Posted by universalis on 23 February 2018
In the revision and renewal of the Liturgy of the Hours that was completed in the early 1970s, one of the important and interesting changes was the addition of “psalm-prayers”, collects that are inserted after each psalm and canticle. As §112 of the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours puts it:
Orationes super psalmos, quae recitantes adiuvent in eorum interpretatione praecipue christiana, in Supplemento libri Liturgiae Horarum pro singulis psalmis proponuntur et possunt ad libitum adhiberi ad normam veteris traditionis, ita scilicet ut, absoluto psalmo et aliquo silentii spatio observato, oratio psallentium affectus colligat et concludat.
“Prayers on the psalms, to help those who recite the psalms to interpret them in a particularly Christian sense, are offered for each psalm in the Supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours. They can, if wished, be added to the Office, following an ancient tradition – that is, the psalm having been completed and a certain period of silence having been observed, to bring together the thoughts and feelings of those who have recited the psalm, and to bring them to a conclusion.”
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Posted by universalis on 21 February 2018
Depending what Universalis app or program you are using, it may update itself automatically when a new version comes out. Here are all the details, with instructions for manual updating.
Posted in Downloadable Universalis | Comments Off on Updating apps and programs
Posted by universalis on 5 January 2018
Starting in 2018, the bishops of England and Wales have switched from the commercial to the religious calendar for the feasts of the Epiphany and the Ascension. For the Epiphany, this has the following effect:
2018: moved from 7 January (the first Sunday after 1 January) to 7 January (Saturday the 6th, transferred to the Sunday).
2019: moved from 6 January (the first Sunday after 1 January) to 6 January.
2020: moved from 5 January (the first Sunday after 1 January) to 5 January (Monday the 6th, transferred to the Sunday).
2021: moved from 3 January (the first Sunday after 1 January) to 6 January.
To summarize: the first time you see any difference will be in 2021. But the change is already there in Universalis, and if you are bored or curious, you can use Universalis to look at the calendar for 2021 and see it in action.
Posted in Calendars | Comments Off on The date of the Epiphany
Posted by universalis on 19 September 2017
Quite a few people have ancient versions of Universalis on Android and are wondering how to bring them up to date.
If you got Universalis (or Catholic Calendar) from Google Play, here are Google’s instructions.
If you got Universalis (or Catholic Calendar) from Amazon, then open the Amazon Appstore app and go to the “App Updates” tab. Here are some illustrated instructions.
Posted in Downloadable Universalis | Comments Off on How to update an Android app
Posted by universalis on 29 August 2017
The Lectionary gives readings for most saints’ days. So do the printed missals, and so do a lot of web sites.
In most cases the readings given should not be used.
Posted in Liturgy | Comments Off on Mass readings on the Memorials of saints
Posted by universalis on 1 August 2017
Next week is the 18th week in Ordinary Time. On the Monday, the Gospel is the Feeding of the Five Thousand. However, the Gospel for Sunday of the 18th week in Ordinary Time in Year A is also the Feeding of the Five Thousand. This means that the same Gospel could be read on consecutive days, which is a bad thing. It is avoided by reading Tuesday’s Gospel on the Monday (Jesus walking on the water) and by having a different Gospel on the Tuesday.
Posted in Calendars | Comments Off on The Gospels in Week 18
Posted by universalis on 13 July 2017
We have just released a new version of the Universalis program for the Mac. Please visit our web site and install it. There are various improvements, especially in the layout of the screens.
If you have a Universalis app from the Mac App Store, hold on: we will submit an update to Apple in the next few days.
Posted in Downloadable Universalis | 2 Comments »
Posted by universalis on 26 May 2017
In some parts of the world the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated on the feast of the Ascension. In others it is celebrated on a nearby Sunday so as not to interfere with the pursuit of profit.
Universalis has a long list of local calendars, and those calendars put the Ascension on the Thursday or the Sunday, according to the local rules. So if you saw the Ascension yesterday when you expected it the day after tomorrow – or the other way round – then please adjust your calendar.
In particular, if you live in the diocese of Boston, or in one of the other American dioceses that celebrate the Ascension on its proper day, don’t use the “USA” calendar, use the “Boston” one (or Hartford or wherever). In the list of calendars in Universalis, you will find Boston within the USA.
In the Android app, the calendar is in the settings menu. In the iOS app it is at the top of the calendar listing. In the Mac program it is in the preferences. In the Windows program it is in the menu. In the web pages you will see a “Settings” link at the end of the list of hours.
Posted in Calendars, Downloadable Universalis | Comments Off on The date of the Ascension
Posted by universalis on 17 May 2017
The new season’s ready-made Universalis e-books are now available for the Amazon Kindle:
The Mass Readings book for 2017 is still available:
The ready-made e-books are available for the UK and Ireland; the USA; and Australia. All the links to the e-books are here.
If you have a Universalis registration code, don’t buy the ready-made e-books (except as presents), because you can create your own e-books for yourself, with your own choice of pages, dates, and calendar, and it won’t cost you anything. The Universalis e-book page will point you to the necessary instructions.
(If you haven’t got a registration code but are thinking of getting one, you can have a free trial of the e-book creation process: the e-book page gives instructions for this).
Posted in e-books | Comments Off on New e-books available
