Sixth Day in the Christmas Octave

Wednesday 30 December 2009

DE VI DIE INFRA OCTAVAM NATIVITATIS
6th Day in the Octave of Christmas
2nd class, White

Dom Guéranger notes:

This is the only day within the Christmas Octave which is not a Saint's Feast. During the Octaves of the Epiphany, Easter and Pentecost, the Church is so absorbed in the respective mysteries that she puts off everything that could share her attention; whereas during this of Christmas, there is only one day which does not celebrate the memory of some glorious Saint, and our Infant Jesus is surrounded by a choir of heroes who loved and served him. Thus the Church, or, more correctly, God - for God is the first author of the cycle of the year - shows us how the Incarnate Word, who came to save mankind, desires to give mankind confidence by this his adorable familiarity.

(image: breviary.net)

Fifth Day in the Christmas Octave

Tuesday 29 December 2010

DE V DIE INFRA OCTAVAM NATIVITATIS
5th Day in the Octave of Christmas
2nd Class, White

Oremus:

Deus, pro cujus Ecclésia gloriósus Póntifex Thomas gládiis impiórum occúbuit: præsta, quæsumus; ut omnes, qui ejus implótant auxílium, petitiónis suæ salutárem consequántur efféctum. Per Dóminum...

Let us Pray:

O God, for the sake of whose Church the glorious bishop Thomas fell by the sword of ungodly men: grant, we beseech Thee, that all who implore his aid, may obtain the good fruit of their petition.
Through our Lord...

~~*~~



~~*~~

From the Baronius Missal:

Saint Thomas à Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is the Martyr of the liberties of the Church in the XIIth Century. Henry II, King of England, wished him to sanction customs contrary to the liberties of the Church. St Thomas knew that to make this divine society subservient to the secular power, would be to violate her very constitution, and therefore as Bishop he would willingly suffer death in defence of the Church of Christ. He was slain in his Cathedral by the King's soldiers on December 29th, 1170.

Links:

• Remembering the Martyr, St Thomas Becket (new!)
  
• Sub tuum: St Thomas Becket: Cistercian and Martyr (new!)
• The Anglo-Catholic: St Thomas à Becket (new!)

(image: earliest known portrayal of Thomas Becket's murder in Canterbury Cathedral, courtesy of Wikipedia)

Majestic Irish Cathedral Destroyed by Fire

Christmas 2009
The north-central Irish Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise has suffered the tragic loss of its 150-year old cathedral yesterday morning in what may have been an act of arson. Just a few hours after the bishop celebrated Midnight Mass, the fire broke out. By the time it was extinguished the beautiful interior was completely gutted.

A video showing the destroyed cathedral can be seen here. The Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, Dr Colm O'Reilly, has said he will restore St Mel's Cathedral in Longford , though it will cost over €2 million. Bishop O'Reilly said he celebrated midnight mass to a packed Cathedral. He said that it was an extraordinary contrast the next morning. Construction on St Mel's started in 1840 and it opened in September, 1856.

More on this story here.

Though details of any fundraising efforts have yet to emerge, the Diocese can be contacted as follows:-

The Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois
Diocesan Office,
Ballinalee Road.
Longford.
Co. Longford.
Phone: +353 (0)43-3346432
Fax: +353 (0)43-3346833
Email: ardaghdi at iol.ie

(image: RTÉ)

Holy Innocents

Monday 28 December 2009

SS. INNOCENTIA MARTYRUM
Holy Innocents
2nd Class, Red


Oremus.

Deus, cujus hodiérna die præcónium Innocéntes Mártyres non loquéndo, sed moriéndo conféssi sunt : ómnia in nobis vitiórum mala mortífica ; ut fidem tuam, quam lingua nostra lóquitur, étiam móribus vita fateátur. Per Dóminum.

Let us pray.

O God, whose praise the martyred Innocents did this day proclaim, not be speaking but by dying, do to death in us all the malice of sinfulness, that our lives may also proclaim thy faith, which our tongues profess. Through.

~~*~~

Holy Innocents, from the Baronius Missal:

It is because Herod believed the words of the Magi and of the high Priests whom he consulted that he sees a rival in the Infant of Bethlehem and with jealousy pursues the Child, born King of the Jews. It is this God-King that the Innocents by dying confess; their passion is the exaltation of Christ.

And a Blogger notes:

Guéranger comments (Vol. 2, Bk. 1, pg. 280) that the Holy Innocents received a Baptism of Blood. This is certainly possible. However, they were all Jewish males, and the common opinion among the Fathers and Doctors of the Church was that circumcision obtained the forgiveness of original sin before the preaching of Christ. (See St. Thomas's article on the effect of circumcision.) If that is correct, then the Holy Innocents were already cleansed from original sin, and would certainly have obtained salvation no matter how they died.

While Tradition does say that the Innocents received a Baptism of Blood, the circumstance of their death did not obtain salvation for them, but added a certain splendor to their heavenly crowns because they were made like Christ (the intended victim) in their deaths.

(image: The Holy Innocents, by Giotto di Bondone)

Sunday within the Octave of Christmas

Sunday 27 December 2009

DOMINICA INFRA OCTAVAM NATIVITATIS
Sunday within the Octave of Christmas
2nd Class, White


Oremus:

Omnipotens sempitérne Deus, dírige actus nostros in beneplácito tuo: ut in nómine dilécti Fílii tui mereámur bonis opéribus abundáre:
Qui tecum vivit...

Let us Pray:

O Almighty and everlasting God, direct our actions according to Thy good pleasure; that in the Name of Thy beloved Son we may deserve to abound in good works:
Who with Thee...

~~*~~

Commentary on the Collect for Sunday (Fr John Zuhlsdorf, The Wanderer 2005):

In the functionally superior Lewis & Short Dictionary we learn that beneplacitum means "good pleasure, gracious purpose". The preposition in using the ablative case indicates a condition, situation or relation rather than a reference to space where or time when something was occurring. In the Vulgate beneplacitum translates the original Greek eudokia in, e.g., Eph 1:9; 1 Cor 10:5. Other phrases are used for eudokia too (e.g., bona voluntas in Luke 2:14, the famous "peace on earth to men of good will" or "peace on earth good will toward men"). Paul wrote eudokia at the beginning of 2 Thessalonians (1:11-12), rendered as voluntas bonitatis in the Vulgate:

...oramus semper pro vobis ut dignetur vos vocatione sua Deus et impleat omnem voluntatem bonitatis et opus fidei in virtute ut clarificetur nomen Domini nostri Iesu Christi in vobis et vos in illo secundum gratiam Dei nostri et Domini Iesu Christi… we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his call, and may fulfill every good resolve (omnem voluntatem bonitatis) and work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ (RSV).

We can find connections between 2 Thessalonians and our Collect at several points: mereamur in the Collect with dignetur in Paul (both having to do with meriting or being worth of), beneplacitum with voluntas bonitatis, bona opera with opus fidei (good works flowing from lived faith), nomen Filii with nomen Domini Iesu Christi. Taken in the sense of "gracious purpose" we can make a connection to Paul's vocatio too, our "calling" or the purpose for which God placed us on this earth with a part of His plan to fulfill.

Abundo means, "to overflow with any thing, to have an abundance or superabundance of, to abound in." If we go back to the idea of the preposition in and the ablative indicating place or location in space, (in beneplacito tuo) we have an image of our good works originating in God and, coming from Him, overflowing out from us. Some Protestants are under the false impression that Catholics think we can "earn" our way to heaven by our own good works, as if our good works had their own merit apart from God. Catholics believe, however, that true good works always have their origin in God, but the works are truly our works as well since we cooperate with God in performing them. Therefore, having their origin and purpose in God, they merit the reward of God's promises. Whenever we find a reference to works in these liturgical prayers, do not forget the Catholic understanding of good works.

Links:

• Fr Goffine's The Church's Year
• Gregorian Chant propers
• What Does the Prayer Really Say?
  

(image: breviary.net)

St Stephen, Protomartyr

Saturday 26 December 2009

SANCTI STEPHANI, Protomartyris
St Stephen, Deacon & Protomartyr
2nd Class, Red
(2nd Vespers of St. Stephen,
w. commem. of 1st Vespers of Sunday in the Octave)

Oremus.
Concéde, quæsumus, omnípotens Deus: ut nos Unigéniti tui nova per carnem Natívitas líberet; quos sub peccáti jugo vetústa sérvitus tenet. Per eúmdem Dóminum.

Let us pray.
Grant, we beseech thee, O Almighty God, that the new birth, in the flesh, of thine only-begotten Son, may deliver us whom slavery from of old doth keep under the yoke of sin. Through the same.

~~*~~

From matins, the Office of Readings for today⁽¹⁾, the feast of St Stephen, the first martyr:

From the Acts of the Apostles:

The members of the Council...became furious and ground their teeth at him in anger. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw God's glory, and Jesus standing at the right side of God. "Look!" he said. "I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God!"

...Then they all rushed together at him at once, threw him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses left their cloaks in charge of a young man named Saul. They kept on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" He knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord! Do not remember this sin against them!" He said this and died. And Saul approved of his murder.

From a sermon by St Fulgentius of Ruspe:

Yesterday we celebrated the birth in time of our eternal king; today we celebrate the triumphant death of a soldier.

...The love then that brought Christ down from heaven to earth, lifted Stephen from earth to heaven. The love that showed itself first in the kind, shone forth next in the soldier. And Stephen, so as to deserve to win the crown -- which is what his name means -- had love as his weapon and by it was everywhere victorious. Through love of God he did not yield to the raging of the Jews, and through love of his neighbour he prayed for those who were stoning him...

Trusting in the strength of love he overcame the cruel raging of Saul, and so won for himself as a companion in heaven, the man who had been his persecutor on earth. ...And now Paul rejoices with Stephen, with Stephen he enjoys the brightness of Christ; he exults with Stephen, he reigns with Stephen.

What a really true life must there be now, brethren, where Paul is not put to confusion although he killed Stephen, but where, instead, Stephen rejoices in the fellowship of Paul; for in both of them love itself rejoices. In Stephen, love overcame the ferocity of the Jews, in Paul it covered a multitude of sins, and in both of them love deserved to inherit the kingdom of heaven.

Love, therefore, is the origin and source of all good things; it is a most excellent defence, the road that leaves to heaven. Whoever walks in love can neither stray nor be afraid. Love guides, love protects, love leads to the end.

⁽¹⁾ - Divine Office, vol. I, pp. 46* - 50*.

~~*~~

Link:

• Vultus Christi: "Wreathe the Door of Thy Heart"

Benedictines of Norcia to Broadcast Christmas Matins, Vespers and Masses

by Shawn Tribe

Just a reminder that the Benedictines of Norcia make available their Masses and the Divine Office online for your edification. (Listen here)

Readers will be interest to know that they will be posting their Christmas Matins and Vespers, as well as the Midnight Mass and Mass at Dawn between now and tomorrow.

These will be coming from their Basilica church, and accordingly, the acoustics promise to be particularly good.

[They also now have an RSS feed, which is most useful. This functions correctly with Google Reader, and more importantly - as a Podcast - with Apple iTunes. -- Mark.]

(reproduced from The New Liturgical Movement)

Christmas Day

Friday 25 December 2009

IN NATIVITATE DOMINI
The Nativity of Our Lord
1st Class, White

Christmas is the only day of the year which keeps the old custom of celebrating its Feast at midnight. At this hour we call to mind that Mary in her spotless virginity gave to the world its Saviour. In the midst of darkness, the Light was born. Therefore the Church celebrates Christmas on December 25th, the time of the year when the days begin to lengthen. The custom of having three Masses originated in Jerusalem. A Mass was said in Bethlehem at a very early hour in the morning. Later a second Mass was celebrated in the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem. About midday a third Mass was celebrated.

-- Baronius 1962 Missal

1) Midnight Mass: "Dominus Dixit"

The Midnight Mass specially recalls the temporal birth of Jesus:

Oremus:

Deus, qui hanc sacratíssimam noctem veri lúminis fecísti illustratióne calréscere: da, quæsumus; ut, cujus lucis mystéria in terra cognóvimus, ejus quoque gáudiis in cœlo perfruámur:

Qui tecum vivit et regnat...

Let us Pray:

O God, Who hast made this most holy night to shine forth with the splendor of the true Light: grant, we beseech Thee, that we, who have known the mysteries of His light on earth, may enjoy also His happiness in heaven.

Who with Thee liveth and...


2) Dawn Mass: "Lux Fulgebit"

The Mass at Dawn especially recalls the spiritual birth of Jesus in our souls, and commemorates the adoration of the shepherds:

Oremus:

Da nobis, quæsumus, omnípotens Deus: ut, qui nova incarnáti Verbi tui luce perfúndimut; hoc in nostro respléndeat ópere, quod per fidem fulget in mente.

Per eúmdem Dóminum...

Let us Pray:

Grant us, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we on whom the new light of Thy Incarnate Word is poured, may show forth in our works that brightness, which now doth illuminate our minds by faith.

Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who...


3) Daytime Mass: "Puer Natus Est"

The Third Mass during the Daytime recalls especially the eternal generation of Jesus, and celebrates the dignity of the Son of God:

Oremus:

Concede, quæsumus omnípotens Deus: ut nos Unigéniti tui nova per carne Natívitas líberet: quos sub peccáti jugo vetústa sérvitus tenet.

Per eúmdem Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum...

Let us Pray:

Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that the new birth of Thine only-begotten Son in the flesh may set us free, who are held by the old bondage under the yoke of sin.

Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God...

~~*~~

Links:

• Guéranger, L'Année Liturgique, "Noël, Messe de l'Aurore"
• Goffine, The Church's Year, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
  
• Gregorian Chant Propers (mp3 and music)
• The New Liturgical Movement (Introit, "Puer natus")
• NLM: Laetabundus (Christmas Sequence) (music, pdf) (new!)
  
• What Does the Prayer Really Say? (First Mass, Missa in nocte)
• Second Mass: What Does the Prayer Really Say? (Second Mass, Missa in Aurora)
  

(image: breviary.net)

notes: Christmastide

Notes for the Liturgy during Christmastide

1. At Christmas each Priest may celebrate three Masses (and retain the three stipends): Mass of the night, Mass at dawn, and Mass of the day. Priests who celebrate three Masses without interruption must follow these guidelines: (i) there is no ablution, even of water, after the first and second Mass; the Priest should purify his fingers in the ablution bowl; at the first two Masses the Chalice is simply recovered with the purificator, pall and veil and left on the corporal; and (ii) at the Offertory, a new Host is brought by the server. The Priest does not wipe the Chalice before he pours the wine and the water.

2. At the second Mass on Christmas Day there is a commemoration of St. Anastasia, even at a sung Mass. At the third Mass there is no Last Gospel; the Last Gospel of the Epiphany formerly said at this point has been suppressed.

3. The faithful who received Communion at Midnight Mass may also receive Communion at another Mass during the day.

4. The Communicantes of Christmas is used from December 25h through to January 1st (Octave Day of the Nativity): at midnight, "noctem sacratissimam"; at the other Masses, "diem sacratissimum".

5. On December 29th, 30th, and 31st, the Proper is taken from the Mass Puer Natus during the Octave of the Nactivity. On January 2nd, the Proper is taken from the Mass of the Octave Day of the Nativity (January 1st). On January 7th to 9th, the Mass is of the Epiphany. On January 12th, the Mass is of the first Sunday of the Epiphany.

6. A Plenary Indulgence may be gained by publicly saying or singing the Te Deum in thanksgiving on December 31st; a Plenary Indulgence may also be gained by publicly saying or singing Veni Creator Spiritus on January 1st.

7. The Gloria is said at every Mass of the seaons, even of the feria, during Christmastide.

8. The Daily Mass for the Dead is prohibited on all ferias of Christmastide and throughout the former Octave of the Epiphany.

(excerpted/adapted from the 2009 Liturgical Ordo, Priestly Fraternity of St Peter)

Christmas Eve

Thursday 24 December 2009

IN VIGILIA NATIVITATIS DOMINI
Vigil of the Nativity of Our Lord
1st Class, Violet
(1st Vespers of Christmas)

Oremus:

Deus, qui nos redemptiónis nostræ annua exspectatióne lætíficas: præsta; ut Unigénitum tuum, quem Redemptórem læti suscípimus, veniéntem quoque Júdicem secúri videámus, Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum : Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus. Let us Pray:

O God, who makest us glad with the yearly Expectation of the birth of thine only Son Jesus Christ: grant that as we joyfully receive him for our Redeemer, so we may with sure confidence behold him when he shall come to be our Judge.

Who liveth and reigneth with thee.

Links:

• Guéranger, L'Année Liturgique, "Noël, Messe de Minuit"
• Goffine, The Church's Year, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
  
• Gregorian Chant Propers (mp3 and music)
• What Does the Prayer Really Say?
  

(image: breviary.net)

Greater Feria (Wednesday)

Wednesday 23 December 2009

FERIA QUARTA INFRA HEBD. IV ADVENTUS
Greater Feria
2nd Class, Violet
(Lauds II, Preces; Mag. Ant. 'O Emmanuel')

"O Emmanuel"

"O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, Desire of all nations and their Salvation: Come and save us, O Lord our God."

Dom Guéranger reflects:

"We adore thee, O Emmanuel! in this thy journey, and we reverence the fidelity wherewith thou fulfillest all that the prophets have written of thee, for thou wouldst give to thy people the certainty of thy being the Messias, by showing them, that all the marks whereby he was to be known, are to be found in thee. And now, the hour is near; all is ready for thy Birth; come, then, and save us; come, that thou mayest not only be called our Emmanuel, but our Jesus, that is, He that saves us."

Here is a recording of the Antiphon, courtesy of the Oxford Dominicans:

And to finish off, a recording of the great Advent hymn, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel:

For more on the history of the hymn, please see this article by the great chant expert Mary Berry, reproduced at NLM here.

Link:

• What Does the Prayer Really Say?
  

Greater Feria (Tuesday)

Tuesday 22 December 2009

FERIA TERTIA INFRA HEBD. IV ADVENTUS
Greater Feria
2nd Class, Violet
(Lauds II; Mag. Ant. 'O Rex')

"O Rex Gentium"

"O King of Nations, and their Desire; the Cornerstone, who makest both one: Come and save mankind, whom thou formedst of clay."

Dom Gueranger continues to reflect on Mary's journey to Bethlehem carrying the unborn Jesus. How, he asks, will her human heart bear simultaneously the intensity of a mother's love for her baby and the love of a creature for her God.

"But thou supportest her, O thou the Desired of Nations! for thou, too, longest for that happy Birth, which is to give the earth its Saviour, and to men that Cornerstone, which will unite them all into one family. Dearest King! be thou blessed for all these wonders of thy power and goodness. Come speedily, we beseech thee, come and save us, for we are dear to thee, as creatures that have been formed by thy divine hands. Yes Come for thy creation has grown degenerate; it is lost; death has taken possession of it: take it thou again into thy almighty hands, and give it a new creation; save it; for thou hast not ceased to take pleasure in and love thy own work."

Here is a recording of the Antiphon, courtesy of the Oxford Dominicans:

Link:

• What Does the Prayer Really Say?