LOST TRADITIONS: October 7-14 Octave Of B.V.M. Of The Rosary

If the Order had maintained its system of keeping the octaves of its major feasts, the Octave of the B.V.M. of the Rosary would be celebrated from October 8 till October 14. This is one of the many octaves that the Dominicans included in their calendar, as a means of prolonging the celebration of saints (or in this case, their Patroness), that were casualties of the revisions of Dominican calendar that took place in the middle of the 20th Century. Not all of the Dominican saints had "solemn" octaves after their feast day, but the major ones like St. Dominic, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Peter Martyr did.

Actually, this feast was originally celebrated on the 1st Sunday of October. That is where it appears in the 1909 calendar. This means that the octave was celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of October. You can see the problem that was caused, by assigning feasts of the sanctorale to the Sundays of the year. This, along with the numerous totum duplex feasts of the saints of the Order and others led to the situation where the Sundays were hardly ever celebrated as such. Moving the date of the feast to October 7 (the actual day of the Battle of Lepanto) was a nice solution that preserved the solemn celebration of the feast, and avoided the interruption of the temporale.

Every day during the octave, a commemoration was made at Lauds and Vespers using the proper versicle/responsory, Benedictus/Magnificat antiphons provided in the sanctorale.  The versicles and responses come from the feast, as does the antiphon at Lauds (which comes from 1st Vespers of the feast), but I have not been able to tell where the antiphon for Vespers comes from.

Ad Bened. ant.  Speciosa facta es et suavis in deliciis virginitatis sancta Dei genitrix: quam videntes filiae Syon vernantem in floribus rosarum et liliis convalium. Beatissimam praedicaverunt,et regine laudaverunt eam.	Ad Bened. ant.  The holy Mother of God is beautiful and comely in the delights of virginity. When they saw her flourishing among the roses and lilies of the valleys, the maidens of Sion called her happy and queens praised her
V. Elegit eam Deus, et praeelegit eam. R. Et habitare eam facit in tabernaculo suo.	V. God has chosen her, and has given her preference.  R. He gives her his home to dwell in.
Oratio. Deus, cuius Unigenitus per vitam, mortem et resurrectionem suam nobis salutis aeternae praemia comparavit: concede, quaesumus; ut haec mysteria sacratissimo beatae Mariae Virginis Rosario recolentes, et imitemur quod continent, et quod promittunt, assequamur.  Per Dominum nostrum…	Prayer O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech thee, that by meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise.  Through the same…
Ad Magnif. ant.  Sancta Maria virginum piissima suscipe vota servulorum assidua lapsos erige errantes corrige trementes corrobora   pusillanimes conforta ut tibi semper referamus laudes quam Dei summi colimus Genetricem.	Ad Magnif. ant.  Holy Mary, most tender of virgins, receive the constant prayers of your little servants: raise up the fallen, correct the wayward, strengthen the trembling, comfort the faint-hearted: so that we may ever offer praises to you whom we honor as the Mother of the Most High God.
V. Regina sacratissimi Rosarii ora pro nobis. R. Ut digni efficiámur promissiónibus Christi.	V. Queen of the most holy Rosary pray for us.  R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

October 7: The Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary, I Class

 Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary.  The feast is I Class in the calendar of the Dominican Order, so the festive office is prayed according to the rubrics.  Traditionally, Dominican Tertiaries would fast on the vigil of this great feast.  The hymns at 1st Vespers, Matins, and Lauds celebrate the three traditional groupings of mysteries...the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious.  You can download the entire English translation of the office here.

The great feast was announced at Pretiosa yesterday:

The Commemoration of Our Lady of Victory, which Pope Plus V instituted to be made annually, on account of the famous victory gained on this very day by the Christians in a naval battle against the Turks, by the assistance of the same Mother of God. However, Gregory XIII decreed that for the same victory there should be celebrated on the first Sunday of this month the annual solemnity of the Rosary of the Most Blessed Virgin. 

LOST FEAST: September 25: Commemoration of Our Holy Father St. Dominic in Suriano

Prior to the revision of the liturgical calendar of the Order initiated in 1960, the feast of the Commemoration of Our Holy Father St. Dominic in Suriano would be celebrated today.  The feast was always a totum duplex feast, equivalent to a Ist Class feast in the 1962 breviary classification system.    I know I complain often about how so many feasts were removed from the Dominican calendar, but this one really baffles me, as it is such a wonderful way to pay tribute to the patronage of St. Dominic, our Lady, and the two (2) "unofficial" patronesses of the Order, St. Mary Magdalene and St. Catherine of Alexandria.

The feast was traditionally celebrated on September 15, and the Feast of the Seven Dolors or Our Lady was celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of the month of September.  However, I believe, when the feast of the Seven Dolors was fixed on September 15, this feast was transferred to September 25 until it was deleted from the calendar.

September 15: The Seven Sorrows of the B.V.M., II Class

Stemus iuxta crucem cum María Matre Iesu, * Cuius ánima dolóris gládius pertransívit.

Let us stand by the cross with Mary the mother of Jesus, * The sword of sorrow has pierced her soul.

Thus begins Matins for today's feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Since today is a Sunday after Pentecost, and Our Lady's feast is II Class,  the office of the XVII Sunday after Pentecost is prayed, and a commemoration of the Seven Sorrows of the BVM is made at Lauds.  I've heard it said that May is the month of Mary, but for me it is September.  This month contains four (4) Marian feasts:

- September 8: Nativity of the B.V.M. (II Class)
- September 12: The Most Holy Name of Mary (III Class)
- September 15:  The Seven Sorrows of the B.V.M. (II Class)
- September 24:  B.V.M. of Ransom (Comm.)

In the Dominican breviary, the feast is II Class as in the Roman, but it contains propers for praying the office as a I Class feast as well.  This is because the feast was originally a totum duplex feast, which was celebrated on the III Sunday of the month of September.  Thus we have the magnificent responsory at Vespers, which is a solemn acknowledgement of our culpability in causing the suffering of both our Lord and our Lady by our sins:

September 5: Anniversary of the Associates and Benefactors of our Order

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we commemorate the Anniversary of the Deceased Associates and Benefactors of our Order.  The commemoration is made at Pretiosa as follows:

The Anniversary of the deceased friends and benefactors of our Order. 

August 30: St. Rose of Lima, V, O.P., III Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of St. Rose of Lima.  The feast is III Class, so the Ordinary office is prayed according to the rubrics.  This is another one of those III Class feasts which retained many of the propers from the days when the feast was totum duplex or duplex.  At Lauds, the Psalms of Sunday are prayed.  

From the Martyrology:

At Lima in Peru, St. Rose, virgin, of the Third Order of our holy Father St. Dominic. The Roman Pontiff Clement IX called her "the first flower from the Western World." At the age of five she took the vow of virginity; later she was received by Christ in a miraculous way as His spouse. She added the most severe penances to a life of purest innocence and her fame spread because of her many miracles. She died on August 24.

August 28: St. Augustine, B., C., D., II Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of St. Augustine, Bishop, Confessor, Doctor, and Father of the Church.  The feast is II Class, and so we pray the Festive office.   Also, at Pretiosa, the obit is read of Albert de Chiavari of Genoa, 10th Master General of the Order. August 28:  St. Augustine, B., C., D., II Class

The Order’s has always given high honor to the Doctor of Grace, in part because our founder St. Dominic adopted the Rule of St. Augustine as the Rule for his Order in 1216.