With this breviary, the "Romanization" of Dominican Rite of Office had reached its zenith. There is absolutely no question that this Breviary is Dominican, through and through. Yet a quick comparison of the calendar of the 1952 and 1962 Breviaries of the Order reveals a significant reduction in the number of feasts of Dominican saints and blesseds in the latter. Further, many of the blesseds whose feasts survived the cutting board had the rank of their feast reduced to a mere commemoration. In addition, with this edition, we see a change in the manner of chanting the antiphons for the Psalms (from simply intoning the first word before the Psalm and then chanting the entire antiphopn at the end of the Psalm to chanting the entire antiphon before and after) is yet another concession to the Romanizing forces that were pressuring the Order to do away with its unique Office and Missal.
Yet another whole year has gone by and I still have not translated Fr. Browne's approval letter, which is at the front of each volume. I'm afraid procrastination is a fault that I struggle with. It appears as though he acknowledges that the calendar has been more closely conformed to that of the Roman calendar, but I do not see where he gives any explanation for why this was done. He also speaks of additional adaptions (accomadata?). If any reader out there wants to take a shot at translating it, I would be very grateful and would be happy to post it, giving full credit to the translator!
IN DEI FILIO NOBIS DILECTIS PATRIBUS AC FRATRIBUS NECNON MONIALIBUS ET SORORIBUS ORDINIS PRÆDICATORUM
NOS
FR. MICAHEL BROWNE
SACRÆ THEOLOGIÆ PROFESSOR EIUSDEM ORDINIS HUMILIS MAGISTER GENERALIS ET SERVUS
Salutem et in divinis laudibus devotionem.
Rubricis Breviarii et Missalis ritus nostril novo rubricarum codici ritus Romani conformatis, calendario quoque nostro ad normam Instructionis Sacræ Ritum Congregationis diei 14 februarii 1961 reviso novum Ordinis nostril Breviarium novis rubricis et novo calendario conforme in lucem tandem prodire potest. Igitur tenore Præsentium Nostrique auctoritate Officii hanc Breviarii editionem approbamus eiusque usum Paribut, Fratribus, Monialibus et Sororibus Nostris permittimus. Contrariis non obstantibus quibuscumque. In quorum fidem, his litteris Officii Nostri sigillo munitis manu propria subscripsimus.
Datum Romæ ad S. Sabinæ die 4 julii anno Domini 1961.
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Happy Anniversary to the 1962 Breviarium sacri ordinis praedicatorum!!