First Sunday after Epiphany

I heard a rarely-sung Mass in Colebrook today: In excelso throno, that of the First Sunday after Epiphany, since the Benedictines never adopted the Roman Feast of the Holy Family, which would otherwise occur this day in churches celebrating the Extraordinary Form. Yesterday evening, meanwhile, singing at my parish Vigil Mass, I managed to observe the Solemnity of the Epiphany on the right day, the 6th of January, even though it is transferred to the Sunday...

Some years ago, I managed to attend Christmas (OF) here, then Epiphany (OF) in Oxford, then Epiphany (EF) in Edinburgh, then Christmas again (Ukrainian Rite, Julian Calendar) in Florence! This year, tomorrow, Monday, will be celebrated the Baptism of the Lord in my parish (OF), since Epiphany pushes it out of the way this year by taking its spot on the Sunday after, well, Epiphany.

In the EF, in most places the Lord's Baptism will be kept this Saturday, the 13th of January, being the Octave Day of the Epiphany - but the monks of Notre Dame Priory will instead celebrate their first-class patronal feast of Our Lady of Cana, which falls on the Saturday after Epiphany (it did scandalise me a little that Our Lady's local solemnity trumps Our Lord's universal feast, but He does love His Mother). Liturgy can be confusing sometimes. 

The monks also sang the Ordinary using one of the Masses in the Kyriale that I hadn't heard before, Mass XIII, Stelliferi conditor orbis, which I was quite taken with. Here are some clips demonstrating its beauty:

The Eschatos

Christ is Emmanuel, God-with-us, Alpha and Omega, the Eschatos, the Fulfilment of all, the Word spoken to us last of all by God (Heb i, 1-2).  His Incarnation is the End and Completion of all.  Christian worship is not merely a happy remembrance of past events (what a Protestant notion), nor but a glance toward the last things (the Eschaton, or more properly, ta eschata), but an immersion in Him Who Is, the Eschatos, namely, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the one Liturgist, the Leitourgos (Heb viii, 2) – trust no other! – in Whom we have a participation in the economy of salvation, in His mighty acts past, present, and to come.

For this reason, amongst others, the churches of the Byzantine tradition very often address their prayers to "Christ our God", whereas the Holy Roman Church keeps in the main to the still older tradition whereby prayers are addressed to God the Father. The insights of both East and West coincide, of course, when considering the centrality of the Enfleshment of the Divine Word.  To-day's Collect at Mass, for the 31st of December, the 7th day of the Christmas Octave (found in both the Hadrianum and the Leonine Sacramentary, and thus dating back to the 7th century at least), repays much careful consideration in its magnificent encapsulation of this mystery:

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui in Filii tui nativitate tribuisti totius religionis initium perfectionemque constare, da nobis, quæsumus, in ejus portione censeri, in quo totius salutis humanæ summa consistit. Per...

This may be rendered as:

Almighty everlasting God, Who hast given, in the birth of Thy Son, the beginning and end of all religion to consist, grant us, we beg, in His portion to be reckoned, in Whom the sum of the whole of human salvation doth consist. Through...

Similarly, but not quite so painfully literally, the new translation of the modern Missal englishes the Latin original thus:

Almighty ever-living God, who in the Nativity of your Son established the beginning and fulfilment of all religion, grant, we pray, that we may be numbered among those who belong to him, in whom is the fulness of human salvation. Through...

Note the Latin particularly: in Filii tui nativitate... totius religionis initium perfectionemque constare – the beginning and the perfection of all religion consists in the birth, or, rather, in the Incarnation, of the Son of God Almighty and Eternal.  "Nativity", "birth" must be understood in the sense of the first unveiling of the Incarnation to human eyes (though known first by faith, then by revelation, and then by joyful interior awareness to the Most Holy Virgin at the Annunciation; and a little later to St Joseph), when Christ was born at Bethlehem, the "House of Bread".  The Incarnation is totius religionis initium perfectionemque; just as in due measure the Eucharistic Sacrifice, whereby He, the Eschatos, becomes present to us, in an extension of His Incarnation as it were, is the "source and summit" of Christian worship:

...Liturgia est culmen ad quod actio Ecclesiæ tendit et simul fons unde omnis ejus virtus emanat. ("...the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows.") 

— Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10.

While in many and varied ways God spoke to us through His prophets of old, in the fulness of time He spoke to us, lastly, in His Son, His Word, Who for us took flesh, and became the Verbum abbreviatum, the Infinite confined in a Body, God the Son become the Son of Man. (Like the TARDIS, Christ is "bigger on the inside"...)  As St John of the Cross rightly asks, why seek for some further or other communication from on High, when the Most Highest has spoken His Eternal Word to us?  In Christ is all the fulness of Divinity; He is the definitive revelation of the Father.

But there is still more to consider in this Collect, for its first phrase is paralleled by its last: in quo totius salutis humanæ summa consistit – in Whom the sum and height and total of all of human salvation is found, exists, consists.  For there is no other salvation than that found in Christ our God.  Note the repetition of the verb: constare, consistit.  Note the repetition of totius.  Note the paralleling of perfectionem and summa.

Religion, in St Augustine's words, is that by which man is "re-bound" to God, as if derived from re-ligare.  Hence, if the Nativity of Christ, the birth of the Incarnate God, is the beginning and the end of all religion, all re-connecting of man to the All-Highest, then of course in Him and His Nativity is found likewise the totius salutis humanæ summa.  These terms again parallel each other.

Therefore, what we pray for is detailed in the middle of the Collect: that we may have some part and share in Him.  Glory be to Christ, in Whom all glory is to God on high, and all peace to men of good will, those who enjoy His grace and favour.

Is the Roman Rite and Mass synonymous with the Roman Canon?

Taking a traditionalist perspective of Mass, is the modern Mass substantially the same as the traditional Mass if and only if the Roman Canon is used?  (Of course I recognize that Christ is made present in His Sacrament in both Masses; and that both forms are licit and God-pleasing per se; and that a certain Supreme Pontiff has termed them two forms of the one Roman Rite.  Nor am I fussing about the verbal changes made to the text of the Roman Canon in the Ordinary Form.  I'm just musing...)

Compare the situation in the Byzantine Rite, whereby the Divine Liturgy is styled "of St John Chrysostom"  if the Anaphora named for him is used, whereas it is titled "of St Basil" when the Anaphora bearing his name is used (and certain other of the priestly prayers also vary) on the ten or so days a year for which it is appointed – his feast day, six Sundays of Great Lent, Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday, and the Vigils of Christmas and Epiphany if they are not Saturdays nor Sundays.

(En passant, it is interesting to compare the modern Roman Rite with the Byzantine in regard to how the older Anaphora in both - the Roman Canon and the Anaphora of St Basil respectively - has been replaced as the primary Eucharistic Prayer (de facto and de jure respectively) by a shorter one - E.P. II and the Anaphora of St John Chrysostom respectively: while the Byzantine Rite is not known as the Rite of St John Chrysostom, its Divine Liturgy on all but a dozen days certainly is; and while the Roman Rite is not called the Hippolytan Rite, its Mass certainly could be, given that the second Eucharistic Prayer, modelled upon that in a tract by pseudo-Hippolytus, is by far the most commonly used these days.)

It would seem that, if Eastern usage be a guide, if a Mass have a different Eucharistic Prayer (also known as Canon or Anaphora) then ipso facto it should bear a different name: we would thus have the Roman Mass if the Roman Canon is used, the Mass of St Hippolytus if E.P. II is used (I'm being generous here; perhaps the pseudo-Hippolytan Mass would be more accurate), and so forth.

To the contrary, however, the prayers of the Mozarabic Mass vary daily, including much of the Eucharistic Prayer (the Verba Domini and the general framework of versicles and doxologies stay the same) – and in that case no cognizance is taken of these changes in the naming of the Mass.

However, the modern Roman Mass, with its principle of free choice of Eucharistic Prayer, represents a vast shift from the hallowed use of but one Canon in the traditional Roman Mass for at least 1600 years: the priest can choose to use Eucharistic Prayers I (the Roman Canon), II, III, IV (with certain restrictions owing to its having a proper Preface, which cannot always replace the Preface of the day), or Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation I or II (with similar restrictions), or the Eucharistic Prayer for Use in Masses for Various Needs (the "Swiss" Prayer), itself with four variants (again, with similar restrictions owing to their having proper Prefaces).  I do not mention the three Eucharistic Prayers for use at Masses with children...

Enough for now, I must get ready for Mass.  (As matters transpired, Father used E.P. II, as he usually does; though at least, unlike some I could name, he does also use E.P.'s I, III, and so forth and so on.)

******

I think I've answered my own question above – if the Ordinary Form Mass is celebrated, as it usually is, with what could be called the most ordinary, in every sense, of the Eucharistic Prayers, the second, loosely based on that in the Apostolic Tradition attributed to St Hippolytus (I once estimated that approximately half of E.P. II, including its proper Preface, is derived from that work, for the intercessory part is a modern addition), then the O.F. Mass, while in general part of the Roman Rite, is not so much the Roman Mass (which it would be if it were said using the venerable Roman Canon) as the Hippolytan Mass – if we were to follow Byzantine practice in naming the whole Eucharistic liturgy after the Eucharistic Prayer used in it.

******

Questions? Comments?

Breviarium O.Dorm.

Liturgical purists (some would call them other names) agree that Pope St Pius X, as well as mucking up the order of the Sacraments by putting First Communion before Confirmation, rather ruined the traditional cursus of the Holy Roman Church, by redistributing the Psalms in a manner wholly different to that previously used in the Divine Office.  It will therefore glad strict hearts to learn that (thanks to their extremely infrequent General Chapters, only held once all who were in holy religion at the last such had died) the Canons Regular of the Dormition, alone of all the Orders in the Church, maintain the pre-Pian weekly arrangement of the Psalter; well, more or less.

As is the case with the Order of Preachers, adherence to any and all lesser rules may be dispensed by a superior, that a given religious without hindrance may the better attain the goal of the Order: in the case of the Dominicans, preaching; in the case of the Dormitionists, sleeping.  But granted that all but the most proficient sleepers cannot remain the entire day and night unconscious, those who have withdrawn from the world may as well pray in their cells (there being little else to do), and therefore the Breviary exists.  Furthermore, as all men know, long prayers engender much sleepiness, and this  is accounted a godly virtue by these Canons Regular.  Thus, reading the Hours materially assists in advancing one's proficiency in the following of  the Regula Patrum Soporificum.

Now those Soporific Fathers three, back at the end of the twelfth century, already noted that the ancient Roman ferial Office, while satisfyingly, stupefyingly lengthy, unfortunately varied materially in length from day to day.  Therefore, while drawing up the plan of all the observances for their novus Ordo, duly approved by the then Pope, they made certain wise modifications in the rite of both Mass and Office, yet in a most traditional spirit.

The Fathers most wisely reordered the distribution of the Psalms, that each day’s Office have very nearly an equal length of psalmody.  They achieved this above all by swapping Tuesday’s Matins psalms with those of Thursday, and Wednesday’s with Saturday’s.  Other minor changes were made, and in particular Psalm 9 was divided into two parts, according to the Hebrew (perhaps to be attributed to those holy Canons' sojourn in Outremer, where many religious traditions interacted more readily).  

For the benefit of the curious, the exact disposition of the psalms is as follows: 

• Sunday: Pss 1-3, 6-8, 9A-17, 19-20;
• Monday: Pss 27-38;
• Tuesday: Pss 68-79;
• Wednesday: Pss 97-108;
• Thursday: Pss 39-41, 43-49, 51-52;
• Friday: Pss 80-88, 93, 95-96;
• Saturday: Pss 53-61, 63, 65, 67. 

It will be seen that this admittedly drastic-seeming rearrangement is in fact far truer to the immemorial Roman Office than that made in 1911, above all by retaining the Matins psalms at Matins, avoiding the use of divisi, and keeping to the hallowed number of twelve psalms for this Hour, just as commended by an Angel to the Desert Fathers in the first ages of the Church.  (It is a Roman peculiarity to sing eighteen on Sunday, doubtless due to the relative brevity of most of those psalms compared to the average.)

Furthermore, to prevent the festal Office being all too short in comparison with the ferial, the Dormitionist Breviary took up the judicious arrangement of the Monastic Breviary, which provides twelve psalms for all feasts – although without adopting its other peculiarities.

Lauds, named for the famous Laudate psalms, the last three in the Psalter, has a fourth such: Psalm 116 (doubtless an echo of the Ambrosian Rite – one of the Fathers had returned from the East via Milan).  Another curious detail: Psalm 117 is sung at Lauds on Sundays, in place of Psalm 99 (which however takes its usual place on feasts), and not at Prime.  Otherwise, the psalms and canticles used at this Hour are the same as those of the Use of Rome.

Prime has a unique variant: not Psalm 53, but Psalm 18 is the first psalm, being therefore an exordium, as it were, to the great Psalm of the Law, of the contemplative life, Psalm 118, Beati immaculati in via.  Given the redistribution of the Matins psalmody undertaken at the foundation of the Order, it will be unsurprising that Psalms 21 to 25, plus also Psalm 26, are disposed somewhat differently to their manner of use in the post-Tridentine Roman Breviary: true, as is most appropriate, that great psalm of the Passion, 21, is used on Friday, and the Eucharistic 22 on Thursday (as in the Roman), but 23 is also allotted to Thursday, 24 is used on Monday, 25 on Saturday and 26 on Sunday – with none for Tuesday nor Wednesday!

Vespers, lacking Psalm 116, is supplied with the requisite five psalms per evening by the device of Psalm 113 being divided into two, as in the Hebrew: Psalm 113A, In exitu, is the last psalm of Sunday, while 113B, Non nobis, is the first of Monday Vespers.

Nothing need be said of Terce, Sext or None, as they simply employ the remainder of Psalm 118; and of course Dormitionist Compline has previously been surveyed in extenso.

In passing, it is right to note that, at Lauds and Vespers in their cells, these Canons Regular do read each day six commemorations or memorials, the better to adhere to the great exemplars of their peculiar charism, and – with the Collect of the Day – to mystically cleave to the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer:

1. Of the Most Holy Sepulchre of Our Lord Jesus Christ;
2. Of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
3. Of St Lazarus Redivivus;
4. Of the Seven Sleepers;
5. For Rest;
6. For the Living and the Dead.

It will be recalled that the Founders of the Dormitionists were Canons of the Holy Sepulchre ere they were as it were inspired to found a new Order, and rightly maintained their devotion to Christ's sacred repose for three days in the Tomb; and of course to this superadded like piety – in honour of His Mother's Dormition or falling asleep, under whose mantle they sought to rest; in honour of St Lazarus, resting for four days in his tomb; and in honour of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus.  A prayer for the grace of sinless sleep, and a long survival from the Gallican Rite, imploring the saints' intercession for all the living and the dead foreknown to be elect, rounds out this set of six antiphons, versicles and collects.

Unusually (to post-mediæval minds) these are read after the Benedicamus Domino, or rather after the first Benedicamus; since after them, there is a second.  As in the Dominican Use, while the last Collect (in common with that of the day) has the full conclusion, the intervenient orations have the shorter (in the Roman Rite, the equivalents have none).

Herewith, their texts (again, as the Brev. O. Dorm. was last revised in the late eighteenth century, it employs the long ess, be it noted):

DE SS. SEPULCHRO D. N. J. C.

Aña. Qui expectant mortem et non venit, quaſi effodientes theſaurum, gaudentque vehementer, cum invenerint Sepulchrum.

V/. Factus eſt in pace locus ejus.

R/. Et habitatio ejus in Sion.

AD LAUDES: Or. Deus, qui per depoſitionem ſanctiſſimi Corporis Filii tui in Sepulchro, idem Sepulchrum ſanctificaſti, concede quæſumus, ut in hoc Sepulchro anima et corde habitemus. Per eumdem Chriſtum Dominum noſtrum. R/. Amen.

AD VESPERAS: Or. Deus, qui nos ſancti Sepulchri Filii tui lætari facis honore, præſta quæſumus, ut in eodem ſepulti, mundo moriamur, et tibi ſoli vivamus. Per eumdem Chriſtum Dominum noſtrum. R/. Amen.

DE DORMITIONE B. M. V.

Aña. In omnibus requiem quæſivi, et in hereditate Domini morabor.

V/. Et ſic in Sion firmata ſum.

R/. Et in civitate ſanctificata ſimiliter requievi.

Or. Veneranda nobis, Domine, illius diei memoria opem conferat ſalutarem, in qua ſancta Dei Genitrix mortem ſubiit temporalem, nec tamen mortis nexibus deprimi potuit, quæ Filium tuum Dominum noſtrum de ſe genuit incarnatum: Qui tecum vivit et regnat per omnia sæcula sæculorum. R/. Amen.

DE S. LAZARO

Aña. Lazarus amicus noſter dormit: Eamus et nos, ut moriamur cum eo.

V/. Domine, ſi dormit. 

R/. Salvus erit.

Or. Deus, reſurrectio et vita, qui beatum Lazarum quatriduanum a monumento ſuſcitaſti: erige nos de tumulo peccatorum, ut mereamur adipiſci conſortia electorum. Qui vivis et regnas per omnia sæcula sæculorum. R/. Amen.

DE SEPTEM DORMIENTIBUS

Aña. Dormierunt ſomnum ſuum.

V/. Dormitaverunt omnes.

R/. Et dormierunt.

Or. Concede, quæſumus, omnipotens Deus: ut ad meliorem requiem beatorum ſeptem Dormientium Epheſi exempla nos provocent; quatenus, quorum memoriam agimus, etiam ſomnum imitemur. Per Chriſtum Dominum noſtrum. R/. Amen.

PRO REQUIE

Aña. Veniat pax; requieſcat in cubili ſuo qui ambulavit in directione ſua.

V/. Inſuper et caro mea. 

R/. Requieſcet in ſpe.  

Or. Omnipotens Deus, qui mundo creato ab univerſo opere tuo requieviſti et diem requiei pro omnibus creaturis ſanctificaſti: concede nobis ut, ab omnibus curis terreſtribus nos ſeponentes, tempora ſint tua protectione tranquilla, et requies hac in terra nos paret ad æternam requiem plebi tuo promiſſam in cælo. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R/. Amen.

PRO OMNIBUS VIVIS ET DEFUNCTIS

Aña. Retribuere dignare, Domine, omnibus nobis bona facientibus propter nomen ſanctum tuum requiem æternam.

V/. Exſultabunt Sancti in gloria.

R/. Lætabuntur in cubilibus ſuis.

Or. 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, pietatiæ tuæ clementia, omnium delictorum ſuorum veniam conſequantur. Per Dñm.

Siebenschläfertag

In due remote preparation for the great feast of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, now rather under two months' hence (on the 27th of July), I first do encourage any and all who wish to keep the feast of "all the saints who are at Ephesus" (cf. Eph, i. 1), where the ruins of both their hiding-place and the later church built in their honour may be seen to this day, to note that, as this day is a feria in the Ordinary Form, and these Sleepers do in sober truth appear in the modern Roman Martyrology, it would be quite proper to have a priest celebrate a Votive in their honour.

Would-be Dormitionist Oblates, take heed!

Likewise, according to the 1962 Martyrology and Missal, this may licitly be done, saving only that there must be made a commemoration of St Pantaleon...

My ever-slumbering friends the Dormitionists have of course a great devotion to this sacred septemvirate of Christian youths, who outdid Epimenides in his slumbers, holy Rip van Winkles all, preserved, securely "hid with Christ in God", as once a hundred prophets of the Lord were secreted in caverns, safe from Jezebel's fury (cf. III Kings xviii, 4 and 13); and it is therefore unsurprising to find their liturgical calendar marked with this feast day of the Sleepers as a great solemnity, provided with a proper Mass, as given in the 1785 Missale O.Dorm. (hence the use of the long ess):

Miſſa Sanctorum ſeptem Dormientium Epheſi

OFFICIUM

Vade, populus meus, intra in cubicula tua; claude oſtia tua ſuper te, abſcondere modicum ad momentum, donec pertranſeat indignatio. (T.P. Alleluja, alleluja.) Ps. Et habebis fiduciam, propoſita tibi ſpe: et defoſſus ſecurus dormies. Gloria Patri. Sicut erat. Vade.

Gloria in excelsis.

COLLECTA

Concede, quæſumus, omnipotens Deus: ut ad meliorem requiem beatorum ſeptem Dormientium Epheſi exempla nos provocent; quatenus, quorum memoriam agimus, etiam ſomnum imitemur. Per.

EPISTOLA

Lectio libri Regum.

In diebus illis: 

Elias perrexit in deſertum, viam unius diei. Cumque veniſſet, et ſederet ſubter unam juniperum, petivit animæ ſuæ ut moreretur, et ait: Sufficit mihi, Domine: tolle animam meam: neque enim melior ſum quam patres mei. Projecitque ſe, et obdormivit in umbra juniperi: et ecce angelus Domini tetigit eum, et dixit illi: Surge, et comede. Reſpexit, et ecce ad caput ſuum ſubcinericius panis, et vas aquæ: comedit ergo, et bibit, et rurſum obdormivit. Reverſuſque eſt angelus Domini ſecundo, et tetigit eum, dixitque illi: Surge, comede: grandis enim tibi reſtat via. Qui cum ſurrexiſſet, comedit et bibit, et ambulavit in fortitudine cibi illius quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus uſque ad montem Dei Horeb. Cumque veniſſet illuc, manſit in ſpelunca: et ecce ſermo Domini ad eum, dixitque illi: Quid hic agis, Elia? At ille reſpondit: Zelo zelatus ſum pro Domino Deo exercituum, quia dereliquerunt pactum tuum filii Iſraël: altaria tua deſtruxerunt, prophetas tuos occiderunt gladio, derelictus ſum ego ſolus, et quærunt animam meam ut auferant eam. Et ait ei: Egredere, et ſta in monte coram Domino: et ecce Dominus tranſit. Et ſpiritus grandis et fortis ſubvertens montes, et conterens petras, ante Dominum: non in ſpiritu Dominus. Et poſt ſpiritum commotio: non in commotione Dominus. Et poſt commotionem ignis: non in igne Dominus. Et poſt ignem ſibilus auræ tenuis. Quod cum audiſſet Elias, operuit vultum ſuum pallio, et egreſſus ſtetit in oſtio ſpeluncæ. Et ecce vox ad eum dicens: Quid hic agis, Elia? Et ille reſpondit: Zelo zelatus ſum pro Domino Deo exercituum, quia dereliquerunt pactum tuum filii Iſraël: altaria tua deſtruxerunt, prophetas tuos occiderunt gladio, derelictus ſum ego ſolus, et quærunt animam meam ut auferant eam. Et ait Dominus ad eum: Vade, et revertere in viam tuam per deſertum.

RESPONSORIUM GRADUALE

In deſertis habitabant torrentium, et in cavernis terræ, vel ſuper glaream. V/. Quibus dignus non erat mundus: in ſolitudinibus errantes, in montibus, in ſpeluncis, et in cavernis terræ.

TRACTUS (T. Sept. uſque ad Paſcha)

Si dormieris, non timebis; quieſces, et ſuavis erit ſomnus tuus. V/. Surge qui dormis, et exſurge a mortuis, et illuminabit te Chriſtus. V/. Ego dormivi, et ſoporatus ſum; et exſurrexi, quia Dominus ſuſcepit me.

VERSUS IN ALLELUIA

Alleluja, alleluja. V/. Quod cum vidiſſent viri ſe in arcto poſitos (afflictus enim erat populus), abſconderunt ſe in ſpeluncis, et in abditis, in petris quoque, et in antris, et in ciſternis. Alleluja.

VERSUS II IN ALLELUIA

V/. Et deſcendens habitaverunt in ſpelunca petræ. Alleluja.

EVANGELIUM

Sequentia ſancti Evangelii ſecundum Joannem.

In illo tempore:

Jeſus fremens in ſemetipſo, venit ad monumentum. Erat autem ſpelunca, et lapis ſuperpoſitus erat ei. Ait Jeſus: Tollite lapidem. Dicit ei Martha, ſoror ejus qui mortuus fuerat: Domine, jam fœtet, quatriduanus eſt enim. Dicit ei Jeſus: Nonne dixi tibi quoniam ſi credideris, videbis gloriam Dei? Tulerunt ergo lapidem: Jeſus autem, elevatis ſurſum oculis, dixit: Pater, gratias ago tibi quoniam audiſti me. Ego autem ſciebam quia ſemper me audis, ſed propter populum qui circumſtat, dixi: ut credant quia tu me miſiſti. Hæc cum dixiſſet, voce magna clamavit: Lazare, veni foras. Et ſtatim prodiit qui fuerat mortuus, ligatus pedes, et manus inſtitis, et facies illius ſudario erat ligata. Dixit eis Jeſus: Solvite eum et ſinite abire. Multi ergo ex Judæis, qui venerant ad Mariam, et Martham, et viderant quæ fecit Jeſus, crediderunt in eum. 

Credo.

OFFERTORIUM 

Penetrabo omnes inferiores partes terræ, et inſpiciam omnes dormientes, et illuminabo omnes ſperantes in Domino. (T.P. Alleluia.)

SECRETA

Pro honore beatorum famulorum tuorum Dormientium, hoſtiam, Domine, ſuſcipe benignus oblatam: ut hoc ſacrificio ſingulari, etiam nos requiem mereamur æternam. Per.

COMMUNIO

Multa corpora ſanctorum, qui dormierant, ſurrexerunt, et exeuntes de monumentis venerunt in civitatem, et apparuerunt multis. (T.P. Alleluia.)

POSTCOMMUNIO

Supplices te rogamus, omnipotens Deus: ut, quos tuis reficis ſacramentis, intercedentibus beatis ſeptem Dormientibus, tibi etiam placitis ſomnis dignanter tribuas deſervire. Per.

In English translation:

Mass of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus

OFFICE [i.e. INTROIT] (Isaias xxvi, 20; Job xi, 18)

Go, my people, enter into thy chambers, shut thy doors upon thee, hide thyself a little for a moment, until the indignation pass away. (P.T. Alleluia, alleluia.) Ps. And thou shalt have confidence, hope being set before thee, and being buried thou shalt sleep secure. Glory be… As it was… Go, my people… 

Gloria in excelsis...

COLLECT

Concede, we beg, almighty God: that the example of the blessed seven Sleepers of Ephesus may summon us to a better rest; that we may even imitate their repose whose memory we keep. Through...

EPISTLE (III Kings xix, 4-15a)

A Lesson from the Book of the Kings.

In those days:

Elias went forward, one day's journey into the desert. And when he was there, and sat under a juniper tree, he requested for his soul that he might die, and said: It is enough for me, Lord, take away my soul: for I am no better than my fathers. And he cast himself down, and slept in the shadow of the juniper tree: and behold an angel of the Lord touched him, and said to him: Arise and eat. He looked, and behold there was at his head a hearth cake, and a vessel of water: and he ate and drank, and he fell asleep again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said to him: Arise, eat: for thou hast yet a great way to go. And he arose, and ate, and drank, and walked in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, unto the mount of God, Horeb. And when he was come thither, he abode in a cave: and behold the word of the Lord came unto him, and he said to him: What dost thou here, Elias? And he answered: With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have thrown down thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away. And he said to him: Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord: and behold the Lord passeth, and a great and strong wind before the Lord over throwing the mountains, and breaking the rocks in pieces: the Lord is not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake: the Lord is not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire: the Lord is not in the fire, and after the fire a whistling of a gentle air. And when Elias heard it, he covered his face with his mantle, and coming forth stood in the entering in of the cave, and behold a voice unto him, saying: What dost thou here, Elias? And he answered: With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have destroyed thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away. And the Lord said to him: Go, and return on thy way through the desert.

GRADUAL RESPONSORY (Job xxx, 6; Hebrews xi, 38)

They dwelt in the desert places of torrents, and in caves of earth, or upon the gravel. V/. Of whom the world was not worthy; wandering in deserts, in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth.

TRACT from Sept. until Easter (Proverbs iii, 24; Ephesians v, 14b; Psalm iii, 6)

If thou sleep, thou shalt not fear: thou shalt rest, and thy sleep shall be sweet. V/. Rise thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead: and Christ shall enlighten thee. V/. I have slept and taken my rest: and I have risen up, because the Lord hath protected me.

ALLELUIA (I Kings xiii, 6)

Alleluia, alleluia. V/. And when the men saw that they were straitened, (for the people were distressed,) they hid themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in dens, and in pits. Alleluia.

2nd ALLELUIA (P.T) (Cf. Judges xv, 8b)

V/. And going down they dwelt in a cavern of the rock. Alleluia.

GOSPEL (St John xi, 38-45)

The continuation of the holy Gospel according to John.

At that time:

Jesus groaning in himself, cometh to the sepulchre. Now it was a cave; and a stone was laid over it. Jesus saith: Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith to him: Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he is now of four days. Jesus saith to her: Did not I say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God? They took therefore the stone away. And Jesus lifting up his eyes said: Father, I give thee thanks that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always; but because of the people who stand about have I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. When he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice: Lazarus, come forth. And presently he that had been dead came forth, bound feet and hands with winding bands; and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them: Loose him, and let him go. Many therefore of the Jews, who were come to Mary and Martha, and had seen the things that Jesus did, believed in him. 

Credo...

OFFERTORY (Ecclesiasticus xxiv, 45)

I will penetrate to all the lower parts of the earth, and will behold all that sleep, and will enlighten all that hope in the Lord. (P.T. Alleluia.)

SECRET

For the honour of thy blessed servants the Sleepers, Lord, benignly accept the offered host: that by this one sacrifice, we also may merit eternal rest.  Through.

COMMUNION (Cf. Matthew xxvii, 52b-53)

Many bodies of the saints that had slept arose, and coming out of the tombs came into the city, and appeared to many. (P.T. Alleluia.)

POSTCOMMUNION

Bowing low we pray thee, almighty God: that we, whom thou refreshest by thy sacraments, by the intercession of the blessed seven Sleepers, thou also mayest grant worthily to serve thee by pleasing sleeps. Through.

It will be seen that the chants of the Mass refer to the various incidental details in the legend of the Seven Sleepers, while the Epistle and Gospel refer to Scriptural types and foreshadowings of them: to Elias, hiding in a cave from wicked Jezebel; and to St Lazarus, who slept four long days in a cave in the earth ere his return to this mortal life, to the end that those beholding him should be converted and saved.

In German lands, the weather on the Sleeper's feast day, the 27th of July, is held to be a herald of the weather to be expected for the next seven weeks: hence the special devotion attached, even to-day, to Siebenschläfertag.  Be prepared for it!

Gates of Horn and Ivory

It is, of course, quite licit to pray to dream.  "To sleep, perchance to dream..."  It is, furthermore, only rational to pray not to be deceived, but rather to be enlightened by one’s dreams – to pass through the gate of horn, not of ivory.

Two gates the silent house of Sleep adorn;
Of polish'd ivory this, that of transparent horn:
True visions thro' transparent horn arise;
Thro' polish'd ivory pass deluding lies.    

—Virgil's Æneid 893ff., as translated by Dryden.

The ancients spoke of Sleep (Somnus, or Hypnos) as the son of Night (Nox, or Nyx), and as having three sons, being metaphorically Dreams (Somnia, or Oneiroi): Morpheus, standing for true dreams; Phobetor, representing for fearful dreams and nightmares; and Phantasus (Phantasos), personification of fantasies.  Now, dreams may arise from merely natural causes; or may be caused, directly or indirectly, by God or the devil.

As the Dormitionists aver, following a curious Renaissance treatise expressed in such quaint terms, when in the Land of Dreams, sleeping the sleep of Endymion at the command of Father Jove while loving Selene smiles down, trust Morpheus always, sometimes heed the warnings of Phobetor, but never believe the fancies of Phantasus — that is, sleeping the sleep of the just at God's behest under the care of Holy Mary, trust in truthful dreams, with discernment discover any warnings that appear in frightening form, but fly dreams that are improper or merely fanciful. 

Aquinas, quoting from Numbers 12:6, and thereby alluding to its use as the Introit for the Dormitionist Mass for the gift of dreams, poses the question in his Summa Theologiæ, II-II, xcv, 6, Is it licit to seek for such?  He distinguishes as becomes a Scholastic, answering that 

...dreams are sometimes the cause of future occurrences; for instance, when a person's mind becomes anxious through what it has seen in a dream and is thereby led to do something or avoid something: while sometimes dreams are signs of future happenings, in so far as they are referable to some common cause of both dreams and future occurrences, and in this way the future is frequently known from dreams. 

… 

...sometimes the inward cause of dreams regards the body: because the inward disposition of the body leads to the formation of a movement in the imagination consistent with that disposition; thus a man in whom there is abundance of cold humors dreams that he is in the water or snow: and for this reason physicians say that we should take note of dreams in order to discover internal dispositions.  

... 

The spiritual cause is sometimes referable to God, Who reveals certain things to men in their dreams by the ministry of the angels, according to Numbers 12:6, "If there be among you a prophet of the Lord, I will appear to him in a vision, or I will speak to him in a dream." 

…

Accordingly we must say that there is no unlawful divination in making use of dreams for the foreknowledge of the future, so long as those dreams are due to divine revelation, or to some natural cause inward or outward, and so far as the efficacy of that cause extends.

This testimony was vital to the Dormitionist Order (always glad of Dominican support), when the Council of Trent was rooting out abuses of the Holy Mass: for, by demonstrating from Holy Writ and the Summa that there is a godly and devout use to be made of dreams, and that therefore one may licitly pray for them, the Dormitionist Mass for the gift of dreams was allowed to remain in their Missal, while many other pretended Masses for this and that were expunged from other Mass-books.

However, the better to guard against possible misuse or lapse into superstition, it was directed by three successive General Chapters (those of 1555, 1636 and 1703) that the Mass for the gift of dreams may only be used once a month, unless there be a grave cause (such as an impending General Chapter), and only with the permission of the local superior (the Somniac); furthermore, before its celebration, the celebrant must kneel and pray the psalm Miserere, the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus, and thrice repeat the admonitory antiphon Nisi ab Altissimo fuerit emissa visitatio, ne dederis in somnia cor tuum (“Except it be a vision sent forth from the most High, set not thy heart upon dreams”).  For the same reason, the rather quaint and curious (some would say theologically dubious) mediæval orations of the original Mass were replaced with the undoubtedly orthodox Collect, Secret and Postcommunion of the Holy Ghost, together with His Preface, for the avoidance of all error.

It may be asked, Why was it needful to await the decree of three General Chapters in this matter?  The answer is that, like the younger Dominican Order, the Dormitionists are serious about democratic decision-making.  Indeed, they take it further: no decisions at all may be made unless passed by three General Chapters; and these are held but once a sæculum – an old Roman measure of time (once used to determine when to hold the ancient Secular Games), adapted by these prudent Canons Regular to signify that a new General Chapter may only be held once all who were in holy religion at the time of the last, are dead.

This wondrously wise arrangement effectually prevents hasty decision-making.  For example, the impending thirteenth General Chapter (expected to be summoned almost daily, given that the renowned Somniator Canon Serapion, the last living Dormitionist who remembers the twelfth, held in 1931, is presently in a coma, aged 106) will, it is confidently expected, at last approve the insertion of the word “Immaculate” before “Conception” in the Missal and Office, given that this measure was passed unanimously in both the twelfth and the eleventh, held in 1855.

Similarly, the brethren look forward with expectant relief to at last having permission to use “steam locomotives and other mechanical conveyances” (for they are currently restricted to horse-drawn transport and sailing ships for travel to the General Chapter) and “the electric telegraph and suchlike apparatus” (which, it is understood, includes wireless internet); but it will not be till very late this century, once not only the forthcoming thirteenth, but the succeeding fourteenth General Chapter (it is hoped) give final approval to the resolution of 1931 that the feasts of the Sacred Heart and Christ the King be inserted in the Missal (last published, 1785).

For the same reason, it will be at the thirteenth General Chapter (perhaps this year, perhaps next) that the Dormitionist Canons will consider their response to Vatican II – a discussion which will no doubt rely upon the hermeneutic of continuity espoused by (and be of interest to) Pope Benedict XVI – but any decisions proposed will not be made law in the Order until two more General Chapters have agreed thereto, sometime in the twenty-second century, or perhaps just in time for the millennium of the Order.  Won't that be nice?

The Order of the Dormition believes most staunchly in the suffrages of the dead: for they hold the majority of votes, as it were.  (Only the very first, the Most General Chapter of 1199, held by the triumvirate of the Soporific Fathers, Founders under God of the Order, had plenary power, conceded by Pope Innocent III, to determine the Rule, once for all.)

Before, then, giving the Proper of the Mass for the gift of dreams, it ought be mentioned that the General Chapter is attended by the most proficient sleeper (and therefore, most usually the Somniac himself, or else one of the senior somniferous Canons) from each Dorter or Dormitory, according to the principle that these are best suited to maintaining the primitive charism of the Order, and by gathering them together to conserve and protect the same by wise legislation, “in the multitude of counsellors there is safety” and “your old men shall dream dreams”, that is, receive supernatural guidance – and therefore  it is customarily prayed for the good success of the General Chapter, that the capitulars indeed will dream dreams.  Is not that what is to be expected of any General Chapter?

The Order is, therefore, a perfect somnocracy.

(Again, note that the 1785 Missale O.Dorm. employs the long ess.)

Miſſa pro gratia ſomniorum

PRECES ANTE MISSAM 

Miſerere…

Veni Creator Spiritus…

Aña. Niſi ab Altiſſimo fuerit emiſſa viſitatio, ne dederis in ſomnia cor tuum. (iij)

OFFICIUM

Audite ſermones meos: ſi quis fuerit inter vos propheta Domini, in viſione apparebo ei, vel per ſomnium loquar ad illum. (T.P. Alleluja, alleluja.)

Ps. Propheta qui habet ſomnium, narret ſomnium: et qui habet ſermonem meum, loquatur ſermonem meum vere.

Gloria Patri… Sicut erat…

COLLECTA

Deus qui corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illuſtratione docuiſti: da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta ſapere, et de ejus ſemper conſolatione gaudere.  Per… in unitate ejuſdem…

EPISTOLA

Lectio libri Regum.

In diebus illis:

Apparuit autem Dominus Salomoni per ſomnium nocte, dicens: Poſtula quod vis ut dem tibi. Et ait Salomon: Tu feciſti cum ſervo tuo David patre meo miſericordiam magnam, ſicut ambulavit in conſpectu tuo in veritate et juſtitia, et recto corde tecum: cuſtodiſti ei miſericordiam tuam grandem, et dediſti ei filium ſedentem ſuper thronum ejus, ſicut eſt hodie. Et nunc Domine Deus, tu regnare feciſti ſervum tuum pro David patre meo: ego autem ſum puer parvulus, et ignorans egreſſum et introitum meum. Et ſervus tuus in medio eſt populi quem elegiſti, populi infiniti, qui numerari et ſupputari non poteſt præ multitudine. Dabis ergo ſervo tuo cor docile, ut populum tuum judicare poſſit, et diſcernere inter bonum et malum. Quis enim poterit judicare populum iſtum, populum tuum hunc multum? Placuit ergo ſermo coram Domino, quod Salomon poſtulaſſet hujuſcemodi rem. Et dixit Dominus Salomoni: Quia poſtulaſti verbum hoc, et non petiſti tibi dies multos, nec divitias, aut animas inimicorum tuorum, ſed poſtulaſti tibi ſapientiam ad diſcernendum judicium: ecce feci tibi ſecundum ſermones tuos, et dedi tibi cor ſapiens et intelligens, in tantum ut nullus ante te ſimilis tui fuerit, nec poſt te ſurrecturus ſit. Sed et hæc quæ non poſtulaſti, dedi tibi: divitias ſcilicet, et gloriam, ut nemo fuerit ſimilis tui in regibus cunctis retro diebus. Si autem ambulaveris in viis meis, et cuſtodieris præcepta mea et mandata mea, ſicut ambulavit pater tuus, longos faciam dies tuos. Igitur evigilavit Salomon, et intellexit quod eſſet ſomnium: cumque veniſſet Jeruſalem, ſtetit coram arca fœderis Domini, et obtulit holocauſta, et fecit victimas pacificas, et grande convivium univerſis famulis ſuis.

RESPONSORIUM GRADUALE

Vidi ſomnium, a Deo facta ſunt iſta. V/. Recordatus ſum ſomnii quod videram, hæc eadem ſignificantis: nec eorum quidquam irritum fuit.

VERSUS IN ALLELUIA

Alleluja, alleluja. V/. Dixitque ad eos: Audite ſomnium meum quod vidi. Alleluja.

TRACTUS (T.SEPT. USQUE AD PASCHA)

Semel loquitur Deus, et ſecundo idipſum non repetit. V/. Per ſomnium, in viſione nocturna, quando irruit ſopor ſuper homines, et dormiunt in lectulo. V/. Tunc aperit aures virorum, et erudiens eos inſtruit diſciplina.

VERSUS II IN ALLELUIA (T.P.)

V/. Somnium vidi, quod perterruit me: et cogitationes meæ in ſtrato meo, et viſiones capitis mei conturbaverunt me. Alleluja.

EVANGELIUM

Sequitur ſancti Evangelii ſecundum Matthæum.

In illo tempore:

Ecce angelus Domini apparuit in ſomnis Joſeph, dicens: Surge, et accipe puerum, et matrem ejus, et fuge in Ægyptum, et eſto ibi uſque dum dicam tibi. Futurum eſt enim ut Herodes quærat puerum ad perdendum eum. Qui conſurgens accepit puerum et matrem ejus nocte, et ſeceſſit in Ægyptum: et erat ibi uſque ad obitum Herodis: ut adimpleretur quod dictum eſt a Domino per prophetam dicentem: Ex Ægypto vocavi filium meum. Defuncto autem Herode, ecce angelus Domini apparuit in ſomnis Joſeph in Ægypto, dicens: Surge, et accipe puerum, et matrem ejus, et vade in terram Iſraël: defuncti ſunt enim qui quærebant animam pueri. Qui conſurgens, accepit puerum, et matrem ejus, et venit in terram Iſraël. Audiens autem quod Archelaus regnaret in Judæa pro Herode patre ſuo, timuit illo ire: et admonitus in ſomnis, ſeceſſit in partes Galilææ. Et veniens habitavit in civitate quæ vocatur Nazareth: ut adimpleretur quod dictum eſt per prophetas: Quoniam Nazaræus vocabitur.

OFFERTORIUM

Et erit in noviſſimis diebus, dicit Dominus, effundam de Spiritu meo ſuper omnem carnem: et prophetabunt filii veſtri et filiæ veſtræ, et juvenes veſtri viſiones videbunt, et ſeniores veſtri ſomnia ſomniabunt. (T.P. Alleluja.)

SECRETA 

Munera, quæſumus, Domine, oblata ſanctifica: et corda noſtra Sancti Spiritus illuſtratione emunda.  Per… in unitate ejuſdem… 

Prefatio de Spiritu Sancto. 

COMMUNIO

Expoſito digno fide ſomnio, per quod univerſos lætificavit. (T.P. Alleluja.)

POSTCOMMUNIO

Sancti Spiritus, Domine, corda noſtra mundet infuſio: et ſui roris intima aſperſione fœcundet. Per… in unitate ejuſdem…

And, in English:

Mass for the Gift of Dreams  

PRAYERS BEFORE MASS 

Miserere (Psalm 50)

Veni Creator Spiritus...

Ant., thrice: Except it be a vision sent forth from the most High, set not thy heart upon dreams. (Cf. Ecclus 34:6b, 7a)

OFFICE (Numbers xii, 6b; Jeremias xxiii, 28a)

Hear my words: if there be among you a prophet of the Lord, I will appear to him in a vision, or I will speak to him in a dream. (P.T. Alleluia, alleluia.) Ps. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream: and he that hath my word, let him speak my word with truth. Glory be… As it was… Hear my words…

COLLECT 

O God, Who taught the hearts of the faithful by the illumination of the Holy Ghost, grant unto us in that same Spirit to relish what is right, and ever to rejoice in His consolation.  Through… in the unity of the same…

EPISTLE (III Kings iii, 5-15)

A Lesson from the Book of Kings.

In those days:

And the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, saying: Ask what thou wilt that I should give thee. And Solomon said: Thou hast shewn great mercy to thy servant David my father, even as he walked before thee in truth, and justice, and an upright heart with thee: and thou hast kept thy great mercy for him, and hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O Lord God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a child, and know not how to go out and come in. And thy servant is in the midst of the people which thou hast chosen, an immense people, which cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore to thy servant an understanding heart, to judge thy people, and discern between good and evil. For who shall be able to judge this people, thy people which is so numerous? And the word was pleasing to the Lord that Solomon had asked such a thing. And the Lord said to Solomon: Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life or riches, nor the lives of thy enemies, but hast asked for thyself wisdom to discern judgment, behold I have done for thee according to thy words, and have given thee a wise and understanding heart, insomuch that there hath been no one like thee before thee, nor shall arise after thee. Yea and the things also which thou didst not ask, I have given thee: to wit riches and glory, as that no one hath been like thee among the kings in all days heretofore. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, and keep my precepts, and my commandments, as thy father walked, I will lengthen thy days. And Solomon awaked, and perceived that it was a dream: and when he was come to Jerusalem, he stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered holocausts, and sacrificed victims of peace offerings, and made a great feast for all his servants.

GRADUAL RESPONSORY (Judges vii, 13a; Esther x, 4b-5)

I dreamt a dream, God hath done these things. V/. I remember a dream that I saw, which signified these same things: and nothing thereof hath failed.

ALLELUIA (Genesis xxxvii, 6)

Alleluia, alleluia. V/. And he said to them: Hear my dream which I dreamed. Alleluia.

TRACT from Septuagesima till Easter (Job xxxiii, 14-16)

God speaketh once, and repeateth not the selfsame thing the second time. V/. By a dream in a vision by night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, and they are sleeping in their beds. V/. Then he openeth the ears of men, and teaching instructeth them in what they are to learn.

2nd ALLELUIA in Eastertide (Daniel iv, 2)

V/. I saw a dream that affrighted me: and my thoughts in my bed, and the visions of my head troubled me. Alleluia.

GOSPEL (St Matthew ii, 13b-15 and 19-23)

The continuation of the holy Gospel according to Matthew.

At that time:

Behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him. Who arose, and took the child and his mother by night, and retired into Egypt: and he was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying: Out of Egypt have I called my son. But when Herod was dead, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt, saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel. For they are dead that sought the life of the child. Who arose, and took the child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judea in the room of Herod his father, he was afraid to go thither: and being warned in sleep retired into the quarters of Galilee. And coming he dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was said by prophets: That he shall be called a Nazarene.

OFFERTORY (Acts ii, 17)

And it shall come to pass, in the last days, (saith the Lord,) I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. (P.T. Alleluia.)

SECRET 

Sanctify, we beg, Lord, the offered gifts: and by the illumination of the Holy Ghost, amend our hearts.  Through… in the unity of the same… 

Preface of the Holy Ghost. 

COMMUNION (II Machabees xv, 11b)

He told them a dream worthy to be believed, whereby he rejoiced them all. (P.T. Alleluia.)

POSTCOMMUNION 

May the infusion of the Holy Ghost, Lord, cleanse our hearts: and by the inward sprinking of His dew may they be fruitful.  Through… in the unity of the same…

It will be seen how the appointed lessons concern the dream of Solomon and the dreams of St Joseph, models of the sort of dreams that are truly sent from God.  Thus far the Mass for the gift of dreams — which is said, unlike the Mass for sleep, in red vestments, to rightly honour the Holy Ghost.

Mass for the Grace of Sleep

The Missale Ordinis Dormitionis Beatæ Mariæ Virginis (or Missale O. Dorm. for short), as well as providing my primary source for the Order of Mass according to the proper rite of those holy men, the Canons Regular of the Dormition, also supplies a number of fascinating proper Masses, some of which I plan to post online for the edification of all and sundry.  (For the benefit of more serious scholars, I derive these texts from the 1785 edition — hence the use of the long ess — which was fortunately available for an amazing bargain: ah, the joys of internet shopping!)

Without deviating too much from my stated aim of providing curious euchological texts to Catholic web surfers and friends, I must first explain somewhat of the origins (hitherto only alluded to) of this unique contemplative Order.  It was, I can reveal, three Canons of the Holy Sepulchre, known to their grateful spiritual children as Patres nostros Soporificos, "Our Soporific Fathers", who were called to establish a new Order, entirely oriented, even in this life, to emulating the eternal repose of the blessed.

Now, as all men know, the age-old institution of the canons regular flourished in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, with many reforms and foundations made; and, in the Holy Land (still then in Christian hands), the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre were established.  Alas, while they returned to Europe and survived for centuries, the dastardly French Revolutionaries killed them off.  Yet their devotion to that sacred tomb, wherein Christ Himself reposed in death, bore fruit aplenty in the daughter Order founded by three of their number, in the Year of the Lord 1199.

The nascent Dormitionist Order, founded only decades before the Order of Preachers, profited much by a holy fellowship between Dormitionists and Black Friars – an association that continues to this day, if the examples of various friars of the latter are anything to go by.  For all men know that much preaching engenders sleep.  Historians of religious life dispute, in fact, whether it was the Order of Grandmont, the Dominican Order, or the Dormitionist which first introduced the system of wholesale dispensation from their respective Rules, that the primary charism of each (to pray, to preach, to sleep) be best fulfilled.

Given this relationship between them, it will therefore be unsurprising to note some parallels in their liturgical forms — though there are also distinct differences.

But to return to the Soporific Three: they were a-praying one day while "searching the Scriptures", when, somewhat bored in truth, they turned to a Greek manuscript of the apocryphal Third Book of the Machabees instead (doubtless brought to Europe from the East by the Canons fleeing the loss of the Holy Land to the Saracens).

What they read there converted them to a new life.  It is said that one bad book can corrupt a monastery; how much more may a good book change it for the better!  For, in the history of King Ptolemy IV Philopator, they read of how the Lord sent a deep sleep upon him, such that, having slumbered from evening through to the ninth hour (III Mach. v, 11f.), being only roused unwillingly at the tenth (III Mach. v, 14f.), he was effectually prevented from doing ill; and from this they realized how graced is innocent rest:

But He sent upon the king a portion of sleep, that beneficence that from the beginning, night and day, is bestowed by Him Who grants it to whomsoever he wishes. And by the action of the Lord he was overcome by so pleasant and deep a sleep from evening until the ninth hour...

These uninspired words became for them a true inspiration, loyal as they were to the practice of sortition (cf. Acts i, 26).  Just as by the drawing of lots the Apostle Matthias was chosen, so by a chance glance the Patres soporificos felt themselves selected to establish a novus Ordo, uniting to the Canon Regular the cultivation of lengthy sleep.

This, reason taught them, was the perfection of religious life, which is the state of sacred leisure, just what the ancient philosophers wished for on a merely human level; and, furthermore, in sleep one is already as it were in heaven, confirmed in grace because unable to sin: so this is angelic, that is, unworldly, life – utterly turned from this life toward the next.

Holy Writ confirmed this, they decided: for, was it not revealed to St John the Divine that in process of time it would come to pass that "white robes were given to every one of them one; and it was said to them, that they should rest" (Apoc. vi, 11a)? and did not Our Saviour open His blessed mouth and say, "Take up my yoke... and you shall find rest to your souls" (St Matthew xi, 29)? and also said, "Come apart into a desert place, and rest" (St Mark vi, 31a)?

And the undoubted examples of Our Lord and the Saints strengthened their manly resolve: for did not Christ lie in the tomb for three days? and did not Lazarus do likewise for four? and did not the Seven Sleepers remain at rest for ages? and did not Our Lady fall asleep ere she was conveyed bodily to heaven?

Sleep is the image of death: as the Apostle did, we ought long to die and be with Christ; ergo, to sleep is most godly, being to desire to live as if already dead and "hid with Christ in God".

As do all the Saints, these Founders endured obloquy from those who understood not, who abused them as establishing a frightful novus (given as this Latin word carries the nuance of "strange") Ordo; however, it was the Pope whom they petitioned, observing how startlingly direct and honest they were in their desire for eternal rest (unlike most of the Curia, as His Holiness put it), who permitted the Dormitionist Canons to be established.  Popes have long been backers of novus Ordo experimentation.

But to return to their moment of conversion and call: having been struck by the siren song of sleep, they searched the Scriptures anew, and composed a Mass for the grace of sleep on the spot; which they celebrated repeatedly, to good effect, and which ended up in process of time included in the Missal of the Dormitionist Order, as a privileged Votive.  Mediæval piety attached to this Mass a startling list of spiritual and temporal benefits... yea, even the lay faithful strove by strategems sacred and profane to attend this Mass, that they might gain the graces of peaceful slumber, of extended lie-ins, of deliverance from bedbugs.

Herewith, the Mass for the Grace of Sleep — celebrated, by analogy with the Requiem, in black vestments:

Miſſa pro gratia ſomni

Officium (triplicatum)

Hæc requies mea in ſæculum ſæculi: hic habitabo quoniam elegi eam. (T.P. Alleluja, alleluja.) Ps. Si introiero in tabernaculum domus meæ, ſi aſcendero in lectum ſtrati mei: ſi dedero ſomnum oculis meis, et palpebris meis dormitationem, et requiem temporibus meis. Hæc… Gloria Patri… Hæc…

Non dicitur Gloria in excelſis. 

Collecta

Domine ſancte, Pater omnipotens, æterne Deus, fac nos, famulos tuos, ſine peccatis obdormire: ut ad requiem æternam, te auxiliante, ſalvi et protecti pervenire mereamur. Per.

Lectio

Lectio Ezechielis prophetæ.

Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Faciam cum eis pactum pacis, et ceſſare faciam beſtias peſſimas de terra: et qui habitant in deſerto, ſecuri dormient in ſaltibus, ait Dominus omnipotens.

Epiſtola 

Lectio epiſtolæ beati Pauli Apoſtoli ad Hebræos. 

Fratres: Timeamus ergo ne forte relicta pollicitatione introëundi in requiem ejus, exiſtimetur aliquis ex vobis deëſſe. Ingrediemur enim in requiem, qui credidimus. Feſtinemus ergo ingredi in illam requiem: in Chriſto Jeſu Domino noſtro. 

Reſponſorium Graduale

R/. In pace in idipſum dormiam et requieſcam. V/. Quoniam tu, Domine, ſingulariter in ſpe conſtituiſti me.

Tractus (Sept. uſque ad Paſcha)

V/. Cum dederit dilectis ſuis ſomnum. V/. Inſuper et caro mea: requieſcet in ſpe. V/. Nunc enim dormiens ſilerem, et ſomno meo requieſcerem.

Verſus in Alleluia

Alleluja, alleluja. V/. Inſuper et caro mea: requieſcet in ſpe. Alleluja.

Verſus II in Alleluia (T.P.)

V/. In pace in idipſum dormiam et requieſcam. Alleluja.

Evangelium

Sequentia ſancti Evangelii ſecundum Matthæum.

In illo tempore: Jeſus venit ad diſcipulos ſuos, et dicit illis: Dormite jam, et requieſcite.

Offertorium

Dabo pacem in finibus veſtris: dormietis, et non erit qui exterreat. (T.P. Alleluja.) V/. ad lib. Auferam malas beſtias, et gladius non tranſibit terminos veſtros. (T.P. Alleluja.)

Secreta

Munera, Domine, quæſumus, quæ pro famulorum tuorum requie offerimus, placatus intende, ut, per hoc ſacrificium, requiem mereantur æternam. Per.

Communio

Salva nos, Domine, cuſtodi nos dormientes in Chriſto, ut requieſcamus in pace. (T.P. Alleluja.)

Poſtcommunio

Præſta, quæſumus, omnipotens et miſericors Deus, ut famulos tuos, pro quibus hoc ſacrificium laudis tuæ obtulimus majestati, per hujus virtutem ſacramenti, requiem obtineant et nunc et in futurum. Per.

And here, my poor translation of this masterpiece of composition:

Mass for the Grace of Sleep

Office [i.e. Introit], tripled (Psalm 131:14,3-5a)

This shall be my rest for ever: here will I dwell, for I have a delight therein. Ps. If I shall come within the tabernacle of mine house, if I shall climb up into my bed; if I shall suffer mine eyes to sleep, and mine eyelids to slumber; and the temples of my head to take rest: This shall be my rest… Glory be… As it was… This shall be my rest…

Gloria in excelsis is not said. 

Collect

Holy Lord, Father almighty, eternal God, make us, Thy servants, to sleep without sin: that we may deserve to attain unto eternal rest, saved and protected by Thine aid. Through.

Lesson (Ezechiel xxxiv, 25)

A Lesson from the Prophet Ezechiel.

Thus saith the Lord God: I will make a covenant of peace with them and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they that dwell in the wilderness, shall sleep secure in the forests, saith the Lord almighty. 

Epistle (Hebrews iv, 1. 3a. 11a)

A Lesson from the Epistle of blessed Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews. 

Brethren: Let us fear therefore lest the promise being left of entering into his rest, any of you should be thought to be wanting. For we, who have believed, shall enter into rest; Let us hasten therefore to enter into that rest: in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gradual Responsory (Psalm 4:9-10)

R/. In peace in the selfsame I shall sleep and rest. V/. For it is thou, Lord, who hast singularly stablished me in hope.

Tract, from Septuagesima until Easter (Psalms 126:2b; 15:9b; Job 3:13)

V/. When he shall give sleep to his beloved. V/. My flesh also shall rest in hope. V/. For now I should have been asleep and still, and should have rest in my sleep.

Alleluia Verse (Psalm 15:9b)

Alleluia, alleluia. V/. My flesh also: shall rest in hope. Alleluia.

2nd Alleluia Verse, in Paschaltide (Psalm 4:9)

V/. In peace in the selfsame I shall sleep and rest. Alleluia.

Gospel (Matthew 26:45a)

The continuation of the holy Gospel according to Matthew.

At that time: Jesus cometh to his disciples, and saith to them: Sleep ye now and take your rest.

Offertory (Leviticus 26:6)

I will give peace in your coasts: you shall sleep, and there shall be none to make you afraid. (P.T. Alleluia.) V/. ad lib. I will take away evil beasts: and the sword shall not pass through your quarters. (P.T. Alleluia.)

Secret 

We beg, Lord, regard with pleasure the gifts we offer for rest for thy servants, that, by this sacrifice, they may deserve eternal rest. Through.

Communion

Save us, Lord, keep us, the sleepers in Christ, that we may rest in peace. (P.T. Alleluia.)

Postcommunion

Grant, we beg, almighty and merciful God, that thy servants, for whom we have offered this sacrifice of praise to thy majesty, by the power of this sacrament, may obtain rest both now and in the future. Through.

It will be noted that this Mass has certain archaic features: the Introit is tripled, that is, the antiphon is repeated before as well as after the Glory be; there is both an Old Testament Lesson and an Epistle (as otherwise only on certain of the Ember Days and at Christmas, as in the Dominican Rite); and the Offertory is still provided with a versicle pro opportunitate (incidently, in its full form it is evidently intended to parallel the passage provided for the Epistle).

The Lesson may be said to be a prophetic type or foreshadowing of the Dormitionist charism: for the Lord declares His will to make a covenant of peace (that is, establish a new form of vowed life), such that, safe from wild creatures (that is, the devils and evil men their pawns), His sheep (that is, holy religious) who dwell in the wilderness or desert (that is, in religious life, as the early desert monks were alone with the Alone) may sleep secure in the forests (that is, inside their houses made of wood, etc.).

The Epistle confirms this message, once delivered to the Jews, as truly intended for the New Israel of God; and Christ Himself commands this in the Gospel.  Therefore, in all humility, the Dormitionist Canons pray that they may fulsomely fulfil this mandate on behalf of His Church universal, and as exemplars to all.

It will be noticed that the Introit, Alleluia verse and Collect are precisely those used by the Dormitionists for to bless their cell each day as they asperse it with holy water – that, even if this Votive be not said, somewhat of its virtue be imparted; for, as the Irish say, holy water is second only to Holy Mass in virtue.  (So said one dear old nun to me, anyway, and I tremble to contradict her.)

The Communion, furthermore, has the same text as the nightly Nunc dimittis anthem, and for utterly the same reason – particularly as these Canons pray the Nunc dimittis in thanksgiving after communicating, as appointed in their proper rite of Mass.

Some may wonder at the extreme brevity of the appointed Lesson, Epistle and Gospel – but, especially as this privileged Votive is oft-celebrated, this is an aid to devotion (and to the more speedily finishing Mass, and so off to bed all the earlier), since short prayers are more fervent, while contrariwise, as was said of lengthy poems of old, Mega biblion, mega kakon ("A big book is a big bore").  The piety of the Irish likewise combines love for the Holy Mass with the fervent intent to get it over with as soon as possible.

Given the Dormitionist preference for celebrating Low Mass before Compline, it is obvious how apt the frequent use of this Votive would be, just as was intended and practised by the Founders of this unique new Order, this true novus Ordo.