My copy of the Ordo Recitandi published by The Saint Lawrence Press arrived this morning. Do go over and avail yourselves of a copy. As you probably know, I don't actually use the Ordo as such but I like having it as a reference and I would strongly encourage my readers to support the work of The Saint Lawrence Press by purchasing a copy (or two). The ordo itself is the most detailed, accurate and well-presented ordo for use in the Latin Rite published in our time. Its pages open a window sealed shut by the so-called "Extraordinary Form" of the Novus Ordo onto the better half of 20th century liturgy, before octaves and vigils were stripped away and Sundays had more than one Collect. I have taken some pictures of pages that interest me.
Since the Creation of the World, 7215 years.
The shibboleth of Liturgiae Causa. The feast that has hideously supplanted Sts Philip and James on its proper, traditional day. Of course, on this page, unlike in the ordines published by such reputable organisations as the Latin Mass Society, the feast matches the day, and vice versa.
St John before the Latin Gate, as in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. The Roman Rite can be a truly unifying principle until the changes happen. So much of modern Ecumenism could be corrected by a simple return to traditional praxis.
The Nativity of St John the Baptist. In all my years as a traditionalist I cannot recall ever attending, or even reading about, a high Mass on this great feast. But there are plenty on such feasts as the "immaculate" Conception of St Mary, or the Precious Blood...
The eponymous St Lawrence whose feast has both a vigil and an octave. I think this was the reason for the dedication of The Saint Lawrence Press.
St Lucy, one of my favourites. Notice the Quarter Tense begins on the seventh day within the Octave.
We have at least a sung and usually a Solemn Mass every year for the Nativity of St John the Baptist, as it is the national holiday here in Québec. Sadly we have no procession, outdoor (as once was common before the rapid secularization of the 1960s "Quiet Revolution") or otherwise. Of course as we're an Anglican parish I imagine there would be plenty of "shibboleths" you could pick out!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think there should be more outdoor processions. Not rosary or Corpus Christi ones, though! Mattins with a procession with an Icon of the saint of the day, a thurifer, taperers and traditional hymns would be a welcome change from a thirty minute low Mass! And a better form of witness to Christ; more ecumenical (in a good way). I am a great believer in traditional worship being a unifying and evangelical instrument.
DeleteDale, I am not going to get into this again. I have expressed my views (which will not change) on Eucharistic elevations, Benediction, Corpus Christi, Forty-Hours prayer, &c. elsewhere. On this last point I would say that given the Tridentine innovations in Holy Week, and the general dearth of pre-hallowed liturgies in the Roman Rite (well, let's be frank: they don't exist anymore except in a few renegade churches that follow the rite as it was in 1950), my views seem better informed.
DeleteNativity of the Baptist is one of the 12 Great Feasts of Orthodoxy, as you know. We always have the full liturgy, but most of the time our two deacons are at work at their secular jobs so we can't have the full panoply of Altar-persons.
ReplyDeleteJim of Olym
I envy you as an Heythropian as you no doubt can read abbreviated Latin! Alas, I only got the first part of Caesar's Wars and have forgotten most of it in the subsequent 65 years.
Aheu
Jim of Olym
The ordo is easy enough to read, even for the "ilatinate." Take St Lawrence for example. The feasts falls on the fourth feria (which is Thursday), the liturgical colour is albus (white). The rank of the feast is a Double of the Second Class and the feast is adorned with a Simple Octave (which, given the rubrics for so late an edition of the Roman Rite, means it practically doesn't exist except as a kind of footnote). The Mass is for the people; the Office is proper. The Gloria in Excelsis is sung at Mass, and Vespers are festal. Simple.
DeleteThe same goes for the rubrics of the Breviary and Missal. They aren't written in superb, Horatian style (which is hard for me and for most), but in a simple, even banal, style; like a bus schedule. Now, one can't say that of the liturgical texts themselves which have their own "noble simplicity," to coin that term (!), but they too are intelligible; that is where they are of considerable eld and not some modern, verbose composition.
thanks for the help, Patricius. The more it goes, the easier it gets, I suppose.
DeleteRdr. James Morgan
If you are interested in learning Latin from a beginner's level, I strongly recommend you Hans Orberg's series Lingua Latina per se illustrata (I know personally its usefulness). It teaches Classical Latin, but once you get some expertise on it you'll be able to read almost any Latin text you find.
Delete"Nativity of the Baptist is one of the 12 Great Feasts of Orthodoxy"
ReplyDeleteThe 12 Great Feasts are:
Nativity if the Theotokos (Sept 8)
Elevation of the Precious Cross (Sept 14)
Entrance of the Theotokos in the Temple (Nov 21)
Nativity of Christ (Dec 25)
Theophany (Jan 6)
Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Feb 2)
Annunciation (March 25)
Palm Sunday (1 week before Pascha)
Ascension (40 days after Pascha)
Pentecost (50 days after Pascha)
Transfiguration (Aug 6)
Dormitory of the Theotokos (Aug 15)
The Nativity of the Baptist is a feast, but not one of the 12.