December 25: The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, I Class

 

℣. Puer natus est nobis.	℣. To us a child is born.
℟. Et filius datus est nobis.	℣. To us a son is given.

(Versicle before Lauds)

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  The feast is 1^st Class, with a 2^nd Class octave.  The Festive Office is prayed. with everything being taken from the Proper of the Season for this day.

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 years 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 Ember Saturday in Advent is prayed, and a commemoration of the feast is made at Lauds only.

December 6: St. Nicholas, B., C., III Class

Per tradition, I always post on what I see as "links" between St. Nicholas, who's feast we celebrate today, and the Dominican Order.  The feast of St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, is one of my favorite non-Dominican feasts in the liturgical calendar.  It holds the liturgical rank of III Class, as in the Roman Rite, but unlike the latter rite the Dominican Breviary contains a near-complete set of propers, as if the feast were II Class (you can download the text of the propers here, taken from the 1967 English Translation of the Breviarium S.OP.).

I have stumbled across a number of connections between St. Nicholas and our holy Order.  I wrote a post about how the feast of St. Nicholas was elevated to a totum duplex (1st Class) feast.  The next year, I did a post on how the famous mystical experience which ended St. Thomas Aquinas' prolific theological writing career occurred on the feast of St. Nicholas, right after the Angelic Doctor finished offering the Mass of this saint.  I also posted on the fact that, when St. Dominic was nearing death, and was too ill to walk, he was carried by the brethren by stretcher to the Church of St. Nicholas in Bologna.  And there, surrounded by his fellow friars, he passed to his eternal reward.  Finally, in 2018, I posted on a scholarly article which suggested that the famous O lumen ecclesiae antiphon for the office of St. Dominic may have borrowed heavily from an existing antiphon for...you guessed it, the office of St. Nicholas (O Christi Pietas).  You can find it here.

As always, I remind anyone who reads this blog to check out the website of a wonderful organization called The St. Nicholas Center, who contacted me two years ago to ask if they could include my post from last year on St. Nicholas and the Dominicans on their website.  I was happy to oblige.  This organization seeks to promote and educate the world on this wonderful saint, who is the inspiration for Santa Claus.

Prayer

O God, you adorned the blessed bishop Nicholas with countless miracles; grant, we beseech you, that through his merits and prayers, we may be delivered from the flames of hell.  Through our Lord...

The Ferial Office During Advent

  

From “Missale Sacri Ordinis Praedicatorum"; 1933

In the Dominican Breviary, the ferial office in Advent draws heavily from the Book of Jeremiah for the Little Chapter (Lauds, Terce, Sext, and Vespers). The versicle before Lauds is from Isaiah 6. Each one builds upon the Old Testament Prophets' anticipation of the coming of the Messiah, just as the Church now does during Advent.

The ferial days in Advent have the rank of III Class, until December 17.  During these days, when a III Class feast occurs in the Proper of the Saints, a commemoration is made of the ferial day at Lauds and Vespers.  From December 17 through December 23, the ferial days have the rank of II Class.  During this period, when a III Class feast occurs, the ferial office is prayed and a commemoration of the III Class feast is made at Lauds and Vespers.  The preces are prayed on all of these ferial days.

November 25: St. Catherine of Alexandria, V., M., III Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr.  The feast is III Class, so the ordinary office is prayed according to the rubrics.

Prior to the mid-20th Century revisions of the calendar, her feast was celebrated as a Totum Duplex with an octave (December 2), and her office contained a partial set of propers (the office did not include proper antiphons for the psalms of Matins, and only included three of the original nine responsories).  The antiphon at 1st Vespers for her feast in the 1909 Breviarium S.O.P. was "Hail! O Catherine, thou gem of virgins.  Hail!  O glorious spouse of the King of kings."

Due to the circumstances of her martyrdom, as one defending the Faith against pagans, and the fact that she is reputed to have been a philosopher, she has traditionally been referred to as one of the two "protectresses" of the Order, the other being St. Mary Magdalene.  In a future post, I will give the account of their intervention in the miracle of St. Dominic at Soriano.

1962 Breviarium SOP Scan Online

Thanks to the generosity of a reader of this blog (Fermín Valenzuela), a scan of the 1962 Breviarium SOP is now available for download from this blog.

The 1962 edition was the last official breviary produced by the Order.  The 1967 English translation was published by the Irish Dominican Province, and is a faithful translation of the 1962 with a few modifications:

• The 1967 translation does not include the Office of Prime or Pretiosa.
• The rank of some saints (like St. Pius V) have been altered due to official acts of the Order after the publication of the 1962 edition.

The link to this new scan is located above in the blog banner.  You can also access it here:

Below are some screenshots of the scan:

November 13: Anniversary of the Brothers and Sisters

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we commemorate the Anniversary of the Deceased Brothers and Sisters of our Order. The Ferial  Office is prayed and a commemoration of St. Brice is made at Lauds. The commemoration of our deceased brothers and sisters is made at Pretiosa.

Being a true family, albeit a supernatural one, the members of our Order pray for one another, just as we pray for members of our earthly families. And just as we depend on the intercessory prayers of the Dominican Saints in heaven, so our brothers and sisters in Purgatory depend on our sufferages here on earth. Let us remember our duty in charity to them on this special day set aside in the liturgical calendar of the Order, to offer up prayers for them. What a wonderful consolation, to those of us who, by the grace of almighty God, are members of this holy and venerable Order, to know that once we have departed this life, the entire Order will pause and offer prayers for our poor souls.

November 12: Feast of All Saints of the Dominican Order, II Class

 Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of All Saints of the Dominican Order.  The feast is II Class and so the semi-festive office of Sunday is prayed and we make a commemoration of the feast at Lauds. 

How truly humbling it is to be part of a religious Order which includes over 30 saints, 3 Doctor's of the Church, innumerable martyrs and 4 Popes.  Not only are these holy men and women, drawn from every station in life, models of sanctity for us, they are powerful intercessors for us before the heavenly throne of our loving God and Father.  The litany of the Dominican Saints can be downloaded here.

LOST FEASTS: October 31 - Commemoration of the Holy Relics

  

One of the great tragedies of the 20th century liturgical changes was the "Romanization" of the Dominican calendar that occurred in the revision of 1960, and which is codified in the calendar of the 1962 Breviarium iuxta ritum sacri ordinis praedicatorum. Many wonderful Dominican feasts were removed from the liturgical calendar of the Order, including those of many Dominican blessed's and many other feasts that were particular to the Dominican Order.  One such feast was the Feast of the Holy Relics.

As noted in the Martyrology of the Sacred Order of Friars Preachers (Bonniwell, 1955), this feast was a commemoration of "holy martyrs and of the other saints, whose bodies or relics are preserved in our churches." In the 1909 Breviarium iuxta ritum sacri ordinis praedicatorum the feast is celebrated on October 30, however in the 1924 Breviarium S.O.P. it appears on October 31, the Vigil of All Saints Day, and remained there until it was removed in 1960. The feast had the rank of a totum duplex feast, which in 1962 would have been considered a 1st Class Feast. For the Office, everything was taken from the Common of Many Martyrs, except the Collect (see below), and lessons 4, 5, and 6 at Matins, which were taken from a tract by St. John Damascene's "De Fide Orthodoxa" . A commemoration of St. Quintinus was also made. Interestingly, this feast superseded the Vigil of All Saints at Matins, as noted in the 1924 Breviarium S.O.P., which states "De Vigilia Sanctorum in Officio nihil fit" at the end of the Office.

October 5: Bl. Raymond of Capua, C., O.P., III Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of Blessed Raymond of Capua, confessor of the Order of Preachers.  The feast is III Class, so the ordinary office is prayed according to the rubrics.

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

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 17: St. Hyacinth, C., O.P., III Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of St. Hyacinth.  The feast is III Class so the Ordinary office is prayed according to the rubrics.  Like many III Class feasts of Dominican saints on the calendar, the office for St. Hyacinth contains many propers, as if the office were II Class.  So there are antiphons and responsories at all of the hours, and the Sunday Psalms are prayed at Lauds, rather than the Psalms of the ferial office.

The feast was announced yesterday, at the reading of the Martyrology:

At Cracow in Poland, St. Hyacinth, confessor, of the Order of Preachers. Having received the religious habit from the hands of our Father St. Dominic, he excelled in learning and in a life of admirable innocence. He was celebrated for the glory of his miracles, especially for walking dryshod across wide rivers. Thought deserving of sweet converse with the holy Mother of God, distinguished for his spotless life, and filled with the gifts of the Holy Ghost, he died at an advanced age. He was called to his eternal reward on the very feastday of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was canonized by Pope Clement VIII.

August 15: Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I Class

A few years ago, while reading "Christ the Savior" by Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. on the Assumption of the B.V.M., I came across the following passage:

Therefore the Blessed Virgin Mary, as Mother of the Savior and the new Eve, is also most closely associated with Christ's perfect victory over death, so that "she could not be held down or detained by the bonds of death, " as the liturgy says[19]; otherwise she would have been vanquished by death and would not have been the vanquisher, and her parallelism with Christ's resurrection and ascension, before the general resurrection of the dead, would be destroyed.  Moreover, the exceptional benediction, "blessed art thou among women," excludes the malediction "into dust thou shalt return." (emphasis mine)

August 8: Blessed Jane of Aza, Mother of Our Holy Father St. Dominic, Commemoration

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we make a commemoration of Blessed Jane of Aza, mother of Our Holy Father St. Dominic. In the old calendar, her office was tucked into the octave of our holy founder, which I thought was a very fitting way to honor her.  The ferial office is prayed, and the commemoration is made at Lauds and Vespers since it is a privileged commemoration.  In addition, a second commemoration is made of SS. Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus, Martyrs. At Pretiosa, the obit of Hugh de Vaucemain of France, sixteenth Master General of the Order of Preachers is read.

From the Martyrology of yesterday:

At Peñafiel in Spain, Blessed Joan de Aza, mother of the most Blessed Patriarch Dominic. Admirable for her virtue and beloved of God for her piety, she died at Calaruega in the love of the Lord. A duplex feast.

The holy martyrs Cyriacus, deacon, Largus, and Smaragdus, with twenty others, who suffered on March 16. Their bodies were buried on the Via Salaria by a priest named John, and on this day Pope St. Marcellus removed them to the garden of Lucina, on the Via Ostiensis. Afterward, they were brought into the city, and buried in the deaconry of St. Mary's in Via Latina. A memory.

LOST TRADITIONS: August 5 - 11: Octave of Our Holy Father St. Dominic

Prior to the revision of the Breviary instituted by Pope Pius XII, the Octave of Our Holy Father St. Dominic would be celebrated from August 5 till August 11.   This is one of the many octaves of the Dominican saints that were casualties of the liturgical revisions of the mid-20th centuries.  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.

Once again, I will restate my bewilderment at the Order giving up some of these wonderful feast days on their calendar, when the calendar was updated in 1961.  Even if they wanted to reduce the sanctorale a bit, to make room for new saints and the ferial office, they could still mark the octave of our Holy Father's feast day with a commemoration at Lauds and Vespers.

August 4: Our Holy Father St. Dominic, C., O.P., I Class

 O happy parent, Spain, rejoice in giving to the world the joy of new offspring!  But, rejoice still more, Bologna, because you are favored with the glory of so great a father.  O universal Mother Church, sing in praise as you celebrate the festival of this new source of fame!  (Super psalmos antiphon to the Laudate psalms at First Vespers.)

Thus begins the Office for the Feast of Our Holy Father St. Dominic, which we celebrate on August 4 in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar.  In the Dominican Rite, this feast is a I Class feast, and is prayed according to the rubrics for the Festive Office.

Last year, on August 6, we marked the 800th anniversary of Our Holy Father's passing, from this life into eternal glory.  May his prayers continue to sustain our Order, even during these most difficult of times.

August 3: The Vigil of the Feast of St. Dominic

After weeks of preparation, including the 15 Tuesday's devotion to St. Dominic, and the Novena to our Holy Father, we have arrived at the eve before his feast day! (Yes...I know this is not an actual "vigil").  Traditionally, this was also a day of fasting and abstinence for Tertiaries of our Order.  At Pretiosa today, we announce the feast to be celebrated tomorrow:

At Bologna, our most holy Father St. Dominic, confessor and founder of the Order of Friars Preachers. He was most illustrious, being distinguished by nobility of birth, sanctity and learning. Until death he preserved without stain his virginity and by the singular grace of his merits he raised three persons from the dead. By his preaching he curbed heresies and established many persons in a religious and godly manner of life. On August 6, his soul soared to heaven, there to receive a reward commensurate with his extraordinary works. His feast, however, is celebrated on this day, by an ordinance of Pope Paul IV. A totum duplex feast of the first class with a solemn octave.

That last sentence is a holdover from the pre-1961 calendar, when a solemn octave was celebrated for 8 days after his feast day. On August 5, I will be posting on the manner of celebrating the octave of his feast according to the 1909 Breviarium juxta ritum sacri ordinis praedicatorum.

The office begins at 1st Vespers with the super psalm antiphon....Gaude (O happy parent, Spain,...), followed by the special arrangement of Psalms that are used in the Dominican Office for 1st Class feasts (Psalms 112, 116, 145, 146, & 147, a.k.a, the "laudate Psalms).

Novena To Our Holy Father St. Dominic: July 26 - August 3

 Next Tuesday, August 2, is the last Tuesday of our 15 Tuesdays' devotion in honor of Our Holy Father St. Dominic that we began way back in April.  And today happens to be the first day of the traditional Novena to St. Dominic, if you follow the liturgical calendar of the Order from the 1962 Breviarium juxta ritum sacri ordinis praedicatorum as we do here.   We will say this prayer every day from July 26 through August 3...the Vigil of our Holy Father's feast.  On August 3, we will announce his feast at Pretiosa (after Lauds or Prime) and then at 1st Vespers, the liturgical office of his feast begins.  (If you follow the new liturgical calendar, the novena begins on July 30, to coincide with the new date for St. Dominic's feast on August 8).

July 7: Blessed Benedict XI, Pope, Confessor, O.P., Commemoration

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

Nicholas Boccasino, who assumed the name of Benedict XI, when raised to the Pontifical dignity, was born of poor parents at Treviso in Italy, A.D. 1240. He received his early education form an uncle, who held the office of parish priest, and at the age of fourteen was admitted into the Dominican Order at Venice. The next fourteen years of his life were devoted to prayer and study, after which he was employed in teaching sacred science to his Brethren. He never allowed his lessons to interfere with his exercises of piety or to prevent him from teaching the Word of God; and he also found time to write some learned commentaries on various parts of Scripture, and other valuable works.

July 6: Anniversary Of Those Buried In Our Cemetaries

  

Tangipahoa Parish

Louisiana  USA

On this day, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, the anniversary of those buried in the cemeteries of the Order are remembered.

"Dear Brother and Sister Tertiaries, you have come into an Order which is devoted to the dead.  You will eventually profit by it, and in the meantime the Rule requires you to do your part to maintain this devotion".

Thus Fr. F.D. Joret, O.P., begins his Chapter entitled "Prayer For Our Dead", in his wonderful book "Dominican Life" (The Newman Bookshop, 1947).  He then proceeds to describe each of the four Anniversaries during which the Order prays for her dead.  Of today's Anniversary, he says:

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.  The ferial office is prayed, and a commemoration is made of Bl. Innocent at Lauds only.

Coat of Arms of Bl. Innocent V

We anticipated his feast yesterday at Pretiosa, during the reading of the Martyrology:

May 24: Translation of Our Holy Father St. Dominic, III Class

 Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of the Translation of the Relics of Our Holy Father St. Dominic.  This is one of the three (3) traditional feast days in the Dominican calendar that were dedicated to our holy Father St. Dominic.  The other two being his feast day (August 4) and the miraculous appearance of a painting attributed to him at the Convent of San Domenico in Soriano Calabria in 1530 (feast day September 15 in the 1909 calendar, and September 25 in later calendars).

This feast was the last of the “translation” feasts which used to adorn the magnificent liturgical calendar of the Order.   In years past, the calendar included feasts for the translation of St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Peter Martyr.  

The Ferial Office in Ascension-tide

 We are now in the brief liturgical season of Ascensiontide.  In the Dominican Breviary, the ferial office in Ascension season is similar to that of the Roman Breviary, with slight differences. The invitatory at Matins is different, as is the Benedictus antiphon at Lauds is different, and the hymn at Vespers, to name a few.

Though this season is short, and is overshadowed by the looming arrival of Pentecost, it is a beautiful liturgical season nonetheless.  The ferial days in Ascensiontide are IV Class, so when a III Class feast occurs on the calendar, no commemoration is made of the ferial office.

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 Saturday Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary during Eastertide is prayed, and a commemoration is made of Blessed Imelda at Lauds only.

May 10: St. Antoninus, B., C., O.P., II Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of the beloved archbishop of Florence, St. Antonius, bishop, confessor, of the Order of Preachers.  The feast is II Class and normally,  the semi-festive office would be prayed according to the rubrics, and at Lauds and Vespers, a commemoration is made of SS. Gordian and Epimachus, martyrs.

From the Martyrology:

At Florence, St. Antoninus, archbishop of the same city and a member of the Order of Preachers. On account of the excellence of his doctrine and his holiness, he was compelled to become bishop, although he was unwilling. He was illustrious for his mercy and his piety. He likewise excelled to a remarkable degree in sacerdotal zeal. He was so celebrated for his prudence and good counsel, that he was justly called "Antoninus the Counsellor." Famous for his virtues and his miracles, he departed for Heaven in the seventieth year of his life, on May 2. He lies buried in the Church of San Marco where he is held in high veneration by the people.

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".

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:

April 24: Feast of the Most Holy Crown of Thorns, II Class

 This is one of the oldest feasts, unique to the Order, that is on the Order's calendar.  In his history of the Dominican Rite, Fr. William Bonniwell, O.P. notes that this feast is actually listed on the oldest surviving Dominican liturgical calendar, which dates back to the time when Humbert de Romans was Master of the Order.

You can download a pdf of the English translation here.

The history of the feast is detailed in the third lesson of Matins:

"When Saint Louis, king of France, accepted from Baldwin II, emperor of Constantinople, the gift of the Lord’s crown of thorns, he sent to Constantinople two brethren, Stephen and James, of the Order of Preachers. In the year 1239, on the day following Saint Lawrence’s feast, they brought the crown to Sens, to the king. With great solemnity, it was borne to Paris and was finally placed in the royal palace, in a chapel built by Louis himself. The precious treasure, profanely stolen during the unhappy days of the French Revolution towards the end of the eighteenth century, was later restored and transferred to the metropolitan basilica. Louis however, made a gift of some thorns of the sacred crown to the Dominicans and commissioned them to celebrate, in the chapel dedicated to the crown, the anniversary of its reception there. The feast of the most holy crown of thorns was inserted into the calendar of the Order of Preachers about the middle of the thirteenth century."

The Devotion of the 15 Tuesdays to St. Dominic

The tradition of dedicating Tuesdays to Our Holy Father St. Dominic takes its origins right from the beginnings of the Order. The first translations of the relics of our holy Patriarch took place on Whit-Tuesday (May 24) in the year 1233 at Bologna. Successive Chapters from 1239 to 1282 introduced various liturgical practices into the rubrics of the Mass and Office of the Order, as a means of fostering devotion to him.

March 7: St. Thomas Aquinas, C., D., O.P., I Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas, Confessor, Doctor of the Church, of the Order of Preachers.  Piercing a hole straight through the somber, penitential season of Lent, the feast of the Angel of the Schools is I Class, so the festive office is prayed according to the rubrics.  A commemoration of Ember Saturday of Lent is made at Lauds.  All is given in the Proper of the Saints.

At Pretiosa yesterday, we read from the Dominican Martyrology:

In the monastery of Fossa Nuova, near Terracina, St. Thomas Aquinas of the Order of Preachers, confessor and Doctor of the Church. He was most illustrious for nobility of birth, holiness of life, and knowledge of theology. He preserved until death the grace of virginity. On account of the extraordinary superiority of his learning, he rightly earned the title of "Angelic Doctor." His writings, remarkable for the solidity of doctrine and approved by our Lord Himself, marvelously illuminate as dazzling lights the Catholic Church and every school of the orthodox world. Leo XIII declared him to be the celestial patron of all Catholic schools.

The Dominican Office for this feast contains spiritually rich proper antiphons and hymns.  Some of my favorites include the super psalm antiphon at 1st Vespers:

The Blessed Thomas, Doctor of the Church, light of the world, glory of Italy, virgin shining with the bloom of chastity, rejoices in a twofold crown of glory.

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.

February 2: The Purification of the B. V. M., II Class

Today, the Christmas season finally comes to an official end, with the glorious feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

This is one of those feasts in the Dominican Office which contains a responsory at 1st Vespers (and at the ix lesson at Matins) which is, shall we say, antagonistic toward the unbelieving Jews and directly mocks their own lack of faith in our Lady's perpetual virginity.  (Another one can be found at 2nd Vespers of Easter Sunday, which mocks their lack of belief in the Resurrection).

The 1962 Breviarium SOP retained the pre-reformed office of 1st Vespers (for use where it is celebrated as a 1st Class Feast).  That hour includes an arrangement that, to my knowledge, does not appear on any other feast in the Dominican Breviary.  I also don;t see it in the monastic or Roman Breviaries.

After the Little Chapter is prayed, the respond is prayed as follows:

℟. Rejoice, Virgin Mary, alone you have destroyed all heresies. You trusted in the words of the archangel Gabriel. * While a virgin, you brought forth God and man; and after childbirth, you remained a virgin inviolate.  ℣.  We know that the angel Gabriel spoke to you by God's decree; we believe that your womb was made fruitful by the Holy Spirit.  Let the unhappy Jew blush who says that Christ was born of Joseph's seed. - While a virgin. - Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

At this point, the resumption of the respond is omitted, and instead the Inviolata prayer is immediately taken up:

Mary, Maid inviolate, chaste and undefiled,  Mother well beloved of Christ, your own true child.You were made the shining gate of Heaven above,Accept from us these words of praise we offer you with love.We now implore devoutly, from the heart within,That our souls be stainless, our bodies free from sin.May you bring us ever is our earnest prayer,  The pardon that is granted through your moving pleading rare.O gracious one who alone has remained immaculate.

A genuflection is made immediately, as the Ave maris stella is begun, until the second stanza.

Happy Feast Day!

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.

January 23: St. Raymond of Pennafort, C., O.P., III Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of St. Raymond of Pennafort, Confessor, of the Order of Preachers. At the time the 1962 Breviary was published, his feast was III Class and contained a near complete set of propers for the entire office. So the semi-festive office is prayed, according to the rubrics. Between then, and the printing of the 1967 English translation of the Breviary, the Order made his feast II Class. At Lauds, the Psalms of Sunday are prayed and a commemoration of St. Emerentiana, virgin and martyr is made.

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

January 18: St. Margaret of Hungary, V., O.P., III Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of St. Margaret of Hungary, virgin, of the Order of Preachers.  The feast is III Class, and the office is prayed according to the rubrics.  Most of the office is proper, and is taken from the Proper of the Saints, and at Lauds the Psalms of Sunday are prayed.  At Lauds and Vespers a commemoration is made of St.  Prisca, virgin and martyr.  At Pretiosa, the obit of Barnabas of Vercelli, 15th Master General of the Order is read.

This is one of my favorite feasts on the Dominican calendar.  This saintly heir to the Hungarian throne is one of the numerous saints who adorn the liturgical calendar who sprang from royal blood.  We live in a time of political confusion and darkness.  We also live in an era in which there is great misunderstanding, akin to myth or even superstition, regarding the historical monarchical form of  government which is part of the glorious heritage of Christendom.  Saints like St. Margaret of Hungary, along with countless other examples of royalty being raised to the altars of the Church, attest to the fact that not all kings and queens were tyrants or scoundrels.   Indeed, the propers for today's feast are replete with examples of her sanctity from the accounts of her life, and attest to the level of sanctity that she achieved through her glorious union with Almighty God.

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.

The Ferial Office During Epiphanytide

 

In the Dominican Breviary, the ferial office in Epiphany season is similar to that of the Roman Breviary, with slight differences.  The hymn at Lauds is different, as are some of the versicles.

The ferial days in Epiphany-tide are IV Class, so when a III Class feast occurs on the calendar, no commemoration is made of the ferial office.

January is a nice month in the Dominican sanctorale, even in the 1962 calendar.  The month starts off with St. Zedislavae Berkianae, Mat., O.P. on January 3.  Next up is St. Francis de Capillis and St. Peter Sanz and Companions on January 15.  Traditionally, January 15 was the feast of Bl. Francis de Capillis.  However, when St. Peter Sanz and his companions were canonized in 2000, being martyrs of China they were grouped together with St. Francis, who is considered the protomartyr of China.  Next comes St. Margaret of Hungary on January 18, one of the numerous saints of the Hungarian nobility, and a personal favorite of mine.  Finally, on January 23, we have the feast of St. Raymond of Pennafort, patron saint of canon lawyers.

The Ferial Office During Christmastide

In the 1962 Breviarium S.O.P., the ferial days of Christmastide (January 2-5) contained no feast days of saints or blesseds, so the ferial day was prayed on each of those days, unless one of them fell on Sunday.  The liturgical rank of these ferial days was IV Class.  Of course, in previous editions of the Breiary, January 2 was the feast of Blessed Stephana Quinzani and January 3 was the feast of St. (then blessed) Zedislavae Berkianae.  On my calendar, I follow Fr. Augustine Thompson rule of including the Dominican saints who were merely blessed in the older calendar.  

So I add St. Zedislavae back into the calendar, even though she was removed in the 1962 revision.

The Christmastide ferial office is is prayed as follows: