November 11th - St. Martin of Tours

The feast of St. Martin of Tours is of double rite and its liturgical colour is white. The twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost, and this year the third Sunday of November (the second Sunday and its week are omitted this year) is commemorated at Vespers, Mattins, Lauds and Mass. St. Martin was born in Hungary and later served in the Roman army and resigning from it as it conflicted with his faith. He is famous for cutting his cloak in two and giving half of it to a beggar. Renown for his works of charity he died, as Bishop of Tours, in 397.

At Vespers yesterday afternoon the, proper, antiphons Dixerunt discipuli ad beatum Martinum etc were sung, doubled, with psalms 109, 110, 111, 112 & 116. The Office hymn was Iste confessor. After the collect of the feast commemorations were sung of the Sunday (the antiphon on the Magnificat being Muro tuo for the Saturday before the third Sunday of November and of St. Menna. The Suffrages were omitted due to the double feast as were the Dominical preces at Compline.

At Mattins the invitatory is proper Laudate Deum nostrum, * In confessione beati Martini and the Office hymn is Iste confessor. In the first nocturn the antiphons Martinus etc, doubled, are sung with psalms 1, 2 & 3. The lessons are taken from the Common. The first lesson is from the First Letter of St. Paul to Timothy. This is the same as in the later editions. The second and third lessons are from the Epistle to Titus. These, again, are the same as those found in the modern editions. The responsories are proper to the feast. In the second nocturn the antiphons Confido in Domino etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 4, 5 and 8. The historical lessons of the second nocturn are almost the same as those found in the post-Clementine editions except that the sixth lesson is a sentence or so longer. In the third nocturn the antiphons Dominus Jesus Christus etc are sung, doubled, with psalms 10, 14 and 20. The homily on St. Luke's Gospel is from St. Ambrose. The lessons are slightly longer than those found in the post-Clementine editions. Today the eighth and ninth lessons are read together to form the eighth lesson  and the ninth lesson is formed of the three lessons of the homily for the twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost. These are taken from a homily of St. Hiliary on St. Matthew's Gospel. There lessons are the same as in the modern editions of the Breviary. The Te Deum is sung.

At Lauds the antiphons Dixerunt discipuli ad beatum Martinum etc are sung, doubled, with the Dominical psalms 92, 99, 62-66, Benedicite 148-49-150. The Office hymn is Jesu Redemptor omnium. After the collect of the feast commemorations are sung of the Sunday and of St. Menna. The Suffrages are omitted due to the double feast.

At Prime, Pss. 53, 117, 118(i) & 118(ii),  both Quicumque and the Dominical preces are omitted. The lectio brevis is Fungi sacerdotio.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung, the second collect is of the Sunday, the third collect is of St. Menna. The Creed and the common preface are sung and the last Gospel is of the Sunday.

At Vespers the antiphons Dixerunt discipuli ad beatum Martinum are again sung, doubled, now with psalms 109, 110, 111, 112 & 131. The Office hymn is Iste confessor. After the collect of the feast commemorations are sung of the Sunday and of St. Martin Pope and Martyr. The Suffrages are omitted as are the Dominical preces at Compline.

Icon: (& interesting biography) Wikipedia.