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

Early heteropraxis

Verus populum celebration of a private Mass at Maria-Laach from Wikimedia Commons. The photograph is dated 30 December 1930. If the celebration was on that actual date it would have been the sixth day within the Octave of the Nativity.

The rot runs deep.

Another, early, example of versus populum celebration

Assuming the date on the image is correct this would have been the Mass of St. Sylvester, 1930, in a chapel at Maria Laach Abbey.

Image

Plus ça change

Elsewhere there have been several interesting discussions about how the feast of the Sacred Heart displaces the Nativity of St. John the Baptist this year. By chance, looking for something else, I came across an interesting precursor (pun intended!) for the Diocese of Autun from 1892, predating the provisions of Divino afflatu etc.

SS Peter and Paul would suffer the same fate too according to the decree. One cannot but notice, with regret, the mentality to give precedence to the modern over the ancient...

Plus ça change..

Mattins and Lauds

The two images above come from an 1861 copy of the Breviarium Romanum available on Google Books. In the pre-1914 Breviary there was no 'Ordinary of the Divine Office' and after the initial pages of rubrics, calendar and tables Sunday at Mattins was printed followed by the rest of the Office for Sundays, then Mattins and Lauds for the other Days, then Vespers for the other days and finally Compline. One can clearly see from the above that the Pater, Ave and Credo are said before Mattins yet nothing is said before Lauds and the presumption that choral Office is taking place and that Lauds will form one service with Mattins.

Above is a photograph from the Hiemalis volume of a 1932 Dessain Breviary set (indeed the set used for compiling the Ordo). The introduction of the 'Ordinary' makes the book more 'user friendly'. One can see quite clearly that the traditional praxis is now made very clear in the rubrics. In public Office Mattins and Lauds are never separated - with one sort of exception at Christmas. Mattins of the Nativity of the LORD are sung then the Missa in Gallicantu follows immediately. After the last Gospel then Lauds follow so there is really one service, the choir remaining in their places throughout. One can see too the very clear direction that in private recitation of the Office, when Lauds may be separated from Mattins, then a Pater and Ave are said before the Deus in adjutorium.

From the 1st January 1961 the traditional praxis for the Roman rite changed with Rubricarum instructum coming into force and it was possible to have choral Mattins and Lauds as two distinct and separate services. This really is basic history of the twentieth century reform of the liturgy but some people out there do seem to want to obscure facts in the fabrication of their constructs.

Happy birthday!

Today marks the 113th birthday of the late Mgr. Alfred Newman Canon Gilbey, Protonotary Apostolic. May he enjoy it in the Court of Heaven. He used to say he thanked the Almighty that he was not born a day earlier, the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne, or a day later, the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille. A remarkable man and without doubt the very finest cleric and gentleman this writer has ever known.

To share one wonderful anecdote: When once Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother visited the Travellers Club She met Mgr. Gilbey on the stairs. "I believe I am a year old than you" She commented. Mgr. Gilbey replied, no doubt with the famous twinkle in his eyes "Impossible Madam. There is only one Lady in the realm older than me and that is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Good night to you Madam."

The month of June - then and now

The above is a photograph of the Calendar page from the June 1981 newsletter of the $$PX British District. It is interesting to compare then and now. Below is a screen- capture from the current newsletter of the $$PX District of Great Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia showing the calendar for the month of June.

One sees the difference in the liturgical books in use. The newsletter from 1981 clearly shows the use of the pre-1962 books in the British district. The Octaves of the Ascension, Corpus Christi and the Sacred Heart are all there. Notice too the traditional classification of the liturgical days as Doubles of the First Class, greater-doubles, doubles, semi-doubles and simples. One can also see three different grades of Octave.

It is interesting too to see that some of the Horae Minores, namely Prime, Sext and Compline, were publicly celebrated on week-days too back in those days.

A note on the Paschal Commemoration of the Cross

Our friend Fr. Hunwicke recently made some comments in a post lamenting the passing of the Paschal Commemoration of the Cross or Paschal Suffrage. Whilst agreeing with Fr. Hunwicke's good sentiments and suggestion he does err by suggesting the Commemoration was only made on ferial days, this is incorrect.

Pre-1911 there was a Commemoration of the Cross that was only made in the ferial Office but outside of Paschaltide. Its use was abolished with the changes of 1911 -13. It was only ever used when the Office was ferial, unlike the other Suffrages which were sung when the Office was of semi-double rite or below outside of Passiontide, Advent and Octaves. It was sung after any commemorations and before the other Suffrages. The ferial Commemoration of the Cross was structured as below, the same form being used at both Vespers and Lauds.

Ant. Per signum Crucis de inimicis nostris libera nos Deus noster.
V. Omnis terra adoret te, et psallat tibi.
R. Psalmum dicat nomini tuo Domine.

Collect: Perpetua nos, quaesumus Dominie, pace custodi: quos per lignum sanctae Crucis redimere dignatus es.

In Paschaltide the Commemoration of the Cross had different texts. This Suffrage was used in place of all the other Suffrages (pre-1911 use) and in place of the Suffrage of the Saints (post-1911 use). It is sung in all offices, except within Octaves, that are of semi-double rite and below. Pre-1911 there was a different antiphon used at Vespers and Lauds. At Vespers the antiphon was Crucem sanctam subiit qui infernum confregit, accints est potentia, surrexit die tertia, alleluia. At Lauds the antiphon was Crucifíxus surrexit a mórtuis, et redémit nos, allelúia, allelúia. The V. & R., and the collect were the same at both Vespers and at Lauds:

V. Dícite in natiónibus, allelúia.
R. Quia Dóminus regnávit a ligno, allelúia.

Collect: Deus qui pro nobis Fílium tuum Crucis patibulum subire voluisti, ut inimici a nobis expelleres potestatem: concede nobis famulis tuis; ut resurrectionis gratiam consequamur.

Following the 1911 reform the antiphon used at Vespers disappeared and the antiphon from Lauds, Crucifixus etc was used at both Vespers and Lauds. The texts of the V. & R. and collect were unchanged. Of course in the 'liturgical books of 1962' all Suffrages have been abolished.

Buy it now! Holy Week - The Complete Offices in Latin and English - Abbot Cabrol

A full review will appear here next week but I was delighted to receive a review copy of Abbot Cabrol's 'Holy Week - The Complete Offices in Latin in English' thanks to the kindness of Carmel Books.

The book is a facsimile reprint of the 1927 edition by the brilliant Abbot Fernand Cabrol, OSB. There are no unpleasant later additions but it is a genuine reprint of the original. The typeface is much larger than that found in Dr. Fortescue's Holy Week book and even my eyes can read it without having to resort to brighter light (or buy spectacles!)

The book contains the major services of Palm Sunday, Mandy Thursday (including the Mandatum ceremony which some infamous bloggers keep telling us didn't exist before 1956), Good Friday, Holy Saturday and the great Mass of Easter Sunday. The full Tenebrae services for the days of the Triduum are also there. The format is parallel columns of the Latin texts with a, very good, English translation.

Don't wait for my review but buy it now from Carmel Books and treat yourself - you will not be disappointed.

Time for Vespers!

It is not unknown that one of my own favourite customs is the praxis of having Vespers before lunch in Lent. The practice is so counter-cultural to the modern world that it instantly appealed to me when I first found out about it nearly thirty years ago. Today, and for the rest of Lent with the exception of Sundays, Vespers are not sung at the usual time in the late afternoon but are sung before lunch. The Office of this Vespers marks the ancient beginning of Lent in the Roman liturgy and also the beginning of the Pars Verna, or Spring volume, of the Breviarium Romanum. The Office for Ash Wednesday and the following days consist of the Office of Quinquagesima week with additional Lenten features, notably the ferial preces at the Hours and the use of folded chasubles at Mass.

Vespers have the antiphons, Benedictus Dominus, etc and psalms of Saturday from the Psalter. The chapter, Fratres: Hortamur vos, is proper to the Sunday and the Office hymn is Audi benigne Conditor. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations are sung of the preceding Office of St. John of God and of St. Frances of Rome. Thhe Suffrage of the Saints is omitted due to the double feasts. The Marian antiphon after Vespers, Ave Regina caelorum, is said standing as is the noon Angelus. At Compline, sung at the normal time the Dominical preces are omitted due to the double feasts commemorated at Vespers.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' so much has been cut out of the Office that the Breviary only has two volumes for the entire year, 'Pars Prior' and 'Pars Altera'. Vespers are sung at the same time as any other day in the year. There are no commemorations or Suffrage.

The old Nine-fold Alleluia

The full book available here.

Some Paschal Octave musings

The blogger The Rad Trad has made some interesting comments here of late. I would urge readers to view some of the recent posts on his own blog. In particular I would draw readers' attention to Palm Sunday: An Excercise in Ignorance; Good Friday: Mass of the Pre-Sanctified and Holy Saturday: Anticipation. The Rad Trad has collated numerous photographs of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest from a decade or so ago when it was more interested in liturgical orthopraxis - well worth a look. The Rad Trad's image at the head of his post on Holy Saturday shews the scene in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, in the rotunda around the Aedicule - the structure that houses the Tomb of Christ. Every NOON on Holy Saturday, to this day, fire is miraculously produced within the Aedicule that is distributed to the faithful and flown to various destinations across the globe.

In one of his comments on this blog The Rad Trad mentions the peculiar practices of using 'saints' relics as a bookstand' and 'worshipping the Paschal Candle'. For the benefit of readers not familiar with some of the horrors of the committee-work fabrications of the 1950s here are some useful diagrams.

Above is a photograph from J.B. O'Connell's 'The Ceremonies of Holy Week', Burns Oates, 1957 (Third edition). This shews the simplex form of the novel 'Vigil' with the Paschal Candle on its 'temporary' stand in the middle of choir. Here it is censed, with the celebrant/deacon going around it, sung to and, in the diagram, has the blessing of waters done versus populum on a table in front of it.

As to relics of the Saint's being used as a book stand a diagram from the same work illustrates this perfectly (below):

The book is bang in the centre of the altar, the bottom of its pages parallel with the edge of the mensa. When in the history of the Roman liturgy did this ever happen? The worst of false archaeology and committee work, inorganic , fabrication in praxis. On the other hand, thank God old Pius XII didn't mandate the celebrant sitting on the relics of the Saints, only a book. If you doubt me good readers, it has happened:

Let us hope the chap sitting on the mensa used wet-wipes otherwise the sacristans might have had a most unpleasant task laundering the altar cloths.

The Blessing of the Waters

A fascinating book by the Lord Marquess of Bute, 'The Blessing of the Waters on the Eve of the Epiphany' is available online here and can be purchased at a little cost from Abebooks and other sources in facsimile form.

Lord Bute gives first the traditional Roman form which took place after the Te Deum of Mattins. It is a most elaborate service consisting of numerous pericopes, collects, a preface, Sanctus, Pater noster, Libera nos etc along with intervening chants. The climax of the service is the Cross being plunged into the waters three times. This service was supressed in 1890.

Along with giving this service in Latin and English Lord Bute gives the service as found in other traditions such as the Greek, Russian and Syriac. He also gives the text of the new service from 1890. His introductory words are noteworthy:

Do read the book and buy a copy - it is well worth it.

God save The Queen!

Today the United Kingdom and the countries of the Commonwealth Realm rejoice in the sixtieth anniversary of the Accession of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The day is tinged too with sadness, particularly for Her Majesty, being also the sixtieth anniversary of the death of His Majesty King George VI.

May there be many singings of the Te Deum today in thanksgiving for The Queen and through all of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

God save The Queen, long may she reign!

Official Jubilee photograph from Hello.

The bells, the bells...

A rather interesting rubric in the 1576 Missale Romanum Google Books have been kind enough to digitalise.

What happened to Vespers?

Whilst looking for something else I was recently struck by the number of churches in Westminster that had Vespers sung on Sundays. Of course, this is not current praxis, I was looking at a copy of the 'Catholic Directory' well over a century old dating from 1893.

Of a total of 71 churches listing the times of public services 34 had Vespers on Sunday afternoons and 35 had some form of 'Evening Service'. For the purpose of this exercise all forms of advertised afternoon or evening services other than Vespers were counted as the same be they 'RSB', Compline or whatever. So in 1893 48% of churches in the 'London' part of the Archdiocese of Westminster were singing Vespers on Sundays - quite impressive really.

Carrying out the same exercise for fifteen years later (Catholic Directory, 1908) the result is strikingly different. Applying the same criteria there are now 87 churches: of those churches 24 advertised Vespers on Sundays whilst 60 of them advertised 'Evening Service'. Many churches that had advertised Vespers in 1893 were now offering 'Evening Service' - only one new church was listing Vespers.

In fifteen years, with a growth in the number of churches, the percentage of churches singing Vespers on Sundays had fallen from 48% to 28% with a corresponding increase in the number offering 'Evening Service'. A similar pattern is apparent with the Warwickshire part of the Archdiocese of Birmingham with a respective fall from 41% to 23% of churches singing Vespers from 1893 to 1908.

Any ideas as to why Vespers was in decline? My hypothesis would be changes in demographics of parishes due to immigration.

Update: Having now looked at the 'Catholic Directory' for 1939 the figures for Westminster are even more depressing. (The Directory is no longer distinguishing between 'London', Middlesex etc., so this is not exactly comparable to the above but the trend is all too clear). Sunday Services are listed for 184 churches and places of worship. Of these 184 churches only 17 have Vespers on Sundays (and one of those, the Servites in Fulham Road, only on the first Sunday of the month). 'Evening Service' is advertised by 160 of those churches, i.e. 87% of the churches. So the percentage of Westminster churches having Vespers on Sunday has fallen from 48% (1893) to 28% (1908) and then to 9% in 1939. (According to the website of the 'Diocese' [sic] of Westminster it now has 216 or 214 parishes: of those I understand 2 have Vespers on Sundays, less than 1%).

The Old Mass in pictures...

Source: Google Books, Missale Romanum, Christopher Plantini, Awtwerp, 1576

The Vigil of Pentecost

This coming Saturday is the Vigil of Pentecost. Liturgical details of the ceremonies of that day will appear as a separate post. However, the ancient ceremonies, somewhat akin to those of Holy Saturday, will not be the focus of the innumerable blogs devoted to the 'Mass of Ages', 'TLM' or 'EF' etc as the 'ancient use' Missal of 1962 no longer even has the ceremonies for the Vigil of Pentecost even printed in it as these were abolished with the deform of Holy Week in 1956 and had also been prohibited when the 'Easter Vigil' was celebrated in its second form from 1952 to 1955.

When Fr. Peter Morgan returned from Switzerland to these shores in 1971 he vigorously promoted liturgical orthopraxis and led a diverse group of 'remnant' clergy and their supporters in the establishment of a series of 'Mass centres' across the Southern half of England. The Vigil of Pentecost was celebrated in 1972 at the historic London church of St. Etheldreda, Ely Place in Holborn, thanks to the kindness of the then Rector, Fr. O'Malley. Whether the Pentecost Vigil had been celebrated by anyone during the 1960s is unclear, and probably not discernible now. Certainly in the mid-1950s there were small groups of clergy, with a concentration in the North-West of England, who quietly refused Pius XII's changes. One such priest told a friend twenty-years ago that he and like-minded colleagues thought Pius had 'flipped' and that 'normal service' would be resumed in the near-future. Whether Fr. Morgan's 1972 celebration was the first since 1956 or not it was still significant and was celebrated before the St. Pius V Association even arranged the celebration of the Sacred Triduum which did not take place until 1974, when it was celebrated in Guilford. In subsequent years the ceremonies of the Vigil of Pentecost took place at Highclere in Berkshire. With Fr. Morgan's retirement and the establishment of the SSPX Fr. Morgan's successor, Fr. Edward Black, continued to celebrate the Vigil of Pentecost at Highclere. Fr. Morgan himself celebrated the Vigil of Pentecost at Bridgewater, Somerset, between 1977 and 1980. The image below is from a 1981 SSPX newsletter.


With the 1983 ukase from M. Lefebvre against the Old Rite the celebration of the Vigil of Pentecost was interrupted for several years, although again it may have been celebrated by some 'independant' clergy. In 1990 the current SSPX District Superior, Fr. Paul Morgan, celebrated the Vigil of Pentecost at 4:30am (as part of an All Night Vigil at the church of SS Joseph and Padarn, Holloway) and again carried out the ceremonies of the Vigil of Pentecost the following year. Then, again, an hiatus until the late, and much missed, Arthur Crumly, former principle Master of Ceremonies for the Latin Mass Society, arranged for a sung Vigil of Pentecost at Corpus Christi, Covent Garden in 1993. Arthur had planned to have a solemn celebration - and had planetis plicatis made for the event - but circumstances conspired against that and it was celebrated as a Sung Mass. Nonetheless it was a very moving event. I fear I have never been really functional in the early hours of the morning (indeed I would call 4:30am night) and so was able to absorb far more of the service on this occasion. What was fascinating was the effect the service had on the celebrant, a very pleasant and pastoral man who had at one time been a member of the Canons Regular. After the Mass the celebrant was shaking and tears were flowing down his cheeks. On enquiring what was wrong he related that celebrating the Vigil had reminded him of what Holy Saturday, and the rest of Holy Week, had been and how "What we have now is not the real Old Rite." One sees why the Vigil of Pentecost had to be suppressed: there were no arguments of it putatively being at the wrong time etc and unless it was completely overhauled it would have been a reminder of past glories.

This year, as for the past couple of years, there will be several celebrations of the Vigil of Pentecost in London (and no doubt elsewhere). Arthur Crumly's instigation of the Pentecost Vigil was followed by almost a year of Old Rite celebrations. However, at the prospect of the celebration of traditional Holy Week two, truly despicable, members of the clergy were determined that such an event should not take place - both of course supposedly supporters of authentic liturgical praxis - and instigated a petition to stop the Triduum happening. Two years ago the celebrant of a sung Vigil of Pentecost asked me not to publish photographs "in case the '1962 police' get on my back." For that reason the venues of the Vigils will not be published here.

Safe from the internecine life of modern Rome there will of course be a webcast on Saturday of a Pontifical Vigil of Pentecost from the church of St. Gertrude the Great at 8:00am EDT (Noon GMT; 13:00 BST). I am also delighted that a solemn Vigil of Pentecost will be celebrated at the Anglo-Catholic church of St. Magnus the Martyr, Lower Thames Street. The blogger Ex Fide gives details and a synopsis of the Vigil service. St. Magnus the Martyr and the Ordo are actually quite closely linked. A young Peter Morgan used to frequently attend liturgies at St. Magnus and both knew and was influenced by its famous, aristocratic, incumbent for the best years of the twentieth century Fr. Henry Joy Fynes-Clinton. Fr. Morgan told this blogger that he had been impressed with Fr. Fynes-Clinton's careful and loving celebration of the Roman liturgy and had wanted to re-create that ethos when he instigated the production of the Ordo in 1973.

Update: Another friend, both of this blogger and the Saint Lawrence Press, Canon Jerome Lloyd of the Old Roman Catholic Church will be celebrating the Vigil of Pentecost in Brighton at 11:30am on Saturday. For directions please click here.

The Royal Maundy

Further to my post for Mandy Thursday afternoon I was pleased to find that BBC i-Player has a recording available of the Royal Maundy Service that took place at Westminster Abbey last Thursday. Never having seen the service I watched the recording and found it fascinating.

In the photograph above one can see six alms dishes, the oldest being from the reign of King Charles II, laid on a table in medio chori guarded by Yeomen. The dishes contain the purses containing the Royal Maundy Money. This year eighty-five men and eighty-five women received these purses. By coincidence last Thursday happened to be Her Majesty The Queen's eighty-fifth birthday - God grant Her many years!

After the reading of the Gospel account of Washing of the Feet the first distribution took place with The Queen passing down the Decani side of the nave where recipients were given the purses. The Queen was accompanied by the Lord High Almoner and several other ministers. These wore towels girded around their waist and torso over their vestments/robes. The Lord High Almoner did not wear an apron as I had been informed - perhaps the office holder did at one time?


After distributing the purses to the row of recipients on the Decani side of the nave The Queen and ministers processed through the South aisle to the South transept where the distribution continued. After a further reading the second distribution, of the remaining eighty-five purses, took place with The Queen giving the purses to recipients on the Cantoris side of the nave, processing back up the North aisle to complete the distribution in the North transept. There then followed a series of prayers culminating with the Dean's prayer before the high altar, versus Deum, of course.