April 25th - Dominica in Albis - Low Sunday

Dominica in Albis or Low Sunday is of double rite. The Gospel at Mattins and Mass is the account of the LORD appearing in to His disciples behind the shut doors of the room and the doubting of St. Thomas. The feast of St. Mark the Evangelist is transferred to Tuesday although the Greater Litanies take place today.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the psalms of Saturday (Pss. 143, 144, 145, 146 & 147) were sung under the single antiphon, Alleluia. Chapters and hymns returned to the Office with this service, the Octave having ended with None. The Paschaltide hymn Ad cenam Agni providi was sung. Its Doxology is sung at all hymns of Iambic metre: Gloria tibi Domine, Qui surrexisti a mortuis, Cum Patre et Sancto Spiritu, In sempiterna saecula. After the collect of the Sunday the Paschal Suffrage was not sung. From this Office of Vespers, the dismissal, Benedicamus Domino, is sung without the double Alleluia that had been sung since Pascha.

At Mattins the invitatory Surrexit Dominus vere Alleluia continues to be sung. The Office hymn is O Rex aeterne Domine. In the first nocturn psalms 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14 are sung under the single antiphon Alleluia, Lapis revolutus etc. The lessons in the first nocturn are from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Colossians; the first begins Igitur si consurrexistis otherwise it and the other two first nocturn lessons are the same as in the post-Clementine editions. In the second nocturn psalms 15, 16 & 17 are sung under the single antiphon Alleluia, quem quaeris mulier etc. The lessons are from a sermon of St. Augustine and are the same as in the modern editions. In the third nocturn psalms 18, 19 & 20 are sung under the single antiphon Alleluia, noli flere Maria etc. The homily is from the writings of St. Gregory on St. John's Gospel and the same same as in modern editions except they are missing the words 'Dixit eis' at the beginning of the ninth lesson. The Te Deum is sung.

At Lauds Pss. 92, 99, & 62-66 are sung under a nine-fold Alleluia - an ancient feature of the Roman rite that would be destroyed in the 1911-13 reform. TheBenedicite has the antiphon Surrexit Christus etc and Pss 148, 149 & 150 the antiphon Alleluia. The Office hymn is Aurora lucis rutilat.

At Prime the Dominical psalms 53, 118(i), 118(ii) and Quicumque are sung under the antiphon Alleluia. At the other Little Hours Alleluia is also sung as the antiphon, the hymns have the Paschal Doxology.

Mass is sung after Terce. Before Mass the antiphon Vidi aquam is sung during the aspersion. At Mass the Gloria is sung. There is but a single collect. The Creed is sung and the preface is of Paschaltide.

In Cathedral and Collegiate Churches two High Masses are sung.  The first, after Terce, is of the Sunday as above. After None the Paschal Candle is extinguished and the antipendia are changed to violet.  The celebrant, vested in violet cope, assisted by deacon and subdeacon in violet dalmatic and tunicle reverence the altar then kneel and pray for a short while. They rise and the cantors begin the antiphon Exsurge Domine. The Litany of the Saints is then sung, in the full form, and not the shorter form used on Holy Saturday. Each invocation is doubled, i.e. the cantors sing e.g. Pater de caelis, Deus, miserere nobis and this is repeated in its entirety by everyone else. When Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis has been repeated all rise and the Procession sets off.

The Procession goes outside of the Church and may visit other Churches on its route. If the Procession has a long route the Litany, from Sancta Maria etc may be repeated or the Seven Penitential Psalms sung to the tonus in directum. After the concluding prayers the ministers rise and the celebrant changes from a cope to chasuble and all put on their maniples. The Mass Exaudivit is then sung. The second collect is Concede nos, the third collect is Ecclesiae or for the pope. There is no Creed. The preface of Paschaltide is sung to the ferial tone and the dismissal is Benedicamus Domino. 

At Vespers the Sunday psalms are sung under the single antiphon Alleluia. The Office hymn is Ad cenam Agni providi. After the collect of the Sunday there is a commemoration of the following feast of SS Cletus and Marcellinus. The Paschal Suffrage is omitted. At Compline the Dominical preces are omitted.

April 25th - St. Mark the Evangelist - the Greater Litanies

The feast of St. Mark is of double rite and takes precedence over the Second Sunday after Pascha. The liturgical colour of the feast is red. Today the procession of the Greater Litanies takes place.

At Vespers on Saturday afternoon the antiphons from the Common of Evangelists in Paschaltide, Sancti tui etc., were sung with Pss. 19, 110, 111, 112 & 116. The Office hymn was Tristes erant Apostoli, sung with the Paschal Doxology. After the collect of the feast a commemoration was sung of the Second Sunday after Pascha. The hymn at Compline, Te lucis, and the hymns of the Hours have the Paschal Doxology, Gloria tibi Domine, Qui surrexisti a mortuis, Cum Patre et almo Spiritu, In sempiterna saecula.

At Mattins the invitatory is Regem Apostolorum Dominum, Venite adoremus. The Office hymn is again Tristes erant Apostoli. In the first nocturn the lessons are taken from the Incipit of the book of Ezechiel. The lessons are longer than those found in the modern editions: the first lesson includes half of the modern second lesson (Et ex medio ejus... to ... quasi aspectus aeris cadentis). The second lesson begins Et manus hominis... and includes all of what is now the third lesson. The third lesson is absent from the modern editions - vv. 13 - 20. In the second nocturn the first lesson, taken from the writings of St. Jerome consists of both the four and fifth lessons as found in the modern editions of the Breviary. The fifth and sixth lessons are from an exposition on Ezechiel by Gregory the Great. In the third nocturn the lessons are from a homily of St. Gregory on St. Luke's Gospel. The eighth and ninth lessons are read as one and the ninth lesson is formed of the three lessons of the homily for the Sunday, again taken from St. Gregory. These are actually the same as in the modern editions. The Te Deum is sung.

At Lauds the antiphons Sancti tui etc are sung with the Dominical psalms. The hymn is Claro Paschali gaudio. After the collect of the feast a commemoration of the Sunday is sung. At Prime and the Hours the antiphons Sancti tui etc are sung sung, the hymns have the Paschal Doxology.

In Collegiate and Cathedral Churches the Vidi aquam and Mass of St. Mark is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Sunday, the Creed is sung, the preface is of the Apostles and the last Gospel of the Sunday.

After None the Procession of the Greater Litanies takes place. The liturgical colour is violet and the deacon and subdeacon wear dalmatic and tunicle respectively. During the Procession the petitions of the Litany and there responses are sung first by the cantors and then by the choir and congregation. The Procession may visit other churches on its way in which case a station is made. After the Procession the Mass Exadivit is sung.

Vespers are of the feast of St. Mark. After the collect of the feast commemorations are sung of the following feast of SS Cletus & Marcellinus and of the Sunday.

Art: A Coptic icon of St. Mark from Wikipedia.