Commemorations are a way of marking the feasts of the lowest
ranked saints in the calendar, or of marking a feast or day displaced in a
particular year. Commemorations are made at Lauds and/or Vespers only.
They are made immediately after the collect of the day, and follow
straight on without any intervening words. Commemorations normally consist of
an antiphon, versicle and collect (said in that order). After the
commemoration, the conclusion to the hour is said as normal.
There are two reasons you may need to make a commemoration
in the Office. The first case is that some feasts, called Memorials in the
Diurnal, are only ‘commemorated’ at Lauds. The second case is where a feast or
special day displaces the Office that would normally be said, and the original
day is still ‘commemorated’. When a feast occurs during Lent or Advent, for
example, the Lent or Advent day is normally ‘commemorated’.
Accordingly, if you are commemorating a Lent day, at Lauds
the antiphon is the Benedictus antiphon of the Lent day, followed by the
versicle from the Ordinary of Lent, and the collect that would have been said
at Lauds on that day. Similarly, at Vespers, the Magnificat antiphon of
the (Lent or Advent) day, versicle of the season, and collect that would have
been said at Vespers is used. For Memorials, the Diurnal normally provides the
necessary texts (in their correct order), which are often taken from the Common
of the relevant saint. For other days, note that the order
(Antiphon-versicle-collect) is not the same as if you were actually saying the full
feast on that particular day.
The key exception to this way of making a commemoration is
feasts of SS Peter and Paul, where the commemoration is made by the two
collects of the saints one immediately after each other without an intervening
concluding section to the first collect.
What types of commemoration are there?
There are three types of commemoration: ordinary,
privileged, and feasts of St Peter and/or St Paul.
A 'privileged' commemoration arises when the day or feast
being displaced is First Class; a Sunday; a day in the Octave of Christmas; a
September Ember Day; or a Lent, Advent or Passiontide day. All others are ordinary.
Privileged commemorations are made at both Lauds and
Vespers; ordinary commemorations are made at Lauds only. Whether a commemoration is privileged or
ordinary also affects the number of commemorations that can be made on a
particular day.
In general, whether a commemoration is made at Lauds only or
at both Lauds and Vespers depends on the level of the feast(s) and/or day(s)
involved, as set out in the 'two tables' (occurrence and concurrence) in the
Diurnal. Alternatively, simply consult an Ordo!
How many commemorations are permitted?
- On first class feasts, only one commemoration is
permitted, and then only if it is a 'privileged' commemoration.
- On normal Sundays (Class II), only one
commemoration is permitted, of either a first or second class feast.
- On second class days, one privileged and one
ordinary commemoration can be said.
- On third or fourth class days, two
commemorations can be made.
Where there is a
clash, the highest ranking commemoration(s) are used, and any others are
dropped for that year.
Other posts on this subject
Brush up your rubrics: commemorations
The concluding prayers
The opening and closing prayers of the Office
