The following video was taken at the church of Santa Maria della Consolazione in Milan, where the traditional Ambrosian Mass is celebrated every Sunday and holy day of obligation, on February 25th, the Second Sunday of Lent. The MC is our own Nicola de’Grandi; Fr John Berg, the Superior General of the FSSP attended in choir. In the Ambrosian tradition, the second to sixth Sundays of Lent are named for their Gospels, which are all taken from St John: the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman (4, 5-42), of Abraham (8, 31-59), of the Man Born Blind (9, 1-38), of Lazarus (11, 1-45) and of the Palms (11, 55- 12, 11).
Several points of interest should be noted. In the Ambrosian color scheme, a special darker violet, called “morello” in Italian, is used on the Sundays of Lent, and black on the ferias. The thurible has no cover, and is swung in a pattern of circles. The equivalent of the Introit, which is called the Ingressa, has no Psalm verse or Gloria Patri, and is not repeated; there is no Kyrie analogous to that of the Roman Rite. In Lent, a special Litany is said on the Sundays, Divinae Pacis on the first, third and fifth, Dicamus omnes on the second and fourth, as heard here. (See the following posts by Nicola de' Grandi for an explanation: Ambrosian Lent III; Ambrosian Lent IV.) There are two readings before the Gospel, both of which are preceded by a blessing; on this Sunday, they are Exodus 20, 1-24 and Ephesians 1, 15-23. (For those who do not understand Italian, the Gospel ends just after 36:30, and the sermon runs until 43:51.)
The Mass resumes not with the Creed, but with “Dominus vobiscum”, three Kyries, and an antiphon “post Evangelium”, during which the corporal is spread on the altar. The deacon or priest then says “Pacem habete”, to which the choir answers “Ad te, Domine”; the priest sings the prayer “super sindonem” (over the shroud.) The Offertory prayers are much longer than in the Roman Rite, and the Offertory ritual concludes with the Creed. The Secret is called the “oratio super oblata”, and is said outloud. Each Mass of the temporal cycle has its own proper Preface; the ordinary conclusion of the Preface always names all nine hierachies of the Angels. The Canon is mostly quite similar to that of the Roman Rite; an account of the differences is given in this article. The Fraction is done immediately after the Canon, accompanied by an antiphon called the Confractorium, followed by the Our Father; the embolism is sung outloud, and there is no Agnus Dei.
The Mass resumes not with the Creed, but with “Dominus vobiscum”, three Kyries, and an antiphon “post Evangelium”, during which the corporal is spread on the altar. The deacon or priest then says “Pacem habete”, to which the choir answers “Ad te, Domine”; the priest sings the prayer “super sindonem” (over the shroud.) The Offertory prayers are much longer than in the Roman Rite, and the Offertory ritual concludes with the Creed. The Secret is called the “oratio super oblata”, and is said outloud. Each Mass of the temporal cycle has its own proper Preface; the ordinary conclusion of the Preface always names all nine hierachies of the Angels. The Canon is mostly quite similar to that of the Roman Rite; an account of the differences is given in this article. The Fraction is done immediately after the Canon, accompanied by an antiphon called the Confractorium, followed by the Our Father; the embolism is sung outloud, and there is no Agnus Dei.
