September 20: Blessed Francis de Posadas, C., O.P., III Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of Blessed Francis Possadas, confessor of the Order of Preachers.  In the 1962 Breviarium sacri ordinis praedicatorum calendar, his feast is merely a commemoration.  By the time the 1967 English translation was published by the Irish Dominican Province, the Order had elevated his feast to III Class.  For anyone who has the calendar that I published, it shows today as a Saturday of the B.V.M., with a commemoration of Bl. Francis de Posadas.  I will be following the later calendar from here on out, so his feast will be III Class in the 2015 calendar.

September 18: St. John Massias, C., O.P., III Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of Saint John Massias, a lay brother of the Order of Preachers.  The feast is III Class, and the ordinary office is prayed according to the rubrics.

September 12: The Most Holy Name of Mary, III Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Office, we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary.  I truly love this feast, and I look forward to its return each year.  Like the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, it is a feast that is rich in devotion to our Blessed Lady.  It is also steeped in the glorious history of Christendom.  

The feast was announced in the Martyrology during Pretiosa yesterday:

The feast of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Sovereign Pontiff, Innocent XI, commanded this feast to be celebrated because of the brilliant victory obtained over the Turks at Vienna in Austria by the help of the Blessed Virgin.

September 10: Blessed Alphonsus Navarrete, O.P., and Companions, Mm., III Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of Blessed Alfonso Navarrete and Companions.  The feast is III Class, so the ordinary office is prayed according to the rubrics.  A commemoration is made of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, Confessor.  The lesson at Matins describes the heroic virtue of these martyrs of Japan.  The Dominicans made up a large contingent of those who were killed.  Also represented were the Franciscans, Jesuits, and Augustinians.

September 6: Blessed Bertrand of Garrigue, C., O.P., Commemoration

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we make a commemoration of Blessed Bertrand of Garrigua, Confessor, of the Order of Preachers.  Since today is a ferial day, the ferial office is prayed, and a commemoration is made of Bl. Bertrand at Lauds only.

From “Short Lives of the Dominican Saints” (London, Kegan Paul, Trench, and Trübner & Co., Ltd., 1901):

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. 

The Preces In The Dominican Rite Office

Recently, a reader emailed me about the rubrics for praying the preces in the Dominican Rite Office.  One of the many differences between the Dominican and Roman Breviaries is the content of the preces prayers, as well as the specific times when they are prayed throughout the year.