Learn the Office 3.11 - Vespers Pt 4 - Feasts

c1460, Walters Art Museum

For if on saints’ feasts should be understood with regard to all saints who have their own masses, it seems difficult, because there are many saints’ feasts, as they are contained in the book of masses, since in that book the masses of many saints are seen to be written.

And on this account, the saints’ feasts are either set aside or they are celebrated with excessive labor and almost nothing else can be done because of the multitude of saints.

But, as we said, when he says ‘on feasts’, it must be heard under the heading: ‘on special feasts’.

Hildemar, Commentary on the Rule of St Benedict, ch 14

In general the principles covered in the previous part of this mini-series on Fespers also apply to feasts.

There are, however, some additional issues that warrant separate discussion in relation to the celebration of feasts at Vespers, namely:

• the different types and levels of feasts in the Office;
• the possibility that there will be both I&II Vespers of the feast (for Class I feasts);
• the use of special 'festal' sets of psalms; 
• the possible use of 'Commons' of types of feasts to supply texts appropriate to the feast;
• a few days of the year when the Roman Office is used instead of the Benedictine.
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Types of feasts

Feasts generally fall into two broad categories:

• feasts associated with the progress of the liturgical year, and so found in the Temporale, or texts of time, such as Christmas, the Epiphany and Easter.  Feasts in this category can either have fixed dates (like Christmas) or are moveable (dependent on the date of Easter each year);
• feasts of saints, generally found in the sanctorale section of Office books.

In either case, feasts can use some or all texts specific to them (including psalms), or draw on a store of texts appropriate to the feast to be found in the 'Commons' of various types of feasts (such as for feasts of Our Lady).

The 1962 basically has three levels of feasts: Class I (the highest), Class II, Class III and memorials.

The table below summarises the different levels of feasts in the 1962 rubrics compared to the Antiphonale Monasticum's terminology in various places, as well as the current Ordinary Form classifications.

1962 Breviary	Antiphonale Monasticum	1969 (OF)
Memorial	Memoria	Abolished
Class III	Duplex [Duplex majus] (In duplicibus)	Memorial (optional or obligatory)
Class II	Duplex II Classis; [Duplex majus] (In festis minus solemnibus/In duplicibus majoribus)	Feasts
Class I	Duplex I Classis (In solemnitatibus)	Solemnities

Note that in the case of pre-1962 rankings some feasts were translated into the calendar at different rankings than their nominal equivalents, so if are using an older book, you need to consult an Ordo rather than simply relying on the table.

I&II Vespers

The celebration of first class feasts (and some monasteries adopt the same principle for Class II feasts as well) starts the night before with I Vespers.

I Vespers is typically slightly more elaborate in terms of its chants, offering the option of a 'prolix responsory' instead of the festal chant for the short responsory.

In most cases (but not all) I&II Vespers use the same texts aside from the antiphon for the Magnificat.

Because of the I&II Vespers system, there can often be a seeming clash between two or more competing feasts or days.

The Monastic Breviary, as well as the Diurnal (page xxvii), provide a table to enable you to work out which version of Vespers to say in these circumstances.

Alternatively, simply follow an Ordo!

Festal psalms

Another key difference to the other day hours is the use of 'festal' psalms for many feasts, rather than those set for the day of the week.

Although the Sunday Vespers psalms are often used for this purpose, there is no one set of festal psalms for Vespers: instead some feasts specify the use of particular psalms; others draw on sets of psalms used for feasts of Our Lady or particular types of saints.

The Commons

There are three main sources for texts of a feast:

• the Proper of Seasons (temporale), which includes feasts associated with the liturgical seasons, such as Christmas and those occurring during its Octave, the Epiphany, Easter, the Ascension and Pentecost;
• the Proper of Saints, which provides texts for feasts arranged by calendar date; and
• the 'Commons of Saints'.

In general, if there isn't a special set of texts just for that feast, then you generally use some or all of the 'Commons' of the relevant type of saint (martyr, confessor, etc) instead.

The level of feast and its impact on Vespers

As noted in the introduction to Vespers, virtually every part of Vespers can be displaced by special texts for feasts and higher level days.

While there are some general principles about which texts to use set out below, there are many exceptions relating to individual feasts, and so you need to read the instructions in your Office book (or use an Ordo) in order to know which texts to change.

LEVEL OF FEAST	EFFECT ON VESPERS
Memorial	None (Lauds only).
Class III without proper antiphons	Psalms and antiphons of the day;  Chapter, responsory, hymn etc from the Common
Class III with proper antiphons	Psalms of Sunday or the Common; antiphons of the feast; chapter etc for the feast (from the proper of the feast or the Common)
Class II	All for the feast (or from the Common of Saints or season), including psalms of feast, Sunday or Common
Class I	All for the feast (or from the Common of saints or season) with I Vespers the night before

The use of the Roman Office in the Benedictine Office

One final point.  

On a few days of the year a special version of the Roman Office are used instead of the Benedictine, namely during the Sacred Triduum, and on the feasts of All Saints (when the Office of the Dead is used at Vespers).

And for the next part of this series, on Lauds, continue on here.