The matter having been many times discussed and maturely considered in the Congregation of Sacred Rites, on the reference of E. and R. D. Cardinal Barberini, the Congregation decided as above mentioned for the guidance and use of those celebrating the mass, and that some abuses which have crept into some places might be altogether rooted out; and for this purpose printed before the general rubrics in the Missal, if S. D. N. should appear. 15th Sept. 1714. A reference being made of the aforesaid by me the pro-secretary his Holiness approved of the sense of the Sacred Congregation, and commanded the same decrees to be printed and placed before the general rubrics in the Missal. 29th Sept. of the same year 1714. In place of the seal. F. CARDINAL DE ABDUA, Præf. N. M. TEDESCHUS, Bp. of Lipara, Pro-secretary of Cong. of Sacr. Rites. OF THE YEAR AND ITS DIVISIONS. THE year has twelve months,-fifty two weeks, and one day,—or three hundred and sixty-five days and about six hours, for in this time the sun passes through the zodiac; but six hours, every four years, make a day-hence the intercalary year is called bissextus or bissextile. OF THE CORRECTION OF THE YEAR, AND GREGORIAN CALENDAR. When it is said the year contains three hundred and sixty-five days and about six hours, it was understood that the six hours were not complete, but some minutes were wanting to their completion. From the neglect of these minutes, in process of time the error grew so great, that the vernal equinox changed its place by ten days. Gregory XIII., to meet this evil, not only restored the vernal equinox to its ancient place, from which, from the time of the Council of Nice to the year of correction, 1582, it had receded by anticipation about ten days, but also made known the way and method by which, in future, the vernal equinox and xiv. paschal moon might be preserved from ever being removed from their place.1 As the vernal equinox was to be restored to the xij. kal. of April, he ap pointed that the said ten days in the month of October of the year 1582 should be cut off,-that after the fourth day of October, sacred to St Francis, the following day should not be the fifth, but the fifteenth of October. And so the error, which had crept in through a long course of time, was corrected at once. But that the same error might be avoided, and lest the vernal equinox recede from the xij. kal. of April, the same Gregory appointed that the prac tice of every fourth year being leap year be continued; but as the errors were found to amount to three days in 400 years, he ordered the intercalary day to be omitted in all the centenary years except those divisible by four, after the suppression of the two zeros. Thus 1600 to be a leap year, but 1700, 1800, and 1 The accumulation of errors from the Council of Nice to 1582, and the gradual inversion of the order of the year and the festivals of the Church, compelled Rome to set her ecclesiastical clock anew by the sun. It had been well if she had understood the parable which the heavens uttered to the earth. It is singular enough, that whilst the Church of Rome reformed the calendar, and resisted better reforms, the northern nations of Europe, that awoke to the necessity of a better reformation, long refused this wise reformation of the calendar,-clinging to the Old Style. 1900 common years,-but 2000, again, to be a leap year, and February therein to be of twenty-nine days; and the same order of omission and intercalation in every 400 years to be observed for ever. THE FOUR SEASONS. The four seasons are to be celebrated on the fourth and sixth Ferias, or on the Sabbath after the third Sunday of Advent,-after the first Sunday of Quadragesima,-after Pentecost Sunday, after the feast of the exaltation of the holy Cross. MARRIAGES. WHEN THEY MAY NOT BE CELEBRATED, ACCORDING TO THE DECREE OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT. From the first Sunday of Advent to the day of Epiphany, and from the fourth day of Ash to the octave of Pasch, inclusive, the holy synod forbids the solemnization of marriages. At all other sea sons it permits marriages to be solemnized. THE GOLDEN NUMBERS OF THE CYCLE OF NINETEEN. The cycle of the nineteenth golden number is the revolution of the number of 19 years, from 1 to 19, which revolution finished again, returns to unity. Thus in the year 1577, the number of the nineteenth cycle, which is called golden, is 1,-in the following year, 1578, it is 2,-and so on in the following years to 19, which golden number will fall in the year 1595, after which it again returns to unity; so that in 1596 the golden number is 1, and in 1597 it is 2, &c. In order that the golden number may be found in any proposed year, the following table of golden numbers has been composed, the use of which begins from the year of corrections, 1582, inclusive, and goes on for ever. From it the golden number of any year after 1582 may be ascertained in this way: In the year 1582, the first number of the table is given, which is 6; but the second, which is 7, in the year 1583, and so on to infinity, until you arrive at the year of which you seek the golden number, returning to the beginning of the table as often as you run over it. The number on which the proposed year falls will give the golden number sought. SHORTER METHOD OF ASCERTAINING THE GOLDEN NUMBER OF ANY YEAR. To the number of the year for which you inquire add the unit 1. Thus-add 1 to 1834, then divide the sum by 19, what remains will be the golden number of the year. If nothing remain, the golden number will be 19. EPACTS AND NEW MOONS. The epact is nothing else than the number of days in which the common solar year of 365 days exceeds the common lunar year of 354 days; so that the epact of the first year is 11,-since the common solar year exceeds the lunar by this number, and therefore, in the following year, the new moon will fall 11 days earlier than in the first year. Thus the epact of the second year is 22, since in that year, again, the solar year will exceed the lunar by 11 days; which, added to the 11 days of the first year, make 22; and so, that year being ended, the new moons will fall 22 days before the first year. The epact of the third year is 3, because if, again, 11 days be added to the 22, the number is 33; from which if 30 days be cut off, which constitute one intercalary lunation, 3 remain, and so on. All the epacts advance by continual increase of 11 days, 30 being cut off at the proper time. Only when the last epact is arrived at, answering to the golden number 19, which is 29, 12 are added, that 30 being cut off from the composite number 41, the epact 11 is found as at first,—which happens on this account, that the last intercalary lunation, with the running golden number 19, may be only 29 days. If it should con tain 30 days, as the other six intercalary lunations, the new moons would not return after 19 solar years to the same days, but would fall towards the end of the months, and one day later than 19 years before; of which you will find more information in the book of the new method of the restoring the Roman calendar. There are 19 epacts, and as many golden numbers, and they answer to the same golden numbers before the correction of the calendar, in the manner arranged in this table. Table of Epacts, answering to the Golden Numbers before the Correction of the Golden Numbers. Calendar. Because the cycle of the nineteenth golden number is imperfect, since the new moons do not return after 19 years to precisely the same places, therefore, as has been said, this cycle will be imperfect. Wherefore, it is so corrected that in future, in place of the golden number and of the said 19 epacts, we use 30 epact numbers, from 1 to 30, in progression, although the last epact, or that which is thirtieth in order, is not marked by a number, but by a sign,—— thus, because no epact can be 30. But at various seasons of these 30 years, 10 and 9 answer to the golden numbers, 10 and 9 of the various epacts, as the equation of the solar and lunar year requires. The epacts 9 and 10 are all iiij. xv. xxvj. vij. xviij. xxix. carried forward as before by the same number, 11 and 12 are always added to that epact which answers to the golden number 19, that the following epact, answering to the golden number 1, may be obtained, for the reason before mentioned. The following table makes this clear, which contains the golden numbers and epacts, answering to each other from 1582, the year of correction, after the withdrawal of 10 days, to the year 1700, inclusive. But although the vulgar epacts are changed in March, yet, with the thing itself, in the beginning of the year they are changed together with the golden number, in place of which these our epacts succeed. Tables of Epacts answering to Golden Numbers, from the Ides of October of the Year of Correction, 1582, (the 10 days being first cut off,) to the Year 1700, inclusive. Therefore, if the epact in any particular year is to be found, the golden number of that year is to be sought in the higher line of the table, which agrees with the time in which the proposed year is contained. Then, under the golden number, in the lower line of the table, will be found the epact of the proposed year or this sign *; where, therefore, that epact or sign shall be found in the calendar, on that day the new moon will fall. The golden number is found either by the preceding rule, or from the table of epacts agreeing with the proposed time, giving the first golden number of that table to that year from which the use of the table begins, and according to the golden number in the following year, &c. In the same manner the epact is to be found without the golden number, if the first epact of the table be given to that year from which its use begins, and the second epact in the following year, &c. For example,-In the year of correction, 1582, the golden number is 6, namely, the first of the first table, the use of which begins from the Ides of October of the said year 1582, 10 days being first cut off. The epact will therefore be xxvj, which is placed under the golden number 6; and the new moon will fall on 27th October, and 26th November, and 25th December. Also, in the year 1583, the golden number already corrected is 7, of which, in the same table, the epact placed under it is vij.; which will indicate the new moons in the calendar for that year as in Jan. uary 24, February 22, and March 24, &c. Other Tables of Epacts, answering to the Golden Numbers from the Year 1834 inclusive, to the Year 1900 exclusive. on in order throughout the year, return- To take away doubt from the use of this new table of epacts, let us take examples:-Let the epact xx., in the year 1834, be given, which is placed under the golden number 11, and the new moons will fall on 11th January, 9th February, and 11th March. So, in the year 1832, the epact j. is given, which is placed under the golden number 12, which shows the new moon in the calendar throughout the year to be January 30, February 28, and March 30; and so Table of Dominical Letters, from the Ides of October of the year of Correction, 1582, (the 10 days being first cut off,) to the Year 1700, inclusive. * |