The Octave of the Nativity

The Holy Innocents

The feast of the Holy Innocents is a Double of the Second Class with, since the reform of 1911-13, a simple Octave. The feast of the Holy Innocents is unique in the Roman rite in that it changes its liturgical colour depending on whether it falls on a weekday or a Sunday. As this year it is celebrated on Sunday the liturgical colour is red. When it falls on a week-day the feast is celebrated in violet, the origin of this practice being a synthesis of the differences in Gallican and Roman praxis.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons and psalms from second Vespers of the Nativity were sung. From the chapter, Qui timet Deum, the Office was of St. John with commemorations of the Holy Innocents and of the Octave of the Nativity.

At Mattins the invitatory is Regem Martyrum Dominum, Venite adoremus and the Office hymn is Audit tyrannus anxius (sung with the Doxology of the Incarnation). In the first nocturn the antiphons Secus decursus aquarum etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 1, 2 and 3. The lessons are from the Prophet Jeremiah. In the second nocturn the antiphons Dabo Sanctis meis etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 14, 15 & 23. The lessons are from a sermon of St. Augustine on the Saints. In the third nocturn the antiphons Justi autem etc are sung with psalms 32, 33 & 45. However, the eighth antiphon, Isti sunt, is proper to the feast. The homily on St. Matthew's Gospel is from the writings of St. Jerome. As the feast occurs on a Sunday this year Gloria Patri is added to the eighth responsory, the ninth responsory is omitted and the Te Deum is sung in its place. At Lauds the antiphons Herodes iratus etc are sung, doubled, with the Dominical psalms. The Office hymn is Salvete, flores Martyrum (again, sung with the Doxology of the Incarnation). After the collect of the feast a commemoration is sung of the Octave of the Nativity.

At Prime and the Hours the antiphons of Lauds are sung, not doubled, with the festal psalms. The hymns have their Doxology changed in honour of the Incarnation. At Prime, Pss. 53, 118(i), 118(ii) the short lesson is of the feast, Hi empti sunt.

At Mass the Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Octave of the Nativity. The Alleluia and its verse given in the Missal are sung before the Gospel. The Creed is sung and the preface and communicantes are of the Octave of the Nativity.

At Vespers the antiphons and psalms of the Nativity are sung, but from the chapter are of the Holy Innocents. The Office hymn is Salvete, flores Martyrum. After the collect of the feast commemorations are sung of the following feast of St. Thomas of Canterbury and of the Octave of the Nativity.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' today is the Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity. Vespers yesterday had the antiphons and psalms of the Nativity, from the chapter of St. John with a commemoration of the Sunday but not of the Holy Innocents nor of the Octave. Mattins has but a single nocturn. At Lauds there is a commemoration of the Holy Innocents but not of the Octave of the Octave. At the Hours the antiphons and psalms are of the Sunday and the hymns lose the Doxology of the Incarnation. At Prime the short lesson is of the season. At said Masses only there is a commemoration of the Holy Innocents. Vespers are of the Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity without any commemorations.

The Nativity of the LORD

May all readers and customers have a very blessed, and peaceful, celebration of the Nativity of Christ.

Meditating on the first antiphon of Vespers yesterday, Rex pacíficus * magnificátus est, cuius vultum desíderat univérsa terra, one cannot but be struck by the need of metanoia and the urgent need of the world to turni to Christ with the daily headlines of wars, the genocide in Gaza, piracy on the high seas, the corruption and venal greed of politicians etc, etc.

Minature of the Nativity, c. 1350, Master of Vyšší Brod, Mistr Vyšebrodský, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The fourth week of Advent

Fourth Sunday of Advent

The fourth Sunday of Advent is a semi-double Sunday of the second class and its liturgical colour is violet. Only a double of the first class feast may displace the Sunday in occurrence. So, this year, the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle is transferred to Monday, although his Vigil Mass was observed on Saturday. The Gospel pericopes from St. Luke concern the preaching of St. John the Baptist preaching the baptism of repentance by the Jordan and the reference to Isaias "Prepare ye the way of the LORD: make straight His paths: every valley shall be filled: and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways plain: and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

Yesterday afternoon the antiphons Canite tuba, from Lauds, were sung, not-doubled, with the psalms of Saturday. The Office hymn was Creator alme siderum. The Great 'O' Antiphon O clavis David proper to the twentieth day of December sung standing. The Suffrage is omitted in Advent. At Compline the Dominical preces were sung.

At Mattins the invitatory is Prope est jam Dominus * Venite adoremus and the Office hymn is Verbum supernum prodiens. In the first nocturn the lessons are taken, as usual in Advent, from Isaias. In the second nocturn the lessons are again taken from St. Leo's sermon on the fast of the tenth month. The homily in the third nocturn is from the twentieth homily of St. Gregory on St. Luke's Gospel. A ninth responsory, Intuemini, quantus sit iste, is sung in place of the Te Deum. At Lauds the antiphons proper to the Sunday, Canite tuba etc., are sung with the Dominical psalms. The Office hymn is En clara vox. The Suffrage is omitted in Advent.

At the Hours the antiphons from Lauds are used in the usual sequence. At Prime the versicle in the short responsory is Qui venturus es in mundum and the Dominical preces are sung.

Mass is sung after Terce. The ministers wear violet folded chasubles. The Gloria is omitted. The second collect is of the BVM in Advent, Deus qui de beate, the third collect Ecclesiae etc. The Creed and the preface of the Trinity are sung. As the Gloria is not sung the dismissal is Benedicamus Domino, sung by the deacon facing the altar.

After None there is a colour change to red and first Vespers of St. Thomas are sung. The antiphons Hoc est praeceptum meum etc are sung, doubled, with Pss. 109, 110, 111, 112 & 116. The Office hymn is Exsultet orbis gaudiis. After the collect of the feast a commemoration of the Sunday is sung (the antiphon on the Magnificat being O Oriens). At Compline the Dominical preces are omitted.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Vigil of St. Thomas has been abolished. At Vespers there are no commemorations. The Dominical preces have been abolished at Compline and Prime. Mattins is cut down to a single nocturn of three lessons as usual. At Mass the ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle, there is only one collect and the dismissal is Ite, missa est Vespers are of the Sunday, without any commemorations. The feast of St. Thomas, except where it is '1Cl' is omitted this year entirely.

Art: Jerome Nadal

Ordo MMXXVI Update

 

As many readers are aware the initial print run of Ordo MMXXVI sold out within three days when the 'cart' went live.

To prevent this happening again, with all its inherent frustration and inconvenience to users, the reprint in now available on Amazon's websites.

Please visit the relevant Amazon site for your country and search for ISBN 9798275091038

Ordering via Amazon will give a better level of customer service in that packages can be tracked etc. It also means that customers fortunate to live in the European Union will no longer have their orders subject to import VAT and its associated administration charge.  Likewise, customers in the United States should get their copies without the need to pay the new US tariffs.

The third week of Advent - Ember Week

Third Sunday of Advent

The third Sunday of Advent is a semi-double Sunday of the second class. Only a double of the first class feast may displace the Sunday Office. This year it is also the Sunday within the Octave of the Immaculate Conception. This Sunday is 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 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.'

In better days, Cardinals of the Court of Rome, removed their violet merino dress and wore rose watered-silk cassocks, with rose watered-silk mozzeta and mantelleta. At Mass the deacon and sub-deacon wear violet dalmatic and tunicle rather than their folded chasubles or, following the more modern praxis, of rose colour. The absence of folded chasubles means that the organ may be played. The week ahead will see the celebration of the Advent Ember Days.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons from Sunday's Lauds, Veniet Dominus etc, were sung, not doubled, with the psalms of Saturday. The Office hymn was Creator alme siderum, sung with the ordinary Doxology (prior to 1911-13 the Doxology of the Incarnation would have been sung). After the collect of the Sunday a commemoration was sung of the preceding Office of St. Lucy and of the Octave of the Immaculate Conception. At Compline the Dominical preces were omitted.

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 Pss. 92, 99, 62, Benedicite & 148. The Office hymn is En clara vox. After the collect of the Sunday a commemoration is sung of the Octave of the Immaculate Conception. The Suffrage is omitted. At Prime the versicle in the short responsory is Qui venturus and the Dominical preces are omitted.

Mass is sung after Terce. The ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle. The Gloria not sung. The second collect is of the Octave of the Immaculate Conception. Today there is no third collect. The Creed and the preface of the Trinity are sung. The dismissal is Benedicamus Domino sung by the deacon facing the altar.

At Vespers the antiphons, Veniet Dominus etc, are sung, not doubled, with Pss 109, 110, 111, 112 & 113. The Office hymn is Creator alme siderum. After the collect of the Sunday a commemoration is sung of the following Octave-Day of the Immaculate Conception. At Compline the Dominical preces are omitted.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Octave has been abolished. There are no commemorations at either Vespers. Mattins is stripped down to a single nocturn of three lessons. At Lauds there are no commemorations. 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.

The second week of Advent

Ordo MMXXVI

Since the new shopping cart went live on Wednesday we have received an unprecedented number of orders. These, along with several bulk pre-orders, means we are temporarily out of stock of Ordo MMXXVI.

We are doing our best to rectify this situation and will advise on the 'Blog and website accordingly.

Please do not order using the cart at the moment - you will not, currently, get an Ordo but a refund in due course.

Second Sunday of Advent

The second Sunday of Advent is a semi-double Sunday of the second class and its liturgical colour, until Vespers this year, is violet. The Gospel pericopes, from St. Matthew, tell of St. John the Baptist in prison sending two of his followers to meet the LORD. The Vigil of the Immaculate Conception was anticipated yesterday.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons Ecce in nubibus caeli etc were sung, not-doubled, with the psalms of Saturday. The Office hymn was Creator alme siderum. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the preceding Office of St. Nicholas and of St. Ambrose. At Compline the Dominical preces were omitted.

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, not doubled, with the Dominical psalms. The Office hymn is En clara vox. After the collect of the Sunday a commemoration is sung of St. Ambrose. At Prime the versicle in the responsory is Qui venturus es in mundum. The Dominical preces are omitted.

Mass is sung after Terce, the deacon and subdeacon wear violet folded chasubles. The Gloria is not sung. The second collect is of St. Ambrose, today there is no third collect in the Universal Calendar. The Creed is sung and the preface is of the Trinity. Benedicamus Domino is sung as the dismissal by the deacon facing the altar.

After None there is a colour change to white and first Vespers are sung of the Immaculate Conception of the BVM. The antiphons Tota pulchra etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 109, 112, 121, 126 & 147. The Office hymn is Ave maris stella. After the collect of the feast a commemoration is sung of the Sunday. At Compline Te lucis is sung with the Doxology Jesu tibi sit gloria and to the melody proper to the Incarnation.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception has been abolished. There are no commemorations at Vespers. 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. Vespers are of the Sunday with a commemoration of the Immaculate Conception.

Art: Jerome Nadal

The first week of Advent