Dominican Compline During Lent - 1st Sunday of Lent to the III Sunday of Lent

The most unique and distinguishing element of the Dominican Breviary, that sets it apart from the Roman, is the variability in the Office of Compline.  And no where is this rich variability more evident than during the seasons of Lent, Passiontide, Paschaltide, Ascensiontide, and throughout the octave of Pentecost, when the hymn, Little Chapter, and responses change substantially.

The Ferial Office During Lent

It seems as though we were just celebrating Christmas.  Already, the wheel of the liturgical year has moved through the seasons of the Epiphany and Septuagesima, and now we have entered the holy season of Lent.

In the Dominican Breviary, the ferial office in Lent season is similar to that of the Roman Breviary, with slight differences.

The ferial days in Lent (Quadragesima) are III Class, and take precedence over III Class feasts of saints and blesseds.  So when the III Class feast of a saint or blessed occurs on the calendar, a commemoration is made of that feast.

Though March is a sparse month in the in the 1962 Dominican sanctorale, it does contain the feast of the Angelic Doctor on March 7.  This feast, which temporarily lightens the heaviness of the penitential season of Lent is 1st Class in the Dominican Rite.  It takes precedence over the ferial days of Lent, so we only make a commemoration of the ferial office (error alert on my calendar!!) at Lauds and Vespers.  

February 6: Anniversary Of Our Deceased Parents

 Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we commemorate the Anniversary of the Deceased Parents of the members of our Order.  The ferial office is prayed, with a commemoration of Ss. Vedast and Amand.  At Pretiosa, the Anniversary is announced as follows:

"The anniversary of our Fathers and Mothers;"

Psalm 129 is prayed, as it always is on the day of an Anniversary.  Afterwards, the Prayer for the Anniversary is prayed:

O God, Lord of mercies, give to the souls of your servants, whose anniversary we keep, the home of refreshment, the blessedness of peace and the brightness of light.  Through Christ our Lord.

LOST FEASTS: January 28: Translation of the Relics of St. Thomas Aquinas

 One of the casualties of the revision of the Breviary undertaken by St. Pius X, was the feast of the Translation of the Relics of St. Thomas Aquinas.  To commemorate the transferal of the Angelic Doctor's relics to Toulouse on January 28, 1369, the general chapter of that year, with the permission of Pope Urban V, instituted a liturgical feast on January 28.  The feast was given the rank of totum duplex.  A commemoration was also made of the "second feast" of St. Agnes on this day.

Season after the Epiphany: The Wounds Of Sin

In the Dominican Rite (and in other medieval rites as well, I am sure) the season of Epiphanytide includes the wonderful Magnificat antiphon Peccata mea, Domine..., which is prayed at 1st Vespers of the Sundays after the Epiphany, up to and including Septuagesima Sunday.

I don't know anything about it's origin, but it is a brief and beautiful summary of the absolute necessity of humility and repentance for any healthy interior life.  I look forward to praying it each year.

December 22: The Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Comm.

    Happy Anniversary to the Order of Preachers!

I say it every year, and I will say it again, I so thoroughly and truly enjoy this feast.  As a member of the Order, it brings me great joy to know that I am part of a family that is now overs 800 year old, and which has been endowed by almighty God with so many holy men and women.  It is also a great joy to me that there is a specific date which serves as the birthday, so to speak, for the Order, and that it is marked by acknowledging Our Lady's patronage over this magnificent religious order founded by Out Holy Father, St. Dominic.  The office for Monday in the Fourth Week of Advent is prayed, and a commemoration of the feast is made at Lauds only.

New Book of Traditional Prayers to St. Thomas Aquinas

For those of you who, like myself, have a devotion to the Angelic Doctor, I heartily recommend this little gem that was sent to me by its author.  The purpose of this small tome is simple…to introduce readers to the beautiful patrimony of prayers (both liturgical and devotional), which the Church has given us, in order to increase devotion to St. Thomas Aquinas.

Included within its pages, you will find:

1. The Little Office of St. Thomas Aquinas
2. Antiphons and Responsories from the Office of St. Thomas Aquinas
3. Prayer of the Angelic Warfare Confraternity
4. Prayers to St. Thomas, Patron of Catholic Schools
5. Prayer Before Studying St. Thomas
6. Litany in Honor of St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and Patron of Chastity
7. The Six Sundays in Honor of St. Thomas Aquinas

Much of the traditional Dominican office of St. Thomas, much of which has been lost with the shift to the Liturgy of the Hours, is presented here in both Latin and English.

I quite heartily recommend this volume for anyone who has a devotion to St. Thomas…or who wishes to begin one.

You can purchase it at Os Justi Press here. Or, you can purchase it from Amazon here.