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 first Sunday of September. The pericopes from St. Matthew's Gospel contain the passages about the 'lilies of the field' and seeking first the Kingdom of God. The Office of this Sunday marks the beginning of the Pars Autumnalis of the Breviary. The fifth Sunday of August and its week are omitted this year. This Sunday marks the beginning of the Pars Autumnalis of the Breviary.

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 Cum audisset Job for the Saturday before the first Sunday of September. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the preceding Office of St. Augustine, of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist and of St. Sabina. 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 Office hymn is Nocte surgentes. In the first nocturn the lessons are the Incipit of the Book of Job. In the second nocturn the lessons are from St. Gregory's Book of Morals. In the third nocturn the homily on St. Matthew's Gospel is from St. Augustine. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the Office hymn is Ecce jam noctis. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist and of St. Sabina. The Suffrage of the Saints is omitted.

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

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, the third collect is of St. Sabina. The Creed is sung, the preface is of the Holy Trinity and the last Gospel is of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist.

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. Rose of Lima, of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist and of SS Felix & Adauctus. The Suffrage of the Saints is omitted as are the Dominical preces at Compline.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' today is fifth Sunday of August. At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphon on the Magnificat was Observa fili for the Saturday before the fifth Sunday of August. There were no commemorations. Mattins is cut down to a single nocturn. The first two lessons are from the Book of Ecclesiasticus. At Mass there is a single collect and the last Gospel is In principio. At Vespers there are no commemorations.

Art: Jerome Nadal

XIII Sunday after Pentecost

The thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost is of semi-double rite and its liturgical colour is green. This year it is the fourth Sunday of August. The Gospel pericopes from St. Luke's Gospel tell of the LORD and the ten lepers, only one of which thanked Him for being healed.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons and psalms of Saturday were sung. The Office hymn was Jam sol recedit igneus sung with the Doxology and melody of the Incarnation. The antiphon on the Magnificat was Sapientia for the Saturday before the fourth Sunday of August. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the preceding Office of St. Jane Frances Fremiot de Chantal, of the Octave Day of the Assumption (with the antiphon from first Vespers of the feast,Virgo prudentissima, and of SS Timothy, Hippolytus and Symphorian. The Suffrage of the Saints was omitted as were the Dominical preces at Compline due to the occurring double feast and Octave Day. Hymns of Iambic metre have the Doxology of the Incarnation as they have been sung throughout the Octave.

At Mattins the invitatory is Dominum qui fecit nos and the Office hymn is Nocte surgentes. In the first nocturn the lessons are the Incipit of the Book of Ecclesiasticus. In the second nocturn the lessons are from the Book of Morals by St. Gregory. In the third nocturn the lessons are a homily from St. Augustine on St. Luke's Gospel. At Lauds the Office hymn is Ecce jam noctis.  After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the Octave Day and of SS. Timothy, Hippolytus and Symphorian. The Suffrage of the Saints is omitted.

At Prime (Pss. 117, 118i & 118ii) both Quicumque and the Dominical preces are omitted due to the Octave Day. In the short responsory the versicle Qui natus es is sung, as it has been each day of the Octave.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Octave Day, the third collect, although a Sunday within the Octave, is of SS. Timothy, Hippolytus and Symphorian. The Creed is sung and the preface is of the Holy Trinity.

Prior to the reform of 1911-13 the Sunday within the Octave of the Assumption was the feast of St. Joachim, Father of the BVM. One Mass, other than the Conventual, may be sung of the feast. The Mass Dispersit is sung in white vestments with Gloria, the second collect is of the Sunday, the third of the Octave Day (in said Masses a fourth collect of SS. Timothy, Hippolytus and Symphorian is added). The Creed is sung, the Preface is of the Holy Trinity and the last Gospel is of the Sunday.

Vespers are of the Sunday. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the following feast of St. Philip Benizi and of the Octave Day. The Suffrages are omitted as are the Dominical preces at Compline.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Sunday is cut down to a single nocturn of three lessons. The Octave has been abolished.  The Office hymns are sung with the ordinary Doxology. At Vespers there are no commemorations . At Lauds there is a commemoration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  At Prime the ordinary versicle is sung in the short responsory. In sung Mass there is one collect, Low Mass has a commemoration of the Immaculate Heart. At Vespers there are no commemorations.

Art: Jerome Nadal

The Assumption of the BVM

The great feast of the Assumption is a Double of the First Class with an Octave. The feast also appears as the Dormition of the Mother of God in some earlier MSS and is known by that name in the East to this day. The liturgical colour of the feast is white. The feast is preceded by a Vigil which was, traditionally, a day of fast and abstinence. The twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, and the third Sunday of August, is commemorated in the Office and at Mass.

At first Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons Assumpta est Maria etc were sung, doubled, with psalms 109, 112, 121, 126 & 147. The chapter was from the feast In omnibus requiem and the Office hymn the hauntingly beautiful Ave, maris stella the first verse of which is always sung kneeling. After the collect of the feast a commemoration of the Sunday was sung (the antiphon on the Magnificat being Omnis sapientia for the Saturday before the third Sunday of August). At Compline Te lucis was sung to the tone of feasts of the BVM and with the Doxology Jesu, tibi sit gloria etc.

At Mattins the invitatory, Venite, adoremus Regem regum, Cujus hodie ad aethereum Virgo Mater assumpta est in caelum, is proper to the feast. The hymn is Quem terra, pontus, sidera. In the first nocturn the antiphons Exaltata est etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 8, 18 & 23. The lessons in the first nocturn, since the time of Pius V, are taken from the Incipit of the Canticle of Canticles, are particularly rich with vibrant, sensual, imagery:

Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth: for thy breasts are better than wine, smelling sweet of the best ointments. Thy name is as oil poured out: therefore young maidens have loved thee. Draw me: we will run after thee to the odour of thy ointments. The king hath brought me into his storerooms: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, remembering thy breasts more than wine: the righteous love thee. I am black but beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Cedar, as the curtains of Solomon.(1st lesson)

In the second nocturn the antiphons Specie tua etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 44, 45 & 86. The lessons are from St. John Damascene's second discourse on the Dormition of the Virgin and again both exquisite and highly appropriate to the day:

"This day the holy and animated ark of the living God, she who conceived in her womb her Creator rests in the temple of the Lord, which was not made with hands. And her ancestor David leaps, and with him the Angels lead the dance, the Archangels make celebration, the Virtues ascribe glory, the Principalities exult, the Powers rejoice together, the Dominations are joyful, the Thrones keep holiday, the Cherubim utter praise, the Seraphim proclaim her glory. This day the Eden of the new Adam receives the living Paradise, wherein the condemnation was made void, wherein the tree of life was planted, wherein our nakedness was covered." (4th lesson)

In the third nocturn the antiphons Gaude, Maria virgo etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 95, 96 & 97. The homily on the Gospel fragment is from St. Augustine's 27th Sermon on the Words of the Lord. The ninth lesson is the Gospel and homily from St. Bede for the twelfth Sunday after Pentecost. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the antiphons Assumpta est Maria etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 92, 99, 62, Benedicite and 148. The hymn O gloriosa virginum. The collect of the feast is one of the most sublime ever written:

Famulorum tuorum, quaesumus, Domine, delictis ignosce: ut, qui tibi placere de actibus nostris non valemus; Genitricis Filii tui, Domini nostri, intercessione salvemur.

Forgive, O Lord, we beseech thee, the sins of thy servants: that we who by our own deeds are unable to please thee, may be saved by the intercession of the Mother of thy Son our Lord.

At Prime and the Hours the hymns are sung with the proper Doxology and tone. In the short responsory Qui natus es de Virgine is sung, both today and throughout the Octave, and the lectio brevis is In plateis.

Mass is celebrated after Terce. The Rituale gives a Blessing of Herbs for this day which takes place immediately before Mass with Psalm 64, a series of versicles and responses, three collects, whose florid style, reminiscent of those for the Blessing of Palms, suggests a Gallican origin. The Mass formulary, Gaudeamus, is a particularly beautiful set of texts. The Gloria is sung. The Epistle is a sublime cento from the Book of Wisdom that also forms the chapters at the Office. The gradual Propter veritatem is very ancient. The Credo is sung, the preface is of the BVM, Et te in Assumptione and the last Gospel is of the Sunday.

In the afternoon at second Vespers all is as at first Vespers except the antiphon on the Magnificat which today is Hodie Maria Virgo caelos ascendit: gaudete, quia cum Christo regnat in aeternum. After the collect of the feast commemorations are sung of the following feast of St. Joachim, father of the BVM, and of the Sunday. At Compline the Sunday psalms are sung and Te lucis is sung with the proper Doxology and tone.

The 'liturgical books of 1962' have seen considerable, detrimental, revision with changes both in 1960 and, previously, with the introduction of novel texts in the 1950s. Vespers gets a new chapter, hymn and collect. At Compline the ordinary Doxology is sung. At Mattins in the first nocturn the first lesson is taken from Genesis and then, curiously, the second and third from the former Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. In the second nocturn the magnificent writings of St. Damascene are shortened by the inclusion of a sixth lesson of verbiage. The third nocturn has a homily of St. Peter Canisius on the new gospel pericope introduced in 1950. There is no ninth lesson of the Sunday. At Lauds there is a new chapter, a pedestrian and ugly hymn replacing O gloriosa virginum, and the new collect. At Prime the lectio brevis is Dominus autem dirigat, of the season. At Prime and the Hours the tone of the hymns is that for greater feasts, not the Incarnation and the special Doxology is omitted. At Mass the last Gospel is In principo, not of the Sunday. At Vespers there is no commemoration of St. Joachim, just of the Sunday.

Icon: Theophanes the Greek, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
The figures either side of Christ are the Hieromartyrs Dionysius the Areopagite and Ignatius the God-Bearer who, according to tradition, are responsible for transmitting the account of the Virgin's Dormition a version of which survived in the Roman Office in the second nocturn lessons for the 18th August until 1950.

XI Sunday after Pentecost

The eleventh Sunday after Pentecost is of semi-double rite and its liturgical colour is green. This year it is also the second Sunday of August. The Gospel pericopes from St. Mark contain the account of the LORD healing a deaf and dumb man with His spittle.

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 Ego in altissimis for the Saturday before the second Sunday of August. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the preceding feast of St. Cajetan and of SS Cyriacus, Largus & Smaragdus. The Suffrage was omitted as were the Dominical preces at Compline.

At Mattins the invitatory is Dominum qui fecit nos and the Office hymn is Nocte surgentes. In the first nocturn the lessons are the Incipit of the book of Ecclesiastes. In the second nocturn the lessons are from a sermon by St. Chrysostom. In the third nocturn the homily is from St. Gregory the Great on St. Mark's Gospel. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the Office hymn is Ecce jam noctis. After the collect of the Sunday a commemoration is sung of SS Cyriacus, Largus & Smaragdus followed by the Suffrage of the Saints.

At Prime (Pss. 117, 118i & 118ii) both Quicumque and the Dominical preces are sung.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of SS Cyriacus, Largus & Smaragdus, the third collect is A cunctis. The Creed is sung and the preface is of the Holy Trinity.

At Vespers the antiphons and psalms of Sunday are sung. The Office hymn is Lucis creator. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the following Office of St.John Mary Vianney, of SS Cyriacus, Largus & Smaragdus and of St.Romanus. 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 Lauds there are no commemorations nor Suffrage. At Prime both Quicumque and the Dominical preces are omitted. At Mass there is but a single collect.

Art: Jerome Nadal

X Sunday after Pentecost

The tenth Sunday after Pentecost is of semi-double rite and its liturgical colour is green. This year it is the first Sunday of August. The Gospel pericope from St. Luke is of the parable of the Pharisee and Publican.

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 Sapientia for the Saturday before the first Sunday of August. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the preceding Office of St. Ignatius, of St. Peter in Chains, of St. Paul the Apostle and of the Holy Machabees. The Suffrage was omitted as were the Dominical preces at Compline.

At Mattins the invitatory is Dominum qui fecit nos and the Office hymn isNocte surgentes. In the first nocturn the lessons are the Incipiunt of the Proverbs of Solomon. In the second nocturn the lessons are taken from a tract of St. Ambrose on the 118th Psalm. In the third nocturn the lessons of the homily are from St. Augustine's 36th sermon on the words of the LORD. The Te Deum is sung. At Lauds the Office hymn is Ecce jam noctis. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of St. Peter in Chains, of St. Paul and of the Holy Machabees. The Suffrage is omitted.

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

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of St. Peter in Chains, the third collect is of St. Paul and the fourth collect is of the Holy Machabees. The Creed is sung, the preface is of the Holy Trinity and the last Gospel is of St. Peter's feast.

Vespers are of the Sunday (Pss. 109, 110, 111, 112 & 113) and the Office hymn is Lucis creator. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the following Office of St. Alphonsus Liguori, of St. Peter in Chains, of St. Paul and of St. Stephen I. The Suffrage is omitted as are the Dominical preces at Compline.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' there are no commemmorations at either Vespers. 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. The feast of St. Peter in Chains has been struck from the Calendar.

Art: Jerome Nadal