Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Dominican Rite Calendar for 2012


I am pleased to announce that the Dominican Rite Liturgical Calendar for A.D. 2012 is now available for consultation or download on the left sidebar or here directly. As regularly scheduled Dominican Rite Masses are now being celebrated in four locations in the province (Anchorage, Portland, Santa Paula, and Berkeley), with occasional celebrations elsewhere, this calendar includes as an addendum all the local feasts for dioceses of the Western Dominican Province.

If any of our eagle-eyed readers notice any errors or omissions, please let me know so that they can be corrected before the calendar comes into use on January 1, 2012.

The corrected version of the calendar for 2011 is also available on the left sidebar.

6 comments:

Joe Bellarmine said...

Fr Thompson,

I was wondering if you could give any specific reason why St Servatius was taken out of the 62 and later calendars as the protector of the Dominican Order(feastday May 13). If there is any source you could point me to. I believe it would have to do with the removing from the calendar/missals, etc those who have a story that is legendary and not considered factual. I have taken him as one of my Third Order patrons. The order needs more protecting now then ever.
Will remember you in my prayers.
Br Albert Servatius, T.O.P.

Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P. said...

Dear Brother,

Actually, St. Servatius has never been celebrated on May 13 in the Dominican Rite. He was not even part of the Calendar of Humbert of Romans, who established the normative Dominican Rite (1256).

When Servatius was added to the Dominican Calender, sometime after 1330 (his miraculous apparition at a general chapter), his date was May 22. That is the date that he holds in the Dominican Martyrology, although the old and new (2004), *Roman* Martyrologies have him on May 13.

He was probably placed on May 22 in the Dominican liturgy because May 13 was already the feast of Bl. Albert of Bergamo (+1279), O.P., and later the feast of Bl. Imelda Lambertini, O.P., the great saintly patron of fervent first Holy Communions (because of whom Albert was moved to May 11). Bl. Imelda is still, even in the Novus Ordo to be celebrated by Dominicans on May 13.

St. Servatius was dropped in the Pre-Vatican II calendar reform as part of the attempt to restore the balance between the Sanctoral and the Ferial Office, and in some way restore the proportions of saints and ferials as they were in the Calendar of Humbert. To do this many saints needed to be dropped or reduced in rank. The result still failed to restore the balance of Humbert.

"Legendary" status was not the reason for his drop: many much more "legendary" saints were kept in 1960. The real issue was "how important was the devotion to the saint" in 1960, and St. Servatius, sadly, had little attention among Dominicans in 1960. The cult of the saints is ultimately "popular" -- i.e., demand puts them on the calendar, be it general or particular.

As on a ferial (such as, in the Dominican Rite, May 22 currently is, save for the commemoration of Bl. Inncoent V, O.P., pope, and you can celebrate any saint in the Dominican martyrology listed for that day, I suggest you do so on that, his traditional Dominican date.

May St. Servatius bless you.

Joe Bellarmine said...

Fr

Thank you for your insight. I did mean May 22(St Robert Bellarmine being another patron of mine, I made a mistake). St Servatius being the Protector of the order, the more he is known of the better. Thank you and God bless you.

Brennan said...

Hi Fr. Thompson,

I live near the Dominican parish Holy Rosary in Portland, Oregon where they celebrate the Dominican rite. I'm not sure how I read the calendar. I saw the specific feasts for Portland near the bottom of the calendar.

Basically, I wish to know how to read the calendar to know on what days the Dominican rite will be celebrated at Holy Rosary (or if there's an article you can point me to that would be great).

I realize of course that I should check first with the parish to ensure the Dominican rite is actually being celebrated on that day before heading over, but perhaps with this calendar I can at least get an idea.

Thank you and God bless,

Brennan

Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P. said...

Dear Brennan,

The Dominican Rite is not celebrated every day at Holy Rosary, Portland. The practice has always been to have Dominican Rite Sung Masses on major solemnities and feasts of major Dominican saints. And Low Mass on one Saturday of each month. So you need to contact the parish to be certain of the days and times of the Dominican Rite Masses.

Also, sometimes the practice of "external" and "internal" celebration is used. So the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas ("internally" on the Dominican calendar on March 7) might be celebrated ("externally" for the people) using the Dominican Rite on the modern date of Jan. 29.

In any case, this calendar will tell you what feast would occur in the Dominican Rite on any day in which there happens to be a celebration in the Dominican Rite at Holy Rosary.

But to know if there will be a Dominican Rite Mass and at what time it will occur, you need to check the parish website or call the parish.

T. Faulders said...

Salve,

Thank you for your excellent resources and instructions.

Question: Whether two Dominicans should be added to the Calendarium Ord. Praed?

Blessed G. S. Lopez and Blessed G. M. Burillo might belong to Nov. 25.
http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/93237

Magnam gratiam.

Theodore