In my last post I noted the differences between the Benedictine and modern sanctoral calendars using the example of August, and suggested some possible approaches to dealing with them, particularly when calendar followed in the Mass you attend differs from that of the Office.
Today I want to elaborate on that a bit, by way of a brief refresher on how feasts are celebrated in the 1960 rubrics, to aid you in adding extra feasts to the calendar set out in the Monastic Diurnal and Breviary.
Levels of feasts in the 1960 calendar and the precedence of feasts
The first point to note is that although the calendar assigns different levels to each feast, viz Class I, Class II, Class III and Memorials (aka commemorations) the key distinctions between these levels in the Benedictine Office, particularly when it comes to the day hours, is not about how the Office is actually said, but rather which feasts take precedence over others.
That is relevant for adding in new feasts to the older calendar under the terms of the decree Cum Sanctissima, since it means that if there is already a feast set for the relevant day, you can't just override it.
The Rules about which feasts take precedence are summarised in the Diurnal in the 'two tables', but for practical purposes, the key thing is that even if you can't celebrate a feast in full, you may be able to commemorate the newer feast instead, as the table below illustrates.
|
Day level |
No/type of commemoration permitted |
|
Class I |
Privileged only, 1
commemoration |
|
Class II Sundays |
Of a Class I or II feast
only, 1 permitted |
|
Class II feasts and days |
One privileged and one
ordinary |
|
Class III or IV days and feasts |
Two commemorations |
Privileged commemorations are those of a Sunday, Class I feast, days in octave of Christmas, Sept Ember days, Advent, Lent and Passiontide ferias; privileged commemorations are made at both Lauds and Vespers; ordinary at Lauds only.
So the feast of St Edith Stein, for example, normally falls on the (Class III) Vigil of St Lawrence, so can be commemorated only.
The impact of feasts on the hours
The second point to note is that for the day hours, there is very little difference between celebrating a feast as Class I, Class II, or Class III - the major differences only occur at Matins.
In particular, whether a feast is Class I, II or III makes no difference at all to the way that the hours of Prime to None and Compline are celebrated, except for the use of particular chant tones for things like the hymn.
The key distinction between Class I&II feasts in principle was that Class I feasts have first Vespers, while Class II ones don't, but as most of the traditional monasteries have revived first Vespers for Class II feasts, this distinction is now largely moot.
The table below summarises the impact of the different level of feasts on the hour, in order of least impact to most.
|
HOUR |
Class I&II feasts |
Class III feasts with own
antiphons |
Class III feasts without
proper antiphons |
|
Compline |
No effect on texts but can use
solemn/festal chant tones for psalms, hymn and Marian antiphon. |
||
|
Prime |
Psalms of the day with antiphon
for the feast from the proper of the feast or Common; hymn tone appropriate
to the feast level. |
||
|
Terce to None |
Psalms of the day with antiphon
from the proper or Common; hymn tone appropriate to the level of the feast. |
||
|
Lauds |
Festal psalms with antiphons and all other variable texts from proper or Common. Canticle antiphon Benedicite*. |
Psalms and antiphons of the
day, with option of festal canticle; all other variable texts from the proper
or Common. |
|
|
Vespers |
Festal psalms with antiphons
and all other variable texts from proper or Common. |
Psalms and antiphons of the
day, with option of festal canticle; all other variable texts from the proper
or Common. |
|
In terms of the actual texts to use, the general the principle is, where a feast has proper texts, use them, and fill in any gaps from the Common of the appropriate category of saint.
The Commons include standard collects for example, which you can simply insert the name of a saint into, but if your (officially approved) Missal or another Office book provides a specific one for the saint, you can certainly use that instead of the one in the Common.
The same principle applies to all the other variable texts of the hours, and indeed almost every feast in the calendar uses at least some texts from the Commons, while the majority of feasts of all levels do not have proper antiphons, but rather use the Commons.
The key difficulty in finding proper texts that can be used with the 1960 rubrics is that even where the modern Liturgy of the Hours has proper texts, it typically does not include a sufficient antiphons for example. But in many cases at least some officially approved proper texts for them (including Matins readings) do exist.
I've previously pointed to the Clear Creek supplements; another source is the (Latin-French) Diurnal Monastique (for Benedictine Congregation feasts in particular); and there are supplements specific to particular congregations or dioceses contained in some editions of the breviary. Good luck hunting them down though!
Matins
I've left Matins to last, as this is the trickiest.
When it comes to Matins there is really only one key distinction between feast levels, namely those with three nocturns/twelve readings and responsories (Class I&II), and those with two Nocturns (Class III).
Class I&II feasts essentially follow the Sunday model, and always have festal psalms and antiphons (either proper or taken from the Common).
By contrast, the moving parts for Class III feasts are the Invitatory antiphon, hymn, reading(s), responsory or responsories, and collect.
In 'summer' (Easter to the end of October), there is generally only one reading and responsory. The rest of the year at least one of the three readings of the day is specific to the feast, and there is always at least one (but there can be three) responsories for the feast (either proper to it, or taken from the Common).
The key challenge is that generally speaking, there does need to be an officially approved reading on the life of the saint.
Adding back feasts from older calendars that were eliminated in 1960 will shortly become much easier, with the publication of the reprint of the Breviary by Brignoles Monastery, as it includes a supplement for this purpose.
In the case of newer feasts, however, tracking down the necessary reading for the saint is not always easy, particularly as the modern 'Office of Readings' sometimes uses a reading from the saints writings instead. Applying the normal principle though, you could presumably just use the first Patristic reading from the relevant Common in the absence of anything better...
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