feast. The antiphon on the Benedictus and collect are of the Sunday. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the Octave and St. Basil. The Suffrage is omitted.

At the Little Hours the hymns are sung to the same tone as on the feast of the Nativity of the LORD (there of course being a deep link between the Incarnation and Corpus Christi) with the Doxology Jesu tibi sit gloria etc. At Prime the festal psalms are sung (Pss. 53, 118i & 118ii), the versicle in the short responsory is Qui natus es for the feast and Octave, the short lesson is Filioli mei, of the Sunday.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Octave, the third collect is of St. Basil. The Creed is sung and the preface is of the Nativity.

In Collegiate and Cathedral Churches a Mass of the feast of Corpus Christi is sung after None with Gloria, the second collect of the Sunday, the Sequence Lauda Sion, Creed, preface of the Nativity and last Gospel of the Sunday. After this a Procession is made as on the feast. Likewise in those countries where the External Solemnity of Corpus Christi is observed on the Sunday following the feast Masses are of the feast with a commemoration of the Sunday. Indeed for a few years in the second decade of the twentieth century Corpus Christi ceased to be a holy day and its external solemnity observed on the second Sunday after Pentecost by a motu proprio of Pius X, De Diebus festis (AAS 3, 1911, pp.305-306).

(Second section of the motu proprio: Note also the moving to Sundays of St. Joseph's March feast and the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist)

In the first edition of 'The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described'  Dr Adrian Fortescue notes that Corpus Christi is no longer a holy day.

Inserted into the book after its printing (1918) is a corrigendum slip indicating that recent changes had reversed the 1911 decree and that Corpus Christi was restored as a holy day.

At Vespers the antiphons Sacerdos in aeternum etc, are sung, not doubled, with psalms 109, 110, 115, 127 & 147. The chapter is of the Sunday and the Office hymn is Pange, lingua. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the Octave, of St. Basil and of SS Vitus, Modestus & Crescentia. The Suffrage is omitted as are the Dominical preces at Compline.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' Sunday within the Octave of Corpus Christi, and the Octave itself, have been abolished. The second Sunday after Pentecost is celebrated as a 'green' Sunday. There are no commemorations at Vespers. Mattins is stripped down to a single of three lessons with the invitatory and antiphons of the Sunday. At Lauds there are no commemorations. At Mass there is a single collect. At Vespers there are no commemorations.

Art: Jerome Nadal

Ordo Recitandi Orders

Following the post of 24th March announcing the temporary suspension of processing orders for the Ordo we are pleased to say orders can now be processed and customer orders will be posted on Tuesday and Friday of each week.

Trinity Sunday

The feast of the Most Holy Trinity is now a Double of the First Class having been raised to that rank in the reforms of 1911-13. Prior to those reforms it was a Double of the Second Class and before that a double. Its origin appears to be as a local feast that originated in Liege in the tenth century with its celebration spreading in northern France and England. The Franciscan John Peckham revised the texts in the thirteenth century. In many local rites (and e.g., in the Dominican rite) Sundays were counted after Trinity rather than Pentecost, as indeed they still are in the BCP. The first Sunday after Pentecost is commemorated in the Office and Mass.

First Vespers of the feast yesterday afternoon marked the beginning of the Summer (Pars Aestiva) volume of the Breviarium Romanum. The antiphons Gloria tibi Trinitas etc were sung, doubled, with Pss. 109, 110, 111, 112 and 116. The chapter, O altitudo, and Office hymn, Jam sol recedit, will be used at Vespers on Saturdays for all the Sundays after Pentecost. The antiphon on the Magnificat, Gratias tibi, Deus etc, and the collect were proper to the feast. After the collect of the feast a commemoration of the first Sunday after Pentecost was sung. After Vespers the antiphon Salve Regina etc was sung for the first time this year. At Compline the Dominical preces were omitted.

At Mattins the invitatory is proper, Deum verum, unum in Trinitate, et Trinitatm in Unitate, Venite adoremus. In the first nocturn he antiphons, Adesto, unus Deus etc., are sung with psalms 8, 18 & 23. The lessons are taken from the sixth chapter of the Prophet Isaiah. In the second nocturn the antiphons, Te invocamus etc., are sung with psalms 46, 47 & 71, the lessons are taken from the Book of Bishop Fulgentius on faith. In the third nocturn the antiphons Caritas Pater est etc are sung with psalms 95, 96 & 97. The homily is from St. Gregory Nazianzen. The ninth lesson is of the first Sunday after Pentecost. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the antiphons, Gloria tibi, Trinitas etc., are sung with the Dominical psalms (92, 99, 62, Benedicite & 148). The Office hymn is Tu, Trinitatis Unitas. After the collect of the feast a commemoration is sung of the Sunday.

At Prime the festal psalms are sung (53, 118i & 118ii) under the antiphon Gloria tibi Trinitas. The Creed of St. Athanasius, Quicumque, is sung after the last stanza of Ps. 118. The lectio brevis is Tres sunt.

Mass is sung after Terce. Before Mass at the sprinkling of lustral water the antiphon Asperges me returns. The Mass is proper, Benedicta sit. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Sunday, the Credo is sung, the preface that of the Most Holy Trinity (used for all Sundays not having a proper preface after 1759), and the last Gospel is of the Sunday.

In second Vespers the antiphons Gloria tibi, Trinitas etc are sung with the Sunday psalms. After the collect of the feast a commemoration of the first Sunday after Pentecost is sung. At Compline the Dominical preces are omitted.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' so much has been excised from the Breviary that four volumes are no longer needed. The 'Pars Altera' of the two volumes begins today. There is no commemoration of the first Sunday after Pentecost at Vespers, Mattins or Lauds. The eighth lesson is split into two to make a ninth lesson for the feast. At Prime Quicumque is sung on this Sunday alone in the 1962 rite, the lectio brevis is Dominus autem dirigat. At Mass there is no commemoration of the Sunday and no proper last Gospel. At Vespers there are no commemorations.