Ember Saturday in Advent

Today is the Ember Saturday in Advent. It ranks as a greater, non-privileged ferial day, of simple rite.

At Mattins the invitatory Prope est jam Dominus etc is sung and the hymn is Verbum supernum prodiens. The nocturn has three lessons from a homily of St. Gregory on St. Luke's Gospel. After the third responsory the second scheme of Lauds is sung (Pss. 50, 91, 63, the Canticle of Moses & 150) with the set of antiphons Intuemini etc. This set of antiphons for the Saturday before Christmas Eve is actually rather a modern introduction to the series of antiphons at Lauds and the Hours that are used from the 17th December. Prior to the 1911-13 reform on the Saturday before Christmas Eve the particular set of antiphons that fell on the day of the week of St. Thomas' feast were either anticipated or transferred to the Saturday. The hymn at Lauds is En clara vox. The antiphon on the Benedictus is Quomodo fiet istud etc. After the antiphon is sung in full after the canticle the choir kneels and the ferial preces are sung .

At the Hours the antiphons Intuemini etc are used in sequence. At Prime the fourth psalm is added (the one displaced by the Miserere in the schema of Lauds II, Ps. 149) and the chapter is Pacem et veritatem. The Dominical and ferial preces are sung with the choir kneeling. At the other Hours the short set of ferial preces are sung, again with the choir kneeling.

Mass is sung after None and has the usual, ancient, form, common to Ember Saturdays. The ministers wear folded chasubles. Four candles are on the altar. After the Kyrie there are a series of five structural units comprising of the invitation Oremus, followed by Flectamus genua, Levate, a collect, O.T. reading and gradual. Four of these readings are from Isaiah and the last from Daniel. After the pericope from Daniel instead of a gradual the hymn of the Three Men in fiery furnace is sung, Benedictus es, Domine, Deus patrum nostrorum and its collect Deus, qui tribus pueris. After this collect the second collect is of the BVM, Deus, qui de Beate and the third collect for the Church, Ecclesiae, or Deus omnium. Mass then continues as usual (with of course kneeling for the orations and from the Canon through to the Fraction as usual on penitential days) with Benedicamus Domino sung as the dismissal.

Vespers of the fourth Sunday in Advent are sung. The antiphons Canite tuba etc are sung with the Saturday psalms. The Office hymn is Creator alme siderum and the Great 'O' Antiphon O Adonai is sung. The Great 'O' Antiphons are sung from December 17th in the Roman rite (and from the previous evening in various Western variants on the Old Roman rite). These antiphons are 'doubled', i.e. they are sung entire both before and after the Magnificat even on days of simple rank. At Compline the Dominical preces are sung, standing.

Following the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Canticle of Moses at Lauds gets shortened from 65 to 27 verses. At Prime the fourth psalm is not added and the ferial chapter Pacem et veritatem is replaced by the festal (!) Regi saeculorum. The ferial preces are omitted at Prime and the Hours. The Mass has the option of the 'mini-Ember Day' consisting of just one additional unit of collect, pericope and gradual. There is no additional collect for the Blessed Virgin or for the Church. The dismissal is Ite, missa est and the ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle. The doubling of the Great 'O' antiphons is no different to all other antiphons throughout the year. The Dominical preces are omitted at Compline.

Ember Friday in Advent

Today is Ember Friday in Advent. It ranks as a greater, non-privileged ferial day of simple rite.

At Mattins the invitatory Prope est jam Dominus etc is sung and the hymn is Verbum supernum prodiens. The nocturn has three lessons from a homily of St. Ambrose of Milan on St. Luke's account of the Visitation. After the third responsory the second scheme of Lauds is sung (Pss. 50, 142, 84, the Canticle of Habacuc & 147) with the set of antiphons Constantes estote etc. This set of antiphons is the first used this year of six sets for the ferial days before the Vigil of the Nativity. The hymn at Lauds is En clara vox, the antiphon on the Benedictus is Ex quo facta est etc. After the antiphon is sung in full after the canticle the choir kneels and the ferial preces are sung.

At the Hours the same antiphons, Constantes estote etc., are used in sequence. At Prime the fourth psalm is added (the one displaced by the Miserere in the schema of Lauds II, Ps. 98) and the chapter is Pacem et veritatem. The Dominical and ferial preces are sung with the choir kneeling. At the other Hours the short set of ferial preces are sung, again with the choir kneeling.

Mass is sung after None. The ministers wear folded chasubles. Four candles are on the altar. The second collect is of the BVM, Deus, qui de Beate, and the third collect for the Church, Ecclesiae, or Deus omnium. Mass then continues as usual (with of course kneeling for the orations and from the Canon through to the Fraction as usual on penitential days) with Benedicamus Domino sung as the dismissal.

Vespers are ferial. The Office hymn is Creator alme siderum and the first of the Great 'O' Antiphon's, O Sapientia, is sung. These antiphons are 'doubled', i.e. they are sung entire both before and after the Magnificat even on days of simple rank. After the antiphon has been repeated after the Magnificat the choir kneels and the ferial preces are sung. The collect is of the previous Sunday, Aurem tuam. At Compline the Dominical preces are sung, again kneeling.

Following the 'liturgical books of 1962' at Prime the fourth psalm is not added and the ferial chapter Pacem et veritatem is replaced by the festal (!) Regi saeculorum. The ferial preces are omitted at Prime and the Hours. At Mass there is no additional collect for the Blessed Virgin or for the Church. The penitential kneeling is reduced. The dismissal is Ite, missa est and the ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle. One strange feature of 1962 Ember Wednesdays and Fridays is that whilst traditionally the Ember Day liturgy ended with the Mass sung after None, in the 1962 books Vespers becomes formally part of the Ember Day. In the traditional rite if Vespers were ferial, the collect from the preceding Sunday was sung as noted above. In the 1962 rite the collect from the Ember Day is used at Vespers, so today Excita, quaesumus is sung.

The Third Sunday of Advent

The third Sunday of Advent, 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 Sunday's rank is a semi-double of the second class. The Gospel pericopes from St. John contain 'The Record of John', so beautifully set to music by Orlando Gibbons, with the Baptist's famous words "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the LORD."

(A recording of Gibbon's masterpiece from YouTube above.)

For this Sunday, mirroring Laetare Sunday in Lent, the penitential mood is lightened with the deacon and sub-deacon wearing violet dalmatic and tunicle rather than their folded chasubles or, with the use of rose vestments. The absence of folded chasubles means that the organ may be played.

At Vespers yesterday the antiphons were proper to the Sunday, Veniet Dominus etc., sung with the psalms of Saturday. Although within an Octave of the Blessed Virgin the concluding verse of Creator alme siderum was in the ordinary form as the Doxology is not sung on the Sunday within the Octave following the 1911-13 reform. After the collect of the Sunday commemorations were sung of the preceding Office of St. Damasus and of the Octave. At Compline the Dominical preces were omitted due to the occurring Octave.

At Mattins the invitatory is Prope est jam Dominus: Venite adoremus. This invitatory is now used until the 23rd of December inclusive. In the first nocturn the lessons are taken, as usual in Advent, from Isaias. In the second nocturn the lessons are taken from St. Leo's sermon on the fast of the tenth month. The homily in the third nocturn is from the writings of St. Gregory on St. John's Gospel and the record of the Baptist. At Lauds the antiphons that were used at Vespers are again sung. After the collect of the Sunday a commemoration of the Octave is sung.

At the Hours the antiphons from Lauds are used in the usual sequence. At Prime the versicle in the responsory is Qui venturus es in mundum and the Dominical preces are omitted due to the occurring Octave.

(A 'rose' chasuble of Adrian Fortescue DD. Purplish-rose ground with a large gold pattern woven into the fabric, velvet silk orfreys with gold edging)

Mass is sung after Terce. The ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle. The Gloria is not sung. The second collect is of the Octave. There is no third collect, as is the normal rule for Sundays within Octaves. The Creed is sung and the preface that of the Trinity. As the Gloria is not sung the dismissal is Benedicamus Domino.

(The veil and stole from Dr. Fortescue's extant rose set of vestments. Note the decoration and width of the stole ends.)

At Vespers commemorations are sung of the following feast of St. Lucy and of the Octave. At Compline the Dominical preces are omitted.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' at both Vespers there are no commemorations. The Octave of the Virgin has been abolished. Mattins is stripped down to one nocturn of three lessons. At Lauds there are no commemorations. At Mass there is only one collect and the dismissal is Ite, missa est.

Art (top): Jerome Nadal depicts today's Gospel where the Jews sent priests and Levites to interrogate St. John the Baptist.

The Second Sunday of Advent

The second Sunday of Advent (and the third and fourth) are semi-doubles of the second class in rank. The Gospel pericopes, from St. Matthew, concern St. John the Baptist in prison sending two of his followers to meet the LORD.

At Vespers on Saturday the proper antiphons from Lauds were sung, Ecce in nubibus caeli etc, with the psalms of Saturday. Commemorations were sung of St. Sabbas and St. Peter Chrysologus. At Compline the Dominical preces were omitted because of the occurring double feast.

At Mattins in the first nocturn the lessons are a continuation of Isaiah and today contain the beautiful symbolism of the Rod of Jesse. In the second nocturn this theme is continued as the lessons are taken from St. Jerome's Expositon on Isaias the Prophet. Like so much of the Advent liturgy these readings are exquisite:

Therefore upon this flower, which shall suddenly come forth from the stock and root of Jesse through the Virgin Mary, the Spirit of the LORD shall rest: for truly in him all the fulness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell corporeally: the spirit was not poured out upon him by measure, as it was upon the other Saints: but as we read in the Hebrew Gospel used by the Zazarenes: The whole fountain of the Holy Ghost shall be poured forth upon him. For the LORD is a Spirit; and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is liberty.

(Lesson VI, Stanbrooke Abbey translation.) In the third nocturn the homily is from St. Gregory.

At Lauds the antiphons are proper, Ecce in nubibus caeli etc as were sung at Vespers. A commemoration is sung of St. Sabbas. At Prime the Dominical preces are sung.

Mass is sung after Terce, the deacon and subdeacon wear folded chasubles. The Gloria is not sung in the seasonal liturgy of Advent. The second collect is of St. Sabbas, the third collect of the BVM in Advent, Deus, qui de beate. The Creed is sung and the preface that of the Trinity. Benedicamus Domino is sung as the dismissal.

At Vespers the antiphons from Lauds are, again, used. A commemoration is sung of tomorrow's feast of St. Nicholas.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' there are no commemorations at either Vespers, Lauds or Mass. Mattins is cut down to one nocturn of three lessons. At Mass the ministers wear dalmatic and tunicle and the dismissal is Ite, missa est.

Art: Jerome Nadal

St. Andrew the Apostle

The feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle, the 'First Called', is a Double feast of the Second Class. It was preceded yesterday by a Vigil, which because of Advent, was not part of the Office but just the celebration of Mass. According to St. John's Gospel St. Andrew was a disciple of St. John the Baptist, whose testimony first led him and St. John the Evangelist to follow Jesus. St. Andrew at once recognised Christ as the Messiah. St. Andrew preached the Gospel in Asia Minor and, according to Eusebius, as far as Kiev. St. Andrew is the patron saint of such diverse countries as Scotland and Russia. According to tradition he was crucified at Patras in Achaea. Devotion to St. Andrew was strong in the medieval period and many Western Kalendars such as the venerable Sarum Rite had an octave for the feast. In the Roman liturgy clearly St. Andrew was once regarded as more important than in modern times hence his inclusion in the Libera nos.

The liturgy of the day is festal and began with first Vespers of the feast yesterday afternoon. The antiphons Salve, crux pretiosa etc were sung with the psalms for the Common of Apostles. After the collect of the feast a commemoration was sung of the Advent feria. Compline was feastal and the preces were omitted.

At Mattins the antiphons are proper, Vidit Dominus etc. There are the usual three nocturns of nine lessons. At Lauds the antiphons sung at Vespers are sung with the Dominical psalms. A commemoration is sung of the Advent feria.

At the Horae Minores festal psalmody is sung. At Prime the lectio brevis is Isias enim dicit.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sugn, the second collect is of the Advent feria (the collect Excita from Advent Sunday). The Creed is sung and the preface if of the Apostles.

At second Vespers a commemoration is sung of the Advent feria.

According to the 'liturgical books of 1962' St. Andrew's feast loses first Vespers. At Prime and the other Horae Minores ferial psalmody is sung, the lectio brevis is of the season.

The First Sunday of Advent

The beautiful liturgical season of Advent begins with Vespers on the Saturday before Advent Sunday. The first Sunday of Advent is a semi-double of the first class. The liturgy of Advent is perhaps the most exquisite of the entire liturgical year with 'layers' of meaning for both the First and Second Comings of the LORD. There is a weave of expectant joy and penance to be found in the liturgical texts. The first Sunday of Advent is a semi-double Sunday of the first class. The eschatalogical theme of last Sunday's Gospel continue with St. Luke's Gospel today and the Coming of the Divine Judge. During Advent bishops exchange their violet choir cassock for a black one with mozzeta or mattelletum with violet linings. Cardinals of the Court of Rome wear their 'winter' violet merino apparel (in contrast to their summer mourning dress of violet watered-silk) in place of their watered-silk scarlet.

Vespers yesterday marked the beginning of the Pars Hiemalis, or Winter Volume, of the Breviary. The antiphons In illa die etc are sung with the psalms of Saturday. The Office hymn is Creator alme siderum. After the collect of the Sunday the usual Suffrage is omitted during Advent. (An occurring or concurrent feast would be commemorated.) From this Vespers the Marian Antiphon sung is Alma Redemptoris Mater. At Compline the Dominical preces are sung.

At Mattins the invitatory is Regem venturum and this is sung in the Dominical and ferial Offices of Advent until the third Sunday. The hymn is Verbum supernum and the antiphons Veniet ecce Rex etc are sung. In the first nocturn the lessons are the Incipit of the prophet Isaiah. In the second nocturn the lessons are taken from the writing of St. Leo on the fast of the tenth month, the theme of which is preparing for the Coming and, in the third nocturn the homily is from St. Gregory continuing the theme with his commentary on St. Luke's Gospel about the end times. A ninth responsory is sung and the Te Deum omitted in the Office of Advent. At Lauds the antiphons sung at Vespers are again sung, with the Dominical psalms. The hymn is En clara vox. As noted above, the Suffrage is omitted.

At Prime the first antiphon from Lauds is used with the usual Dominical psalms (117, 118(i), 118(ii)). In the short responsory the versicle Qui venturus es in mundum replaces Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris for all of Advent except when an occuring feast has a proper versicle. The Dominical preces are sung. At the other Hours the other antiphons of Lauds are sung in the usual order.

Mass is sung after Terce. During Advent the deacon and sub-deacaon do not wear the dalmatic and tunicle but violet folded chasubles, an ancient feature of the Roman liturgy. Some previous musings about these wondrous vestments and their use may be found here. The Gloria in not sung, the second collect is of the Blessed Virgin in Advent, Deus, qui de beate, the third collect Ecclesiae. The Creed is sung, the preface that of the Blessed Trinity and, as the Gloria was not sung, the dismissal is Benedicamus Domino.


The above photograph is taken from Orbis Catholicus showing a fine traditional celebration at the Pantheon in Rome a couple of years ago. The photograph below, from a Polish site, Fidelitas, shows the FSSP using folded chasubles recently (note also four pluvialistae).


At Vespers the antiphons In illa die etc are sung with the Dominical psalms. After the collect of the Sunday a commemoration is sung of St. Saturninus. At Compline the Dominical preces are sung.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' so much has been excised from the Breviary that there are only two volumes not four. Advent Sunday marks the beginning of the Pars Prior, which runs until first Vespers of Trinity Sunday. There are no preces at Compline. Mattins is cut down to just one nocturn of three lessons. At Prime there are no preces. At Mass the deacon wears the dalmatic, and the sub-deacon the tunicle. Folded chasubles, so ancient and so quintessentially Roman, have been tossed aside. There is only one collect and the dismissal is Ite, missa est. Grim!

Art: Jerome Nadal

Ordo Recitandi 2011

Ordo Recitandi 2011 is available for despatch now, indeed some two hundred copies have already been sent to customers. Paper reminder forms have been posted today - probably the last year we will be able to do this as the postage for a letter to the USA now costs 67p and just to send one across the English Channel to France now costs 60p.

The Ordo may be ordered by following this link.

Ordo 2011 has had some improvement work in relation to previous editions. The 2011 edition, at the request of a valued customer and friend in the USA, has letters that signify the type of psalm that is to be sung at the Canonical Hours. This was a feature of many Ordines produced in the past such as the Burns Oates versions from here in England.

The reader will need to consult the bottom of page 15 for the details of the explanation. However, in each day's entry immediately after the rank of day there are now three small letters, e.g. '(pdF)' on January 1st. These indicate the psalmody for Mattins, Lauds and the Hours: 'p' indicates the psalms are proper; 'd' indicates the Dominical psalms are sung at Lauds; and 'F' indicates the Festal psalms are sung at the Hours, i.e. at Prime the first psalm is Deus, in nomine tuo. At the end of the day's entry two other letters indicate the psalmody for Vespers and Compline: for January 1st these have the indicators '(pd)': 'p' indicates proper psalms at Vespers; and 'd' the Dominical psalms at Compline.

January 1st is a straight forward example but some days are more complex, e.g. St. Agnes on January 21st where we have '(pdf)'. This means proper psalms at Mattins, Dominical psalms at Lauds but ferial - note the use of lower case 'f' - psalms at the Hours. Whether the second scheme of Lauds is sung, and the fourth psalm added to Prime is also indicated. We trust that users will find this addition helpful.

Remember you can email your order form to us: mail@ordorecitandi.org.uk