End of Advent; Christmas Eve

I've had a blessed Advent: last week, I made a five-day silent retreat in Bowral, N.S.W., run by two priests from the Abbey of St Joseph de Clairval in Flavigny. What a marvel that such an orthodox Benedictine monastery flourishes, and has as its apostolate the giving of a condensed form of the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius to men, in conformity to the spirit of its founder and first abbot, God rest him, who was converted after making such a retreat in 1940, and in due course became a monk after the death of his wife, with the resolve to give to others what had so changed him. It was easily the best retreat I have ever done, really brilliant, and, I hope, marks a milestone in my spiritual life. I would heartily recommend these retreats to one and all.

Either side of the retreat, I spent the weekend in Sydney, and went to High Mass at Maternal Heart, Lewisham. Since my return home, I've prepared for Christmas in the commercial sense, by buying gifts for family and friends. Tonight, just after sunset, Mass at St Canice-in-the-fields, Glengarry, then Midnight Mass at Carmel; tomorrow morning, back to Carmel for the Day Mass.

My prayer is for all readers and friends to receive every holy blessing from above, with hearts opened wide to Christ Whose glorious Nativity in the flesh we celebrate on this most holy feast.

The Beginning of Advent

A beautiful day, materially and spiritually: for this evening marks the beginning of Advent. At the parish OF Vigil Mass, it was good to sing "Wake, awake, for night is flying", one of those hymns without which Advent Sunday seems incomplete; and I listened a little time ago to another one, "Lo! he comes with clouds descending", which I have enjoyed singing at this time of year in the past. After Mass, I went to another Advent necessity, a performance of The Messiah. 

(Unfortunately the choir, harpsichordist, trumpeter and bass soloist were not of the highest standard: the last-named lost his place most embarrassingly in "The people that walked in darkness", the second-last named did not do much of a job of his part in "The trumpet shall [or rather, should] sound", the harpsichordist was inaccurate, and the choir didn't keep in time with each other in "His yoke is easy". I would have to say, it was the worst performance of Handel's masterpiece I've attended; even the booklet hadn't been proofread, both omitting parts sung, and including parts not sung. I hope they improve for next year, otherwise I will offer them 80% of the ticket price, and not waste 20% of my money as I did this year.)

Cistercian Elevation Chants

UPDATE: I have made a more accurate transcription of all three elevation chants.

The Cistercian Rite retained down to the liturgical changes of the 1960's the mediæval practice of singing an elevation motet after the elevation of the Host; and presumably all EF Masses in the Cistercian Rite still retain this laudable and pious custom. At Mass, after the chanted Sanctus, but before the Benedictus, the O salutaris Hostia is sung after the elevation; however, if it be Mass in honour of the Blessed Virgin, the Sanctus and Benedictus are sung first, and then the Ave verum after the elevation. The Cistercian version of the Ave verum includes a slight change in wording (fudit aquam cum, not fluxit aquam et), an additional last phrase (Tu nobis miserere, set to the same notes as fili Mariæ) and a few minor variants in the assignment of notes to syllables (for in exa- and …li Mari…).

At Requiem Masses, the Sanctus and Benedictus are sung first, then the Pie Jesu after the elevation. This last chant is particularly interesting, as it is clearly based on a variant tune for the last lines of the Sequence Dies iræ, which is not sung in the Cistercian liturgy. The invocation Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem is sung thrice, then sempiternam (from the Agnus Dei melody) is appended, with a final Amen. 

Herewith, the Cistercian O salutaris Hostia (whose melody is a slightly more elaborate variant of the Roman), Ave verum, and Pie Jesu:

At present, I like to silently pray these three in succession after the Elevation, during the silent Canon of the Mass.

Christus Rex Pilgrimage Diary

This year, I kept note of my experiences on the Christus Rex Pilgrimage… on which the following are based.

I flew out of Tasmania to Victoria just after 2 pm on Thursday 22nd October, and dallied at the airport till Simon collected me at five o'clock in his already pilgrim-filled minivan. I was dropped off at my hotel in Ballarat a little after 6:15 pm, and then attended the sung Requiem (advertised for 7 pm, but beginning at 7:17 pm) at the Cathedral, just around the corner. The full Gregorian propers were chanted, along with extra verses for the Introit, and the whole De profundis, interspersed with the repetend of the Lux æterna, at Communion time, after which the choir sang Anerio's polyphonic version of the Requiem Introit. About the only slight suggestion I would venture is that an extra verse or two of the Offertory could with advantage be chanted, in order to fill up the time. The Missa cantata concluded with the recessional hymn "The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended".

A little later, having registered, I had dinner and a pint or two with Hugh at a local Irish pub, before walking to a nearby supermarket for breakfast supplies.

Friday morning began very early for me, at 5 am, as I wanted to be properly organised for the pilgrimage. I headed to the Cathedral at 6:10 am, and after the usual announcements and greetings from 6:30 am onwards, Solemn High Mass (Votive of the Holy Cross) began at 6:45 am. In addition to Mass IV and the Gregorian Propers, the choir sang Guerrero's Per signum crucis and Byrd's Ave verum. Mass concluded just after eight o'clock, followed at once by the blessing of pilgrims, so we all left the Cathedral and began walking after eight thirty.

I believe there were a little under 400 pilgrims this year.

The walk out from central Ballarat, via the cemetery, was pleasant, as was the climb up through the hills to the north. We stopped in the forest for morning tea at 11:15 am, and reached Creswick for lunch at 2 pm. A few of us, unwilling to face the unappetising Subway vegetarian rolls provided, had a fasting lunch with beer at an establishment on the main street, before rejoining the pilgrims at 3:15 pm.

The afternoon route was a change to that taken on previous years, and was most attractive, taking us across gently rising country through to Kingston (where we stopped for afternoon tea at 5 pm). At 6:45 pm, just a quarter hour from Smeaton, I was collected by car and taken to the mobile chapel, since Fr Rowe required a server for his Low Mass, but apart from that I walked the whole day quite comfortably.

After Mass, we spent from 7:15 to 8:30 in putting up the tent and so forth, before joining the rest for the pilgrim meal, then a drink at the pub and so to bed at 10:30 pm.

Saturday morning I arose at 5:30 am, and after the usual pilgrim breakfast we all resumed walking just before 7:15 am. Morning tea break was at 8:40 am (a little ahead of schedule), and then we walked on to Campbelltown, reaching it at 11:15 am. High Mass coram episcopo (Votive of Our Lady Help of Christians, Patroness of Australia) lasted from 11:48 am to 1:18 pm. The music was sublime: as always, the full chanted Propers, with Mass IX, enhanced by the Slavonic Sub tuum during the Offertory, the polyphonic Czech Sanctus, Josquin dez Prez's magnificent motet Ave Maria… Virgo serena at Communion, and O sanctissima to conclude; the choir then sang the Romantic Panis angelicus as a fitting meditation after Communion.

Lunch followed, then some of us caught a lift a bit less than a kilometre up the road and quenched our thirst at the Black Duck Tavern from 2 to 2:30 pm.

The walk across three hills to Sandon was tiring as always, but we reached the Catholic cemetery there at 4:30 pm, and conducted the usual devotions in supplication for the faithful departed, before the afternoon tea break there. At 5:22, we pushed on to Newstead, arriving fairly exhausted (if I do say so myself) at 7:05 pm. Again, putting up the tent and then lining up for a shower took a long time, and we didn't get dinner till nearly nine o'clock; I had planned to go for a beer at the pub but was completely done in and went to bed by a quarter to ten.

On Sunday, my alarm rang at 5:30 am, and strangely I didn't have to wait so long to access the shower! By six I was back at the tent, which had to be taken down of course, before heading to breakfast at 6:45 am. We were on the buses by 7:20 and headed off via Maldon at 7:34, beginning our last day's walk at Mulberry Lane at 8:13 am. Our morning tea stop was reached at 9:40 am, and after crossing the last hills we lunched at Kangaroo Flat at 12:40 am. An hour later we headed off to Sacred Heart Cathedral, reaching it at 2:55 pm.

The Bishop of Sandhurst welcomed us to his cathedral with the usual blessing, and after prayers Pontifical High Mass was sung by the retired Bishop of Christchurch. A glorious Mass indeed, with Missa Papæ Marcelli and many beautiful motets, such as Palestrina's Sicut cervus, concluded at 5 pm. The organist played Widor's Toccata as the recessional. After Mass, again the thirty-strong choir couldn't resist singing a few more motets…

As David remarked, no cathedral in Australia would have such splendid liturgy ordinarily.

Having prayed, and then collected my bags, I checked into the adjoining motel and freshened up, before walking over to the Queen's Arms for the après-pèlerinage dinner. The establishment was absolutely packed, with two bishops and priests galore alongside the many laity, and a good time (and many a refreshing beverage) was had by all.

On Monday morning, a final High Mass (of the feria) was sung at 9:10 am, followed by, not the expected buffet brunch, but lunch at the nearby National Hotel from about eleven o'clock onwards. My ride to the airport departed a little after 1 pm. I arrived there at 2:45, and tried to change to an earlier flight, but given bad weather I had no change but to keep to my earlier booking. Instead, I wandered the airport (how boring that place can be!), and my flight was delayed till 8:30, and I didn't get home from the airport until a few minutes past ten at night.

Another wonderful Christus Rex Pilgrimage: I look forward to next year!

Off on Pilgrimage

Tomorrow I head off to Ballarat, there to embark on the annual Christus Rex Pilgrimage to Bendigo. It is the 25th Pilgrimage, and will be my seventh. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!

Nativitas tua Dei Genitrix Virgo

The Magnificat antiphon for the Feast of Our Lady's Nativity, Nativitas tua Dei Genitrix Virgo, is a translation of the Apolytikion of the Feast in the Byzantine Liturgy (Ἡ γέννησίς σου Θεοτόκε, χαρὰν ἐμήνυσε πάσῃ τῇ οικουμένῃ, ἐκ σοῦ γὰρ ἀνέτειλεν ὁ Ἥλιος τῆς δικαιοσύνης, Χριστὸς ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, καὶ λύσας τὴν κατάραν, ἔδωκε τὴν εὐλογίαν, καὶ καταργήσας τὸν θάνατον, ἐδωρήσατο ἡμῖν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον.).

Its Gregorian chant melody is interesting to me because it resembles a very ornate psalm-tone (rather in the style of that of the Ambrosian Transitorium Te laudamus Domine omnipotens), which I transcribe as follows, breaking the chant into sense-lines to reveal the repeated motifs:

Note that the first and fourth lines are all but identical as regards the chant, while the second, third and fifth lines are the same from the climacus (five descending notes) onwards, and after the quarter bar are all but the same as the first and fourth lines, just as the beginnings of the first and fourth (but for the climacus) resemble that of the second and to a lesser extent the fifth, while at the same time the beginnings of the third line is quite different in melody.

In the Dominican Rite, this antiphon is (or was) used also for Our Lady's Visitation and Presentation, as well as for other Marian feasts, in each case changing the word Nativitas into, respectively, Visitatio,  Præsentatio, and Solemnitas. Likewise, in the Monastic Breviary, the same is done for the feast of Our Lady's Maternity, changing Nativitas into Maternitas (and ending the chant at Christus Deus noster).

We had a lovely OF parish Mass in the evening of the Feast yesterday; perhaps next year our schola can learn this chant and sing it either at Mass or Benediction.

The Divine Praises – II

Following some thought, it strikes me that the late lamented Fr Bouyer was correct in suggesting that further additions to the Divine Praises would be fitting. I make bold to suggest – for private devotion only – that the following four additions are desirable:

After mention of the Blessed Sacrament:

• Blessed be Jesus Christ the King.

After mention of the Holy Ghost:

• Blessed be the Most Holy Trinity.

After mention of St Joseph:

• Blessed be the Holy Family.
• Blessed be the Holy Catholic Church.

All these four are tied together: Christ ought reign as King, not merely over hearts but over societies, so every state acknowledge his social reign, as Pius XI taught; and the pre-existent community in unity that is the Trinity has, as reflections and images on earth, both the Holy Family, itself the model of all true families – including a father, a mother and a child – and also the Holy Catholic Church, that marvellous divine gathering back into one of all the scattered sheep.

In this age, when the Church in her immaculate holiness is mocked and despised for the sins, real and imagined, of her members, when the family is attacked under the guise of promoting a so-called love that is but a cloak for sinful lusts opposed alike to the natural order and to divine justice, when the Trinity is unacknowledged and unworshipped, and Christ, Second Person thereof, Redeemer and Lawgiver and Judge, is more and more flagrantly rejected, disobeyed and mocked, so much the more ought the faithful remnant praise, bless and honour these sacred mysteries of our holy religion.

The Divine Praises were originally composed in Italian, and are often recited in Latin, so here are the four proposed extra blessings in those tongues:

Benedetto Gesù Cristo Re.

Benedetta la santissima Trinità.

Benedetta la santa Famiglia.

Benedetta la santa Chiesa cattolica.

Benedictus Jesus Christus Rex.

Benedicta sanctissima Trinitas.

Benedicta sancta Familia.

Benedicta sancta Ecclesia Catholica.

The Divine Praises

A quick internet search turns up the well-known text of the Divine Praises, along with a note attributing its origins to Fr Luigi (Louis? or Aloysius?) Felici, S.J. in 1797, as a form of reparation for blasphemy. (I found a copy on Google Books of the oration preached at his funeral, which indicates he died in 1818; and another search turned up the fact that he was born in 1736.) It was written in Italian, and the Latin is a later translation (as is the form in English, of course). The original form had but eight lines, to which successive additions have been made. Pius VII granted an indulgence for its recitation on 23 July 1801; I haven't found a copy of Felici's original, so I do not know if Pius VII changed or enlarged it, as some sources seem to suggest.

Succeeding Popes have added ever more indulgences and blessings to it (though those indulgences have since been watered down); but it turned out to be quite hard to discover exactly when. Recourse had to be had to the Acta Apostolicæ Sedis, and other sources, to find the official decrees adding each blessing, and I have found a puzzling reference to the date when Bl Pius IX made the first addition in honour of the Immaculate Conception, suggesting that it was added, not in the year 1856 as other sources claim, but on 27 April 1851, some years prior to the dogmatic definition of 1854. Herewith, the Divine Praises, with the dates of each addition noted:

Blessed be God.
Blessed be his Holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Blessed be the name of Jesus.
Blessed be his Most Sacred Heart. (Leo XIII, 2 February 1897)
Blessed be his Most Precious Blood. (St John XXIII, 12 October 1960)
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit the Paraclete. (Bl Paul VI, 27 April 1964)
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary Most Holy.
Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception. (Bl Pius IX, 25 April 1851)
Blessed be her glorious Assumption. (Pius XII, 23 December 1952, 8 April 1953)
Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Blessed be St Joseph, her most chaste spouse. (Benedict XV, 23 February 1921)
Blessed be God in his Angels and in his Saints.

There are two dates given for the insertion of blessing of the Assumption, since by an embarrassing error it was first commanded to be illogically inserted before that of the Immaculate Conception, so a correction had to be published a few months later.

I recall reading somewhere, in a book on the Eucharist by Louis Bouyer I think, that two desirable additions to these praises would be "Blessed be the holy Apostles" (those pillars of the Church founded by their Master) and "Blessed be the holy Catholic Church" - the latter, being the Bride of Christ, oft reviled by the world's attacks (all too often deservedly attracted, sad to say, by the outrageous crimes of her sinful members), yet remaining holy and spotless in her essential nature despite every attempted besmirching: she is, after all, casta meretrix.

A Prayer before Mass

Since this evening I will be assisting at the monthly Missa cantata in Launceston, here is a short prayer (dating from at least 1745), which I found in an eighteenth century book available online, and which I have rendered into English with the aid of online resources:

PRIÈRE AVANT LA MESSE.

Prosterné au pied de votre saint Autel, je vous adore, Dieu tout-puissant: je crois fermement que la Messe à laquelle je vais assister, est le sacrifice du Corps et du Sang de Jésus-Christ votre Fils: faites que j’y assiste avec l’attention, le respect et la frayeur que demandent de si redoutables Mystères; et que par les mérites de la Victime qui s’immole pour moi, immolé moi-même avec elle, je ne vive plus que pour vous, qui vivez et régnez dans la suite de tous les siècles. Ainsi soit-il.

PRAYER BEFORE MASS.

Prostrate at the foot of thy holy Altar, I adore thee, O God almighty: I firmly believe that the Mass, at which I am going to assist, is the sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ thy Son: cause that I may assist thereat with the attention, the respect and the fear that such formidable Mysteries demand; and that by the merits of the Victim who sacrifices himself for me, I may sacrifice myself with him, and live no longer for myself but for thee, who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.

Launceston Latin Mass Update

Tonight, Fr Rowe – my former parish priest in Perth, W.A., who is visiting again, having been in Hobart for a conference – offered our monthly Missa cantata. The attendance was good, with several new faces present who promised to return, and afterward we shared a cuppa and a chinwag.

I have just learnt from Fr Suresh, who is chaplain to the Latin Mass community in this Archdiocese, that from our next Mass in August onwards, our monthly Latin Mass in Launceston will be held on the second Sunday, which will be more convenient for many.

Our next Missa cantata, therefore, will be held at 6 pm on Sunday the 9th of August, at St Francis Church, Riverside.

June and July EF Masses in Launceston

On Sunday evening the 7th of June, we had our latest Missa cantata in Launceston: it was a beautiful Mass. Fr Suresh preached powerfully on the Real Presence as the touchstone of Catholic faith and devotion; the choir acquitted themselves well, of course; and at least the server (yours truly) noticed during the Epistle that he had put the side altar cards on the wrong sides, and switched them over while moving the missal to the Gospel corner.

Our next EF Mass will be held at 6 pm on Sunday 5th July: Fr Michael Rowe, my former parish priest in Perth, W.A., will offer it, since he is coming to the ACCC Conference in Hobart that finishes on the Friday beforehand. Last night, our choir began learning the new music: we will sing the solemn Salve as the Offertory Motet, and Adoro te after Communion. While we will continue to use psalm-tone  settings of the propers otherwise, we will sing the Gregorian melody of the Communion antiphon.

Many thanks to all who support this new venture!

Cancellation

Owing to the unavailability of choir members, etc., it has been decided to cancel the May Latin Mass in Launceston. The next Mass will be celebrated at 6 pm on the first Sunday of June, at St Francis' Church, thanks to the ongoing kindness of the parish and parish priest, who allow the use of the church by the Archdiocese of Hobart Latin Mass Community.

Launceston Easter Sunday EF Mass

Fr Suresh again came North to celebrate our second monthly Missa cantata. While some were absent (it being Easter, and holiday time; and also I forgot to advertise it in the parish bulletin, though it was mentioned in the diocesan paper), we still had an attendance of about twenty, which bodes well for the future once it becomes better known.

(Next month, by the way, the Mass will be held at 5 pm on the second Sunday, that is, on the 10th of May, owing to various reasons.)

Having rehearsed with the choir, I then got ready to serve Mass (and to sing along, when not otherwise occupied). Mass began at 6:05 pm and concluded at 7:05 pm. As always, Fr Suresh preached a stirring sermon. After the Mass, we all went through to the adjoining parish centre for a light supper, preceded by the blessing of eggs and bread (the texts of which luckily were appended to the main contents of the missal).

As before, we sang the Messe Royale, accompanied on the organ. Since the propers of Easter Sunday are beyond my competence (apart from the Sequence), I set their texts to psalm-tone 1, with alleluias set to the music of the Messe Royale Kyrie. At Offertory, a few verses of O filii et filiæ were sung, and after Mass, the simple Regina cæli, before concluding with the rousing hymn "By your kingly power, O risen Lord," by James McAuley.

Here are the simplified propers as sung; I seem to have left out the second-last letter in alleluja for some reason…

Happy Easter

I was blessed to attend the Easter Vigil at the Launceston Carmel, ably celebrated by Fr Paul, a worthy and learned Dominican, and a long-standing friend of mine since Melbourne days; he was assisted by Brian, the usual server there, who looked after the thurible and incense also. The good nuns there believe in doing the Vigil properly: all the readings are read, and the Mass of the Resurrection begins in the middle of the night.

For the record, the liturgy began at 11:00 pm, with the blessing of the new fire (symbol of the Creation ex nihilo) and the lighting of the Paschal Candle (symbol of Christ, the Light who shineth in the darkness). Fr Paul chanted Lumen Christi thrice; thrice we replied, Deo gratias, and lit our small candles from the one source of light. He then sang the Exsultet, that marvellous homiletic canticle, one of the richest still-used pieces of mystagogical catechesis, fit to be compared with the Easter Sermon of St John Chrysostom, and the Carmen Paschale of Melito of Sardis.

At 11:20 pm, the nuns, from within the screen on their side of the chapel, then began the seven readings of the Vigil, interspersed with psalmody, and Father's chanting of the collects following each; this took 45 minutes all told.

Just after midnight, at 12:05 am, we all joined in singing the Gloria in excelsis (Mass I, Lux et origo, for Eastertide - how appropriate a title), and thus began the Mass, with chanted collect, reading of the Epistle, singing of the triple Alleluia with Psalm 117, and the Gospel of the Resurrection. Father's homily – a reflection on the mystery of Christ's descent to Sheol, and his triumph over death – began at 12:15 am. Aptly he compared the mystery whereby Christ is truly risen, but his triumph is still hidden, to the self-oblation of the Carmelite nuns, who live an enclosed life of prayer and penance, striving to indeed confess their lives hidden with Christ in God.

At 12:25 am, the Easter water was blessed, our baptismal vows were renewed, and then – a ceremony special to Carmel – the nuns all renewed their religious vows, before we were aspersed.

The offertory began at 12:35 am. Father chanted the Prayer over the Oblations and the Preface; after the Sanctus (Mass I), he began the Roman Canon, including all the saints and all the repetitions of "Through Christ our Lord. Amen." – a very important Christological confession, whose unwise omission reveals a basic incomprehension of that great prayer. He even chanted the central part, including the Consecration. Similarly, the doxology, the Lord's Prayer and following prayers were chanted, down to the Agnus Dei (Mass I). After the nuns, we were able to come forward to make our Easter Communion, uniting ourselves to the Lord who has conquered sin, Satan, death and hell. Mass concluded with the usual sung prayer, solemn blessing, and dismissal with double alleluia, before the final hymn at 1:10 am.

After Mass, it was great to wish a happy Easter to Fr Paul before I drove home; I extend the same Easter greeting to all readers.

Christ is risen: He is risen indeed.

Those Not Prayed for on Good Friday

The Solemn Intercessions on Good Friday, both OF and EF, pray for the following:

1. For Holy Church;

2. For the Pope;

3. For all orders and degrees of the faithful;

4. [EF 5.] For catechumens;

5. [EF 7.] For the unity of Christians [Previously, For Heretics and Schismatics];

6. [EF 8.] For the Jewish people [For the Conversion of the Jews];

7. [EF 9.] For those who do not believe in Christ [Previously, For the Conversion of Pagans];

8. For those who do not believe in God*;

9. [EF 4.] For those in public office [Previously, For the Roman Emperor†];

10. [EF 6.] For those in tribulation [For the necessities of the faithful].

* The growth of atheism has necessitated the addition of a prayer for atheists.

† There having been no Holy Roman Emperor since 1806, it was understandable that this prayer – long omitted (though I have seen it prayed for Queen Victoria, in a 19th C. Holy Week book, and I assume it was still used in Austria-Hungary until its collapse) – was replaced by a prayer for all those in civil office.

But who is not prayed for? The faithful departed, those who have died.

Furthermore, while even in the last pre-Conciliar order of service, the Libera nos still asked for the intercession of the Saints, that phrase was deleted in the Novus Ordo.

A petition could well be added, therefore, in private, somewhat after this fashion, using the Collect for the Living and the Dead, plus a modified form of the matching Secret, turned into an introductory petition, thus:

Oremus et pro vivis et defunctis: ut Deus, cui soli cognitus est numerus electorum in superna felicitate locandus, intercedentibus omnibus Sanctis suis, universorum, quos in oratione commendatos suscepimus, et omnium fidelium nomina, in beatæ prædestinationis libro adscripta retineat.

Oremus.

Flectamus genua.

Levate.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui vivorum dominaris simul et mortuorum, omniumque misereris, quos tuos fide et opere futuros esse prænoscis: te supplices exoramus; ut, pro quibus effundere preces decrevimus, quosque vel præsens sæculum adhuc in carne retinet, vel futurum jam exutos corpore suscepit, intercedentibus omnibus Sanctis tuis, pietatis tuæ clementia omnium delictorum suorum veniam consequantur. Per Dominum nostrum, Jesum Christum, Filium tuum, qui tecum vivat et regnat in unitate Spiritu Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum. R. Amen. 

(Let us pray for the living and the dead: that God, to whom alone is known the number of the elect to be placed in supernal happiness, through the intercession of all his Saints, may retain written in the book of blessed predestination the names of all who have been recommended to our prayers, and of all the faithful.

(Let us pray.

(Let us kneel down.

(Arise.

(Almighty and eternal God, who hast dominion over both the living and the dead, and hast mercy on all, whom thou foreknowest shall be thine by faith and good works: we humbly beseech thee, that those, for whom we have resolved to make supplication, whether the present world still holds them in the flesh, or the world to come has already received them out of the body, may, through the intercession of all thy Saints, obtain of the goodness of thy clemency pardon for all their sins. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who with thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. R. Amen.)

This is lengthier than the other intercessions, but does sum up them all, and prays, beseeching the prayers of the Saints, for all the dead, as well as all the living. Thus it seems to me we should pray on Good Friday, when Christ died to save all.

Thank you, St Patrick

It struck me on St Patrick's feast day that I really ought thank him, that truly noble Apostle of Ireland and Patron of Tasmania – since the prayers made to the Lord through his intercession (see side bar), that the Traditional Latin Mass, the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, be available in Tasmania, at least on all Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, have been answered: His Grace Archbishop Porteous appointed Fr Suresh as Chaplain to the Archdiocese of Hobart Latin Mass Community earlier this year, and we have had weekly EF Masses ever since the end of January, thanks to him and Fr Quinn.

First Friday EF Masses have begun; this week, those in Hobart can attend a sung 6 pm Mass for the Annunciation; and again this year, we will have Fr Mannes visiting from Sydney in order to celebrate the sacred rites of the Paschal Triduum. As if that were not enough, since March, on the first Sunday of each month, there is a Missa cantata in Launceston – Truly, my cup runneth over!

I discovered an old posting of mine from December 2012: how much has changed in so little time! And to my surprise, the prayer to St Patrick asking for Latin Masses in this State I found I put together back in October 2008, before I moved back to Tasmania from Western Australia (together with some rather verbose additions unused for years). (I also again thank Fr Hunwicke for assisting me with Latinizing part of it – and for suggesting the addition of "at least".) So it took only 6 years and a quarter for this prayer to be answered: Deo gratias et Patricio.

Viva, viva Benedetto

An unremarked milestone was passed on the 16th of February: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI surpassed the lifespan of Pope Clement XII (who died aged 87 years 306 days), to become the second-longest-lived Pope, outranked only by Leo XIII (who died aged 93 years 140 days): since Georg Ratzinger is still alive, aged 91, God willing, Benedict may indeed live on to surpass that span too, come the 5th of September 2020. Benedict XVI would by now have reigned for over nine years, had he not unexpectedly resigned.

(But do note that Pope John XXII's age at death is uncertain: some sources claim he may have been as many as 89 years old.)

Meanwhile, as the joke has it, the priests of Rome pray at Mass "for Benedict our Pope and Francis our Bishop"! – today begins the third year of the pontificate of Papa Bergoglio, our Latin American leader (caudillo?) from the Silver Republic (that being the literal meaning of his homeland's name). I do hope his second Synod on the Family is less embarrassing and more fruitful than the first; at least he has his own right-hand-man in Cardinal Pell, with the skills (less common in southern Europe and similar places) necessary to reform the murky details of Vatican finances.

If, according to the ineluctable designs of Providence, our one-lunged Argentinian Supreme Pontiff should predecease our former German Shepherd (for after all, as St John Paul the Great opined, the Church ought breathe with both lungs), could a future conclave re-elect the Pope Emeritus, that the Church return to the Golden Age from its current Silver Age, so to speak? And, if so, would he be Benedict XVI & XVII? Or could he take an entirely new Papal name – Ignatius, perhaps? That would be most confusing.

Tasmanian Pilgrimage

A small group of friends and I spent the weekend on a Lenten pilgrimage: on Saturday, we walked from St Joseph's Church in Hobart to St John's Church in Richmond (25 km); and on Sunday, another 28 km to St Patrick's Church, Colebrook. The three churches mentioned are all historic: St Joseph's, built 1841, was Hobart's original pro-cathedral; St John the Evangelist's, built 1837, is the oldest extant Catholic church in Australia; and St Patrick's, Colebrook, built 1857, is a perfect Pugin design.

Shelstone Saddle (our Saturday lunch stop) with Hobart in the distance

His Grace condescended to join us for the last hour of the walk into Richmond, and proceeded to celebrate Mass for us in the Ordinary Form; Hugh and Tony sang the Gregorian propers, just as they did the next day at Colebrook, where Fr Suresh sang a Missa cantata. En route, from time to time we said the Rosary (ten decades each day), sang hymns, conversed and enjoyed the pleasant weather and  scenery.

Simon and Lyle took turns in driving our support vehicle, which kept us supplied with water, plus food and drink for lunch, morning and afternoon tea. The pilgrimage could not have happened without the kind permission of the local parish priest, nor the support of other friends of mine who assisted us. David, who joined our band on the Sunday, lives locally, and helped plan the route.

A little before lunch on Sunday, with Gravelly Ridge to climb afterwards

It was a pity that a few others were unable to attend in the event, but c'est la vie. I must say that such a generous dose of unaccustomed fresh air, sunshine and exercise all agreed with me, and I cannot wait to strike out cross-country again. Being a Catholic affair, we quenched our hard-earned thirst and enjoyed a pleasant dinner together in a local pub each evening.

Colebrook was originally named Jerusalem, and so our little venture bore a somewhat grandiose title: a Lenten Pilgrimage to Tasmania's Jerusalem. All pilgrimages, large and small, are images of the progress of each Christian, and of the whole Church, through the desert of this world to the supernal City of God. As St Louis IX said as he lay dying, "We will go to Jerusalem".

St Patrick's Church, Colebrook

Launceston Missa Cantata

For the first time in a long time, I won't be M.C. at the first Sunday of the month Hobart Missa cantata, for the excellent reason that, instead, I will be serving at our new first Sunday of the month Launceston Missa cantata, at 6 pm at St Francis' Church, Riverside.

In Hobart, since January this year, the Traditional Latin Mass is offered every Sunday – the venue and time has recently changed to 11:00 am at Sacred Heart Church, New Town. Fr Quinn continues to say that Mass on the first Sunday of each month, but otherwise Fr Suresh says it. As on the first Sundays, Fr Suresh is free, he will henceforth drive north to offer an Extraordinary Mass in Launceston.

I feel sorry that I won't be M.C. for Fr Quinn henceforth, but it will be good both for me and for those others here in the North who wish to attend the traditional form of the Roman Rite, without having to drive to Hobart.

Thanks be to God!

The Chinese Calendar and the Date of Easter

The Chinese lunisolar calendar – whose New Year occurred adjacent to Ash Wednesday this week – is, as all men know, a Jesuit production. For imperial decrees of 1611 and 1629 commanded those expert mathematicians and astronomers, being missionaries of the Society of Jesus then resident in Beijing, to correct the traditional calendar of the Ming Empire; the work was completed between 1642 and 1644; and, after an invasion and change of dynasty, was promulgated in the first year of the Qing (that is, Manchu) Empire, in 1645.

There was some contretemps back in Rome at the involvement of Fr Johann Adam Schall von Bell, S.J., in the composition of such a calendar, providing as it did for the various feasts and fasts of pagan idolatry, not to mention days of good and bad fortune as prescribed by oriental superstition; but his involvement was all carefully examined and approved by a curial commission, Fr Schall's role being revealed as simply providing the calculations upon which substructure native officials arranged their customary observances, without any acquiescence of that Jesuit in their non-Christian rites; and in the same year of 1664, Pope Alexander VII officially approved the good father's appointment as a mandarin and chief mathematician of the Empire of China.

Being a lunisolar calendar, its lunar months (stretching from new moon to new moon, with the full moon occurring, more or less, on the fifteenth day of each) are carefully disposed to correspond to the solar year, with the intercalation of an extra month from time to time (roughly every three years). Though its solar year is calculated between successive (northern hemisphere) winter solstices, it is interesting to note several convenient properties of the Chinese calendar that relate instead to the vernal equinox, which must always fall within the second lunar month.

I wonder if the Jesuits, who laboured for the Son of Heaven that he be converted and turn to worship the Son of Man, that he, too, and all the peoples of his Empire, become sons of God and co-heirs of heaven, did not spot the eminent suitability of their clever improvement of the Chinese calendar for the determination of the date of Easter, in conformity with the then-recent Gregorian calendrical reform?

For I have been checking if a simple algorithm applied to the Chinese calendar will correctly yield the date of Easter: and it seems it does, if two safeguards be applied.

To begin with, recall what the first Ecumenical Council decreed: that Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first (or "Paschal") full moon after the (northern) vernal equinox. The West (whether non-Chalcedonian, Greek or Latin) has always determined this date by the use of tables. However, in principle astronomical calculations would yield an equal or superior result.

The reformed Chinese calendar of 1645 is based upon observations of the true rather than the mean sun and moon. (Since early last century, it has not been based upon the meridian of Beijing, but upon that of 120 degrees East; this is about the only change made after the Jesuits' codification and improvement of ancient tradition.)

To determine the date of Easter by use of the Chinese calendar, first one finds the date of the vernal equinox in the relevant year (this always falls in the second lunar month), converting if necessary from the Gregorian to the Chinese date (though most Chinese calendars provide the "solar terms", including the relevant equinox). Then one notes if that equinox occurs before or after the fifteenth of the lunar month (when the full moon, in almost all cases*, occurs). If before, then the first Sunday after that fifteenth* day will be Easter Sunday. If after, then the first Sunday after the fifteenth* of the third month will be Easter.

I add an asterisk (*) above to signify that I have made a perhaps unwarranted simplification (though it works well enough in over 93% of cases): for, having downloaded a table of all lunar phases and their timings from 1600 to 2200 inclusive, it appears that the fifteenth day of the Chinese month is not always the date of the full moon: sometimes it is the sixteenth, or even the seventeenth.

For the eighty years from 1974 to 2053, four times (in 1994, 2021, 2025 and 2048) the calculation of the date of Easter requires not merely assuming that the fifteenth of the lunar month is the date of the full moon, but a careful checking of its exact date. Obviously, a truly comprehensive Chinese calendar table will include the exact date of the full moon each lunar month, so providing a wholly accurate method for finding Easter Sunday.

There is a further rule necessary: in 1981, this method would suggest that Easter falls on the 26th of April, but Easter can only fall between the 22nd of March and the 25th of April – so an added rule must prescribe that, in such a case, Easter be observed a week earlier.

If only the good fathers of the Society of Jesus (in those days, not merely great scholars, but staunchly orthodox too) had managed to convert the Emperor of China! If only the Chinese Rites controversy had been correctly resolved in 1704 (when instead those observances were banned, raising the wrath of the Kangxi Emperor, and resulting in the persecution of Chinese Christians), rather than only in 1939! If only Clement XI had been as well-informed and truly irenic as Pius XII – without in any way being syncretistic!

Ah, the might-have-beens of history: if only Matteo Ricci's understanding of Chinese customs had been upheld rather than spurned, then the conversion of China could have been effected centuries earlier, rather than postponed until the Sino-Japanese conflict and the Communist conquest of mainland China; or, to speak of another theatre of conflict, why did Mary, James II, the Old Pretender and the Young Pretender fail, and Elizabeth and the Prince of Orange succeed? We must bow before the inscrutable decrees of Providence.

In any case, once the men of Han are converted in God's good time – and there are many Christians and Catholics among them, despite all persecution – then indeed one providential convenience will be that the Chinese calendar is admirably adapted to the calculation of the date of Easter.

The Joy of the Psalms

Deo gratias, I have been putting into practice, in some small way – I hope – the advice tendered by this blog's title, Psallite sapienter; for as Chesterton once said, if something's worth doing, it's worth doing badly. In other words, ever since Sunday the 28th of December, I have resumed reciting the Day Hours from the Roman Breviary of 1962.

I find that the nine psalms of Matins "occasions psychological difficulties", but, since the Feast of the Holy Family (EF) I have adopted an expedient, whereby I say a shortened Matins, including but three psalms out of the nine, omitting the other six: it's not the Office as it should be, but it's better than nothing.

UPDATE: For any who may be interested, I have determined to choose three out of the nine Matins psalms according to the following cycle, so that every three weeks I read over all of them.

Selection of Psalms for Shortened Matins

1st Sunday of Advent & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 1
2nd Sunday of Advent & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 2
3rd Sunday of Advent & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 3
4th Sunday of Advent & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 1
Christmas      9 Pss as given
Sunday in Christmas Octave & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 2
H. Name (Sun. aft. Xmas Oct.*) & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 3
[* if it occur]
Epiphany 9 Pss as given
1st Sunday after Epiphany & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 1
2nd Sunday after Epiphany & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 2
3rd Sunday after Epiphany & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 3
4th Sunday after Epiphany & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 1
5th Sunday after Epiphany & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 2
6th Sunday after Epiphany & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 3
Unused Sundays after Epiphany used before the Last after Pentecost
Septuagesima & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 1
Sexagesima & week following  3 Pss of Noct. 2
Quinquagesima & week following  3 Pss of Noct. 3
1st Sunday in Lent & week following  3 Pss of Noct. 1
2nd Sunday in Lent & week following  3 Pss of Noct. 2
3rd Sunday in Lent & week following  3 Pss of Noct. 3
4th Sunday in Lent & week following  3 Pss of Noct. 1
1st Sunday of the Passion & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 2
Palm Sunday & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 3
Last 3 Days of Holy Week 9 Pss as given
_________________________________________________
Traditional Dominican Practice:
Easter Octave 3 Pss as given
1st Sunday & Week after the Easter Octave 3 Pss of Noct. 1
2nd Sunday & Week after the Easter Octave 3 Pss of Noct. 2
3rd Sunday & Week after the Easter Octave 3 Pss of Noct. 3
4th Sunday & Week after the Easter Octave 3 Pss of Noct. 1
5th Sunday & Week after the Easter Octave 3 Pss of Noct. 2
Sunday & following Ferias after the Ascension 3 Pss of Noct. 3
Pentecost Octave (Whitsuntide) 3 Pss as given
________________________________________________

Trinity Sunday (1st after Pent.) & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 1
2nd Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 2
3rd Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 3
4th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 1
5th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 2
6th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 3
7th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 1
8th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 2
9th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 3
10th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 1
11th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 2
12th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 3
13th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 1
14th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 2
15th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 3
16th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 1
17th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 2
18th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 3
19th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 1
20th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 2
21st Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 3
22nd Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 1
23rd Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 2
Any unused weeks after Epiphany inserted here
24th Sunday after Pentecost & week following 3 Pss of Noct. 3

This method is based on that of the Dominican Breviary, which employs only three psalms at Matins for the whole of Eastertide (as indicated above) – in addition to the practice in the Roman Breviary, whereby only three psalms are said at Matins during Easter Week and Whitsuntide.

In addition, it is well-known that Matins of the Little Office of Our Lady contains only three psalms, while in the Office of the Dead one may read either one Nocturn, or all three.

As there are a maximum of 53 Sundays in the year, and Matins during the Octaves of Easter and Pentecost already have their assigned psalmody of three psalms, this scheme spreads the recitation of the psalms at Matins over a three-week cycle that, ideally, repeats 17 times a year. (In reality, of course, this neat pattern is likely to be broken…)

In any case, it has really helped me, this return to prayer, even if not to the full Hours, as I love the psalms and the cycles of the liturgy; so to God be the glory.

A Saint - Just Not in Either Martyrology

St John the Hermit, Priest of Ortega (so named after the nettles there, urtica in Latin), or, as he is called in Spanish, San Juan de Ortega – amusingly rendered into English as St John of the Nettle(s), or even, of the Thistle! – is a curious example of an undoubted saint, who nonetheless appears neither in the EF nor the OF Martyrology.

His feast, as found in many Spanish Breviaries, was and still is celebrated (by a fiesta, procession and Mass in his resting place) on the 2nd of June, the day of his death in 1163. The relevant volume of the Acta Sanctorum, published in 1695, details this and other accounts of his holy life, spent in the service of pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela; the tiny hamlet of San Juan de Ortega, named after him, is one of the stops along the Camino Francés, and his relics are still venerated there.

According to the Bollandists, Neque per Romani Breviarii susceptionem abolitum est festum, sed mutatum Officium – "And neither by the taking up of the Roman Breviary [in place of the old Diocesan Breviaries of Spain] was [his] feast abolished, but the Office was changed"; that said, I cannot find a copy thereof. At least, from the A.S., I have uncovered the Collect of his feast:

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui beatum Joannem, Confessorem tuum atque Presbyterum, Sanctorum tuorum collegio sociasti; concede nobis, adhuc in valle lacrymarum laborantibus, ut ejus preces et merita, ad impetrandam gratiam tuam tuta præstent auxilia. Per. 

(Almighty, everlasting God, who hast joined blessed John, thy Confessor and Priest, to the college of thy Saints, concede to us, still labouring in this vale of tears, that by his prayers and merits, his secure assistance may be provided for obtaining thy grace. Through…)

It ought be noted that in 1971 the Vatican, at the request of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, appointed him Patron Saint of Surveyors, which is not an honour conceded to mythical persons or those whose claim to sanctity is dubious. Furthermore, the particular calendar of the Archdiocese of Burgos  lists him on the 2nd of June.

How annoying an oversight, then, that even in the most recent edition of the Roman Martyrology, his name does not appear! I spent quite a bit of time searching in my copy through all the many Saints named John, to no avail.

Now for rubricians, a question: according to the letter of the law, in both the modern and 1962 Missals, a Votive Mass may be celebrated of any Saint listed in the relevant edition of the Roman Martyrology; thus, according to the letter of the law, it would seem that it is impossible to offer a Votive Mass in honour of St John of the Nettle – however, as his cultus is ancient and undoubted (it was good enough for the Servant of God Queen Isabella the Catholic, who visited in 1477), could the spirit rather than the letter be applied, and such a Votive be offered, for the intention of the many pilgrims traipsing across Spain to the tomb of St James?

A Vision of the Future

The Servant of God Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926), when asked why he had dedicated his life to building a church, the Sagrada Família, he would never live to see completed, used to reply that "My Client is in no hurry". When, ten years after his death in a tragic accident, anarchists burnt his designs and workshop, also desecrating the crypt, the only finished portion, of his life's work, it must have seemed that with the Spanish Revolution came the destruction of religion and church-building for good. But as years passed, everything possible was salvaged of his plans, donations poured in still – for his church is an "expiatory temple", entirely funded from its inception by freewill offerings – and, in 2010, the nave being complete, Pope Benedict XVI solemnly consecrated the great Temple envisioned by Gaudí in honour of the Holy Family. This year, it is hoped that the Positio will be presented at Rome, as part of the ongoing process of his canonisation; and would it not be wonderful to hope that, by 2026, projected date of the completion of the Sagrada Família, its architect, "God's architect", buried in its crypt, will be first beatified and then declared a saint?

PRAYER FOR PRIVATE DEVOTION

God our Father, you instilled in your servant, the architect Antoni Gaudí, a great love for your Creation, and a burning desire to imitate the mysteries of the childhood and passion of your Son. Grant, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that I also may learn to dedicate myself to a well-done work; and glorify your servant Antoni, granting me, through his intercession, the favour I request (here make your petition). Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, grant us peace and preserve the family. (Three times.)

******

Let us fly in spirit to the completed building, and with the eyes of imagination behold the scene within on the feast day – either the 10th of June, the day of his death; or the 7th, the day of his mortal injury? –in honour of its builder, now raised to the glory of the altars; the Proper Mass, to be conceded by Pope Leo XIV, could well run as follows (I thank Fr Hunwicke for providing the Collect):

Proper Mass for the Servant of God Antoni Gaudi

Introit. (11th Feb. – Our Lady of Lourdes, excl. V.) Apoc. 21, 2

Vidi civitátem sanctam, Jerúsalem novam, descendéntem de cælo a Deo, parátam sicut sponsam ornátam viro suo.

Ibid., 3 Ecce tabernaculum Dei cum hominibus, * et habitabit cum eis.

Gloria Patri... Sicut erat...

Vidi...

(I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

(Behold the tabernacle of God with men, * and he will dwell with them.

(Glory be... As it was... I saw...)

Collect (composed by Fr John Hunwicke, 14th January 2015; cf. S. Aug., Conf., X, 27; my English trans.)

Deus pulchritudo sempiterna, concede supplicibus tuis: ut †beati† Antonii servi tui precibus suffulti; æterna gaudia consequi mereamur. Per.

(O God, beauty everlasting, grant to thy supplicants that, supported by the prayers of thy servant †blessed† Antoni, we may merit to attain eternal joys. Through...)

[†Omit “beati” / “blessed” until he is canonised.]

Epistle (1 Cor. 3, 10-17)

Lectio Epistolæ beati Pauli Apostoli ad Corinthios.

Fratres: Secundum gratiam Dei, quæ data est mihi, ut sapiens architectus fundamentum posui: alius autem superædificat. Unusquisque autem videat quomodo superædificet. Fundamentum enim aliud nemo potest ponere præter id quod positum est, quod est Christus Jesus. Si quis autem superædificat super fundamentum hoc, aurum, argentum, lapides pretiosos, ligna, fœnum, stipulam, uniuscujusque opus manifestum erit: dies enim Domini declarabit, quia in igne revelabitur: et uniuscujusque opus quale sit, ignis probabit. Si cujus opus manserit quod superædificavit, mercedem accipiet. Si cujus opus arserit, detrimentum patietur: ipse autem salvus erit, sic tamen quasi per ignem.

(A lesson from the Epistle of blessed Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians.

(Brethren: According to the grace of God that is given to me, as a wise architect, I have laid the foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid; which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble: every man’s work shall be manifest; for the day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work, of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work burn, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.)

Gradual. (Holy Family)

Ps. 26, 4 Unam pétii a Dómino, hanc requíram, ut inhábitem in domo Dómini ómnibus diébus vitæ meæ. V. Ps. 83, 5 Beáti qui hábitant in domo tua, Dómine: in sæcula sæculórum laudábunt te.

(One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. V. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord: they shall praise thee for ever and ever.)

Alleluia (Holy Family)

Alleluia, alleluia. Prov. 8, 34 Beatus homo qui audit me, et qui vigilat ad fores meas quotidie, et observat ad postes ostii mei. Alleluia.

(Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors. Alleluia.)

_____________________________________________________________________

T. Sept., in place of the Alleluia above:

Tract. Ps. 111,1-3 (Comm. Conf. non Pont.)

Beatus vir qui timet Dominum: in mandatis ejus cupit nimis. V. Potens in terra erit semen ejus: generatio rectorum benedicetur. V. Gloria et divitiæ in domo ejus: et justitia ejus manet in sæculum sæculi.

(Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord: he shall delight exceedingly in his commandments. V. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the righteous shall be blessed. V. Glory and wealth shall be in his house: and his justice remaineth for ever and ever.)

_____________________________________________________________________

T.P., in place of the Gradual and Alleluia above:

Alleluia (1st verse: Holy Family; 2nd verse: set to the chant of the Alleluia Beatus vir, Comm. Conf. non Pont.)

Alleluia, alleluia. Prov. 8, 34 Beatus homo qui audit me, et qui vigilat ad fores meas quotidie, et observat ad postes ostii mei.

Alleluia. 2 Mach. 2, 30 Novæ domus architecto de universa structura curandum est. Alleluia.

(Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors.

(Alleluia. The master builder of a new house must have care of the whole building. Alleluia.)

_____________________________________________________________________

Gospel (Mark 12, 41-44)

Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Marcum.

In illo tempore: Sedens Jesus contra gazophylacium, aspiciebat quomodo turba jactaret aes in gazophylacium, et multi divites jactabant multa. Cum venisset autem vidua una pauper, misit duo minuta, quod est quadrans, et convocans discipulos suos, ait illis: Amen dico vobis, quoniam vidua haec pauper plus omnibus misit, qui miserunt in gazophylacium. Omnes enim ex eo, quod abundabat illis, miserunt: haec vero de penuria sua omnia quae habuit misit totum victum suum.

(The continuation of the holy Gospel according to Mark.

(At that time: Jesus sitting over against the treasury, beheld how the people cast money into the treasury, and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing. And calling his disciples together, he saith to them: Amen I say to you, this poor widow hath cast in more than all they who have cast into the treasury. For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want cast in all she had, even her whole living.)

Off. 1 Par. 29, 17 & 18 (Dedic. Eccl., changing “custodi hanc voluntatem” to “offerre tibi donaria”)

Domine Deus, in simplicitate cordis mei lætus obtuli universa: et populum tuum, qui repertus est, vidi cum ingenti gaudio, Deus Israël, offerre tibi donaria, Domine Deus. (T.P. Alleluja.)

(O Lord God, in the simplicity of my heart I have joyfully offered all these things; and I have seen with great joy thy people which are here present, O God of Israel, offer thee their offerings, Lord God. (T.P. Alleluia.))

Secret (Common of a Confessor not a Bishop, 1st Mass)

Laudis tibi, Domine, hostias immolamus, in tuorum commemoratione sanctorum: quibus nos et præsentibus exui malis confidimus, et futuris. Per.

(We immolate a victim of praise to thee, O Lord, in commemoration of thy saints: by which we trust to be freed both from present and future evils. Through...)

Comm. (Dñca III in XL) Ps. 83, 4-5

Passer invénit sibi domum, et turtur nidum, ubi repónat pullos suos: altária tua, Dómine virtútum, Rex meus, et Deus meus: beáti qui hábitant in domo tua, in sæculum sæculi laudábunt te.

(For the sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtle a nest for herself where she may lay her young ones: Thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my king and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord: they shall praise thee for ever and ever.)

Postcommunion (Common of a Confessor not a Bishop, 1st Mass)

Refecti cibo potuque cælesti, Deus noster, te supplices exoramus: ut, in cujus hæc commemoratione percepimus, ejus muniamur et precibus. Per.

(Refeshed by heavenly food and drink, we humbly pray thee, our God, that we may also be defended by his prayers, in whose commemoration we have received them. Through…)