The first week of Lent

First Sunday in Lent

The first Sunday in Lent is a semi-double Sunday of the first class. No feast can take precedence, in occurence, over it or any such Sunday. The liturgical colour of the Sunday is violet. At Mass, unlike in Septuagesima, the ministers wear the ancient vesture of folded chasubles rather than dalmatic and tunicle and the organ is silent (as has been the practice too since Ash Wednesday). The Gospel pericope at Mattins and Mass is St. Matthew's account of the LORD's temptation by Satan in the desert. Vespers yesterday morning marked the ancient beginning of Lent before the addition of Ash Wednesday and the intervening days. On these added days although certain penitential practices have entered the Liturgy such as the use folded chasubles and the ferial preces at the Hours the Office hymns etc were still those used in previous weeks. Vespers of the first Sunday in Lent mark the beginning of the Pars Verna, the Spring volume of the Breviary.

At Vespers yesterday morning the antiphons and psalms of Saturday were sung. The chapter was proper to the Sunday, Fratres: Hortamur vos, and the Office hymn was Audi, benigne Conditor. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the preceding feast of St. John of God and of St. Frances of Rome. The Suffrage of the Saints was omitted as were the Dominical preces at Compline.

At Mattins the invitatory is Non sit vobis and the hymn is Ex more. These are both used throughout the first four weeks of Lent. The antiphons and psalms given in the Psalter for Sundays are sung, as on previous Sundays. In the first nocturn the lessons are from the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians. In the second nocturn the lessons are taken from a sermon on Lent by St. Leo the Great and in the third nocturn the lessons are a homily of St. Gregory the Great on St. Matthew's account of the temptation of the LORD. As in Septuagesima there is no Te Deum but a ninth responsory, Angelis suis Deus mandavit de te.

At Lauds the antiphons are proper to the Sunday, Cor mundum etc., and the second scheme of Psalms is sung (50, 117, 62, Benedictus es, 148). The chapter is proper to the Sunday and the Office hymn is O sol salutis. After the collect of the Sunday a commemoration of St. Frances of Rome is sung. The Suffrage of the Saints is omitted.

At Prime and the Hours the antiphons are proper to the Sunday, Jesus autem etc. At Prime the psalms are 92, 99 (displaced from Lauds) and 118(i) & 118(ii). The Dominical preces are omitted and the short lesson is Quaerite Dominum.

Mass is sung after Terce. As folded chasubles are worn by the ministers the organ is silent. The Gloria is not sung. The second collect is of St. Frances of Rome, today, ordinarily, there is no the third collect. A Tract is sung after the Gradual, the Creed is sung, the preface is of Lent and the dismissal is Benedicamus Domino, sung by the deacon facing the celebrant and altar.

Vespers are of the Sunday, sung at the normal time (as Sundays are not fast days). The antiphons and psalms are those of Sunday, the chapter is proper and the Office hymn is Audi, benigne Conditor. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the following Office of the SS Forty Martyrs of Sebaste and of St. Frances of Rome. The Suffrage of the Saints is omitted as are the Dominical preces at Compline.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' Vespers on the weekdays of Lent are sung at the same time as during the rest of the Liturgical year. There are no commemorations at Vespers. The Suffrage of the Saints and Dominical preces have been abolished entirely. Mattins is cut down to a single nocturn of three lessons. At Lauds there are no commemorations. At Prime the psalms are Ps. 53, 118(i) & 118(ii) as on feasts. At Mass the ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle, as in Septuagesima. There is but a single collect. The dismissal is Ite, missa est.

Art: Jerome Nadal

Quinquagesima Sunday

Quinquagesima Sunday is a semi-double of the second class and its liturgical colour is violet. The Gospel pericopes at Mattins and Mass are taken from St. Luke and give the account of the giving of sight to the man born blind.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons and psalms of Saturday were sung. The chapter was proper to Quinqugesima Sunday, Fratres: Si linguis hominum, and the Office hymn was Jam sol recedit igneus. The antiphon on the Magnificat and collect were proper to Quinquagesima Sunday. After the collect of the Sunday the Suffrage of the Saints was sung. At Compline the Dominical preces were sung.

At Mattins, as on the previous two Sundays, the antiphons and psalms are those used on Sundays throughout the year and the Office hymn is Primo die. In the first nocturn the lessons are again from Genesis and this Sunday concern the story of Abraham. In the second nocturn the lessons are from St. Ambrose on the Book on the Patriarch Abraham and in the third nocturn the lessons are a homily from St. Gregory on St. Luke's Gospel of the man blind from birth whose sight was restored by the LORD. The blind man is a figure of the human race according to St. Gregory. A ninth responsory, Caecus sedebat secus viam etc, is sung in place of the Te Deum.

At Lauds the 'second scheme' of psalms is sung: Pss. 50, 117, 62, Benedictus es and 148. The antiphons at Lauds are proper for Quinquagesima Sunday, Secundum multitudinem etc. The Office hymn is Aeterne. The antiphon at the Benedictus and the collect are proper to Quinquagesima. After the collect of the Sunday the Suffrage of the Saints is sung.

At all the Hours the antiphons and chapters are proper to Quinquagesima Sunday.  At Prime the order of psalmody is that used when the second scheme of Lauds is sung, i.e. Pss. 92, 99 (displaced at Lauds) and Ps. 118(i) & 118(ii). The Dominical preces are sung.

At Mass the Gloria is omitted, the second collect is A cunctis, the third collect is chosen by the Dean or rector of the place. A Tract is sung after the Gradual, the Creed is sung and the preface is of the Blessed Trinity. Benedicamus Domino is sung as the dismissal by the deacon facing the altar and the last Gospel.

At Vespers the antiphons and psalms of Sunday are sung, the chapter is proper to the Sunday. The Office hymn is Lucis creator. After the collect of the Sunday the Suffrage of the Saints is sung.  At Compline the Domincal preces are sung.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Suffrage of the Saints and the Dominical preces have been abolished. At Mattins there is only a single nocturn. At Prime Pss. 53, 118(i) & 118(ii ) are sung, as on feasts. At Mass there is a single collect and Benedicamus Domino is suppressed in favour of Ite, Missa est.

Art: Jerome Nadal