Rome, 15 August, 2014

“I want to launch a call to all branches, nationally, regionally, or locally to organize a day of Prayer (and fasting) “ for the persecuted Christians in Iraq, writes Superior General in the special Circular Letter addressed to all members of the Vincentian Family worldwide.

Rome, 15 August, 2014

Dear members of the Vincentian Family,

Happy Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady!

 Since the last circular letter, which I addressed to all branches of our Family a few days ago, there have been many events that require me to write to you again; I do not want to miss the call for deep reflection and prayer that is made to us.

For months now, we have listened to Pope Francis speak of his concern and sadness regarding the reality of the persecuted Christians in Iraq specifically, and other situations of famine, drought, war, and disease in many parts of the world, where the poorest always suffer.

A few days ago, I received a letter from Michael Thio, International President of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, in which he tells me that among those persecuted Christians in Iraq, there are many who belong to the Conferences in that country. This makes us even closer to the situation.

On Sunday, 10 August, at the Angelus, Pope Francis insisted: “we are stunned and dismayed by the news coming from Iraq: thousands of persons, among them so many Christians, expelled from their homes in a brutal way; children who die of thirst and hunger during the flight; kidnapped women; massacred persons; violence of all kinds; destruction throughout, of houses, religious, historical, and cultural heritages. All that seriously offends both God and humanity. One does not hate in God’s name! War is not made in the name of God!”

As members of the Vincentian Family, let us not ignore the call that the Church and the poor make to us, specifically in Iraq, to unite for this cause. Not long ago, a report from the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, noted that since June there are ongoing humanitarian assistance programs for Iraqi refugees. Therefore, if we can make a material contribution, let us do so through the national branches of Caritas (Catholic Charities) and the Episcopal Conferences. 

But especially, I want to launch a call to all branches, nationally, regionally, or locally to organize a day of Prayer (and fasting) in a creative way, for 22 August, when we celebrate the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Let us pray, as the Pope has said, “together to the God of peace, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary: Give peace, Lord, to our days, and make us builders of justice and peace. Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us!”

Your brother in Saint Vincent,

G. Gregory Gay,
C.M.Superior General

The fifty days from Easter Sunday of the Lord’s Resurrection until Pentecost Sunday are celebrated in joy and exultation as one single feastday, as ‘Great Sunday’ (magna dominica). It is on these days in particular [...]]]> Liturgical norms for  celebrations EASTER VIGIL and EASTER DAY  according to ORDO – Liturgical calendar for the Vincentian Family.

The fifty days from Easter Sunday of the Lord’s Resurrection until Pentecost Sunday are celebrated in joy and exultation as one single feastday, as ‘Great Sunday’ (magna dominica). It is on these days in particular that the Alleluia is sung (LY 22).

EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD,
solemnity with Octave.

Liturgical color: White

EASTER VIGIL

1. By most ancient tradition, this is the night of keeping vigil for the Lord, and the Vigil celebrated during it, commemorating that holy night when the Lord rose from the dead, is regarded as the ‘Mother of all holy vigils’. For in this night the Church awaits in vigil the Resurrection of the Lord, and celebrates it with the sacraments of Christian initiation. The Christian tradition has however always recognized its character of expectation of the Lord’s coming again.

2. The entire celebration of the Easter Vigil must take place during the night, so that it begins after nightfall and ends before daybreak on the Sunday. The practice of celebrating the Easter Vigil on the Saturday evening at the time when the Sunday Vigil Masses are habitually celebrated is to be censured. The whole of the celebration is, moreover, so to be arranged that its nature as a protracted Vigil is safeguarded.

3. The celebration of a Mass without the rites of the Easter Vigil is not allowed.

4. The Easter Vigil may be celebrated even in churches and oratories. Where the liturgies of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday have not taken place, and neither is the Vigil of obligation when they have. The celebration of the Vigil is, however, compulsory where there is a baptismal font.

5. Throughout the whole Vigil liturgy, as also at the Mass, the sacred ministers should wear white vestments.

6. Tonight’s vigil should be so arranged that after the brief Liturgy of Light or lucernarium (which is the first part of the Vigil), the Church meditates on the marvels the Lord God wrought for his people from the very beginning and strengthens by his Word and his promise (the second part of the Vigil, or Liturgy of the Word), until the moment when with the approaching Day of the Resurrection, together with her new members reborn in baptism (third part), the Church is called to the table the Lord has prepared for his people by means of his Death and Resurrection (fourth part).

The whole Easter Vigil proceeds by means of symbols and rites which call for a certain grandeur and dignity, in order that the faithful may grasp their meaning, prompted even by the words of the commentaries, invitations and prayers. It is fitting in particular that the faithful be introduced by means of a brief introduction to the understanding of the typological meaning of the Old Testament readings proclaimed during the Vigil.

7. As regards the blessing of the fire, in so far as possible a large fire should be prepared in a suitable place outside the church, such that its flames may truly scatter the darkness and light up the night.

8. The paschal candle, for effective symbolism, should be made of wax, of one piece, and of a considerable size, and be renewed every year. For it is meant to represent the figure of Christ who as the True Light, illuminates the whole world. The candle should be blessed with the words and gestures laid down by the liturgical books.

9. The Easter Proclamation or Exsultet may be sung, in case of necessity, even by a cantor who is not a deacon, but in this event the cantor does not receive a blessing from the celebrant, and the second part of the invitation is omitted (Quapropter… or Therefore, dearest friends, standing…) as is the greeting Dominus vobiscum (The Lord be with you).

It is possible to sing either the longer or the shorter form.

10. At least three readings are to be proclaimed from the Old Testament, and even in urgent circumstances at least two. The reading from the Book of Exodus is never to be omitted. The series of readings for the Vigil is as follows:

1. Gen 1,1–2,2 (or 1,1,26-31a).
2. Gen 22,1-18 (or 22,1-2. 9a. 10-13. 15-18).
3. Ex 14, 15-15, 1.
4. Is 54,5-14.
5. Is 55,1-11.
6. Bar 3,9-15. 32-4,4.
7. Ez 36,16-17a. 18-28.
3. Rom 6,3-11.
9. Mt 28,1-10.

11. The Baptismal Liturgy of the Easter Vigil reaches its fullest form when the baptism of adults, or at least of children, is celebrated. However, even when the sacrament of Baptism is not celebrated, in parish churches the baptismal water should be blessed. In cases where there are neither baptisms nor blessing of the font, the sacrament of Baptism should be recalled by the blessing of water, with which the faithful are then sprinkled after having renewed their baptismal promises.

12. For the proclamation of the Gospel reading at Mass, incense may be used, but lights are not carried.

13. It is fitting that the fullness of the Eucharistic signs be attained in the Easter Vigil by means of communion under both kinds. It pertains to the local Ordinaries to consider the suitability and the circumstances of such a concession and to lay down appropriate norms.

14. The Mass of the Vigil is the Easter Mass of the Lord’s Resurrection. Any priest celebrating or concelebrating the Vigil Mass in the night may celebrate or concelebrate a second Easter Mass the next morning.

AT THE EASTER VIGILI MASS
proper, with proper Preface and proper inserts of Easter for the Eucharistic Prayer.

ON EASTER DAY:

liturgical color: white

Liturgy of Hours proper of the solemnity. — The Office of Readings is omitted by those who take part in the Easter Vigil.

MASS PROPER OF EASTER DAY, Gloria, sequence, Creed, with proper Preface and proper inserts of Easter for the Eucharistic Prayer.

R1:  Ac 10, 34a. 37-43; Ps 117,1-2. l6ab-17. 22-23.
R2: Col 13, 1-4 or 1 Cor 5, 6b-8.
Go: Jn 20,1-9 or Mt 28,1-10.

At an evening Mass the Gospel may be Lk 24, 13-35.

Other celebrations are not permitted, not even funeral Masses.

l. The Mass of Easter Day should be celebrated with great solemnity. At this Mass, in place of the opening penitential rites, all are sprinkled with water blessed on Easter Night, to recall their baptism.

2. The paschal candle, which should be placed near the ambo or near the altar, and kept there for the whole of Easter Time until the end of Pentecost Sunday. It should be lit for the more solemn liturgical celebrations, namely Mass, Lauds, and Vespers, during this time.

3. Where is it still the practice, the custom of celebrating baptismal Vespers on Easter Sunday should be diligently maintained, and where it is not the practice it should whenever possible be introduced. At this celebration of Vespers psalms are sung and there is a procession to the fonts (IH, 213).

Today, and throughout the whole Octave, Sunday Compline (as after either First or Second Vespers), with the antiphon Haec dies, instead of the short responsory.

Instead of the Angelus prayer (The Angel of the Lord…), for the whole Easter season the antiphon Regina coeli (Queen of Heaven rejoice, alleluia…) is recited.

For more information visit this page:
ORDO – Liturgical Calendar of the Vincentian Family 
or scan one of the codes in the image

LITURGY OF THE DAY The Liturgy of the Hours is celebrated with the special features indicated in the Proper of Time.

It is highly appropriate that the Office of Readings and Lands [...]]]> Liturgical norms for  Holy Saturday  celebrations (during the day)  according to ORDO – Liturgical calendar for the Vincentian Family.

LITURGY OF THE DAY
The Liturgy of the Hours is celebrated with the special features indicated in the Proper of Time.

It is highly appropriate that the Office of Readings and Lands be celebrated in solemn fashion with the people
(IH, 210).

Compline as after Second Vespers of Sunday. However, it is omitted by those who are present at the Easter Vigil.

Liturgical color: purple

1. On Holy Saturday the Church waits at the Lord’s tomb, in prayer and fasting, meditating upon his Passion, Death and Descent into Hell, and awaiting his Resurrection

2. If it is not possible to celebrate the Office of Readings and Lauds with the people’s participation, there should he a celebration of the Word of God or some devotional exercise appropriate to today’s mystery, especially one that honors the Blessed Virgin Mary for her sharing in Passion of her Son.

3. An image of Christ crucified or laid in the tomb may be set up in the church for the veneration of the faithful, or else a portrayal of his descent into Hell, such as casts light upon the mystery commemorated by Holy Saturday, or else an image of Our Lady of Sorrows.

4. Today the Church abstains completely from the celebration of the Eucharist. Holy Communion may only be given in the form of viaticurn. There should be no celebration of Matrimony nor of the other sacraments, except for Penance and the Anointing of the Sick.

5. The faithful should be instructed concerning the special character of the day. Festive practices linked to the former anticipated celebration of Easter on Holy Saturday should be restricted to Easter Night and Easter Sunday itself.

Vew another post to read Liturgical norms for EASTER VIGIL and EASTER DAY  

For more information visit this page:
ORDO – Liturgical Calendar of the Vincentian Family 
or scan one of the codes in the image

LITURGY OF THE DAY The Liturgy of the Hours is celebrated with the special features indicated in the Proper of Time. It is highly appropriate that the Office of Readings and Lauds be celebrated in solemn fashion with the [...]]]> Liturgical norms for  Good Friday  celebrations according to ORDO – Liturgical calendar for the Vincentian Family.

LITURGY OF THE DAY
The Liturgy of the Hours is celebrated with the special features indicated in the Proper of Time.
It is highly appropriate that the Office of Readings and Lauds be celebrated in solemn fashion with the people (IH, 210).

THE CELEBRATION OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD, as in the Missal.
Liturgical color: Red

Rl Is 52, 13-53, 12;
Ps 30, 2 and 6.12-13.15-16. 17 and 25.
R2 Hebr4, 14-16; 5, 7-9.
Go In 18, 1-19, 42.

l. On this day, when Christ our paschal Lamb was sacrificed, the Church contemplates and adores the Cross of her Lord and Spouse, commemorating her own coming forth from the side of Christ as he slept on the Cross, and interceding for the salvation of all the world.

2. According to a most ancient tradition, the Church does not celebrate the Eucharist on this day.

Holy Communion is distributed to the faithful only within the celebration of the Lord’s Passion, but it may be brought at any hour of the day to the sick who cannot participate in this celebration.

3. There should be no celebration of the Sacraments today, except for the Sacraments of Penance and of Anointing of the Sick. Funerals should be conducted without singing and without organ music or the ringing of bells.

4. The Celebration of the Lord’s Passion is to take place in the afternoon, round about 3 p.m. If, however, genuine pastoral reasons require it, the celebration may take place at a more suitable time, but not before noon and not after 9 p.m.

5. The whole liturgy should be conducted according to the prescriptions of the liturgical books. No changes should be introduced on private initiative.

6. The altar should be completely bare: without cloths, cross or candlesticks.

7. For the reading of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, see the notes given above for Palm Sunday (cf. p. 91, n. 7).

8. The cross which is shown to the people and proffered for adoration should be sizeable and of a certain beauty. The formula for the showing of the cross and the people’s response should be sung. For reasons of appropriate symbolism, there should be a single cross for adoration but care should be taken that the individual faithful are able to adore the cross, a feature of great importance in today’s celebration. The rite by which the cross is adored in silence by the whole congregation as a body should be used only if the faithful are present in very large numbers.

9. After the celebration of the Lord’s Passion, the Blessed Sacrament should be carried back in a simple way to the place of reservation and kept there with the usual lamp bunting. The altar should be stripped in private, but leaving the cross and Candlesticks. It is fitting that a place be arranged (as, for example, the chapel used for reposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament the previous evening), suitable for prayer and meditation, and that the cross be placed there to be adored by the faithful.

10. Of great significance are also the popular devotional exercises that are of pastoral importance, such as the Stations of the Cross, processions of the Lord’s Passion, the commemoration of the Sorrows of Our Lady. Their texts and sung parts should be in harmony with the liturgy, and should lead the people to true liturgical participation.

VESPERS are not recited by those who take part in the celebration of the Lord’s Passion.
COMPLINE as after Second Vespers of Sunday.

For more information visit this page:
ORDO – Liturgical Calendar of the Vincentian Family 
or scan one of the codes in the image

MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER, with proper formularies, Gloria, with proper Preface and proper inserts for the Eucharistic Prayer.

liturgical color: white

R1 Ex 12,1-8. 11-14; Ps 115,12-13. 15-16bc. 17-18. [...]]]> Liturgical norms for  Holy Thursday  evening celebrations according to ORDO – Liturgical calendar for the Vincentian Family.

MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER,
with proper formularies, Gloria,
with proper Preface and proper inserts for the Eucharistic Prayer.

liturgical color: white

R1 Ex 12,1-8. 11-14; Ps 115,12-13. 15-16bc. 17-18.
R2 1 Cor 11, 23-26,
Go Jn 13,1-15,

1. With this Mass, celebrated on the evening of Holy Thursday, the Church inaugurates the sacred Paschal Triduum, aimed at recalling that Last Supper, when the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, loving those who were his own in the world until the very end, offered his Body and Blood under the species of bread and wine to God and under these symbols, gave them to his Apostles that they might consume them, and commanded them and their successors in the priesthood to offer them.

By means especially of the homily, attention should be focused upon the mysteries which are commemorated in this Mass, namely the institution of the Eucharist and that of the priestly Order, together with the Lord’s command of brotherly love.

2. The Mass of the Lord’s Supper is to be celebrated in the evening, at the most appropriate hour, with the full participation of the whole local community.

Priests who have already concelebrated at the Chrism Mass, or who are obliged to celebrate another Mass for the faithful, may also concelebrate at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

In accordance with a most ancient tradition of the Church, the celebration of Mass without a congregation is prohibited today.

3. Where pastoral reasons urge it, the local Ordinary may permit another Mass to be celebrated in churches and chapels in the evening and even, in case of real need, in the morning, but in this latter case only for the sake of those faithful who cannot in any way take part at the evening Mass. Care should be taken lest any celebration of this kind be undertaken for the advantage of private individuals and lest it prejudice the evening Mass.

4. The Tabernacle should be empty. Hosts should be consecrated at this Mass for the communion of clergy and people today and tomorrow.

5. It is fitting that for the reservation of the Eucharist to serve for communion tomorrow, a chapel should be arranged in which prayer and meditation may be fostered, but it is also highly recommended that all be marked by that austerity which is appropriate to these days.

If the Blessed Sacrament is normally reserved in a chapel separate from the central nave of the church, the place of reposition and of adoration may suitably be set up there.

The Blessed Sacrament should be reserved, however, in a closed tabernacle, exposition in a monstrance being absolutely excluded. Nor should the tabernacle in any way have the appearance of a tomb, and the term ‘tomb’ or ‘sepulchre’ should be avoided, since the chapel of reservation is not intended to represent the Lord’s tomb, but only to reserve the Blessed Sacrament for communion the next day.

6. While the Gloria (Glory to God in the highest…) is being sung, the bells are rung. From the end of this hymn the bells are then silent until the Easter Vigil, unless the Bishops’ Conference or the Bishop of the diocese for appropriate reasons decide otherwise.

7. The washing of feet, which according to the tradition for this day is done for a select number of men, shows forth the service and the love of Christ, who came not to be served but to serve. It is appropriate that this tradition be maintained and its true meaning be explained.

8. In the procession bearing the gifts it is fitting that there be included gifts destined for the poor, especially gifts which have been collected during Lent as the fruits of penance. While this happens the hymn Ubi‚ caritas (Where charity and love…) is sung.

9. At the end of the prayer after communion, omitting the other concluding rites, a procession is formed which makes its way through the church with incense and candles, bearing die Eucharist to the chapel of reservation.

10. After the end of today’s celebration, the altar is privately stripped and if possible all crosses are removed from the church. It is appropriate that any crosses remaining in the church be Veiled, if they
have not already been veiled by decision of the Bishops’ Conference (cf. p. 85).

11. The faithful should be reminded to spend a suitable length of time during the night, according to circumstances of time and place, in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament reserved, in such a way, however, that after midnight the adoration take place without solemnity.

12. The procession and the reposition of the Blessed Sacrament should not take place in churches where it is not intended to celebrate the solemn Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday.

LITURGY OF THE HOURS

VESPERS are not recited by those who take part in the evening Mass.
(liturgical color: purple)

COMPLINE as after Second Vespers of Sunday.

Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord is a day of penance for the whole Church, to be marked by fasting and abstinence from meat (cf. p. 27)

For more information visit this page:
ORDO – Liturgical Calendar of the Vincentian Family 
or scan one of the codes in the image