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 Saturday Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary 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.

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.  Since today is a Sunday, a commemoration of the XI Sunday after Pentecost is made.

Five years ago 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.

July 22: St. Mary Magdalen, Protectress of the Order, III Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of St. Mary Magdalen, Protectress of the Order. Though her feast is III Class in the calendar, her office has a near-complete set of propers as though the feast was actually a II Class feast. The Benedictus antiphon is particularly beautiful:

O lamp of the world and gleaming pearl, who by announcing Christ’s resurrection merited to become the Apostle of the Apostles, Mary Magdalen, be ever our loving advocate with God who has chosen you.

The Gospel reading is Luke 7:36-50 (which is also used on the Thursday in Passion Week), which recounts her washing of the feet of Our Lord when he dined at the house of Simon the Pharisee. The homily is St. Gregory the Great's Homily 25 (from his Homilies on the Gospel), which is a beautiful meditation on Divine Mercy.

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.

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.

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".

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 30: St, Catherine of Siena, V., D., O.P., I Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of the illustrious St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin, Doctor of the Church, Patroness of the Third Order of St. Dominic. At the time the 1962 Dominican Breviary was published, her feast was II Class, though it could be celebrated as I Class by Tertiaries and Churches which bore her name. By the time of the publication of the English translations of the Breviarium S.O.P., the Order raised her feast to I Class. Accordingly, the festive office is prayed according to the rubrics.

From the Martyrology:

At Rome, St. Catherine of Siena, virgin, of the Order of our Father St. Dominic. While hardly more than an infant, she consecrated her virginity to Christ and preserved it unsullied until death. She was famed for her innumerable halos of virtue, and excelled in a remarkable innocence of life. Strengthened by Christ her Spouse in frequent sweet conversations, she merited to become a sharer in His sufferings and wounds. Lastly, she was distinguished by the gift of prophecy, by miracles, and by doctrine. Having frequently conquered and triumphed over Satan, she ascended to heaven to the happy embraces of her Spouse on April 29. She was buried in the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, and Pius II inscribed her in the number of the holy virgins.

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

April 29: St. Peter Martyr, M., O.P., II Class

 Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of the illustrious St. Peter Martyr, martyr, of the Order of Preachers.  The feast is II Class and the semi-festive office is prayed according to the rubrics.

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

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of The Most Holy Crown of Thorns.  The feast is II Class, so the Semi-Festive Office is prayed.  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.

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."

Among some of the more beautiful elements of the Office of this day are:

Matins:

Invit.  The solemnities of the Lord's crown are begun. * Let the church applaud with abundant praise, alleluia.

Ant to psalms:  An unbelieving people mocks Christ as he wears the crown of thorns; by his red blood the crown of glory is conferred, alleluia.

R. i.  The thornless Flower is pierced with the thorn through which the thorn if sin is broken; * the thorn of death is blunted by thorns, as Life itself is dying, alleluia.  V.  Through this mockery, the enemy is mocked; through death, the power of death is taken away. - The thorn of death.

 Lauds

Before Lauds V. Plaiting a crown of thorns, alleluia.  R. They put it on the Lord's head, alleulia.

Ant. 1.  This is the joyful day on which the crown of thorns, red with Christ's blood, is recalled to mind, alleluia, alleluia.

Ant. 3.  How happy the puncture, how blessed the thorn, from which flows that unguent, the cure for the world!  Alleluia. 

Prayer

Almighty God, we who on earth recall the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ by honoring his crown of thorns, beseech you that we may be worthy to be crowned with glory and honor in heaven, by him;  who lives and reigns with you…

The Ferial Office During Paschaltide

In the Dominican Breviary, the ferial office in Paschaltide is similar to that of the Roman Breviary, with slight differences.   Among the elements that are different include, the invitatory and hymn at Matins the hymn at Lauds, the Short Lesson at Prime, and the hymn at Vespers.

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

We are approaching the months of April and May, which are months par excellence in the traditional Dominican sanctorale.  April contains the feasts of St. Vincent Ferrer (April 5), Our Lord's Most Holy Crown of Thorns (April 24), St. Agnes of Montepulciano (April 20), St. Louis de Montfort (April 28), St. Peter Martyr (April 29) and St. Catherine of Siena (April 30).  May starts off with St. Pius V (May 5).  Then we have the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mediatrix of All Graces (May 8), St. Antonius (May 10) , Blessed Imelda (May 13), the Transfer of Our Holy Father St. Dominic (May 24), and finally Bl. William and his Companions (May 29).

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 March 7:  St. Thomas Aquinas, C., D., O.P., I Class, 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  the ferial day of Lent is made  at Lauds, and a commemoration of the III Sunday of Lent is made at 2nd Vespers.  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.

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.

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.

November 15: St. Albert the Great, B., C., D., O.P., II Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of St. Albert the Great, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church.  In the 1909 Breviarium S.O.P., his feast had the rank of totum duplex, yet propers for the office were minimal.  There wasn't even a proper collect prayer for his feast; the prayer used was one of the prayers from the Common of a Confessor.  I also noticed this morning that for some reason, the 1967 English translation of the 1962 Breviarium omits the propers for 1st Vespers (for those who may celebrate his feast as a 1st Class feast), which I do not understand at all.

It is truly remarkable to me to think that it was not until the early 20th Century that the Universal Church raised this saintly teacher to the altars of the Church. Nevertheless, his sanctity and spirit are a model for all Christians, but in particular for Dominicans, given the broad scope of his erudition.

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.

October 7: The Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary, I Class

Today, in the 1962 Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary.  The feast is I Class in the calendar of the Dominican Order, so the festive office is prayed according to the rubrics.  Traditionally, Dominican Tertiaries would fast on the vigil of this great feast.  The hymns at 1st Vespers, Matins, and Lauds celebrate the three traditional groupings of mysteries...the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious.  You can download the entire English translation of the office here.

The great feast was announced at Pretiosa yesterday:

The Commemoration of Our Lady of Victory, which Pope Plus V instituted to be made annually, on account of the famous victory gained on this very day by the Christians in a naval battle against the Turks, by the assistance of the same Mother of God. However, Gregory XIII decreed that for the same victory there should be celebrated on the first Sunday of this month the annual solemnity of the Rosary of the Most Blessed Virgin. 

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 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.  Since today is a Sunday, a commemoration of the XI Sunday after Pentecost is made.

Three years ago 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.