Baptizat miles Regem, servus Dominum suum, Joannes Salvatorem: aqua Jordanis stupuit, columba protestatur: paterna vox audita est: Hic est Filius meus dilectus...

Today is the Octave of the Epiphany of Our Lord. In the Ioannes XXIII arrangement of the Missale and Kalendarium, it is the commemoratio of Our Lord's Baptism, which is in fact the principal event commemorated in the texts of the traditional Octave: that is to say that the novatores at the papal court decided in their wisdom that a separate feast of the Baptism ought to be inserted into the Kalendarium for reasons they thought sufficiently convincing. Honestly, I don't know if the Octave survived Piux XII's nonsense and Ioannes XXIII 'fixed' that or if, the Octave having been already suppressed, it was decided to restore in this way Our Lord's Baptism to its wonted prominence. Easy enough to find out of course but, eh. In the Pauline Rite I believe that the commemoratio has become a feast, which is the second highest rank there, but I've no idea of the Mass texts and so forth. In any case, at Barroux the Mass is 'of Our Lord's Baptism'; the Mass of the Octave is Ecce advenit dominator Dominus and the Mass of the Ioannes XXIII commemoratio of Our Lord's Baptism in the Missale Romanum is Ecce advenit dominator Dominus, simply re-titled. It is the Mass at Barroux this morning; I will be interested to see the choice made at Saint-Eugène....

Ah, it is Saturday, though, so their Mass was streamed at 0030, I reckon. Will listen after I get back from my errands-- or would have done, but the streaming isn't archived, apparently. Come to think of it, none of the ferial, 'daily' Masses are: my brain isn't working at full capacity quite yet. 

There is a much shouted about chance that we will begin having our annual 'winter storm' (i.e. a bit of snow and then freezing rain-- I dislike walking on icy pavement, tsk) about now, it having begun, evidently, in Portland last evening. Haven't looked outside yet. 

Introitus. Malach. 3, 1; 1 Par. 29, 12. Ecce, advénit dominator  Dóminus: et regnum in manu ejus et potéstas et impérium. Ps. 71, 1. Deus, judícium tuum Regi da: et justítiam tuam Fílio Regis. ℣. Glória Patri.

Kyrie, Gloria.

Oratio. Deus, cujus Unigénitus in substántia nostræ carnis appáruit: præsta, quǽsumus; ut per eum, quem símilem nobis foris agnóvimus, intus reformári mereámur: Qui tecum.

Léctio Isaíæ Prophétæ.
Is. 60, 1-6.
Surge, illumináre, Jerúsalem: quia venit lumen tuum, et glória Dómini super te orta est. Quia ecce, ténebræ opérient terram et caligo pópulos: super te autem oriétur Dóminus, et glória ejus in te vidébitur. Et ambulábunt gentes in lúmine tuo, et reges in splendóre ortus tui. Leva in circúitu óculos tuos, et vide: omnes isti congregáti sunt, venérunt tibi: fílii tui de longe vénient, et fíliæ tuæ de látere surgent. Tunc vidébis et áfflues, mirábitur et dilatábitur cor tuum, quando convérsa fúerit ad te multitúdo maris, fortitúdo géntium vénerit tibi. Inundátio camelórum opériet te dromedárii Mádian et Epha: omnes de Saba vénient, aurum et thus deferéntes, et laudem Dómino annuntiántes.

Graduale. Ibid., 6 et 1. Omnes de Saba vénient, aurum et thus deferéntes, et laudem Dómino annuntiántes. ℣. Surge et illumináre, Jerúsalem: quia glória Dómini super te orta est.

Allelúja, allelúja. ℣. Matth. 2, 2. Vídimus stellam ejus in Oriénte, et vénimus cum munéribus adoráre Dóminum. Allelúja.

✠ Sequéntia sancti Evangélii secúndum Joánnem.
Joann. 1, 29-34.
In illo témpore: Vidit Joánnes Jesum veniéntem ad se, et ait: Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce, qui tollit peccátum mundi. Hic est, de quo dixi: Post me venit vir, qui ante me factus est: quia prior me erat. Et ego nesciébam eum, sed ut manifestétur in Israël, proptérea veni ego in aqua baptízans. Et testimónium perhíbuit Joánnes, dicens: Quia vidi Spíritum descendéntem quasi colúmbam de cœlo, et mansit super eum. Et ego nesciébam eum: sed qui misit me baptizáre in aqua, ille mihi dixit: Super quem víderis Spíritum descendéntem, et manéntem super eum, hic est, qui baptízat in Spíritu Sancto. Et ego vidi: et testimónium perhíbui, quia hic est Fílius Dei.

Credo.

Offertorium. Ps. 71, 10-11. Reges Tharsis, et ínsulæ múnera ófferent: reges Arabum et Saba dona addúcent: et adorábunt eum omnes reges terræ, omnes gentes sérvient ei.

Secreta. Hóstias tibi, Dómine, pro nati Fílii tui apparitióne deférimus, supplíciter exorántes: ut, sicut ipse nostrórum auctor est múnerum, ita sit ipse miséricors et suscéptor, Jesus Christus, Dóminus noster: Qui tecum.

Præfatio et Communicántes de Epiphania.

Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei.

Communio. Matth. 2, 2. Vídimus stellam ejus in Oriénte, et vénimus cum munéribus adoráre Dóminum.

Postcommunio. Cœlésti lúmine, quǽsumus, Dómine, semper et ubíque nos prǽveni: ut mystérium, cujus nos partícipes esse voluísti, et puro cernámus intúitu, et digno percipiámus affectu. Per
Dóminum.

The curious reader will have wondered where the Baptizat miles Regem in the title comes from. From the pre-Pius V Roman Office, of course. Dr DiPippo re-published today an article from 2017, which latter I read the other day because of a current post in which he  linked to it. The short version is that in the Roman Office, that is of the Curia Romana, as it existed prior to Pius V's revision and publication in the Tridentine Breviarium Romanum intended for the entire Latin Church, there were, borrowed in their origin from the East, proper antiphons for the Epiphany Octave at Matins, Lauds, and the three Gospel Cantica. (Why not at the Psalms of Vespers?) Anyway, I excerpt paragraphs from today's article; I haven't read it, honestly, so I don't know if the text has been amended or not. I've used them myself, yesterday and today: not strictly speaking 'legit' but it has been the entire Octave with the same texts, ahem. 

In the Tridentine Missal, the Mass of the Octave of the Epiphany is the same as that of the feast itself, except for the Gospel, John 1, 29-34, and the three prayers. In the Office, the lessons of the second and third nocturns are proper to the Octave day, but the rest is repeated as on the days within the Octave, with the same antiphons at the Magnificat and Benedictus as on the feast day. 

In regard to the Office, this represents a significant change from the late medieval Breviary of the Roman Curia, upon which that of St Pius V is based. The former had a complete set of proper antiphons for the day, which date back to the Carolingian period, and focus on the event recounted in the Gospel, the Baptism of the Lord. The vast majority of medieval liturgical Uses sing some of these with the psalms and canticles of Lauds and Vespers, but the Roman Use is atypical in having them also for the psalms of Matins, which are different from the psalms of January 6th.

Their complete removal from the Roman Breviary is something highly unusual, since the Tridentine reform was in most respects extremely conservative, and nowhere more so than in the repertoire of proper musical pieces like antiphons. Although I have never seen this written down anywhere, I suspect that the reason for this was that they are obviously inspired by liturgical texts of the Byzantine Rite, and were therefore regarded as not authentically Roman. They continued to be sung in many other Uses, such as those of the Dominicans, Cistercians and Old Observance Carmelites, none of which, however, have the nine antiphons of Matins....

It's too late in the day to do more than note that, when I looked at the program for Saint-E. in the morning, what did I see but the Byzantine-Carolingian Epiphany antiphons Dr DiPippo wrote about supra; M de Villier's article is from 2010, here. 

LDVM