Prayer options for the stealth hermitess (and others) - Part III. The Divine Office

So far in this series I have canvassed the non-liturgical options around prayer.  

In this post I want to talk about liturgical prayer in the form of the Divine Office.

The importance of liturgical prayer

The Divine Office plays little part in the lives of most modern Catholics.  

Yet it should.  

All forms of prayer can be good and effective.  But liturgical prayer has a higher status than other forms of prayer.  Dom Fernard Cabrol, first abbot of Farnborough, writing in 1915, explains it this way:

Private prayer has a personal value, varying according to the degree of faith, fervour, and holiness of he who prays.  The Church's prayer has always, in itself, and independently of the person praying, an absolute value.  It is a formula composed by the Church, and carrying with it her authority...Liturgical prayer is superior to all others not only because it is the Church's prayer but also because of the elements of which is composed...this prayer holds the first rank on account of its efficacy, or the effects it produces in the soul. (Introduction to Day Hours of the Church, vol 1)

And contrary to most of the emphasis of the last couple of centuries, the Mass is not the only thing that constitutes liturgy.  Rather, the Divine Office, the 'Work of God', is intended to extend and support the effects throughout our day and week.

The importance and value of the Office is still upheld by the Church today, at least on paper. The 1983 Code of Canon Law for example says:

In the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church, hearing God speaking to his people and recalling the mystery of salvation, praises him without ceasing by song and prayer and intercedes for the salvation of the whole world. 

In practice, though, it has all but disappeared.  This is something we need to change!

Early history

The Divine Office has an ancient history: fixed times of prayers has Jewish roots, and was certainly practised in primitive form in the very earliest days of the Church.  

Many of the Fathers point to the references to prayer at the third, sixth, ninth hours and in the night in Acts as the origins of this tradition.  

Certainly very early Church documents indeed attest to the idea of regular prayer at set times: in the first century Didache mentions praying the Our Father three times a day, while the fourth bishop of Rome, Clement (died 99 AD), wrote of prayer at the appointed times and hours for example.

The Office in the life of the Church

Early Church documents clearly assume that the laity as well as the clergy would pray at set times through the day and night.  That doesn't mean, though, that anyone has ever expected the laity to say all 150 psalms in a week at the Office, or say all the formal hours of the Office - far from it.

The tradition as far as I can see, has always been for the duty of praying the whole Office to be entrusted to monks and nuns (and to some degree the clergy), with laypeople joining in where possible and sensible.  In the later Middle Ages in England, for example, parish priests were certainly expected to say Lauds and Vespers publicly on Sundays, and many joined in with this.  But when it came to Matins (Vigils), if the people said it at all, they used one of the many short Offices, such as that of Our Lady.

All the same, the Office in many varied forms was an integral part of the life of the Church (including the laity) for many centuries, with more 'books of hours' produced prior to the Reformation, than any other single book.

The decline in the use of the Office

All that changed with the Council of Trent, when the need to combat the spread of heresy led to much tighter controls over the liturgy and devotions more generally.

One of the key changes made at that time was the restriction of the delegation to pray the Office liturgically to priests and religious.  The effect of this was that the laity could only take part in the Office when it was led by a priest or solemnly professed religious.

Several other factors also probably contributed to the decline in the popularity of the Office.

The Office is fundamentally meant to be performed communally and sung.  But the years after Trent favoured the 'low Mass' mentality deeply at odds with this.

The shift in Scriptural exegesis from the seventeenth century onward, from a focus on its spiritual meaning and in particular to seeing Christ in the psalms, to a focus on their historical and literary context instead, probably did not help.

Even so, in many places, attending Sunday Vespers at least was often regarded as nearly as mandatory as attending Sunday Mass.

Over time though, this tradition gradually fell away as priests in particular increasingly saw the Divine Office as an obligation that was rather burdensome to fulfil, rather than a source of spiritual fodder and solace.

 Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem?

The twentieth century saw a string of 'reforms'  - from the Pius X psalter of 1911 to the Liturgy of the Hours of 1971 - ostensibly aimed at reviving the use of the Office.  Unfortunately, they have mostly had the opposite effect.

There was, though, one positive reform that came out of Vatican II, and that was the restoration of the right of the laity to pray the Office liturgically.

Vatican II's Sacrosanctum Concilium made some rather ambiguous statements on the subject of the laity praying the Office that could perhaps be interpreted a number of ways.

Subsequent legislation, however, including the General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours, and more particularly the 1983 Code of Canon law (in turn reflected in the Catechism of the Catholic Church) has made it clear that the laity are now officially deputed to pray the Divine Office on behalf of the Church, even when praying in small groups without a priest, or by themselves.

This a wonderful privilege.

Laypeople face a considerable challenge, though, in actually exercising this privilege in that few churches or even Cathedrals actually regularly offer the Office publicly (head to most and you more likely to find an evening Mass than Vespers!), the Office is not taught in schools or parishes; and the books for the Office are not easy to use.

The 1971 Liturgy of the hours 

The modern Liturgy of the Hours has the advantage for many, in being available in the vernacular.

But it is, as Laszlo Dobszay pointed out, a radically new product, not something in continuity with tradition: it abolished the characteristic structure of the Hours, abandoned the traditional principles for the distribution of the psalms and created something that is fundamentally a book to be read, not a communal office meant to be sung.

Older forms of the Office

The alternative is to use one of the older forms of the Office such as the 1962 Roman Breviary.

The problem is that, as far as I am aware, all of the pre-Vatican II forms of the Office still approved for liturgical use require it to be said in Latin - translations are available to assist in understanding only.

That means anyone wanting to say the Office has to commit to learning at least how to pronounce the Latin adequately, and study the texts sufficiently to have at least a general sense of what they mean.  

Even if you only plan on saying a few suitable hours - Prime and Compline for example, and perhaps Sunday Vespers (a more than adequate regime for most people) - that can be quite a few psalms to learn.

Little Office of Our Lady

One possible option that minimises the learning curve is the Little Office of Our Lady.  

The Little Office is not actually short - it takes as long to say or sing as the full Office. 

But the psalms (apart from Matins) are the same every day, reducing the amount of learning involved while still providing a very satisfying source of prayer.  In addition it has very few seasonal or festal variants, so does not require juggling ordos and finding texts from multiple places in a breviary.  Moreover, for those who really want to say all of the hours (at least occasionally), it offers a very manageable option for Matins (three psalms each day) with some variety to it.

Then too, prayer honouring Our Lady is attractive in its own right: the Little Office has its origins in eighth century Benedictine tradition, but seems to have spread rapidly.  For many centuries it was said by religious as well as the normal Office of the day.  In more recent times it was used as a form of prayer by many religious in simple vows and by third orders.  

The Baronius edition supplies the chants necessary to sing it, and there are resources available around the web to help you learn to say it.   It should be noted however that the Baronius edition is not actually formally approved for liturgical use in accordance with the requirements of canon law - so if you want to say it liturgically you would technically need to find a version that is, for example in a full breviary (the 1962 monastic breviary for example includes the Little Office).  Of course, whether this really affects the validity of the Office (as opposed to the liceity) seems to me doubtful..

1962 Roman Office

The Little Office though, does lack variety, and many eventually want to use a wider range of psalms.  The 1962 Roman Office is the next obvious step to consider.  

It has a lot of advantages for traditionalists, not least that if you learn it you might be able to persuade your priest to lead Sunday Vespers (there may b a question about whether use of another rite or use will satisfy his obligation to say the Office).  

There are guides on how to say it around, as well as Ordos such as the excellent one put out by the Latin Mass Society.  The Liber Usualis provides most of the chants necessary for those who want to sing it.

It's main disadvantage is that the breviary itself does not come cheap.  There is however a free downloadable app available on itunes for it available for it that may suit many people.

The other problem is that in my view at least, the psalm distribution it uses simply doesn't work all that well - some of the repetitions it eliminated (such as of Psalm 50 and the Laudate psalms at Lauds each day) are actually quite important spiritually.  And few of the individual hours or days have much internal coherence in my view.

By contrast, the much more ancient Office of St Benedict seems to me to provide a psalm cursus that is both closely linked to the spirituality of the saint's Rule, and is a tightly constructed masterpiece.

There are some issues, though, around the use of the Offices of the religious orders that are worth touching on, including how much of it to say - and who (if anyone save for professed religious) is actually entitled to say it.  So more on the Offices of the religious orders in the next post in this series.

Prayer options for the stealth hermitess (and others) Pt 2 - Devotional Offices

Liege book of hours associated with Beguines,
National Gallery of Victoria

In my previous post on options for an active prayer life, I pointed to the challenges posed by saying the Divine Office liturgically.

One possible way around this is to use one of the devotional Offices available.

Treasury of the psalter

The psalms and formulas of the Office are a rich spiritual treasury with intrinsic merit in and of themselves, so well worth exploring.  St Athanasius, for example wrote that:

SON, all the books of Scripture, both Old Testament and New, are inspired by God and useful for instruction, as it is written; but to those who really study it the Psalter yields especial treasure.

Each book of the Bible has, of course, its own particular message: the Pentateuch, for example, tells of the beginning of the world, the doings of the patriarchs, the exodus of Israel from Egypt, the giving of the Law, and the ordering of the tabernacle and the priesthood; The Triteuch [Joshua, Judges, and Ruth] describes the division of the inheritance, the acts of the judges, and the ancestry of David; Kings and Chronicles record the doings of the kings, Esdras [Ezra] the deliverance from exile, the return of the people, and the building of the temple and the city; the Prophets foretell the coming of the Saviour, put us in mind of the commandments, reprove transgressorts, and for the Gentiles also have a special word. Each of these books, you see, is like a garden which grows one special kind of fruit; by contrast, the Psalter is a garden which, besides its special fruit, grows also some those of all the rest. (Letter to Marcellinus)

You don't have to say the Office formally in order to access this garden of delight!

Approval for liturgical use?

There are a lot of books (and online offerings) floating around that look like forms of the Divine Office but strictly speaking (almost certainly) aren't, but can provide an excellent way into exploring the psalms.

The issue is this: in order to be used for the Office, Canon Law requires the book in question to have official approval for liturgical purposes.  Pope Benedict XVI, for example, confirmed that the permission to use the 1962 Roman Office was for the Latin, not any of the English translations floating around.

Now it has to be admitted, that post-Vatican II the question of what exactly constitutes sufficient approval for this purpose is rather fuzzy.  The Benedictines, for example, like most, embarked on the usual period of wild liturgical experimentation post-Vatican II.  The Congregation of Rites eventually endorsed some pretty broad guidelines (the Thesaurus Liturgiae Horarum Monasticae) on what constituted a valid Office (including use of one of a choice of psalm schemas), but not actual books as such.

The more conservative elements continued to use the old chant books, but adapted them to the modern calendar - they have mostly now migrated to the new Antiphonale Monasticum Solesmes finally got around to producing from 2004 onwards.  A fair proportion of monasteries, though, even today, don't actually have officially approved books (though I presume they do have to use versions of the psalms that have been approved for liturgical use). 

And there is still a note on the Carthusian Order's website to the effect that they haven't had their reformed Office books agreed by the Vatican as yet.  

I'm pretty sure no one doubts that what these monasteries are are doing is liturgical though (well ok, I'm pretty sure the Carthusians are good at any rate; what some so-called Benedictine monasteries do might be another matter...).

Regardless, it seems to me that there is a big difference between books and orderings of the office that have received imprimaturs and various forms of official endorsement within religious orders (and that have essentially been used with only minor changes for centuries), and books produced that were never claimed to be liturgical in nature in the first place.

Devotional forms of the Office

Nonetheless, non-liturgical forms of Office can still be very worthwhile forms of prayer, well worth considering, as a way of accessing the psalms and other treasures of the Office.

A lot of early twentieth century 'short breviaries' for example were produced specifically for laypeople (for a wealth of material on this topic, including a listing of most of them, go look at the wonderful work of Theo Keller on this topic).  

One well worth considering just by virtue of its ready availability (ie you can download it for free online) is the Day Hours of the Church, a two volume version of the Roman Office put together by the Nuns of  Stanbrook in the early twentieth century and published by Burns and Oates.  

Another devotional version of the Roman Office available at relatively low cost is the translation by Maquess of Bute (compare its $25  or less per volume to the $360 for the Baronius three volume edition of the Roman Breviary).

There are still modern devotional Offices being produced, including the 'Benedictine Daily Prayer' book produced by the monks of Collegeville (though I have to admit I find it difficult to identify anything specifically Benedictine about it myself).

Anglican books

One sub-category of devotional volumes I should mention are the assorted Anglican versions of the monastic and Roman Offices.

I know they are popular with many (for example for the Night Office).  

But I personally think that is a case of taking ecumenism too far - the principle lex orandi, lex credendi (in effect, the way we pray determines what we believe) dictates that we should be very careful indeed in selecting our books for prayer.

If you want an English translation of Matins, use the Clear Creek booklet.  It doesn't give you all the variants for feasts and so forth, but it is Catholic.

And if you want something more comprehensive, but with a nice traditional sounding translation, consider the new Customary of Our Lady of Walsingham, which uses the Coverdale translation of the psalms.  The introduction is a little coy about the extent to which it can be considered liturgical prayer (it says it is "permitted by a simple imprimatur for daily devotional use and worship" in the Ordinariate and that "Those canonically bound to recite the Office will be guided by the appropriate authority as regards the extent to which these texts may be used.").  But for devotional use at least, a good new option.

Liturgical Offices

In the next post in this series I will look at the liturgical forms of the Office around, and some of the issues around their use.

Prayer options for the stealth hermitess (and others) - Part I

St Julian of Norwhich

One of the posts I've been meaning to put together for a while is on choosing which form of the Office (or other prayer) might best suit your needs.

Given the latest assault on religious life by the Vatican, this seems like a good moment.

Pray without ceasing

Every Christian, of course, is called to 'pray without ceasing' (1 Thess 5:16-18).

Just what that means in practice has always been fairly controversial.

At one end of the spectrum, some of the Desert Fathers are those who take the injunction very literally indeed, even hiring people to pray for them when they had to stop to eat or sleep.  St Clement of Alexandria also articulated a 'gnostic' ideal of  the person devoted to continuous prayer, and some religious orders down the ages (including modern ones devoted to perpetual adoration) have devoted themselves to the maintenance of continuous prayer at the collective level, even if not the individual.

At the other end of the spectrum are those who see the injunction fulfilled through the orientation of our lives: good works as liturgy, as it were.

St Benedict's Rule advocates something of a happy medium: formal prayer at seven set intervals through the day, and again once at night, in order to fulfil the injunctions of Psalm 118 (Seven times a day will I praise you, and at midnight I rose to give praise to you); provision for private prayer as led by the Spirit; and a balance of work and spiritual reading to fill out the day.

St Benedict's Office, of course, was not designed for laypeople, or even really hermits or anchorites.

First it is quite hard to learn, and requires considerable effort to do regularly and correctly.  

Secondly, it was intended to be sung, preferably in community, and in my view loses a lot when it is just said (private recitation is a relatively modern innovation, and really a Jesuit thing, not a Benedictine one!).  

Thirdly, it  takes several hours a day to sing in full, requiring more time than most people can spare.  

Finally, while some or even all of the day hours will be manageable for many, even if you just say it, the long Night Office (especially on Sundays) is a much more formidable undertaking (and there are no good translations of the full night Office available).

So what to do?

Devotions and private prayer

Everyone should, of course, have their own regime of private prayer as a base to build on.  Things like making a morning offering, grace before (and ideally after) meals, and an evening prayer for a happy death.  Most people will say some of the rosary each day.

The thirteenth century Anchoresses Rule (one of my favourite books I have to admit) has a lot of concrete suggestions, for this, starting from:

"When you first rise, bless yourself and say In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritui Sancti, Amen.  and begin at once Veni Creator Spiritus..."

Lectio divina (spiritual reading), systematic study and meditation on Scripture and other spiritual works is also absolutely essential for everyone in my view.

Monks can devote several hours to it, but even devoting a short amount of time each day to being nourished by Scripture is worthwhile in my view (provided it is guided by good Catholic commentaries, since the meaning of Scripture is not self-evident, and Catholics do not believe in 'sola scriptura'!).

But what more?

Association with the monks and nuns

The first thing you should consider, I would suggest, is to become an Oblate of a monastery, and thus gain a special share in the prayers they offer.

Oblation doesn't excuse from the obligation to pray yourself of course.  But your financial and spiritual support for the monks or nuns of your monastery (Benedictines are always associated with a specific monastery, there is really no such thing as the Benedictine Order in the same sense as the Carmelites, Francisans or Dominicans for example) helps ensure that the Work of God they carry out on behalf of the Church can continue.

The point is that we are one body but many parts, each with different roles, and the role of monks and nuns is above all to pray; the orientation of (most) laypeople should be to the things proper to their state of life, including family, work and active works.  We each support each other, but work in different ways for the kingdom.

Attending the Office when it is available

The second thing is to attend the Office (in whatever form) when it is available.

Up until the Council of Trent parish priests were pretty much expected to sing the day hours in their churches, and the laity often attended and joined in, particularly on Sundays.  The tradition was never, as far as I can determine, for the laity to attempt Matins (Vigils) - that was always viewed as a particularly monastic preserve.

These days it is a rare parish that makes even Sunday Vespers available, but if it is possible to attend, go.  And consider making a retreat at a monastery that actually does sing the Office (should such a thing exist in your location!).

 Listening to the Office prayerfully

A more accessible option for many will be listening prayerfully to the podcasts of the Office made available by the monasteries of Norcia and Le Barroux (see the sidebar links).

Just listening to broadcasts of the Office is not a participation in liturgical prayer of course - it is akin to Mass for you at home on the television.

But Gregorian chant and even singing the Office recto tono (on one note) has an inherent spirituality that can assist our own private prayer.

Use the prayers and psalms of the Office devotionally

Another option worth considering is to use prayers and psalms of the Benedictine Office devotionally.

Praying the Office liturgically is a serious undertaking, in my view, that requires knowledge and preparation.

But there is no reason why you can't use the Monastic Diurnal, for example, to access the spiritual riches of St Benedict's legacy devotionally.

You could, for example, start off just by saying the opening prayer of the day hours - O Lord come to my aid, O God make haste to help me - at the seven times of the day St Benedict expected his monks to pray (first light, before work, mid-morning, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, before bed).

You could add an Our Father to this.

Or perhaps say one of the fixed psalms of the Benedictine Office - St Benedict, for example gave his monks Psalm 3, a song of the spiritual warfare, as one of the repeated psalms of the night Office, and it is a great way to start the day.

Liturgical prayer

Finally, you can learn to pray at least one or more hours of one or other forms of the Office liturgically.

The Divine Office is  part of the formal worship of the Church, just like the Mass and sacraments.

One of the positive fruits of Vatican II, though the 1983 Code of Canon Law, was to make it clear that laypeople can pray the Office liturgically not only when they are present when it is said by monks, nuns or priests, but also when praying by themselves.

Under the 1983 Code of Canon Law, priests and religious are required to say some form of the Divine Office, and laypeople are 'earnestly invited' to participate in the Office as an action of the Church. 

This a wonderful privilege.  But as with all privileges, it carries obligations with it.  We can't just make it up as we go along, and muddle through.  We have to do it correctly, lest we be guilty of liturgical abuse.

Still want to do it?  I'll go through the main options for saying the Office in my next post in this series.

Feast of St Benedict (July 11)

Today is the feast of Our Most Holy Father St Benedict.  St Gregory the Great started off his Dialogues, Book II as follows:

"There was a man of venerable life, blessed by grace, and blessed in name, for he was called "Benedictus" or Benedict. From his younger years, he always had the mind of an old man; for his age was inferior to his virtue. All vain pleasure he despised, and though he was in the world, and might freely have enjoyed such commodities as it yields, yet he esteemed it and its vanities as nothing.

He was born in the province of Nursia, of honorable parentage, and brought up at Rome in the study of humanity. As much as he saw many by reason of such learning fall to dissolute and lewd life, he drew back his foot, which he had as it were now set forth into the world, lest, entering too far in acquaintance with it, he likewise might have fallen into that dangerous and godless gulf.

Therefore, giving over his book, and forsaking his father's house and wealth, with a resolute mind only to serve God, he sought for some place, where he might attain to the desire of his holy purpose. In this way he departed, instructed with learned ignorance, and furnished with unlearned wisdom.

All the notable things and acts of his life I could not learn; but those few, which I mind now to report, I had by the relation of four of his disciples; namely, Constantinus, a most rare and reverent man, who was next Abbot after him; Valentinianus, who for many years had the charge of the Lateran Abbey; Simplicius, who was the third superior of his order; and lastly of Honoratus, who is now Abbot of that monastery in which he first began his holy life."

Happy feast day, and do enjoy this recording of the hymn for Lauds."

St Benedict Novena - July 2

Tomorrow is the day to start your Novena to St Benedict, leading up to the feast on July 11.

If you do say it, could I ask that you make one of your intentions the spiritual health and growth of all those participating in the Learn the Office mini-course I'm going to run?

Learn the Office Course

And for those still thinking about it, it is not too late.

The course is aimed at absolute beginners or people still struggling with the Diurnal, and will begin on July 11.  It is aimed at helping participants learn more about the traditional form of the Benedictine Office, including:

• what the Office is, and how to prepare to say it;
• finding your way around the Monastic Diurnal (or other Office books you can use);
• how to say/sing Compline and Prime; and
• how to get started on the other hours of the Office.

It will be structured so you can work through the material at your own pace, but to get the most out of it though, you will want to keep up with the group so you can participate in discussions on the material posted each week.

In order to follow the course you will need a copy of the Monastic Diurnal (ideally one of the recent editions published by Farnborough Abbey in English and Latin, but earlier/other versions can be used as well).

If you are interested, drop me an email so I can grant you access to the blog I will be using for this.

Feast of SS Peter and Paul

El Greco

We celebrate, over the three days from July 28-30, the martyrdom of SS Peter and Paul.  You can read more about the main feast, in a homily of Pope Benedict XVI here.

SS John and Paul, martyrs (memorial, June 26)

The original Roman house below the present-day
Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo

SS John and Paul were martyred under Julian the Apostate circa 361-3.  The Martyrology says:

At Rome, on Mount Coelius, the holy martyrs John and Paul, brothers. The former was steward, the other secretary of the virgin Constantia, daughter of the emperor Constantine. Afterwards, under Julian the Apostate, they received the palm of martyrdom by being beheaded. 

Feasts of July

You can find links on notes about the feasts celebrated in the calendar in July below.

July 1

Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord (EF)

July 2

Visitation of Our Lady (Class II)
Novena to St Benedict

July 3

SS Processus and Marcellian memorial

July 5

St Anthony-Mary Zaccaria (EF)

July 9

SS Thomas More and John Fisher

July 11

Translation of the relics of St Benedict

July 12

St John Gualbert OSB (Memorial)
St John Gualbert (Benedictine Martyrology)

July 14

St Bonaventure, Class III

July 15

St Henry II, Patron saint of Benedictine Oblates

July 17

Pope St Leo IV OSB, memorial

July 19

St Vincent de Paul, memorial

July 20

SS Jerome Aemiliain, Joseph Calanctius and John Baptist de la Salle, Confessors, Memorial

July 21

St Mary Magdalene

July 23

St Apollinarus
St Apollinaris and St Brigid of Sweden (Martyrology)

July 24

St Cristina

July 25

St James
St James (Benedict XVI General Audience)

July 26

SS Anne and Joachim, parents of the BVM

July 27

St Panteleon

July 28

SS Nazarius, Celsus, Victor and St Innocent I (July 28, EF)

July 29

SS Felix, Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrice, Martyrs, Memorial

July 30

SS Abdon and Sennen, Memorial
SS Julitta, Abdon and Sennen (martyrology)

July 31

St Ignatius

SS Gervase and Protasius (Memorial, 19 June)

c14th

SS Gervase and Protasius were martyred in the second century.  They are the patron saints of Milan and of haymakers and are invoked for the discovery of thieves. Their relics were discovered by St Ambrose as a result of a vision (which he records in a letter to his sister; the story is also narrated by St Augustine), who built a church to house them and is buried with them there, and their feast day marks the translation of their relics (you can read more on this over at New Liturgical Movement..

According to their Acts, Gervasius and Protasius were the twin sons of martyrs. Their father Saint Vitalis of Milan, a man of consular dignity, suffered martyrdom at Ravenna, possibly under Nero. The mother Saint Valeria died for her faith at Milan. Gervasius and Protasius were imprisoned, and visited in prison by Saint Nazarius.

The sons are said to have large hands and had been scourged and then beheaded, during the reign of the Emperor Nero, under the presidency of Anubinus or Astasius, and while Caius was Bishop of Milan.

The Martyrology says:

At Milan, the holy martyrs Gervasius and Protasius, brothers. The former, by order of the judge Astasius, was so long scourged with leaded whips, that he expired. The latter, after being scourged with rods, was beheaded. Through divine revelation their bodies were found by St. Ambrose. They were partly covered with blood, and as free from corruption as if they had been put to death that very day. When the translation took place, a blind man recovered his sight by touching their relics, and many persons possessed by demons were delivered. 

St Ephrem of Syria; SS Mark and Marcellianus, memorials (18 June)

St Ephrem (ca. 306 – 373) was a Syriac deacon and a prolific Syriac-language hymnographer and theologian of the 4th century from the region of Assyria, and is a doctor of the Church.

The readings for his feast in the Roman Office are as follows:

Ephraem was of Syrian descent, and son of a citizen of Nisibis. While yet a young man he went to the holy bishop James, by whom he was baptized, and he soon made such progress in holiness and learning as to be appointed master of a flourishing school at Nisibis, a city of Mesopotamia. After the death of the bishop James, Nisibis was captured by the Persians, and Ephraem went to Edessa. Here he settled first on the mountain among the monks, and then, that he might avoid the great numbers of men who flocked to him, he adopted the eremitical life. He was ordained deacon of the Church of Edessa, but refused the priesthood out of humility. He was conspicuous with the splendour of every virtue and strove to acquire piety and religion by professing true wisdom. He placed all his hope in God alone, despised all human and transitory things, and always longed for the divine and eternal.

 When, led by the Spirit of God, he went to Caesarea in Cappadocia, there he saw Basil, that mouthpiece of the Church, and both enjoyed mutual companionship in a suitable manner. In order to refute the countless errors which were rife at that time, and which were troubling the Church of God, and in order to expound zealously the divine mysteries of our Lord Jesus Christ, he wrote many studies in Syrian, almost all of which have been translated into Greek. St. Jerome beareth witness that he attained such fame, that his writings were read publicly in certain churches after the reading from the Scriptures.

His works taken as a whole, so infused with the bright light of learning, brought it about that this holy man, while yet alive, was held in great honour, and was even considered a Doctor of the Church. He also composed songs in verse, in honour of the most blessed Virgin Mary, and of the Saints, and for this reason he was appropriately named by the Syrians the Harp of the Holy Ghost. He was noted for his great and tender devotion towards the immaculate Virgin. He died, rich in merits, at Edessa in Mesopotamia on the 18th day of June in the reign of Valens. Pope Benedict XV, at the instance of many Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, and religious communities, declared him by a decree of the Congregation of Sacred Rites to be a Doctor of the universal Church.

You can read more about him in Pope Benedict XVI's General Audience on him. 

C15th (the saints are at the right)

Theigtheenth of June is also the memorial of SS Mark and Marcellian, matyrs under Diocleian c286.  According to their legend, they were twin brothers who were deacons, and refused to offer pagan sacrifices.  In prison their parents attempted to persuade them to apostasize; St Sebastian, however, convinced them to stand firm.  The entry in the martyrology reads:

At Rome, on the Ardeatine road, in the persecution of  Diocletian, the birthday of the saintly brothers Marcus and Marcellian, martyrs, who were arrested by the judge Fabian, tied to a stake, and had sharp nails driven into their feet. As they ceased not to praise the name of Christ, they were pierced through the sides with lances, and thus went to the kingdom of heaven with the glory of martyrdom. 

St Vitus (memorial, 15 June)

circa 1515

St Vitus was from Sicily and was martyred during the persecution of Christians by co-ruling Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian in 303. The entry in the Martyrology reads:

In Basilicata, near the river Silaro, the birthday of the holy martyrs Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia, who were brought thither from Sicily, in the reign of Diocletian, and after being plunged into a vessel of melted lead, after being exposed to the beasts, and on the pillory, from which torments they escaped uninjured through the power of God, they ended their religious combats. 

St Vitus is counted as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers of medieval Roman Catholicism.

In the late Middle Ages, people in Germany and countries such as Latvia celebrated the feast of Vitus by dancing before his statue. This dancing became popular and the name "Saint Vitus Dance" was given to the neurological disorder Sydenham's chorea. It also led to Vitus being considered the patron saint of dancers and of entertainers in general.

Feast of St Basil the Great (Class III, June 14)

The readings in the Roman Office for the feast are set out below.  The sections omitted for the one reading in the Benedictine Office are indicated by square brackets:

This Basil was a noble Cappadocian who studied earthly learning at Athens, in company with Gregory of Nazianzus, to whom he was united in a warm and tender friendship. He afterwards studied things sacred in a monastery, where he quickly attained an eminent degree of excellence in doctrine and life, whereby he gained to himself the surname of the Great. He was called to Pontus to preach the Gospel of Christ Jesus, and brought back into the way of salvation that country which before had been wandering astray from the rules of Christian discipline. He was shortly united as coadjutor to Eusebius, Bishop of Cassarea, for the edification of that city, and afterwards became his successor in the see. One of his greatest labours was to maintain that the Son is of one Substance with the Father, and when the Emperor Valens, moved to wrath against him, was willing to send him into exile, he so bent him by dint of the miracles which he worked that he forced him to forego his intention.

[The chair upon which Valens sat down, in order to sign the decree of Basil's ejectment from the city, broke down under him, and three pens which he took one after the other to sign the edict of banishment, all would not write and when nevertheless he remained firm to write the ungodly order, his right hand shook. Valens was so frightened at these omens, that he tore the paper in two. During the night which was allowed to Basil to make up his mind, Valens' wife had a severe stomach-ache, and their only son was taken seriously ill. These things alarmed Valens so much that he acknowledged his wickedness, and sent for Basil, during whose visit the child began to get better. However, when Valens sent for some heretics to see it, it presently died.]

The abstinence and self-control of Basil were truly wonderful. [He was content to wear nothing but one single garment.] In observance of fasting he was most earnest, and so instant in prayer, that he would oftentimes pass the whole night therein. [His virginity he kept always unsullied]. He built monasteries, wherein he so adapted the institution of monasticism, that he exquisitely united for the inmates the advantages of the contemplative and of the active life. He was the author of many learned writings, and, according to the witness of Gregory of Nazianzus, no one hath ever composed more faithful and edifying explanations of the books of the Holy Scripture. He died upon the 1st day of January, (in the year of our Lord 379,) at which time so essentially spiritual was his life, that his body showed nothing but skin and bones.

St Basil is a key saint from a Benedictine perspective, since St Benedict knew and drew on several of his works.  His shorter rule and several of his homilies were translated into Latin very early, and circulated widely in the West.  St Ambrose, for example, drew heavily on his sermons on the dyas of creation to produce a similar work of his own.  According to the Wikipedia:

Basil was born into the wealthy family of Basil the Elder, a famous rhetor, and Emmelia of Caesarea, in Pontus, around 330. His parents were renowned for their piety. His maternal grandfather was a Christian martyr, executed in the years prior to Constantine I's conversion. His pious widow, Macrina, herself a follower of Gregory Thaumaturgus (who had founded the nearby church of Neocaesarea), raised Basil and his four siblings (who also can be venerated as saints): Macrina the Younger, Naucratius, Peter of Sebaste and Gregory of Nyssa.

Basil received more formal education in Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia (modern-day Kayseri, Turkey) around 350-51. There he met Gregory of Nazianzus, who would become a lifetime friend. Together, Basil and Gregory went to Constantinople for further studies, including the lectures of Libanius. The two also spent almost six years in Athens starting around 349, where they met a fellow student who would become the emperor Julian the Apostate. Basil left Athens in 356, and after travels in Egypt and Syria, he returned to Caesarea, where for around a year he practiced law and taught rhetoric.

Basil's life changed radically after he encountered Eustathius of Sebaste, a charismatic bishop and ascetic. Abandoning his legal and teaching career, Basil devoted his life to God. A letter described his spiritual awakening:

“I had wasted much time on follies and spent nearly all of my youth in vain labors, and devotion to the teachings of a wisdom that God had made foolish. Suddenly, I awoke as out of a deep sleep. I beheld the wonderful light of the Gospel truth, and I recognized the nothingness of the wisdom of the princes of this world."

You can read more on the saint in Pope Benedict VI's two General Audiences on him, here and here.

St Anthony of Padua, confessor and doctor, memorial (13 July)

El Greco

From the readings in the Roman Office:

Ferdinand de Bullones, afterwards called Anthony, was born of decent parents at Lisbon in Portugal, on the Feast of the Assumption, in the year of grace 1195. They gave him a godly training, and while he was still a young man, he joined an Institute of Canons Regular. However, when the bodies of the five holy martyred Friars Minor, who had just suffered in Morocco for Christ's sake, were brought to Coimbra, the desire to be himself a martyr took a strong hold upon him, and in 1220 he left the Canons Regular and became a Franciscan. The same yearning led him to attempt to go among the Saracens, but he fell sick on the way, and, being obliged to turn back, the ship in which he had embarked for Spain was driven by stress of weather to Sicily.

From Sicily he came to Assisi to attend the General Chapter of his Order, and thence withdrew himself to the Hermitage of Monte Paolo near Bologna, where he gave himself up for a long while to consideration of the things of God, to fastings, and to watchings. Being afterwards ordained Priest and sent to preach the Gospel, his wisdom and fluency were very marked, and drew on him such admiration of men, that the Pope, once hearing him preach, called him The Ark of the Covenant. One of his chief points was to expend all his strength in attacking heresies, whence he gained the name of the Heretics' everlasting Hammer.

He was the first of his Order who, on account of his excellent gift of teaching, publicly lectured at Bologna on the interpretation of Holy Scripture, and directed the studies of his brethren. He traveled through many provinces. The year before his death he came to Padua, where he left some remarkable records of his holy life. After having undergone much toil for the glory of God, full of good works and miracles, he fell asleep in the Lord upon the 13th day of June, in the year of salvation 1231. Pope Gregory IX. enrolled his name among those of the Holy Confessors.

St Benedict on the Office

In the daily readings of the Rule of St Benedict as traditionally organised, we have now reached the chapters relating to the Office (viz Chapter 8) which are worth reading, particularly if you are relatively new to the Office, haven't done so before, or haven't read them for a while.

The Rule on the Office

These chapters of the Rule often appear a bit dry, but with a bit of digging they can actually yield a lot in my view.  In particular, they assume a knowledge of Patristic and monastic traditions.  Accordingly this time through the Rule over at my Daily Readings from the Rule Blog I'm providing some extracts from key source texts from before St Benedict's time that I think throw some light on his thinking.

The first post in the series deals with the connection between the first seven chapters of the Rule which set out St Benedict's spiritual theology and the Office, the reasons for praying at night, and the instruction to study the psalms between Matins and Lauds.

St Augustine on prayer through Christ

By way of a taster, on the last point I've included a discussion of prayer in the context of the psalms by St Augustine, who provides a deeply Christological interpretation of prayer which is entirely consistent with St Benedict's approach.

St Benedict starts his Rule with a discussion of the virtues of cenobitic monasticism, where a group of people are made one through God under the abbot.  And the pre-eminent work of this one body is of course the Office, on which St Benedict instructs: 'let nothing be put before the Work of God',  a phrase which Fr Cassian Folsom has pointed out in an excellent series of Conferences can be interpreted as 'put nothing before Christ' (drawing on similar phrases in chapters 43, 4 and 72 of the Rule).

St Augustine summarises and makes clear these linkages saying:

No greater gift could God have given to men than in making His Word, by which He created all things, their Head, and joining them to Him as His members: that the Son of God might become also the Son of man, one God with the Father, one Man with men; so that when we speak to God in prayer for mercy, we do not separate the Son from Him; and when the Body of the Son prays, it separates not its Head from itself: and it is one Saviour of His Body, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who both prays for us, and prays in us, and is prayed to by us.   He prays for us, as our Priest; He prays in us, as our Head; He is prayed to by us, as our God. Let us therefore recognise in Him our words, and His words in us... 

Therefore we pray to Him, through Him, in Him; and we speak with Him, and He speaks with us; we speak in Him, He speaks in us the prayer of this Psalm, which is entitled, A Prayer of David. For our Lord was, according to the flesh, the son of David; but according to His divine nature, the Lord of David, and his Maker....Let no one then, when he hears these words, say, Christ speaks not; nor again say, I speak not; nay rather, if he own himself to be in the Body of Christ, let him say both, Christ speaks, and I speak. Be thou unwilling to say anything without Him, and He says nothing without you....

There are  a lot of passages like this that I think help us understand what St Benedict is coming from on the Office, and can deepen our understanding of it, so I do hope you will go over and take a look at the contextual texts I've assembled.

St Barnabas, Apostle, Class III (June 11)

The Matins readings in the Roman Office for the feast are set out below:

Joseph, who by the Apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, the Son of Consolation,) a Levite and of the country of Cyprus, [having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the Apostles' feet. (Acts iv. 36, 37.) When Paul, after his conversion, was come to Jerusalem, the disciples were all afraid of him, but Barnabas took him, and brought him to the Apostles, (ix. 26, 27,) When tidings that a great number believed and turned unto the Lord at Antioch came unto the ears of the Church which was at Jerusalem, they sent forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch. Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost, and of faith, and much people was added unto the Lord. xi. 21-24.

Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Paul, and, when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the Church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them, named Agabus, and signified, by the Spirit, that there should be great dearth throughout all the world which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea, which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Paul. xi. 25-30. And Barnabas and Paul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark. xii. 25.

Now there were in the Church that was at Antioch, certain Prophets and teachers and, as Paul and Barnabas, together with them, ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia and from thence they sailed to Cyprus xiii. 1-4 in the which island, and in many other cities and countries, they journeyed about, preaching the Gospel with great gain to them that heard them. Nevertheless, at last, Paul and Barnabas departed asunder one from the other. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed unto Cyprus, xv. 39, once more. And there it was that upon a certain nth of June, in or about the seventh year of the reign of Nero, Barnabas crowned the dignity of the Apostolate with the glory of martyrdom. During the reign of the Emperor Zeno, his body was found in its grave in Cyprus on his breast lay a copy of the Gospel according to Matthew, written by the hand of Barnabas himself.

A cousin of St Mark the Evangelist, St Barnabas may have been one of the seventy disciples sent out to evangelise by Jesus.  He was martyred in Cyprus around 61 AD  at the hands of a Jewish mob enraged by his preaching in the synagogue.  He was dragged out, tortured and then stoned him to death. His kinsman, John Mark, who was a spectator of this barbarous action, privately interred his body.

In 478 Barnabas appeared in a dream to the Archbishop of Constantia (Salamis, Cyprus) Anthemios and revealed to him the place of his sepulchre beneath a carob-tree. The following day Anthemios found the tomb and inside it the remains of Barnabas with a manuscript of Matthew's Gospel on his breast. Anthemios presented the Gospel to Emperor Zeno at Constantinople and received from him the privileges of the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus, that is, the purple cloak which the Greek Archbishop of Cyprus wears at festivals of the church, the imperial sceptre and the red ink with which he affixes his signature.  Anthemios then placed the venerable remains of Barnabas in a church which he founded near the tomb. Excavations near the site of a present-day church and monastery, have revealed an early church with two empty tombs, believe to be that of St. Barnabas and Anthemios.

An epistle ascribed to Barnabas, though non-canonical is perfectly orthodox and worth reading, though its attribution to him is disputed.

St. Barnabas is venerated as the Patron Saint of Cyprus.

St Norbert (June 6)

Martin Pepijn

The readings on the life of St Norbert for the feast in the Roman Office are set out below.  In the Benedictine Office, the feasts has one reading only, and the sections of the text that are omitted are indicated in square brackets:

Norbert, born in the year 1080 of parents of the highest rank, thoroughly educated in his youth in worldly knowledge, and a member of the Imperial court, turned his back upon the glory of the world, and chose rather to enlist himself as a soldier of the Church. Being ordained Priest, he laid aside all soft and showy raiment, clad himself in a coat of skins, and made the preaching of the Word of God the one object of his life. [He had the right to rich revenues of the Church but these he renounced and to an ample fortune from his father; but this he gave to the poor. He ate only once a day, and that in the evening, and then his meal was of the fare of Lent. His life was one of singular hardness, and he was used even in the depth of winter to go out with bare feet and ragged garments.] Hence came that mighty power of his words and deeds, whereby he was enabled to turn countless heretics to the true faith, sinners to repentance, and enemies to peace and brotherly love.

Being one while at Laon, the Bishop besought him not to leave his diocese,] and he therefore made choice of a wilderness at the place called Prémontré, whither he withdrew himself with thirteen disciples, and thus founded the Order of the Praemonstratensian Canons, [whereof he, by the will of God, received the Rule, in a vision, from St. Austin. When, however, the fame of his holy life became every day more and more noised abroad, and great numbers sought to become his disciples, and the Order had been approved by Honorius II., and other Popes, many more monasteries were built by him, and the Institute wonderfully extended.

Being called to Antwerpen, he there gave the death-blow to the shameful heresy of Tanchelm. He was remarkable for the spirit of prophecy and for the gift of miracles.] He was created (albeit he would rather not have had it so) Archbishop of Magdeburg, and as such he was a strong upholder of the discipline of the Church, especially contending against the marriage of the clergy. At a Council held at Rheims he was a great help to Innocent II., and went with some Other Bishops to Rome, where they stamped out the schism of Peter Leoni. It was at last at Magdeburg that this man of God, full of good works and of the Holy Ghost, fell asleep in the Lord, on the 6th day of June, in the year of salvation 1134.

SS Marcellius and Peter (memorial)

C4th from the catacomb of Marcellinus and Peter,
,showing Christ between Peter and Paul, and below them
the martyrs Gorgonius, Peter, Marcellinus, and Tiburtius

Today the calendar marks the feast of two martyrs from the persecution of Diocletian, who died around 304 AD.  The martyrology entry goes as follows:

At Rome, the birthday of the holy martyr Marcellinus, priest, and Peter, exorcist, who instructed in the faith many persons detained in prison. Under Diocletian, they were loaded with chains, and, after enduring many torments, were beheaded by the judge Serenus, in a place which was then called the Black Forest, but which was in their honor afterwards known as the White Forest. Their bodies were buried in a crypt near St. Tiburtius, and Pope St. Damasus composed for their tomb an epitaph in verse. 

As noted in the entry above, their cult was originally fostered by Pope Damasus I, who learnt thier story from their executioner, who became a Christian after their deaths. 

Pope Damasus states that they were killed at an out-of-the-way spot by the magistrate Severus or Serenus so that other Christians would not have a chance to bury and venerate their bodies. The two saints happily cleared the spot chosen for their death: a thicket overgrown with thorns, brambles, and briers three miles from Rome. They were beheaded and buried in that spot.  Two women, Lucilla and Firmina, assisted by divine revelation, found the bodies, however, and had them properly buried. They buried their bodies near the body of St. Tiburtius on the Via Labicana in what became known as the Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter.

Constantine the Great built a church in honor of them as the earlier church built by Pope Damasus had been destroyed, and had his mother St. Helena buried there.  Their relics were subsequently transferred to Germany in the ninth century under the monk Eginhard, who had previously been Charlemagne's secretary.

Saints and feasts of June

You can find links to notes on some of the feasts that occur in June below.

June 1

St Inigo OSB

June 2

SS Marcellius and Peter

June 5

St Boniface OSB

June 6

St Norbert

June 9

SS Primus and Felician

June 11

St Barnabas

June 13

St Anthony of Padua

June 14

St Basil the Great (Class III)

June 15

St Vitus (memorial)

June 18

SS Ephrem, Mark and Marcellianus (memorials)
St Ephrem Syrus, comm of Mark and Marcellianus

June 19

St Romuald OSB
SS Gervase and Protase (memorial)

June 21

St Aloysius Gonzaga

June 23

Vigil of St John the Baptist

June 24

Birthday of St John the Baptist

June 25

St William of Monte Virgine OSB

June 26

SS John and Paul

June 28

Vigil of SS Peter and Paul

June 29

SS Peter and Paul

June 30

Commemoration of St Paul

Saints and feasts of May

May 1

St Joseph the Worker (1) (2)

May 2

St Athanasius

May 3

SS Alexander, Eventius And Theodolus, memorial
SS Alexander, Eventius and Theodolus - martyrology entry


Finding of Holy Cross (abolished in most calendars)

May 4

St Monica

May 5

Pope St Pius V martyrology entry

May 9

St Gregory Nazienzen martyrology entry

May 10

SS Gordian and Epimarchus Martyrology entry

May 11

SS Philip and James

May 12

SS Nereus, Achilleus and Pancreas

May 13

St Robert Bellarmine

May 14

St Pachomius

May 19

St Peter Celestine OSB

May 24

Our Lady Help of Christians
Collect for the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians

May 25

Pope St Gregory VII OSB

May 26

St Augustine of Canterbury OSB

May 27

St Bede the Venerable OSB

Saints and Feasts of March

March 1

March 2

St Chad

March 3

March 4

March 5

March 6

SS Felicity and Perpetua
SS Felicity and Perpetua

March 7

St Thomas Aquinas
St Thomas Aquinas

March 8

St John of God

March 9

St Francis of Rome OSB

March 10

The forty martyrs

March 11

March 12

On St Gregory's dialogues (incl Life of St Benedict)
St Gregory the Great - Life
St Gregory the Great - martyrology entry
St Gregory the Great - second nocturn readings of Matins

Novena for the feast of St Benedict, Day 1

March 13

March 14

St Matilda

March 15

SS Longinus, Leocritia, Matrona and Louise de Marillac

March 16

Canadian Jesuit martyrs

March 17

St Patrick

March 18

St Cyril of Jerusalem

March 19

St Joseph - Martyrology entry

March 20

SS Cuthbert and Wulfram OSB

March 21

Note on the dates of the feasts of St Benedict
St Benedict - Martyrology entry
St Benedict - Matins second nocturn readings
St Benedict - Gospel for the feast

March 22

Once was...the octave of St Benedict

March 23

St Benedict (former) Octave Day 3 readings

March 24

St Benedict (former) Octave Day 4
St Gabriel

March 25

Feast of the Annunciation

March 27

St Benedict Day 6 in the former Octave
St John Damascene

March 28

St Benedict Day 7 in the former Octave
St John Capistrano

March 29

St Benedict - former Octave Day
St Eustasius

March 30

St John Climacus

Notes on the feasts of February

1 February  - St Ignatius (Class III)

St Ignatius of Antioch - Pope Benedict General Audience; Matins reading

St Brigid

2 February - Purification of the BVM (Class II)

Candlemas aka Feast of the Purification
Feast of the Purification/2

3 February – St Blase (Memorial)

St Blaise and the blessing of throats
St Blaise in the martyrology

4 February 

St Gilbert of Sempringham
St Rabanus Maurus OSB

5 February  – St Agatha (Class III)

St Agatha

6 February  

St Dorothy

7 February – St Romuald (Class III)

St Romuald OSB
St Romauald - Butler's lives

8 February

9 February 

10 February  - St Scholastica, sister of St Benedict (Class II; Class I for nuns)

St Scholastica
St Scholastica/2
St Scholastica (Martyrology entry)

11 February

St Benedict of Aniane OSB

12 February 

13 February 

14 February – St Valentine, memorial [in Europe: SS Cyril and Methodius]

St Valentine
St Antoinine of Sorrento OSB

15 February 

16 February 

17 February 

18 February 

19 February 

20 February

21 February 

St Peter Mavimenus (martyrology)

22 February  – Chair of St Peter, Class III

St Peter's Chair

23 February  - St Peter Damian, memorial  

St Peter Damian OSB

24 February or 25 Feb in leap year - St Matthias, Class II

St Matthias

25 February  - (in some places St Walburga, Class I)

St Walburga OSB

26 February  

27 February 

St Porphyrius (martyrology)

28 February 

St Florentina (from the martyrology)

29 February

St Romanus of Lyon