June 22: Blessed Innocent V, P, C, O.P., Comm.

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the commemoration of Blessed Innocent V, one of the four Dominican Popes.  From “Short Lives of the Dominican Saints” (London, Kegan Paul, Trench, and Trübner & Co., Ltd., 1901):

Blessed Innocent V., known before his elevation to the Papacy by the name of Peter of Tarantaise, was born of noble parents at that town, situated at the foot of the Alps, on the confines of Savoy, a territory then dependent on the Dukes of Burgundy, about A.D. 1225.  Whilst still quite a child, he was sent to study at the University of Paris, where he received the Dominican habit from the hands of Blessed Jordan, the second Master-General of the Order of Preachers, when only nine years old.  He is believed to have been one of those young postulants admitted on occasion of the General Chapter of 1234.  To the remonstrances of the capitular Fathers, who complained that these children were so ignorant of Latin as scarcely to be able to read a lesson of Matins even after much previous preparation, the holy Master-General gently replied: “Suffer these little onese to come, and forbid them not.  Know that you will see many, yea, most of them, acquit themselves gloriously of the office of preaching; and God will make use of them for the work of saving souls, in preference to many others of cultured mind.”  In none was this prophecy more brilliantly fulfilled than in little Peter of Tarantaise.  To the extraordinary beauty of person he joined the highest gifts of mind and heart; and in the shadow of the cloister, like the child Jesus in the holy house at Nazareth, he daily “grew in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men.”  When only twenty-eight, he was judged capable of teaching theology in the University at the same time as his intimate friend, Saint Thomas Aquinas; and we are particularly told that his merit was not in the least eclipsed by that of the Angel of the Schools.   He also composed Commentaries on the Four Books of the Sentences of Peter the Lombard and on Holy Scripture, and other learned works, which in their day were scarcely less prized than those of Saint Thomas himself.  Hence, in the year 1259, he was chosen with [Saint] Albert the Breat, Saint Thomas, and two other distinguished religious, to draw up a general plan of studies to be followed in all Dominican schools.

LOST FEAST: May 22: St. Servatius, B.,C., Protector of the Order

One of the feasts removed from the Dominican calendar during the early 20th Century was that of St. Servatius, a 4th Century bishop who lived in Gaul.  He was an unofficial protector of the Order of Preachers.  In the 1909 Dominican Breviary, his feast is a totum duplex.  In his book, "The History of the Dominican Liturgy", Fr. William Bonniwell, O.P., disputes the circumstances surrounding the legendary intervention by St. Servatius at the Chapter at Cologne.  You can find his argument here (beginning on p. 242).

May 13: Blessed Imelda, V., O.P., Comm.

 Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of Blessed Imelda Lambertini, virgin, of the Order of Preachers.  The ferial office of Eastertide is prayed, and a commemoration is made of Blessed Imelda at Lauds only.

May 8: Blessed Virgin Mary - Mediatrix of All Graces, III Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Mediatrix of All Graces.  The feast is III Class, so the Ordinary Office is prayed.  Like many III Class feasts in the Dominican Breviary, this office contains the a significant amount of beautiful propers, as if the feast were II Class.  At Lauds, the Psalms of Sunday are prayed.

May is the month of Mary, our blessed Lady and Mother of God.  Today we celebrate a wonderful Marian feast, with a beautiful Office. It honors our Blessed Lady's role in the salvation of mankind as mother of our Savior, and recognizes her universal mediation in the dispensing of all graces that come to us from Our Lord Jesus Christ.  In his encyclical Octobri Mense (On the Rosary, September 22, 1891), Pope Leo XIII declared "We may affirm that nothing, by the will of God, is given to us without Mary's mediation, in such way that just as no one can approach the almighty Father but through His Son, like wise no one, so to speak, can approach Christ but through His Mother".

LOST FEASTS: May 7 - Octave of St. Catherine of Siena, V., O.P.

Prior to the revision of the Breviary instituted by Pope St. Pius X, the Octave of St. Catherine of Siena would be celebrated today. This is one of the many octaves of the Dominican saints that were casualties of the revision of St. Pius X. Not all of the Dominican saints had octaves after their feast day, but the major ones like St. Catherine did. I think this is something that could have been retained, particularly as it was merely a commemoration at Lauds and Vespers. For the life of me, I do not see the harm in adding a commemoration, particularly of a saint that exemplifies so much of what the Order stands for.

In the 1909 Breviarium S.O.P., the octave was a solemn one, meaning that it ranked with other great octaves like that of St. Dominic and St. Thomas Aquinas. According to the Proper of the Saints, all was taken from the saints feast day, with the exception of Lessons i, ii, and iii at Matins, which were proper. These Lessons are extracts from the Bull of her Canonization.  So today, we conclude our octave of St. Catherine of Siena.

Prayer

O God, you enabled the blessed Catherine, graced with a special privilege of virginity and patience, to overcome the attacks of evil spirits and to remain unshaken in your love; grant, we beseech you, that following her example by treading underfoot the wickedness of the world, and overcoming the wiles of our enemies, we may pass tin safety to your glory.  Through our Lord…

May 5: St. Pius V, P., C., O.P., II Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of St. Pius V, Pope and Confessor, of the Order of Preachers.  The feast is II Class, so the semi-festive office is prayed according to the rubrics

St. Pius V is one of my favorite saints (I often wonder if that is a Dominican Breviary in his hand in the photo above!).  Anyone who has been unwillingly thrust into a position of leadership, can sympathize with this humble man who wanted nothing more than to be a humble Dominican friar, yet found himself enmeshed in world affairs.  He is also another example of a canonized Inquisitor, the presence of whose feast in the liturgical calendar helps to dispel some of the toxic myths that the enemies of the Church have spread to further their war against almighty God and his one true Church.

As surprising as it may seem, given the reputation this holy Pope and friary had, it took nearly a century and a half after his death before he was canonized!  In his "History of the Dominican Liturgy", Fr. William Bonniwell, O.P., relates the story of his canonization:

LOST TRADITIONS: April 30 - May 7: Octave of St. Catherine of Siena

One of the stark differences which are apparent to anyone who has sat down and compared the calendars of the 1909 and 1962 editions of the Dominican breviary is the utter lack of octaves of saints in the latter edition.  The 20th Century took its toll on the wonderful liturgical practice which extended the feasts of so many saints beyond their feast day. Yesterday would have begun the Octave of St. Catherine, which would have been celebrated from April 30 - May 7.

I do understand the concern about the sanctorale crowding out the temporale, but is it that difficult to make a commemoration at Lauds and Vespers for seven days?

Even though the Order no longer celebrates this octave, it is a wonderful private devotion that we can make to St. Catherine, one of the most famous and glorious of the saints who adorn our wonderful Order and an effective mans of deepening our devotion to her.  Every day during the octave, a commemoration was made at Lauds and Vespers using the proper versicle/responsory, Benedictus/Magnificat antiphons from the Dominican Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the collect from the feast.