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About our liturgical Calendar: notes and explanations
About our liturgical Calendar: notes and explanations
Explanation of the criteria followed in the compilation of the Calendar
As announced, the Booklet (our Particular Calendar with the various Masses) and the Liturgical Manual (Divine Office and Masses) are now available in Italian. In the meantime we are preparing the translation in our various languages to be submitted to the competent Roman Congregation for the Divine Cult and the Discipline of the Sacraments for approval.
We think that it is now appropriate to explain in more details why we have made such choices, the criteria we followed in the compilation of the Calendar and, therefore, the reasons for choosing the solemnities, feasts and memorial that are part of our specific celebrations.
This is a Calendar with the texts officially approved. It is of course open to new additions, if the Lord will bring to a good end the causes of beatification still in progress. This Calendar substitutes, validating or modifying, what was being celebrated in the Institute up to now.
I remind all that, by a Decree (Prot. 2042/04/L) of the Congregation for the Divine Cult and the Discipline of the Sacraments, this Particular Calendar of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus, submitted to the Roman Congregation by the Superior General, was approved on 15 December 2004.
From a research conducted in 2003 in the Archives of the Congregation for the Divine Cult, it was found that there was already a Particular Calendar (dated 1961), which had been approved by the Holy Congregation for the Rites (Prot. N. C. 240/961) and it includeed: Feast of St. Peter Claver, patron of the Institute (9 September); Feast of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, patron of Missions (1° class for the Missions, 2° class for the Institute) and the Feast of Holy Mary Queen of the Apostles (Saturday after the Assumption: feast of 2° class). In this Calendar of 1961, the texts were entirely taken from the common.
After the canonisation of our Founder, in preparing the Calendar we were able to better underline the missionary and Comboni character when deciding about the celebrations, their liturgical importance as well as the selection of texts.
The intention behind the selection
It is necessary to keep in mind that the Particular Calendar “celebrates the saints and the blessed more directly linked with the life and the activity of our Religious Family” (see SC 111). The II Vatican Council opened up a new season concerning the importance of the charism of the Founders: it is sufficient for this to read the two constitutional numbers of our Rule of Life (see RL 1 and 10). The canonisation event, of course, has encouraged and compelled us to an evermore conscious and demanding appropriation of the charism of the Founder and of the Institute. Since the charism is a body of living spiritual values, it has to be considered and lived as an organism that is destined to grow, to become richer and better identified.
Perfectae Caritatis says: “It is to the advantage of the Church that the Institutes have their own character and function. Let them, therefore, faithfully interpret and observe the specific spirit and aim of their founders, as well as of their healthy traditions” (n° 2). In the same passage we read that to interpret and faithfully observe the spirit it means to set ourselves on the road to renewal. “The renewal of religious life (accommodata renovatio) entails the continual return to the sources of all forms of Christian life and original spirit of the Institutes and, at the same time, at the changed situations of the times” (l.c.). On the other hand, John Paul II was drawing the attention on the “dynamic faithfulness to the intentions of the founders”, referring to the words of the Evangelica Testificatio of Paul VI: “Be faithful to the spirit of your founders, to their evangelical intentions and to the example of their sanctity… It is precisely here that the dynamism proper to each religious family finds its origin (11-12)” (Teachings of John Paul II, II/2, 1979, pp. 621-622).
This has been the spirit that guided us in the preparation of the Particular Calendar of the Comboni Missionaries and also the evaluation first and subsequent approval by the Roman Congregation.
Explanations for the choice
The Congregation for the Divine Cult and the Discipline of the Sacraments had requested that we presented explanations for the compilation of the Calendar. I inform you of these explanations below.
February
8 St. Josephine Bakhita, virgin (memorial)
The memorial of St. Bakhita appears to be particularly meaningful and characteristic for us Comboni Missionaries. Bakhita, born in Darfur (Sudan), ransomed from slavery in Comboni’s time (1874), belonged indeed to the Apostolic Vicariate of Central Africa. After the canonisation of Comboni, the first bishop of the Sudanese Church, the decision to include St. Bakhita in the Particular Calendar of the Comboni Missionaries is indeed very meaningful. It is an actualisation of Comboni’s motto to “save Africa through the Africans”, which certainly finds in the canonised sanctity of this Sudanese woman its more authentic and full expression.
St. Bakhita was canonised on 1st October 2000. The Superior General and his Council have asked that her feast became a memorial celebration within the Institute on the same day that it appears in the Roman calendar.
May
The last day of May
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (memorial)
In St. Daniel Comboni’s spirituality and in his understanding of the Church and Mission, Mary had a privileged place (Writings, 1638, 1644, 3990-3992, 6653; Rule of Life, 51.3; 24; 47.3). Among the titles that were most dear to him undoubtedly were: Immaculate, Queen of Africa and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. So much so that Comboni completes the Consecration in 1873 of the Vicariate of Central Africa to the Sacred Heart (Writings, 3322-3330) with the Consecration in 1875 to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (o.c., 4002-4005). In the Act of Consecration he gives the following definition of the title of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart: “Our Advocate, our Mother with the Heart of your blessed Son Jesus throughout our life” (o.c., 4005). Besides, in the Circular Letter of convocation, he wrote: “Oh blessed Name! Oh adorable Name! Oh Name that is the highest after that of the Mother of God! Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus!” (o.c., 3992).
It is also remarkable that it comes before the solemnity of the Sacred Heart: Mary at the foot of the Cross, sign of the beginning of the Church and in contemplation of the Pierced Son (o.c., 1639, 4004-4005). We asked that this Marian celebration, under the title of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, be considered by us a memorial day.
June
Friday of II week after Pentecost
Sacred Heart of Jesus (solemnity)
Titular Feast of the Institute
From the very beginning, the veneration to the Heart of Jesus has been for the Institute one of the qualifying points of its spirituality. This important veneration is found at the time of Comboni (see Rules of 1871: 2649; Consecration of the Vicariate of Central Africa to the Sacred Heart in 1873: Writings, 3322-3330), at the time when the Institute was changed into a Religious Institute (1885) with the name of “Filii Sacri Cordis Jesu”, at the time when it was approved as an Institute of Pontifical Right by the “Decretum laudis” (7 June 1895), at the time of the final approval of the Constitutions (19 February 1910) and, finally, at the time when the decree of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples (22 June 1979) sanctioned the reunion of the two Comboni Institutes (the German branch and the Italian branch) with the new name of “Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus, MCCJ” (Rule of Life; Constitutions and General Directory, Rome, 1988, pp. 16-24).
What is said above finds confirmation in no. 3 of the Rule of Life already mentioned: “The Founder discovered in the mystery of the Heart of Jesus the thrust of his missionary commitment”, and completed in no. 3.1: “The Institute preserves this relevant element of the Founder's charism as a precious inheritance. It deepens and proposes it in the light of the Word of God and in accordance with the characteristics of the Local Church”.
September
9 St. Peter Claver, priest (solemnity)
Patron of the Institute
St. Peter Claver was chosen by Comboni as the patron of his Institutes (see Rules of 1871, cap. I: Writings, 2649). The Institute has always being faithful in preserving this mandate by celebrating the feast as solemnity (see Rescritto of the Propagation of the Faith – 17.07.1899 -, no. 34685: Archivio Comboniano in Rome A/50, 10/1).
October
1 St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, virgin (feast)
Patroness of the Missions
Since the Comboni Institute is exclusively missionary, traditionally it has always attributed great importance to the memorial of St. Teresa, patroness of the missions.
As a matter of fact, in 1961 the Institute asked that the memorial feast of St. Teresa could be a Feast of 1st class for the Missions and a Feast of 2nd class for the Institute (see Prot. N. C. 240/961). The request was granted in 1962 by the then Sacred Congregation of Rites.
10 St. Daniel Comboni
Founder of the Institute
Always in our Institute we have kept the memorial feast of St. Daniel Comboni on 10 October, the day of his death. After his Beatification (17 March 1996), the Congregation for the Divine Cult and the Discipline of the Sacraments has granted to include the celebration of his memorial in our Particular Calendar as a feast (see Prot. 435/96/L). Now, after his Canonisation on 5 October 2003, we have asked that the feast of St. Daniel Comboni be inserted in the Particular Calendar as solemnity.
20 Blessed Daudi Okelo and Gildo Irwa, martyrs
In answer to a letter of the Superior General of the MCCJ of 22 January 2004, which requested the insertion of Blessed Daudi Okelo and Gildo Irwa in the Particular Calendar, the Congregation for the Divine Cult and the Discipline of the Sacraments, on 18 February 2004, answered positively by granting a memoria ad libitum (see Prot. 455/03/L). This is a meaningful celebration for the Comboni Missionaries. We are dealing in fact with the first two fruits of our confreres’ missionary evangelisation, which has always been the aim of Daniel Comboni’s missionary aim, and it represents the beginning of the Comboni Missionaries’ glorious evangelisation work in North Uganda. In these two very young blessed, the motto “to save Africa with Africa” finds its highest achievement in the martyrdom of these two local catechists.
It is an event that was prophetically announced in Cairo by Comboni in December 1880: “I have immense trust in the forthcoming canonisation of a great number of African Saints, who will contribute to the conversion of the whole of Africa” (Writings, 6164).
November
The date is to be decided every year
Commemoration of deceased confreres, parents and benefactors
“The life of fellowships extends also to the deceased members, who intercede to the Father. Their memory is a spur to live the missionary vocation with generosity” (Rule of Life, 42.5).
December
3 St Francis Xavier, priest (feast)
Patron of the Missions
Since the Comboni Institute is exclusively missionary, traditionally it has always attributed great importance to the memorial of St. Francis Xavier as patron of the missions. We have, first of all, the Founder who included him in his Rules as the protector of his Institute (Writings, 2649). Then, in 1961, the Institute asked that the memorial feast of St. Francis Xavier could be a Feast of 1st class for the Missions and a Feast of 2nd class for the Institute (see Prot. N. C. 240/961). This request was granted in 1962 by the then Sacred Congregation of Rites.
Some questions
At this point someone may wonder about what has happened to the other traditional celebrations that were part and parcel of our tradition, such as the feast of St. Joseph, of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, of St. Margaret Mary, etc. As a matter of fact, it is not a problem, as all these celebrations are already inserted in the General Liturgical Calendar of the Church, which is to be followed by all.
Furthermore, such celebrations will be mentioned in our list to be inserted in the devotional section of the Manual, which foresees also the mentioning of the particular “patrons” celebrated in each of our provinces, so that we may live in a more practical and wider way our communion with all the members of the Institute.
What is important is that each confrere owns a Manual and that the community, besides the Booklet, has extra copies, so that friends and benefactors may be better involved when invited to celebrate with us our liturgical feasts. For a better participation of those who are close to the Comboni spirituality, it will be necessary that we, in the fist place, become familiar with the feasts we are celebrating and explain them to the people around us. Naturally, the provisional booklets printed in 2004 are now outdated, as they have been substituted by the Manuals, even though there have been further, but very small, modifications that came about after the printing.
We encourage everyone to read carefully the “explanations”, as these will help in clarifying doubts about the modality and the times of our celebrations.
From now on, at the beginning of every Liturgical Year, we will prepare for our internal use a Calendar with the celebrations of the Mass and of Divine Office.
Below we present our celebrations for the Liturgical Year December 2006 - November 2007.
PARTICULAR CALENDAR (2006-2007)
December
3 Violet SUNDAY I OF ADVENT St. Francis Xavier,
priest - Patron of the missions
This year the feast is not celebrated, as it coincides with the I Sunday of Advent
February
8 White Thursday V week in Ordinary Time (Psalt. , I)
St. Josephine Bakhita, virgin (memorial)
DO of memorial (ant. at Ben. pr.; ant. at Magn. pr.)
MASS of memorial. Lectionary of the Saints
May
26 White Saturday VII week of Easter (Psalt. , III)
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (memorial)
DO of memorial (ant. at Ben. pr.; ant. at Magn. pr.)
MORNING MASS of memorial, pref. of the B.V.M.
Lectionary of the Saints
June
14 White I VESPERS of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - Comp. dom.
15 White Friday Sacred Heart of Jesus (solemnity)
Feast of the Institute
DO of the solemnity - OM ant. pr. with compl. psalms
MASS of solemnity, Gloria, Credo
R1 Ez 34, 11-16; Psal 22, 1-3a.3b-4.5.6;
R2 Rom 5, 5b-11; Gs Lc 15, 3-7
Other celebrations are not permitted, except funeral MASS
II VESPERS of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - Comp. dom.
September
8 White I VESPERS of St. Peter Claver -Patron of the Institute
9 White SUNDAY St. Peter Claver, priest (solemnity)
DO of solemnity. - OM ant. pr. with compl. psalms
MASS of solemnity, Gloria, Credo
R1 Is 58, 6-10; Psal 146, 1-6; R2 1 Gv, 3, 14-18; Gs Lc 4, 16-22a
Other celebrations are not permitted, except funeral MASS
II VESPERS of St. Peter Claver - Comp. dom.
October
1 White Monday St. Therese of the Child Jesus, virgin (feast)
DO of the feast - OM ant. pr. and psalms of Mon. II week
MASS of the feast, Gloria, proper readings, EP with pref. of the Saints;
R1 Is 66, 1014c; Psal 103, 1-2.8-9.17-18; Gs Mt 11, 25-30
Funeral MASS is allowed
9 White I VESPERS of St. Daniel Comboni - Comp. dom.
10 White Wednesday
St. Daniel Comboni, Bishop and Founder (solemnity)
DO of solemnity – OM ant. pr. with compl. psalms
MASS of solemnity, Gloria, Credo
R1 Is 61, 1-3; Psal 95; R2 Gal 6, 14-18; Gs Gv 10, 11-16
Other celebrations are not permitted, except funeral MASS
II VESPERS of St. Daniel Comboni – Comp. dom.
20 Green Saturday of XXVIII week in Ordinary Time (Psalt. , IV)
Feria - or:
Red Blessed Daudi and Gildo, martyrs (optional)
DO of the day or of memorial (ant. at Ben. pr.; ant. at Magn. pr.). MASS eider of the day or of memorial
Lectionary of the Saints or of the day; R1 Rm 4, 13.16-18; Psal 104, 6-7.8-9.42-43; Gs Lc 12, 8-12
November
8 Violet Thursday XXXI week in Ordinary Time - (Psalt. , III). Feria
Commemoration of the deceased confreres, parents and benefactors
DO of feria or of the Office of the Faithful Departed
MASS from the Roman Missal p. 889; pref. of the dead
Lectionary of the Saints (faithful deceased)
Abbreviations
ant.: antiphon
Comp.: Night prayer
Compl.: Complementary
DO: Divine Office
dom.: of Sunday
EP: Eucharistic prayer
Gs: Gospel
OM: Prayer during the day
pr.: proper
pref.: preface
Psal.: Psalm
Psalt.: Psalter
R1: First Reading
R2: Second Reading
We think that it is now appropriate to explain in more details why we have made such choices, the criteria we followed in the compilation of the Calendar and, therefore, the reasons for choosing the solemnities, feasts and memorial that are part of our specific celebrations.
This is a Calendar with the texts officially approved. It is of course open to new additions, if the Lord will bring to a good end the causes of beatification still in progress. This Calendar substitutes, validating or modifying, what was being celebrated in the Institute up to now.
I remind all that, by a Decree (Prot. 2042/04/L) of the Congregation for the Divine Cult and the Discipline of the Sacraments, this Particular Calendar of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus, submitted to the Roman Congregation by the Superior General, was approved on 15 December 2004.
From a research conducted in 2003 in the Archives of the Congregation for the Divine Cult, it was found that there was already a Particular Calendar (dated 1961), which had been approved by the Holy Congregation for the Rites (Prot. N. C. 240/961) and it includeed: Feast of St. Peter Claver, patron of the Institute (9 September); Feast of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, patron of Missions (1° class for the Missions, 2° class for the Institute) and the Feast of Holy Mary Queen of the Apostles (Saturday after the Assumption: feast of 2° class). In this Calendar of 1961, the texts were entirely taken from the common.
After the canonisation of our Founder, in preparing the Calendar we were able to better underline the missionary and Comboni character when deciding about the celebrations, their liturgical importance as well as the selection of texts.
The intention behind the selection
It is necessary to keep in mind that the Particular Calendar “celebrates the saints and the blessed more directly linked with the life and the activity of our Religious Family” (see SC 111). The II Vatican Council opened up a new season concerning the importance of the charism of the Founders: it is sufficient for this to read the two constitutional numbers of our Rule of Life (see RL 1 and 10). The canonisation event, of course, has encouraged and compelled us to an evermore conscious and demanding appropriation of the charism of the Founder and of the Institute. Since the charism is a body of living spiritual values, it has to be considered and lived as an organism that is destined to grow, to become richer and better identified.
Perfectae Caritatis says: “It is to the advantage of the Church that the Institutes have their own character and function. Let them, therefore, faithfully interpret and observe the specific spirit and aim of their founders, as well as of their healthy traditions” (n° 2). In the same passage we read that to interpret and faithfully observe the spirit it means to set ourselves on the road to renewal. “The renewal of religious life (accommodata renovatio) entails the continual return to the sources of all forms of Christian life and original spirit of the Institutes and, at the same time, at the changed situations of the times” (l.c.). On the other hand, John Paul II was drawing the attention on the “dynamic faithfulness to the intentions of the founders”, referring to the words of the Evangelica Testificatio of Paul VI: “Be faithful to the spirit of your founders, to their evangelical intentions and to the example of their sanctity… It is precisely here that the dynamism proper to each religious family finds its origin (11-12)” (Teachings of John Paul II, II/2, 1979, pp. 621-622).
This has been the spirit that guided us in the preparation of the Particular Calendar of the Comboni Missionaries and also the evaluation first and subsequent approval by the Roman Congregation.
Explanations for the choice
The Congregation for the Divine Cult and the Discipline of the Sacraments had requested that we presented explanations for the compilation of the Calendar. I inform you of these explanations below.
February
8 St. Josephine Bakhita, virgin (memorial)
The memorial of St. Bakhita appears to be particularly meaningful and characteristic for us Comboni Missionaries. Bakhita, born in Darfur (Sudan), ransomed from slavery in Comboni’s time (1874), belonged indeed to the Apostolic Vicariate of Central Africa. After the canonisation of Comboni, the first bishop of the Sudanese Church, the decision to include St. Bakhita in the Particular Calendar of the Comboni Missionaries is indeed very meaningful. It is an actualisation of Comboni’s motto to “save Africa through the Africans”, which certainly finds in the canonised sanctity of this Sudanese woman its more authentic and full expression.
St. Bakhita was canonised on 1st October 2000. The Superior General and his Council have asked that her feast became a memorial celebration within the Institute on the same day that it appears in the Roman calendar.
May
The last day of May
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (memorial)
In St. Daniel Comboni’s spirituality and in his understanding of the Church and Mission, Mary had a privileged place (Writings, 1638, 1644, 3990-3992, 6653; Rule of Life, 51.3; 24; 47.3). Among the titles that were most dear to him undoubtedly were: Immaculate, Queen of Africa and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. So much so that Comboni completes the Consecration in 1873 of the Vicariate of Central Africa to the Sacred Heart (Writings, 3322-3330) with the Consecration in 1875 to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (o.c., 4002-4005). In the Act of Consecration he gives the following definition of the title of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart: “Our Advocate, our Mother with the Heart of your blessed Son Jesus throughout our life” (o.c., 4005). Besides, in the Circular Letter of convocation, he wrote: “Oh blessed Name! Oh adorable Name! Oh Name that is the highest after that of the Mother of God! Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus!” (o.c., 3992).
It is also remarkable that it comes before the solemnity of the Sacred Heart: Mary at the foot of the Cross, sign of the beginning of the Church and in contemplation of the Pierced Son (o.c., 1639, 4004-4005). We asked that this Marian celebration, under the title of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, be considered by us a memorial day.
June
Friday of II week after Pentecost
Sacred Heart of Jesus (solemnity)
Titular Feast of the Institute
From the very beginning, the veneration to the Heart of Jesus has been for the Institute one of the qualifying points of its spirituality. This important veneration is found at the time of Comboni (see Rules of 1871: 2649; Consecration of the Vicariate of Central Africa to the Sacred Heart in 1873: Writings, 3322-3330), at the time when the Institute was changed into a Religious Institute (1885) with the name of “Filii Sacri Cordis Jesu”, at the time when it was approved as an Institute of Pontifical Right by the “Decretum laudis” (7 June 1895), at the time of the final approval of the Constitutions (19 February 1910) and, finally, at the time when the decree of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples (22 June 1979) sanctioned the reunion of the two Comboni Institutes (the German branch and the Italian branch) with the new name of “Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus, MCCJ” (Rule of Life; Constitutions and General Directory, Rome, 1988, pp. 16-24).
What is said above finds confirmation in no. 3 of the Rule of Life already mentioned: “The Founder discovered in the mystery of the Heart of Jesus the thrust of his missionary commitment”, and completed in no. 3.1: “The Institute preserves this relevant element of the Founder's charism as a precious inheritance. It deepens and proposes it in the light of the Word of God and in accordance with the characteristics of the Local Church”.
September
9 St. Peter Claver, priest (solemnity)
Patron of the Institute
St. Peter Claver was chosen by Comboni as the patron of his Institutes (see Rules of 1871, cap. I: Writings, 2649). The Institute has always being faithful in preserving this mandate by celebrating the feast as solemnity (see Rescritto of the Propagation of the Faith – 17.07.1899 -, no. 34685: Archivio Comboniano in Rome A/50, 10/1).
October
1 St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, virgin (feast)
Patroness of the Missions
Since the Comboni Institute is exclusively missionary, traditionally it has always attributed great importance to the memorial of St. Teresa, patroness of the missions.
As a matter of fact, in 1961 the Institute asked that the memorial feast of St. Teresa could be a Feast of 1st class for the Missions and a Feast of 2nd class for the Institute (see Prot. N. C. 240/961). The request was granted in 1962 by the then Sacred Congregation of Rites.
10 St. Daniel Comboni
Founder of the Institute
Always in our Institute we have kept the memorial feast of St. Daniel Comboni on 10 October, the day of his death. After his Beatification (17 March 1996), the Congregation for the Divine Cult and the Discipline of the Sacraments has granted to include the celebration of his memorial in our Particular Calendar as a feast (see Prot. 435/96/L). Now, after his Canonisation on 5 October 2003, we have asked that the feast of St. Daniel Comboni be inserted in the Particular Calendar as solemnity.
20 Blessed Daudi Okelo and Gildo Irwa, martyrs
In answer to a letter of the Superior General of the MCCJ of 22 January 2004, which requested the insertion of Blessed Daudi Okelo and Gildo Irwa in the Particular Calendar, the Congregation for the Divine Cult and the Discipline of the Sacraments, on 18 February 2004, answered positively by granting a memoria ad libitum (see Prot. 455/03/L). This is a meaningful celebration for the Comboni Missionaries. We are dealing in fact with the first two fruits of our confreres’ missionary evangelisation, which has always been the aim of Daniel Comboni’s missionary aim, and it represents the beginning of the Comboni Missionaries’ glorious evangelisation work in North Uganda. In these two very young blessed, the motto “to save Africa with Africa” finds its highest achievement in the martyrdom of these two local catechists.
It is an event that was prophetically announced in Cairo by Comboni in December 1880: “I have immense trust in the forthcoming canonisation of a great number of African Saints, who will contribute to the conversion of the whole of Africa” (Writings, 6164).
November
The date is to be decided every year
Commemoration of deceased confreres, parents and benefactors
“The life of fellowships extends also to the deceased members, who intercede to the Father. Their memory is a spur to live the missionary vocation with generosity” (Rule of Life, 42.5).
December
3 St Francis Xavier, priest (feast)
Patron of the Missions
Since the Comboni Institute is exclusively missionary, traditionally it has always attributed great importance to the memorial of St. Francis Xavier as patron of the missions. We have, first of all, the Founder who included him in his Rules as the protector of his Institute (Writings, 2649). Then, in 1961, the Institute asked that the memorial feast of St. Francis Xavier could be a Feast of 1st class for the Missions and a Feast of 2nd class for the Institute (see Prot. N. C. 240/961). This request was granted in 1962 by the then Sacred Congregation of Rites.
Some questions
At this point someone may wonder about what has happened to the other traditional celebrations that were part and parcel of our tradition, such as the feast of St. Joseph, of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, of St. Margaret Mary, etc. As a matter of fact, it is not a problem, as all these celebrations are already inserted in the General Liturgical Calendar of the Church, which is to be followed by all.
Furthermore, such celebrations will be mentioned in our list to be inserted in the devotional section of the Manual, which foresees also the mentioning of the particular “patrons” celebrated in each of our provinces, so that we may live in a more practical and wider way our communion with all the members of the Institute.
What is important is that each confrere owns a Manual and that the community, besides the Booklet, has extra copies, so that friends and benefactors may be better involved when invited to celebrate with us our liturgical feasts. For a better participation of those who are close to the Comboni spirituality, it will be necessary that we, in the fist place, become familiar with the feasts we are celebrating and explain them to the people around us. Naturally, the provisional booklets printed in 2004 are now outdated, as they have been substituted by the Manuals, even though there have been further, but very small, modifications that came about after the printing.
We encourage everyone to read carefully the “explanations”, as these will help in clarifying doubts about the modality and the times of our celebrations.
From now on, at the beginning of every Liturgical Year, we will prepare for our internal use a Calendar with the celebrations of the Mass and of Divine Office.
Below we present our celebrations for the Liturgical Year December 2006 - November 2007.
PARTICULAR CALENDAR (2006-2007)
December
3 Violet SUNDAY I OF ADVENT St. Francis Xavier,
priest - Patron of the missions
This year the feast is not celebrated, as it coincides with the I Sunday of Advent
February
8 White Thursday V week in Ordinary Time (Psalt. , I)
St. Josephine Bakhita, virgin (memorial)
DO of memorial (ant. at Ben. pr.; ant. at Magn. pr.)
MASS of memorial. Lectionary of the Saints
May
26 White Saturday VII week of Easter (Psalt. , III)
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (memorial)
DO of memorial (ant. at Ben. pr.; ant. at Magn. pr.)
MORNING MASS of memorial, pref. of the B.V.M.
Lectionary of the Saints
June
14 White I VESPERS of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - Comp. dom.
15 White Friday Sacred Heart of Jesus (solemnity)
Feast of the Institute
DO of the solemnity - OM ant. pr. with compl. psalms
MASS of solemnity, Gloria, Credo
R1 Ez 34, 11-16; Psal 22, 1-3a.3b-4.5.6;
R2 Rom 5, 5b-11; Gs Lc 15, 3-7
Other celebrations are not permitted, except funeral MASS
II VESPERS of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - Comp. dom.
September
8 White I VESPERS of St. Peter Claver -Patron of the Institute
9 White SUNDAY St. Peter Claver, priest (solemnity)
DO of solemnity. - OM ant. pr. with compl. psalms
MASS of solemnity, Gloria, Credo
R1 Is 58, 6-10; Psal 146, 1-6; R2 1 Gv, 3, 14-18; Gs Lc 4, 16-22a
Other celebrations are not permitted, except funeral MASS
II VESPERS of St. Peter Claver - Comp. dom.
October
1 White Monday St. Therese of the Child Jesus, virgin (feast)
DO of the feast - OM ant. pr. and psalms of Mon. II week
MASS of the feast, Gloria, proper readings, EP with pref. of the Saints;
R1 Is 66, 1014c; Psal 103, 1-2.8-9.17-18; Gs Mt 11, 25-30
Funeral MASS is allowed
9 White I VESPERS of St. Daniel Comboni - Comp. dom.
10 White Wednesday
St. Daniel Comboni, Bishop and Founder (solemnity)
DO of solemnity – OM ant. pr. with compl. psalms
MASS of solemnity, Gloria, Credo
R1 Is 61, 1-3; Psal 95; R2 Gal 6, 14-18; Gs Gv 10, 11-16
Other celebrations are not permitted, except funeral MASS
II VESPERS of St. Daniel Comboni – Comp. dom.
20 Green Saturday of XXVIII week in Ordinary Time (Psalt. , IV)
Feria - or:
Red Blessed Daudi and Gildo, martyrs (optional)
DO of the day or of memorial (ant. at Ben. pr.; ant. at Magn. pr.). MASS eider of the day or of memorial
Lectionary of the Saints or of the day; R1 Rm 4, 13.16-18; Psal 104, 6-7.8-9.42-43; Gs Lc 12, 8-12
November
8 Violet Thursday XXXI week in Ordinary Time - (Psalt. , III). Feria
Commemoration of the deceased confreres, parents and benefactors
DO of feria or of the Office of the Faithful Departed
MASS from the Roman Missal p. 889; pref. of the dead
Lectionary of the Saints (faithful deceased)
Abbreviations
ant.: antiphon
Comp.: Night prayer
Compl.: Complementary
DO: Divine Office
dom.: of Sunday
EP: Eucharistic prayer
Gs: Gospel
OM: Prayer during the day
pr.: proper
pref.: preface
Psal.: Psalm
Psalt.: Psalter
R1: First Reading
R2: Second Reading