Until the mid-twentieth century, in the ORDO which every priest needed to refer to daily, he would be advised that, next Sunday, S Mark's Day, [I translate and simplify what I see before me in my copy of the admirable St Lawrence Press ORDO] "After None, the Procession happens of the Greater Litanies ... afterwards, the [Rogation] Mass Exaudivit (see Missal after Easter V) is sung with the rite and tone of a feria throughout, with no Gloria or Creed, the second collect for the Persecuted Church or the Pope, the Easter Preface, and Let us bless the Lord at the end. The Paschal Candle is not lit. The colour is violet".
We used to replace Ite Missa est with Benedicamus Domino whenever we did not say the Gloria (and, in those days, the Gloria was used every day in Eastertide and throughout the year on any saint's day - which means quite often). The matter is obscure but in my view the custom may derive from the fact that on a Lenten feria, in which the Gloria had not been said, Vespers might have followed directly after Mass, so the people were not to be encouraged to depart but to stay for the Office. So the originally coincidental fact that rather often in Lent Gloria was not said and Go this is the Dismissal was replaced by Let us bless the Lord led to the assumption that these two practices had to go together.
Violet vestments were used for all supplicatory Masses; for example, most of the Votives.
Your ORDO would have gone on to provide you with information about what to do if there is only one Mass and there is a Procession; if there is no Procession (you are encouraged to say or sing the Litanies before Mass but reminded that they cannot be anticipated, that is, said the day beforehand - a temptation for a busy priest oppressed by his liturgical load); and then - finally!- it would reveal that, after all this, you could have said all Masses (except for a Conventual Mass) of S Joseph. This is because his solemnity happened last Wednesday (as being the Wednesday after Easter II), but before Pius X changed the rubrics (he wished to ensure that more Sunday Masses survived), S Joseph had been fixed permanently onto this very Sunday, Easter III. So Pius X allowed today's Mass to continue to be - optionally - of S Joseph in case particular congregations had become very attached to his celebration on this Sunday and had perhaps got Josephine fervorini going.
So if you kept S Joseph you said four collects: S Joseph; and commemorations of S Mark, the Sunday, and the Rogation.
Yes! You're right! Congratulations for spotting it! You read the Last Gospel of the Sunday Mass!!
I'll finish this off a bit later.
I a layman learned and used for a while to say the Office according to all these rubrics (even though there is no Church nearby, certainly not my parish, where they are followed).
ReplyDeleteThen, a little over a year ago, I switched to the 1962 rubrics because, after Summorum, I felt drawn to say the Office with the Church. (My parish doesn't follow the 1962 rubrics either.)
But when you describe them, Father, I can only say, ichabod.
Summorum Pontificum is not as great as many Catholics make it out to be. I would rather people say the Old Rite on account of immemorial custom and the Tradition of the Church rather than stop because it is not approved by Rome. Since when was Rome the yardstick of orthodoxy? Catholics should look first to the orthodox Tradition of the Church, not Rome, like so many Ultramontanes, which is half-infested with Orcs. Rome may once have been the liturgical sun of Christendom but it is so no longer...
ReplyDeleteWhy do you say only "on a Lenten feria"? In this case, for example, as you (and the ORDO) describe: None, followed by a procession, followed by a Mass - it sounds to me like it's pretty much time for Vespers.
ReplyDeleteAlso, is there any occasion when it would be possible to commemorate two Masses which both have strictly proper Gospels? If so, what should be done with them?
These posts have caused me to rethink things – I had thought to say S. Mark tomorrow but I want to best edify my little flock. The Rogation Mass will be said tomorrow at my small chapel, preceded by the Litany, Psalm 70 and the ten collects (I found them in the ritual). The procession is not mandatory except for cathedrals and monasteries (I think?) so we won't do it. I think we'll follow it up with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which seems very apropos (my own rendition of it set to plain chant). We have not because we ask not and when we ask we ask amiss; so tomorrow we'll be "Rogare-ing" with the historic Church. Many thanks for the nudges Father!
ReplyDeleteWell... we had violet frontal and vestments for the Great Litany without procession followed by the Collects etc and then changed the frontal and vestments to red for the Mass of St Mark commemorating the Rogation and Easter III with Last Gospel of Easter III. If I'd known about the Pius X caveat for S Jospeh we might have added those orations too!
ReplyDelete