regard to the arrangement of her calendar, the following is a concise summary of the principal rules for finding the Vespers of the Day.

Summary of the System of the Calendar of Feasts.

Offices take precedence of each other in the ensuing order:

The Office as regards Vespers is said to be Double when the Antiphon is sung entire both before and after each Psalm and the Magnificat. Semi-double, when the first phrase of the Antiphon only is sung before the Psalms and the Magnificat. The Antiphons are always sung entire at the end of the Psalm. Simple, when the Antiphons being sung as on Semi-doubles, the Psalms of the Feria are substituted for the Psalms proper to Feasts.

Doubles and Semi-doubles have First and Second Vespers ; the first being said on the Eve of the Festival, the second on the Day itself.

Simples have only First Vespers said on the Eve of the day. The First Vespers of Sundays begin from the Little Chapter of the Vespers of the Saturday, and always have the Collect. the same as in the Second Vespers.

The First Vespers of a Feast take precedence of, or give way to, the Second Vespers of a preceding Feast, in the order above stated. Hence, what so often happens, that the Second Ves.

pers of the Sunday give way to the First Vespers of the Feast of the following day, and are only commemorated.

Doubles and Semi-doubles, if the whole Office is displaced by a Feast of superior rank, are transferred to the next day that is vacant, or at least that has no Feast above the rank of Simple; but it may frequently happen that the First and Second Vespers of a Semi-double are displaced by the Second Vespers of a preceding Feast and the First Vespers of a succeeding one, without the displacing of the other hours; in which case the Semi-double is commemorated twice.

Simples are never transferred, but if displaced by an Office of superior rank, are commemorated. And when an Office of superior rank that has the commemoration of a Simple is transferred, the commemoration is always either made or omitted, but never transferred.

On the following Sundays, viz. within the Octave of the Epiphany, Palm, Easter, Low, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday, the Vespers are always of the day. In Advent, and from Septuagesima to Passion Sunday inclusive, all Feasts, except doubles of the first class, which fall on the Sunday, are transferred to the next vacant day.

Observations respecting certain parts of the Vespers.

THE PSALMS.

The Psalms of the Vespers are only a portion of the Psalter, which, in the Office of the Season, is gone through once in the course of each week.

The first four Psalms of the Sunday Vespers are common to all the Feasts, except Second Vespers of Apostles, and Vespers of B. M. V., of Virgins, and Holy Women. The other Feasts substitute a proper Psalm for the Ps. In exitu Israel.

THE HYMN.

From the Nativity to the Epiphany, on Corpus Christi, and through the Octave, as also on every Feast of B. M. V., the hymn at Vespers, except Ave Maris stella, and at Com

pline, has this termination, provided it be of the same metre, and there be not a termination proper to it, viz.

Jesu tibi sit gloria,

Qui natus es de virgine.

On the Epiphany and through the Octave:

Qui apparuisti gentibus.

In the Easter Season:

Deo Patri sit gloria,
Et Filio qui a mortuis,
Surrexit ac Paraclito,
In sempiterna sæcula.

From Feast of Ascension, exclusive, to Pentecost:

Jesu tibi sit gloria,

Qui victor in cœlum redis.

THE COLLECT

Has different terminations. If it be addressed to God the Father, Per Dominum, &c. If to the Son, Qui vivis et regnas. If in the beginning mention is made of the Son, Per eumdem. If at the end, Qui tecum vivit et regnat. If mention is made of the Holy Ghost, In unitate ejusdem Spiritus Sancti, &c.

The Common Commemorations.

The Common Commemorations, p. 55, are said on all Semidoubles, Simples, and Ferias, Sundays included, after the commemorations proper to the day, except from the first Sunday in Advent to the Octave of the Epiphany, and from Passion Sunday to the end of the Easter Season. On Doubles they are not said. In Paschal Time, on Semi-doubles and Simples, a commemoration is made of the Cross, p. 55. On Feasts of the Blessed Virgin her common commemoration is omitted.

In Leap year February has 29 days. The Feast of St. Matthew is on the 25th, and the Dominical letter, which was taken in the beginning of January, will be changed into the preceding. So that if in January the Dominical letter was A, it is changed into the preceding letter g, and f serves twice for 24 and 25.

Fer. VI. after Septuagesima

Prayer of D. N. J. C. on Mount Olivet.

Fer. VI. after Sexagesima

The Passion of D. N. J. C.

Friday after Quinquagesima

The most holy Crown of Thorns of D. N. J. C.

Fer. VI. after I. Sunday in Lent

The Spear and Nails of D. N. J. C.