October 18th - St Luke the Evangelist

The feast of St. Luke the Evangelist is of double rite and its liturgical colour is red. St. Luke was probably born in Antioch in Syria and was a physician. He is the author of the Gospel that bears his name and the Acts of the Apostles. He is one of the Four Evangelists and is traditionally represented by an ox. St. Luke is believed to have died at the age of 84 in Boeotia, and his tomb was located at Thebes. The nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, and the third Sunday of October, is commemorated at Vespers, Mattins, Lauds and Mass.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the antiphons Hoc est praeceptum meum etc, from the Common of Apostles, were sung doubled with Pss. 109, 110, 111, 112 and 116. The Office hymn was Exsultet caelum laudibus. After the collect of the feast a commemoration of the Sunday was sung (the antiphon on the Magnificat being Lugebat autem Judam for the Saturday before the third Sunday of October). The Suffrages were omitted as were the Dominical preces at Compline.

At Mattins the invitatory is Regem Apostolorum Dominum, * Venite adoremus and the Office hymn is Aeterna Christi munera which along with the psalms are taken from the Common of Apostles but the lessons in the first nocturn are what are now from the proper for Evangelists. In the 1568 Breviary the reader is directed to the Incipit liber Ezechielis Prophetae for the first Sunday of November. In the first nocturn the antiphons In omnem terram etc are sung, doubled, with Pss. 18, 33 & 44. The lessons are considerably longer than those found in the modern editions of the Breviary. The modern three lessons are all read by the penultimate sentence of the second lesson in the 1568 edition. In the second nocturn the antiphons Principes populorum etc are sung, doubled, with Pss. 46, 60 & 63. The lessons are proper to the feast of St. Luke and from St. Jerome on Ecclesial Writers. These are the same as in the modern books. In the third nocturn the antiphons Exaltabuntur etc are sung, doubled, with Pss. 74, 96 & 98. The lessons are from the Common of Evangelists with a homily by St. Gregory. These are significantly longer than those found in the modern editons, with all of the modern three lessons contained within the eighth and ninth lessons of the modern books. Today the eighth and ninth lessons are read together to form an extended eighth lesson and the ninth lesson is formed of the three lessons appointed for the homily of the Sunday. These are from St. Gregory on St. Matthews's Gospel. The seventh lesson (of the Sunday) does not appear in the modern editions. The eighth lesson (of the Sunday) consists of the modern seventh and half of the modern eighth lessons. The text of the ninth lesson (of the Sunday) consists of the rest of the modern eighth and ninth lessons and the inclusion of further texts from St. Gregory. The Te Deum is sung.

At Lauds the antiphons Hoc est praeceptum meum are again sung, doubled, with the Dominical psalms (Pss. 92, 99, 62-66, Benedicite 148-49-150). The Office hymn is Exsultet caelum laudibus . After the collect of the feast a commemoration is sung of the Sunday. The Suffrages are omitted.

At Prime the antiphon Hoc est praeceptum meum is sung with the festal Psalms (Pss. 53, 118i & 118ii). Both Quicumque and the Dominical preces are omitted.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Sunday. The Credo is sung the preface is of the Apostles and the last Gospel is of the Sunday.

At Vespers the antiphons Juravit Dominus etc are sung, doubled, with Pss. 109, 112, 115, 125 & 138. The Office hymn is Exsultet caelum laudibus. After the collect of the feast a commemoration of the Sunday is sung. The Suffrages are omitted as are the Dominical preces at Compline.