SS Philip & James Apostles

The feast of the Holy Apostles SS Philip and James is a Double of the Second Class and its liturgical colour is red. In Western rites SS Philip and James have been honoured together as the relics of both Apostles were jointly placed in the confessio of the Church of the Apostles in Rome at its consecration in the sixth century. The anniversary of this, the church's dedication in c. 560, is May 1st and so the feast of two Apostles has graced this day in Western Kalendars for nearly fifteen centuries. St. Philip, tradition tells us, was from Bethsaida. He was crucified at Hierapolis in Phrygia. St. James the Less was from Cana and was the first bishop of Jerusalem. St. Paul says (Galatians 1:19) 'I did not see any apostle except James the brother of the Lord'. St. James was cast from the pediment of the Temple on the orders of the Jewish High Priest and then clubbed to death. 

The above photograph, taken by the writer whilst on a research trip to Rome three decades ago, shows the tomb of the Holy Apostles Saints Philip and James in the confessio of the Church. Far better photographs can be found on the Orbis Catholicus Secundus blog where the photograph below can be found with others.

At first Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons proper to the feast, Domine, ostende nobis Patrem etc, were sung, doubled, with psalms 109, 110, 111, 112 & 116. The chapter was Stabant justi and the Office hymn was Tristes erant Apostoli. The antiphon on the Magnificat, Non turbetur etc., and collect were both proper to the feast. After the collect of the feast a commemoration was sung of the preceding Office of St. Catherine of Siena.  At Compline Te lucis was sung with the Paschaltide Doxology and the Dominical preces were omitted.

At Mattins the invitatory is Regem Apostolorum Dominum Venite adoremus and the Office hymn is again Tristes erant Apostoli. In the first nocturn the antiphons Stabunt justi etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 18, 33 & 44. The lessons are from the Epistle of St. James taken from occurring Scripture, Quid proderit, fratres mei, with the responsories from the Common of Apostles in Paschaltide. In the second nocturn the antiphons Ecce etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 46, 60 & 63 and the lessons are proper to the feast. In the third nocturn the antiphons Lux perpetua etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 74, 96 & 98. The Gospel fragment is from St. John and the pericope contains the passage where the LORD tells St. Philip that if he wishes to see the Father to see Him and that in the Father's house there are many mansions. The homily is from St. Augustine. The Te Deum is sung.

At Lauds the antiphons Domine ostende nobis Patrem etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 92, 99, 62, Benedicite & 148. The Office hymn is Paschale mundo gaudium and is sung with the Paschal Doxology. At the Hours the antiphons from Lauds are sung in the usual sequence. The Office hymns have the Paschal Doxology and the festal psalms are sung at the Hours. At Prime the lectio brevis is Scimus quoniam.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Mass is proper, Exclamaverunt etc. The Gloria is sung, the Creed is sung, and the preface is of the Apostles.

At second Vespers the antiphons Domine ostende nobis Patrem are again sung, doubled, with psalms 109, 112, 115, 125 & 138. The Office hymn is Tristes erant Apostoli. After the collect of the feast a commemoration is sung of the following Office of St. Athanasius. At Compline Te lucis is sung with the Paschaltide Doxology and the Dominical preces are omitted.

The 'liturgical books of 1962' plummet to yet another low point today with the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. The ancient feast of SS Philip and James has been cast aside until May 11th, the first 'free' liturgical day, expelled from its traditional place in the Kalendar of May 1st by this repugnant accretion to the Calendar. The hymns of the Hours do not have the Paschaltide Doxology.

 
Papa Pacelli's Commission for General Liturgical Reform had discussed making May 1st a Marian feast but settled on S. Giuseppe Artigiano (c.f. minutes of meeting 45; 19 Oct 1954 and 59; 17 Jan 1956 in Giampietro, N., 'Il Card. Ferdinado Antonelli e gli sviluppi della riforma liturgica dal 1948 al 1970', Studia Anselmiana, Rome, 1998). Clearly feasts of antiquity were not considered particularly sacred - but then neither was anything else - so from 1956 the beautiful, albeit relatively modern, feast of the Solemnity of St. Joseph - celebrated two weeks ago - and its Octave were abolished.  The irony is that the feast of 'San Giuseppe Comunista' introduced as a Double of the First Class, becoming First Class in the 1960 Calendar revision - the highest rank of feast, lasted less than fifteen years before plummeting to an 'optional memoria' in the 1969 Calendar revision.

 
Considering the liturgical climate of the 1940s and 1950s the feast reflected the general ethos of the reformers. An account of a 'workers' Mass' of the period is a prime example of that ethos and illustrative of the contemporary heteropraxis:

"Permittente Summo Pastore: a case of a bishop's Mass so celebrated in this 'French' manner with express papal permission is provided by the cathedral of Castres, during November, 1944. Our eyewitness account implies that such an experiment was tried in many places. The account is lengthy, but of special interest: It was ten o'clock at night. The cathedral was already full of people, and the crowd overflowed into the street. The whole congregation was composed of workers brought there by their fellow workers. A stage, erected on a level with the Communion rail, extended some distance down the main aisle of the church. As in the Middle Ages our sanctuaries were used for the presentation of religious plays, so tonight a great mystery was to be enacted in front of the altar. All the actors were workers, wearing their work clothes. They moved forward into the glare of the spotlights. The drama began, concerning itself first with the shame of conquered France, its sufferings during the exodus which drove millions of its homeless people into the south, the misery of its prisoners held in Germany for five years, the horror of the bombardments. There, for two hours, the ordeals of a suffering people unfolded before the congregation. The organ music changed into a joyful melody when two carpenters brought to the stage a carpenters' workbench. Next, weavers appeared, placing on this improvised altar three white linen cloths which they had themselves woven. Two miners took their places on either side of the altar, with their lighted lamps like tapers, linking the world of labor with the worship of God. Lastly, came a printer, with a Missal he had printed especially for this occasion. Then Msgr. Moussaron, Archbishop of Albi, entered, garbed in his purple cassock. In full view of the congregation he was robed in his vestments while a priest explained their meaning. When midnight struck, the archbishop proceeded to the temporary altar and, facing the congregation, began the celebration of the Mass. By special dispensation of the pope, this Mass, except for the Canon, was said in French. The effect on the congregation was instant and profound. For many it was as if they were hearing Mass for the first time."

Ellard, G., 'The Mass of the Future', 1948, p.155

Image (top): Detail of reredos by Maesta, WikimediaWikimedia