The Overlooked Solemnity

There is likely a solemnity which is ignored by your parish year after year. It's not a solemnity on the universal calendar - not a celebration of an obscure saint. The feast day of the titular saint of a particular church (i.e. the saint for whom the church is named, e.g. Saint Monica Church) is elevated to the rank of a solemnity in that church. This celebration is ranked I-4 in the Table of Precedence [see beginning of Sacramentary or Liturgy of the Hours or Table of Precedence] and rightfully replaces feasts of the Lord, Sundays in Christmas and Ordinary Time, feasts of the BVM, and all weekdays except other solemnities, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, the Triduum and the Easter Octave.

As rare as this "elevated" celebration of the parish's feast day might be, that is not even the "overlooked solemnity" in the title of this article. A look at the same Table of Precedence will show that the Anniversary of the Dedication of a Church has the same rank of solemnity in that particular church. How many parishes are unaware of the date of dedication of their church building, let alone celebrating it as a solemnity which outranks even Sundays in Ordinary Time?

As a duty to proper liturgy, investigate the date of dedication for your church building. Lobby for its proper celebration. Once Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours that day begin to be celebrated with proper festivity, you may want to consider another obscure but historically-charged event - an extended vigil on the evening before the solemnity of the anniversary of dedication.

This liturgy is explained in the General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours [#70-73 ]. It's really an elaboration on the Office of Readings for the anniversary. It proceeds as follows:

Vigil for the Anniversary of the Dedication of a Church

• Introduction:

  Leader- God, come to my assistance.
  People- Lord, make haste to help me.
  All- Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. [Alleluia] (outside Lent)

• Hymn: choose one of these or another

  "All People That on Earth Do Dwell"
  "Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation"
  "Christ the Rock"
  "Christian People Here Assembled"
  "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken"
  "I Saw the New City" (Deiss)
  "O Christ the Great Foundation"
  "O Jerusalem, the Blessed"
  "Only-begotten, Word of God Eternal"
  "The Church's One Foundation"
  "The New Jerusalem, Abode of Joy"
  

• Psalmody: (antiphon before and after each psalm)

  I. Ant. Open wide the door and gates. Lift high the ancient portals.
      Psalm 24
  II. Ant. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of power and might.
      Psalm 84
  III. Ant. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God.
      Psalm 87
  

• Verse:

  Leader- I will worship at your holy temple.
  All- And I will extol your name, O Lord.
  

• First Reading: I Peter 2:1-17   We are built as living stones
  
   
• Responsory:

  Leader- The walls of Jerusalem will be precious stones.
  All- The towers of Jerusalem will be built with jewels.
  Leader- The gates of Jerusalem will be built of sapphire and emerald, and the walls around the city will be made of precious stones.
  All- The towers of Jerusalem will be built with jewels.
  

  
   
• Second Reading (option A): Origen on Joshua   As living stones we are built into the house and altar of God
   
• Responsory:

  Leader- The Lord's house is built on the mountain summit; it is high above the hills.
  All- From the ends of the earth men come running to it, crying out: Glory to you, Lord.
  Leader- They come, see, they come, laughing for joy, laden with sheaves.
  All- From the ends of the earth men come running to it, crying out: Glory to you, Lord.
  

  -- or --
   
• Second Reading (option B): Saint Augustine   The building and dedication of God's house within us
   
• Responsory:

  Leader- How I long, O mighty Lord, for the holy temple where you dwell.
  All- My soul yearns for the courts of the Lord.
  Leader- Those who live in your house, O Lord, will praise you endlessly.
  All- My soul yearns for the courts of the Lord.
  

  
   
• Canticles: (antiphon before and after the group of three canticles)

  Ant. Blessed are you, Lord, in the holy temple of your glory, a holy place built to the honor and glory of your name [alleluia].
  
  

  • I. Tobit 13:8-11,13-15   The future glory of Jerusalem
        "You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God" (Heb 12:22)
  • II. Isaiah 2:2-3   All the nations shall come to the house of the Lord
        "The kings of the earth will bring glory and honor to Jerusalem, the holy city" (Rev 21:24)
  • III. Jeremiah 7:2-7   Walk along upright paths and I shall dwell with you
        "Go first to be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (Mt 5:24)

  
  Ant. Blessed are you, Lord, in the holy temple of your glory, a holy place built to the honor and glory of your name [alleluia].

• Gospel: choose from Lectionary: Dedication of a Church
  • Mt 5:23-24
  • Lk 19:1-10
  • Jn 2:13-22
  • Jn 4:19-24
  
   
• Homily
  
• Te Deum   preferably sung ... see Te Deum laudamus (Calvert Shenk)
  
   
• Prayer:

  Priest- Let us pray.
  Father, each year we recall the dedication of this church to your service
  Let our worship always be sincere and help us to find your saving love in this church.
  Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. All- Amen.
   

• Acclamation:

  Leader- Let us praise the Lord.
  All- And give him thanks.
  

"Coventry Antiphon" (Herbert Howells)

"For We Are Laborers Together with God" (Leo Sowerby)

"Hear the Voice and Prayer of Thy Servants" (Thomas Tallis)

"How Lovely Are Thy Dwellings" (Samuel Liddle)

"How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling-Place" from A German Requiem (Johannes Brahms)

"I Have Built an House" (Edwin Earle Fergusen)

"I Saw a New Heaven" (Arne Bertelsen)

"I Was Glad" (William Boyce, C. Hubert Parry, Henry Purcell)

"Laetatus sum" (Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Antonio Vivaldi)

"O Come , Let Us Sing unto the Lord" (Orlando Gibbons)

"O How Amiable" (Ralph Vaughan Williams, Thomas Weelkes)

"O Lord, My God" (Samuel Wesley)

"The Gate of Heaven" (Randall Thompson)

"The House of God" (Joseph Clokey)

"The Lord Is a Mighty God" (Felix Mendelssohn)

"Truly the Lord Is in This Place" (Peter Hurfod)

"The Temple of the Living God" (Theron Kirk)

"The Trumpeters and Singers Were As One" (Robert J. Powell)

"Today Is Salvation Come" (Raymond Haan)

"Will God Indeed Dwell on the Earth?" (Leo Sowerby)

"Ye Are Fellow Citizens with the Saints" (Charles F. Waters)

"Concerto V" (J.S. Bach)

"Fanfare" (Jacques Lemmens)

"Final" from Symphony No.1 (Louis Vierne)

"Praise the Lord with Drums and Cymbals" (Sigfrid Karg-Elert)

"Prelude to a Te Deum" (Marc-Antoine Charpentier)

"Processional on Westminster Abbey" (Robert Wetzler)