April 2023

 The Office in April this year starts with Holy Week, and takes in Eastertide. 

APRIL 2023

 Saturday 1 April – Saturday in Passion Week, Class III 

Matins to None: Ordinary of Passiontide, MD 240*/AM 382 ff; Benedictus antiphon and collect, MD 252*/AM 398; 1 Vespers of Palm Sunday, MD 252* ff/AM 399. 

Sunday 2 April – Second Passion Sunday or Palm Sunday, Class I

 MD 255*/AM 399 ff. 

Monday 3 April – Monday in Holy Week, Class I 

Antiphons lor Lauds to None, MD 260*/AM 404 ff; Ordinary of Passiontide, MD 240*/AM 385 ff; canticle antiphons and collects, MD 261-2*/AM 407. 

Tuesday 4 April – Tuesday in Holy Week, Class I 

MD 262*/AM 407 ff; Ordinary of Passiontide, MD 240*/AM 384 ff. 

Wednesday 5 April – Wednesday in Holy Week, Class I 

MD 263*/AM 409 ff; Ordinary of Passiontide, MD 240*/AM 384 ff. 

Thursday 6 April – Maundy Thursday, Class I 

MD 265*/AM 413 ff. 

Friday 7 April – Good Friday, Class I 

MD 309*/AM 438 ff. 

Saturday 8 April – Holy Saturday, Class I 

MD 318*/AM 445 ff. 

Sunday 9 April –– Easter Sunday, Class I with a Class I Octave

 MD 328*/AM 453 ff; at Compline, Regina Caeli, MD 267-8/AM 176 or 179-80, henceforward. 

Monday 10 April – Monday in the Octave of Easter, Class I 

Lauds to Vespers: All as for Easter Sunday (with festal psalms at Lauds and Vespers), except for the canticle antiphons and collect, MD 335*/AM 460-1. 

Tuesday 11 April – Tuesday in Octave of Easter, Class I 

Canticle antiphons and collect, MD 336*/AM 462. 

Wednesday 12 April – Wednesday in the Octave of Easter, Class I 

Canticle antiphons, and collect, MD 336-7*/AM 462-3. 

Thursday 13 April – Thursday in the Octave of Easter, Class I 

Canticle antiphons and collect, MD 337*/AM 463-4. 

Friday 14 April – Friday in the Octave of Easter, Class I 

Canticle antiphons and collect, MD 337-8*/AM 464-5. 

Saturday 15 April – White Saturday in the Octave of Easter, Class I 

Lauds to None: All as for Easter Sunday (with festal psalms at Lauds and Vespers), except for the Benedictus antiphon and collect, MD 338*/AM 465; 1 Vespers of Low Sunday, MD 339*/AM 473 ff. 

Sunday 16 April – White/Low Sunday (Octave Day of Easter), Class I

 MD 341*/AM 474 ff. 

Monday 17 April – Class IV [EF: St Anacletus, Memorial; Canada: St Kateri Tekakwitha, Class III] 

Ordinary of Eastertide, MD 346*/AM 466 ff; canticle antiphons for Lauds and Vespers, MD 352*/AM 477-8; collect (of White Sunday), MD 344*/AM 475. 

Tuesday 18 April – Class IV 

Canticle antiphons, MD 352*/AM 478. 

Wednesday 19 April – Class IV 

Canticle antiphons, MD 352-3*/AM 479. 

Thursday 20 April – Class IV 

Canticle antiphons for Lauds and Vespers, MD 353*/AM 479-80. 

Friday 21 April – St Anselm, Class III 

MD [110]/AM 870. 

Saturday 22 April – Class IV; Saturday of Our Lady [EF: SS Soter and Cajus, Class III] 

MD (130-1)/AM 714; responsory, versicle and Benedictus antiphon of the Office of Our Lady in Eastertide, MD (135)/AM 718-9; 1 Vespers of the Second Sunday after Easter, MD 354* ff/AM 481. 

Sunday 23 April – Second Sunday after (the Octave of) Easter (Good Shepherd Sunday), Class II

 MD 356*/AM 481 ff. 

Monday 24 April – Class IV [EF: St Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Class III] 

Ordinary of Eastertide, MD 346*/AM 466 ff; canticle antiphons, MD 360*/AM 483-4; collect (of Sunday), MD 358*/AM 482. 

Tuesday 25 April – The Greater Litanies and St Mark, Class II [Australia: ANZAC Day] 

MD [113]/AM 873. 

Wednesday 26 April – Class IV; St Cletus, Memorial [EF: SS Cletus and Marcellinus, Class III; Australia: St Mark, Class II] 

For the commemoration at Lauds, MD [113-4]/AM 873. 

Thursday 27 April – Class IV; St Peter Canisius, Memorial [EF: Class III] 

For the commemoration at Lauds, MD [114-5]/AM 873. 

Friday 28 April – Class IV [Gower: St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, Class II; EF: St Paul of the Cross; Oceania: St Peter Chanel, Class III]

 Saturday 29 April – SS Odo, Majolus, Odilo and Hugh, Class III [EF: St Peter of Verona, Class III] 

MD [115]/AM 877 ff; 1 Vespers of the Third Sunday in Eastertide: One antiphon of Eastertide, with chapter, responsory, hymn, versicle, Magnificat antiphon (as for Sunday Lauds) and collect, MD 362*/AM 487 ff. 

Sunday 30 April – Third Sunday after Easter, Class II

 MD 363*/AM 487 ff; 1 Vespers of St Joseph, MD [123] ff OR MD [130]/AM 883 with a commemoration of the Third Sunday after Easter, MD 365*&363*/AM 488-9.

Feast of St Gregory the Great OSB

 

Today is the feast of St Gregory the Great, a key Benedictine saint, but this year the feast is not celebrated on its proper date due to the Lent Sunday.

1962 rubrics - the case for change

I mentioned last week that one of the 1962 changes that I think bears overturning is the changes made to the treatment of feasts below the highest level, that is those classified as Class II in the 1962 rubrics. 

There were two key changes - first the suppression of 1 Vespers of the feast, a rule change most trad monasteries now (rightly in my view) ignore; the second though, is the transfer rules.  Previously, if such a feast clashed with a Sunday it would have been transferred to the next available date, or at least had a commemoration at Lauds and Vespers.  Under 1962 rules though, Class II feasts are either reduced to a commemoration (for ordinary Sundays) or, as this year when it comes up against a Class I Sunday, not marked in the Office at all.

In the case of St Gregory, it seems to me that there a simple option - make the feast first class; he is, after all, effectively the second founder of the Benedictine Order by virtue of his Life of St Benedict..

But there is a more general issue here that needs to be addressed, either by changing the rubrics to allow commemorations in conjunction with Class I feasts/Sundays, or by allowing the transfer of Class II feasts.

If the feast is transferred...

For those who are following older rubrics, some notes on how to say the feast on Monday:

Matins: Three Nocturns: Invitatory, antiphons and psalms of a Confessor Pope; hymn (LR 434), readings and responsories of the feast.

Lauds: Festal psalms with antiphons, chapter, responsory, hymn, versicle, Benedictus antiphon and collect of the feast, MD [77]/AM 832 ff with a commemoration of the Lent day.

Prime: antiphon 1 of Lauds, MD [77]/AM 832.

Terce to None: antiphon, chapter, versicle and collect of the feast, MD [79]/AM 834 ff; 

Vespers: antiphons of Lauds (omitting the fourth), psalms of 2 Vespers of the Common of a Confessor Bishop, MD (68) ff, chapter, responsory, hymn, versicle, Magnificat antiphon and collect of the feast, MD [81] ff/AM 835 with a commemoration of the Lent day.

Week of March 5: Marking the optional feasts

I noted in a post last week that the feasts of saints previously reduced to a commemoration in Lent can now be celebrated, if desired, as Class III.

Accordingly, here today some short notes to assist those who wish to take up the option.

SS Perpetua and Felicity

The first of these feasts this year, is that of SS Perpetua and Felicity, on March 6.

St Perpetua (born in 181) was a 22-year old married noble, and a nursing mother. She was martyred along with St Felicity, an expectant mother, and her slave, at Carthage in the Roman province of Africa, and five other catechumens.

They are particularly fascinating saints because of the survival of St Perpetua's own account of the persecutions she and her fellow Christians suffered in the year 203.  The book was widely read amongst the early Christians and deserves to be better known today.

The Matins readings

I should note that it is a little unclear to me whether the reading should be the Scriptural readings of the feast, or the Patristic Lent day, but since the general pattern for Class III feasts is to use two Scriptural readings, I have opted for those of the Common, along with the responsories from it, as set out here.

And for those concerned about the cuts to the readings in the Roman Office, the (third) Matin readings for the feast in the Benedictine Office is, as far as I can see, identical in the 1930 and 1963 Benedictine breviaries, though much shorter than the pre 1962 Roman set of three readings.  The feast did not appear at all in earlier Benedictine breviaries as far as I can see.

The rubrics for the feast

The Ordo notes for the feast for Monday 6 March: SS Perpetua and Felicitas, [Optional] Class III/Memorial

As a Memorial:  

For the commemoration at Lauds, Benedictus antiphon of the Lent day, versicle of Lent, and collect of the day, MD [74]/AM 828. 

As Class III: 

Matins: Two nocturns with invitatory of the feast; hymn from Common of Holy Women (non Virginum); readings 1 and 2 of the Common (combine readings 1&2, and 3&4 and omit the responsory between them), reading 3 of the feast with responsory Veni electa mea (Common of a female martyr); chapter for female martyrs; and collect of the feast. 

Lauds and Vespers: Psalms and antiphons of the day; chapter, responsory, hymn and versicle from Common for Holy Women (Benedictus and Magnificat antiphon for several martyrs), MD (99) ff; collect of the feast, MD [74]; with a commemoration of the Lent day (Canticle, antiphon and collect of Monday in the second week of Lent). 

 Prime: Antiphon from the Common Holy Women (Dum esset Rex). 

Terce to None: Antiphon, chapter and versicle from the Common, collect of the feast.

St Thomas Aquinas

Tuesday 7 March: St Thomas Aquinas, Memorial/Class III

 As a memorial:

For the commemoration at Lauds, Benedictus antiphon of the Lent day, versicle of Lent, and collect of the day, MD [75]/AM 828-9.

As Class III:

Matins: Two nocturns with invitatory and hymn from Common of Confessors; readings 1 and 2 of the Lent day (combine readings 2&3 and omit the responsory between them), reading 3 of the feast with responsoires of the Common (1&2 of Nocturn I, no 3 for a doctor, In medio); chapter for confessors; and collect of the feast.

Lauds and Vespers: Psalms and antiphons of the day; chapter, responsory, hymn and versicle from Common of Confessors; collect of the feast; with a commemoration of the Lent day (canticle, antiphon and collect of Tuesday in the Second week of Lent).

 Prime: Antiphon from the Common.

Terce to None: Antiphon, chapter and versicle from the Common, collect of the feast.

St Frances of Rome OSB

The third feast normally reduced to a commemoration by virtue of Lent is that of the Benedictine saint, St Frances of Rome, on March 9.  

The Matins texts for the feast for the Benedictine Office can be found on the Lectio Divina Notes blog.

For Lauds and Vespers, the psalms and antiphons are of the day, the rest from the Common of a Holy Woman; for Prime to None, also take the antiphon from the Common, as well as the chapter and versicle at Terce to None, with the collect of the feast as given in the Diurnal or Antiphonale.