Technical Question On Christmas Octave

[Matthew_Holford]

On 27th, 28th and 29th December we celebrate three feasts: St John the Evangelist, Holy Innocents and St Thomas of Canterbury. The Mass on these days is the Mass of the Feast. The Office is the Office of the feast up to, and I’m going to use the old term, None. However, on these days Vespers is of the occurring feria in the Octave. Is the whole day, then, classed as a feast or is the evening technically a feria?

 

[Bbigam]

I think basically that it just follows special rules because it’s an octave; I don’t know that the term “feria” would really be accurate. Even on the latter days of the octave that are not specific feasts, the psalms of Sunday Week I are said at Lauds, the Te Deum is said at the Office of Readings, and Compline is from Sunday.

In the Liturgia Horarum, the official Latin version of the Office, those days are listed as, for example, “DE DIE VI INFRA OCTAVAM NATIVITATIS” - that is, simply the Sixth Day in the Octave of the Nativity.

 

[Matthew_Holford]

I think basically that it just follows special rules because it’s an octave; I don’t know that the term “feria” would really be accurate. Even on the latter days of the octave that are not specific feasts, the psalms of Sunday Week I are said at Lauds, the Te Deum is said at the Office of Readings, and Compline is from Sunday.

In the Liturgia Horarum, the official Latin version of the Office, those days are listed as, for example, “DE DIE VI INFRA OCTAVAM NATIVITATIS” - that is, simply the Sixth Day in the Octave of the Nativity.

I think they’re still ferias, privileged ferias granted. I know obligatory memorials are reduced to optional memorial rank and can only be commemorated.