The Matins Antiphons of St John the Evangelist

In its habitual conservatism, the Roman Breviary has fully proper offices for only two of the Apostles, Ss Andrew and Paul. Most of the others take all the chant propers from the common, and even St Peter himself has proper responsories at Matins, but no proper antiphons. The same is true of St John the Evangelist, whose feast we keep today, even though he is one of the titular saints of the cathedral of Rome.

The upper part of the façade of St John in the Lateran; in the middle are statues of Christ and the two Saints John, the Baptist and the Evangelist. (Image from Wikimedia Commons by NikonZ7II, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.)

Of course, many proper offices were created for the Apostles, some of which were more widely adopted than others. One of the most common is a set of very beautiful antiphons for Matins of St John, which are attested in most of the oldest sources for the cathedral office, although it seems they were less widely diffused among the monks. Unlike those of St Andrew, which are drawn from his hagiography, or those of St Paul, many of which are Scriptural, these antiphons are mostly drawn from the writings of the Fathers, although some of them do refer to specific events in the traditional legend of St John.

The text of the first three is taken directly from St Isidore of Seville’s book “On the birth and death of the Fathers”, chapter 72.

Aña 1 Joannes Apostolus et Evangelista, virgo est electus a Domino, atque inter ceteros magis dilectus. ~ John the Apostle and Evangelist, was chosen as a virgin by the Lord, and more beloved among the others. (This also refers to an argument made by St Jerome in his treatise Against Jovinian (I. 26), who had spoken against the superiority of virginity over marriage.)

Aña 2 Supra pectus Domini Jesu Christi recumbens, Evangelii fluenta de ipso sacro Dominici pectoris fonte potavit. ~ Resting upon the breast of the Lord Jesus Christ, he drank the streams of the Gospel from the sacred font of the Lord’s breast.

The Last Supper, 1324, by Ugolino di Nerio (1280-1330)

Aña 3 Quasi unus de paradisi fluminibus, Evangelista Joannes verbi Dei gratiam in toto terrarum orbe diffudit. ~ Like one of the rivers of Paradise, the Evangelist John poured out the grace of the Word of God in all the earth.

The next two are taken in their specific wording from a homily of St Bede for St John’s feast. (VIII in die natali S Joannis) The fourth antiphon refers to a very ancient story, already known to Tertullian (de Praescript. 36, ca. 200 A.D.), that St John came to Rome after the deaths of Ss Peter and Paul, and in the reign of the emperor Domitian, was put into a vessel of boiling oil, but he came out cleaner and healthier than he went in. This is also cited by St Jerome in his treatise Against Jovinian.

Aña 4 In ferventis olei dolium missus Joannes Apostolus, divina se protegente gratia, illæsus exivit. ~ The Apostle John, put into the vat of boiling oil, came out unharmed by the protection of God’s grace.

The traditional story goes on that after this failed attempt to kill him, John was sent into exile on the island of Patmos, where he received the visions recorded in the book of the Apocalypse.

The Martyrdom of St John, 1545/55, by Carlo Portelli. Image from Wikimedia Commons by Sailko, CC BY 3.0.

Aña 5 Propter insuperabilem evangelizandi constantiam exsilio relegatus, divinæ visionis et allocutionis meruit crebra consolatione relevari. ~ Because of his invincible constancy in preaching the Gospel, being sent into exile, he merited to be conforted by the frequent consolation of divine vision and address.

After the death of Domitian, he is released from his exile, and returns to Asia Minor to visit the churches. This antiphon seems not be traceable to a specific literary source.

Aña 6 Occurrit beato Joanni, ab exsilio revertenti, omnis populus virorum ac mulierum, clamantium et dicentium: Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. ~ As the blessed John returned from exile, all the people, men and women, came to meet him, crying out and saying, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

The text of the next antiphon comes partly from a sermon on the Lord’s Supper, subtitled “To the brothers dwelling in the desert”, and falsely attributed to St Augustine. (All three of these are quoted in Jacopo da Voragine’s Golden Legend.) When St John is very old, and has long outlived all the other Apostles:

Aña 7 Apparuit caro suo Joanni Dominus Jesus Christus cum discipulis suis, et ait illi: Veni, dilecte mi, ad me: quia tempus est ut epuleris in convivio meo cum fratribus tuis. ~ The Lord Jesus Christ appeared to his dear John with his disciples, and said to him, “Come to me, my beloved friend; since it is time for you to dine in my banquet with your brothers.”

Aña 8 Expandens manus suas ad Dominum, dixit: Invitatus ad convivium tuum, venio, gratias agens, quia me dignatus es, Domine Jesu Christe, ad tuas epulas invitare, sciens quod ex toto corde meo desiderabam te. ~ Stretching out his hands to the Lord, He said, “Invited to your feast, I come, giving thanks that you have deigned to invite me to your banquet, o Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that I longed for you with all my heart.”

The Ascension of St John, painted by Giotto ca. 1315 in the Peruzzi Chapel in the Franciscan basilica of the Holy Cross in Florence.

Aña 9 Domine, suscipe me, ut cum fratribus meis sim, cum quibus veniens invitasti me: aperi mihi januam vitæ, et perduc me ad convivium epularum tuarum: tu es enim Christus, Filius Dei vivi, qui præcepto Patris mundum salvasti: tibi gratias referimus per infinita sæculorum sæcula. ~ Lord, receive me, that I may be with my brothers, with whom you have come to invite me; open to me the door of life, and lead me to the feast of your banquet; for you are Christ, the son of the living God, who at the command of the father saved the world; we give you thanks through the endless ages of ages.

“For a General Liturgical Reform” by Annibale Bugnini (Part 3)

We continue our publication of the first-ever English translation of Bugnini’s programmatic 1949 article in Ephemerides Liturgicae, outlining the plan for a total overhaul of the Church’s liturgical worship. (See Part 1 and Part 2.)

4. THE BREVIARY

This was the point that met with the most interest and the one that, indeed, in terms of a reform, would have the greatest practical significance for the clergy. The Breviary was also, one must admit, the starting point and the benchmark for all previous reforms and, on closer scrutiny, the constant tendency was always to lighten (never to increase) the daily pensum of the Divine Office. It is in this direction, as was to be expected, that all of our contributors’ suggestions are oriented, having in common yet another particularity: [the wish] to bring the Divine Office back to the centre of priestly piety by making it appealing, and also to bring it back, as far as possible, into the hands of the people.

And here we come to the proposals.

1) Some observe that the “rhythm” of the Hours of the Breviary, which animated the life of the monks with frequent prayer, even during the night, no longer corresponds, today, to the rhythm of life of the clergy assigned to pastoral ministry, which is the vast majority. The parish work, made more burdensome by the shortage of priests, the social and religious works that multiply, gravitating around the parish, the natural cell of Christian life, the most elementary evangelisation that requires a great deal of time, and finally, the human organism that is much weaker now than in the past, to fulfil these tasks; all this, according to them, would necessarily require a lightening and an adaptation. What is needed, they say, is a Breviary in which the prayers are distributed differently, for example in the morning and in the evening. Such is a natural rhythm of human life, which would correspond better to our present conditions. If one were to forget these sociological reflections, they conclude, the Breviary would become more and more of a burden for the pastoral clergy, and the all-together recitation of Hours composed to be distributed throughout the day would only increase the malaise that is already so severe.

2) Others, on the contrary, conceive the reform not in the spirit of a quantitative reduction, but rather of a better overall balance of the opus Dei through the year, the week and the day. The reform, they say, must preserve the Breviary’s choral and “communitarian” character. And this should be fostered by the movement, already seen among the clergy in several countries, of gathering together in common life and prayer based precisely on the recitation of the Divine Office.

3) Some note that the current Breviary “cannot be considered very burdensome,” that its recitation is varied and appreciated and better reflects the secular tradition, that it is devout in content and that therefore a reform should be inspired by these two principles:

a) simplicity, above all in the rubrics which are today fantastically complicated (suppression of the “lectio IX,” commemorations, octaves, transferred offices, etc.). The breviary should be an agile and brief “devotionary” that can be recited without needing calendars or epacts;

b) variety that facilitates devotion and education. The ideal, again in their opinion, would be for each feast to have its own lessons, homilies, hymns, etc.; the “commons” are the fossilisation of piety.

5. THE PSALMODY

The psalter constitutes the basis of liturgical prayer.

The unintelligibility of some parts constituted, until recently, the first and greatest difficulty to a pious and devout recitation. A great step forward, on this point, was achieved with the recent new translation of the psalms, about which, while we can note a general satisfaction and no mince of praise is spared for its unexpected and unhoped-for realisation, there has also been, (we mention it for the sake of accuracy) those who have expressed the wish that “Gregorianists and medieval-Latinists may still be able to examine a few points” and carry out, before the “nova interpretatio” is definitively adopted for the whole Church, some minor modifications, in those points where the text still presents difficulties for liturgical use. An old parish priest is alarmed for fear that one day he will be forbidden to use the old psalter; he knows almost all 150 psalms by heart, and during his visits to the sick, which are often very long, he can recite the Breviary by heart, something that would be impossible if the new psalter were to be imposed by completely excluding the use of the old one.

Intelligibility is not the sole problem regarding the psalter. Since the reform proposals are decidedly oriented towards a reduction of the daily pensum [burden], they generally focus exactly on the psalter to achieve this goal.

1) Some would like to reduce the Matins, as in the octave of Easter and Pentecost, to three psalms and three lessons, thus thinking to have ipso facto found the desired solution. In such case, the following scheme is proposed: Invitatory, hymn, three psalms with three lessons, Dominus vobiscum, oration of the day (the “Te Deum” should be reserved for major solemnities).

2) Others, on the other hand, find that the current weekly recitation of the entire psalter should remain intact, and call for a more rigorous approach, as only the most important feasts should abandon the weekly psalter scheme; the others should have their own psalms only at Vespers, Matins and Lauds; at the minor Hours and Compline one should use the corresponding weekly psalter.

3) On feasts adopting the Sunday psalms, some would recommend using the gradual psalms [119–133] for the minor hours, reserving Psalm 118 for Sunday only.[1] (Still others find Psalm 118 ever more beautiful and rich, and would want it even more often).

4) Some suggest that the distribution and division of the psalms be revised, shortening certain arrangements, like those of Sunday.

5) Other specific proposals are: to avoid repeating the same psalm twice in slightly different forms, such as 13 and 52, 39 iii and 69; that Psalms 41-42 be grouped together; that each psalm be accompanied by a brief explanation, or a title clarifying its meaning; that the “Athanasian” symbol be reserved for the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, or be divided into parts [to be recited] as Prime psalms on Sundays;[2] that Lauds be returned to the old arrangement in use before Pius X; that at Vespers sung with the people, the option be given to replace the last proper psalm with the Laudate Dominum (Psalm 116).

6) Finally, there was no shortage of those who would see in the distribution of the Psalter over a fortnight the one and most effective way of achieving a real lightening of the Divine Office. “One could think,” says one of the proponents, “of a more profound reform of the Divine Office, retaining the daily recitation and correlatively enabling the reading of Sacred Scripture. This wouldn’t imply any substantial change to the liturgical year nor to the basic order of the canonical Hours. But the psalter would be divided into two weeks with the following scheme:

Vespers: four antiphons and four psalms or parts of psalms, a Scripture lesson (some twenty verses) in relation to the liturgical season (or to the feast, but only for major feasts) and followed by a responsory, hymn, verse, Magnificat.

Compline: current pattern.

Matins: Invitatory, hymn, then one nocturne of three antiphons and three psalms (or three groups of psalms with one Gloria), three lessons (one from Scripture, one historical or patristic, and a homily) on Sundays and feasts; one lesson on the ferias per annum, two lessons on ferias that have their own gospel (a biblical lesson and a homily).

Lauds: current pattern, but with the daily recitation of Psalms 148-150 in accordance with the ancient tradition.

Minor Hours: current pattern.

There follows a detailed scheme of psalmodic distribution over the two weeks and an indication of the canticles for the ordinary and festive “cursus.”

The proposal is undoubtedly fascinating, much more than it might seem at first sight. After all, the idea would not be entirely new. The Ambrosian rite, ab antico [since ancient times], has a psalter divided into two weeks. Then there is the issue of breaking with the one-week Roman tradition, which prompted even Fr Parsch to resolutely discard the project.

However, all things considered, it seems to us that the “vale” [goodbye] to a venerable tradition is amply offset by the advantages that would ensue, should the project really move towards a realisation; in other words, it seems to us that this would be the most simple and most serious way to reach a reasonable and convenient reduction of the onus canonicum. Of course a trend towards this solution could not fail to meet with much approval, especially from the pastoral clergy. But this evidently remains in the realm of pure desire, and our reporting has no other purpose than to show one of the most successful and feasible solutions to this thorny problem.

And now you know why we eventually got this.

6. ANTIPHONS

Antiphons are intimately connected to the psalmody, and there is no lack of proposals of various kinds for them as well.

It is asked:

1) that the antiphons both before and after the psalm be said always in their entirety, and not in the current manner of using a reduced form at the start;[3]

2) that the Breviary and the Antiphonary be harmonised, where differences exist both in the text and in the position of the intonation asterisk;

3) that a better choice of the antiphons be made, that they be more useful, better reflecting the sense of the psalm, of which they should be like the title, being preferably drawn from the New Testament so as to set the psalm in the light of Redemption;

4) that the alleluia be removed from certain antiphons that do not call for it, e.g. “Quomodo cantabimus canticum Domini in terra aliena, alleluia, alleluia” (Second Sunday after Easter, resp.; “Consolantem me quaesivi et non inveni, alleluia” (Feast of the Sacred Heart), etc.

5) that on the Feast of the Most Sacred Rosary the antiphons of the 1st Nocturne be taken from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and those at Lauds be taken from Vespers, for these antiphons have been applied to the psalms too mechanically, the joyful mysteries are celebrated twice, in the hymn at First Vespers and in the antiphons of the 1st and 2nd Nocturnes. Likewise, with much incongruity, the joyful mysteries are lumped together with the sorrowful ones (2nd Nocturne), and the 4th and 5th sorrowful mysteries are poorly contracted into one.

This series will continue with Part 4, on the Readings of Matins, Chapters and Responsories, Hymns, the Preces, and the Beginning and End of the Hours.


[NOTES]

[1] This proposal bears a likeness to the monastic Office, where the gradual psalms are prayed at minor hours from Tuesday to Saturday, and where Psalm 118 is divided over Sunday and Monday.

[2] “si divida in parti come salmi di Prima della domenica”… if I understood correctly, the proposal would be that of using the Athanasian Creed as a substitute of the psalmody (!) at Prime on Sundays. Another reading could be: “divided into parts just like the Sunday Prime psalms” [i.e. Psalm 118, I guess]. But I think in this case Bugnini would have written “si divida in parti come i salmi di Prima della domenica.”

[3] This was implemented in the 1960 revisions, where antiphons are always “doubled.”

The Ultimate Communion Antiphon Book for the Usus Antiquior

Most singers of chant will be familiar with the old workhorse Communio by Richard Rice (CMAA, 2008), my own copy of which is so well-thumbed and beaten up it’s a wonder it still holds together. Others may be familiar with the Solesmes publication Versus Psalmorum et Canticorum (repr. CMAA, 2008), which contains pointed psalm texts for the Introits and Communions of the entire liturgical year. Although I used both of these books for many years as a choir director, I have discovered a new volume that definitively surpasses them for Sundays and Holy Days.

In November of 2019, I visited Houston to give four lectures, and while there, I decided to “crash” the Schola practice on Sunday at the FSSP parish, Regina Caeli. The singers were gracious and let me join them for the High Mass. At one point, the director, Kyle Lartigue, handed me a book: Ad Communionem: Antiphons and Psalms (Justitias Books, 2016), which, I discovered, was Mr. Lartigue’s own production.

Unlike the other communion books available, which either lack the antiphons and full musical notation (Versus Psalmorum) or utilize the awkward and untraditional Nova Vulgata for the psalm texts, Ad Communionem includes the antiphons for all Sundays and first-class Holy Days, followed by the pertinent psalm from the preconciliar Vulgate, notated in square notes. (The old Vulgate verses are a breeze to sing for those who are familiar with the Missale Romanum and the Breviarium Romanum or the Breviarium Monasticum.) Ad Communionem also includes Psalm 33 and the Gloria Patri in all modes, and an appendix with the Adoro Te and Ubi Caritas. The antiphons are organized not alphabetically (as in Rice’s book, where one must rely on the index) but by Sunday and feastday in chronological order, which makes it much easier to use. While the Solesmes book is more comprehensive, it merely “points” the texts rather than musically notating them, and both the poor quality of the reproduction (many times removed from its original) and the typographical conventions contribute to confusion and stumbling performances.

It’s exactly what I’d want my own schola to have, and in fact when I returned from Houston I asked the pastor in my town if he would buy a bunch of copies for our choir loft. This book deserves to be standard issue for every TLM schola in the English-speaking world. (I should mention that the antiphons and verses are accompanied by an inline English translation from the Douay-Rheims, which closely matches the Latin sense.)
 

Having a Communion antiphon book with psalm verses (regardless of which of the above three options is used) allows the cantors and/or schola to sing however many verses may be needed to prolong or shorten the music for a particular occasion. Sometimes more than one priest is distributing communion and it goes quickly; at others times perhaps there is an overflow crowd and only one priest distributing, which can take quite some time. The chanting of psalm verses has many benefits: the texts are liturgically appropriate and the music is very much in the background, as it should be; the overall effect is calming and prayerful, but the recurrence of the antiphon adds a welcome contrast to the simplicity of the psalm tones, and impresses the repeated text and melody in the minds of all who listen to it. The format also allows for maximum flexibility in musical forces. One can arrange it this way: antiphon (sung by all); verse (begun by cantor and completed by schola); antiphon; etc. Or: antiphon (sung by all); odd verse (sung by cantor); even verse (sung by all); antiphon; etc. Or instead of cantor and tutti, the schola may be divided into two halves. The simple format allows for a ready use of isons and organum.

Now that the TLM is coming back all over the place, Ad Communionem: Antiphons and Psalms is, I would maintain, a required tool for everyone who sings the proper chants. It is one of two books I always carry with me to the choir loft (the other being my Liber Usualis). The book is available in paperback and hardcover. A large sample of the pages may be found here. An index may be found here.

Mr. Lartigue has also produced a number of other books: a newly-typeset Latin edition of the traditional Martyrologium Romanum (updated through 1961, with an appendix of saints canonized after that year); a two-volume edition of traditional Sunday Vespers; Holy Week chants and a complete Kyriale. All of these books are newly typeset and more affordable than their competitors.

Pay a visit to his website: https://justitiasbooks.com/.