Complicated Ordo Alert--Two Solemnities on one Weekend

A number of Coffee&Canticle readers are both:

a. very knowledgeable about the Liturgy of the Hours and 

b. very alert to LOTH news and information out on the internet.

One of these is long time blog follower Lenny Vaillencourt, who often sends me items of interest that I might have missed. Lenny actually sent me this back in August.

 All Saints Day and All Souls Day  occur on a Saturday and Sunday this year. What a headache it would be to figure out what the correct offices/masses would be said that day!

Luckily the Divine Worship Committee of the  the USCCB  has the answers for us in the  February/March issue of their newsletter  Here they are, and thanks, Lenny, for the heads up:

"In 2014, the Solemnity of All Saints on November 1 falls on a Saturday, with the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day) taking place on the following Sunday, November 2. The Secretariat of Divine Worship wishes to clarify the situation regarding the correct Mass and Office to be used during November 1–2.

Both All Saints Day and All Souls’ Day are ranked at no. 3 on the Table of Liturgical Days. Thus, on Friday evening, October 31, Evening Prayer I of All Saints is celebrated. On Saturday, November 1, both Morning and Evening Prayer II of All Saints Day are celebrated, though for pastoral reasons where it is the custom, Evening Prayer II may be followed by Evening Prayer for the Dead. For Sunday, November 2, the Office for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time is said, especially in individual recitation; the Office of the Dead may be used, however, if Morning or Evening Prayer is celebrated with the people (see Liturgy of the Hours, vol. IV, November 2).

On Friday evening, Masses are that of the Solemnity of All Saints. On Saturday evening, any normally scheduled anticipated Masses should be for All Souls’ Day. (If desired for pastoral reasons, a Mass of All Saints Day outside the usual Mass schedule may be celebrated on Saturday evening.)"

Evening Mass

Liturgy of the Hours

Saturday, November 1, 2014

All Souls (anticipated)

Morning & Evening Prayer II of All Saints (EP of the Dead optional after EP II of All Saints)

Sunday, November 2, 2014

All Souls

Individual recitation: Morning & Evening Prayer II of 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Celebrated with the people: Office of the Dead

Out to a Place of Freedom

Once every four weeks, on Wednesday of week I in the Office of Readings, we get Psalm 18.  With vivid imagery of storm and destruction, it describes, well, a very rough time for the psalmist, the dramatic arrival of God to rescue him, and finally, peace, rest, and confidence that he can do all things through the strength the Lord supplies. The notes in my Bible say that this psalm recalls David's rescue from, and victory over, the murderous Saul.

It's a great psalm. Great to read when you are in the midst of troubles or when you have just gotten past them.

Verse 20 of this psalm was a particular favorite of Mother Delores Hart, the 1950's movie- star- turned- Benedictine -nun, whose amazing story we read in The Ear of the Heart  Poor Sister Delores had a very difficult struggle in her early years at Regina Laudis Abbey. She cried herself to sleep nearly every night. She  seemed to have missed the memo (before she entered) that chanting the Office in Latin was the primary work of a Benedictine monastic--and she was terrible at Latin! But somehow the unshakable conviction that God wanted her there saw her through that long crisis.

One day, Sister Delores chanted Psalm 18 verse 20 (in Latin) and couldn't quite figure out what it meant, but somehow felt it had great significance for her. After prayers, she asked another nun for the translation, which begins "He brought me  out to a place of freedom." Sister saw this as a sign that God was bringing her out of all her vocational difficulties, and so she took her firsts vows with confidence. She even made this verse the motto on her souvenir memorial card for her profession day.

Just one example of how the Liturgy of the Hours is both our public prayer on behalf of the Church, but also our very personal communication  with God at the same time.