Our Lady of Victories; and S John Henry Newman

As your St Lawrence Press (Old Mass) ORDO will remind you, today we are entitled to celebrate an External Solemnity of our Lady of the Rosary. And I probably don't need to remind readers of this blog that the original title of this celebration was our Lady of Victory.

And I do remind you that next Sunday, October 11, until the time of Pius XII, was the feast of the Maternity of our Lady; it was extended to the whole (Latin) Church in 1931 by Pius XI to celebrate the 15th centenary of the Council of Ephesus; and he took care on this occasion also to refer to Casti Connubii [he had issued that bull in 1930] and the education of the young [Divini illius Magistri came out in 1929]. Moving on through October, in aliquibus locis the following Sunday commemorated Mary's Purity and the Sunday after that, her Patronage (Patrocinium).

What a wealth of teaching, in fact, came thus to us from the Liturgy and, indeed, from the Popes of the decades beteen Vatican I and Vatican II. Pius XI was pre-eminent among these; and you should not need me to recall that it was he who in 1925 instituted the Feast of Christ the King. This, of course, was so altered in meaning after Vatican II as effectively to have been abolished. This 'reform' was perhaps the single most destructive of the changes made by the trio de maniaques who, according to Louis Bouyer, 'revised' the Calendar. Archbishop Lefebvre's volume They have uncrowned Him (Angelus Press) gives information upon the background of this.

On October 9, S John Henry Newman may, in accordance with the CDF legislation of last March for the Extraordinary Form, be observed. When this is done, the Divine Office may be of the Saint. For the time being, the Common will have to be used. In the Ordinariate, our Patron is a First Class feast with a First Vespers. And, in the Ordinariate, the newly authorised Preface Of Patrons may be used (it was composed originally for the Paris Missal of 1738).

In the Ordinary Form, S John Henry is now a festum within England and Wales.