According to Fratellino, a certain fellow at the Oratory in London has described the Salve Regina as "the sound of summer." With it now being the middle of summer, the Brothers in San Diego have resumed the regular observance of the "Garden Exercises" as our prayer before the start of practice. Just as the singing of the Salve Regina begins on Trinity Sunday (and therefore after the Summer Ember Days), the Brothers' observance of the Garden Exercises begins around the time of Corpus Christi.
The "garden" aspect of the Garden Exercises comes from the location of their observance. An outdoor area with vegetation and a depiction of Our Lady are standard for a location. Usually, the Brothers observe the Garden Exercises in places such as a brother's yard. At our most recent meeting, we prayed next to the statue depicting St. Anne reading to the child Mary, which was still on its processional platform in the St. Anne Catholic Church courtyard. Since the St. Anne Fiesta was celebrated the day before, the platform was still decorated with pleasant-smelling flowers, making the location an ideal "garden" space.
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| Oratory of Sunday Afternoon |
The cursus for Garden Exercises is a recited version of the Oratory of Sunday Afternoon found in the Brothers' manuals. The Litany of the Loreto is prayed, followed by Paters and Aves prayed for things such as the reception of the gift of perseverance, prelates and rulers, and the conversion of sinners. The faithful departed are also commemorated with a Pater, Ave, and Requiem aeternam. The Sub tuum praesidium is then prayed along with the versicle "Ora pro nobis Sancta Dei Genitrix" and the collect "Defende quaesumus." The petitions are comparable to the Simple and Ferial intercessions found in the regular Divine Office, the Suffrage Antiphons at Lauds and Vespers, and the petitions found in the Rogationtide Litanies.
As at the Divine Office (except at Matins and Compline), the versicle "Dominus det nobis..." is prayed before the singing of the Salve Regina. Following the Marian antiphon's corresponding versicle and collect, another Pater & Ave are prayed along with "five times the Most Holy Names of JESUS" for the final set of intentions. Each recitation of the Most Holy Name by the Brothers is accompanied by the beating of the breast. The last set of intentions includes praying for the absent brethren, a petition also found in the Divine Office that attests to the communal nature of praying the Canonical Hours. Lastly, as at the normal Divine Office, the prayer formerly closes with the Divinum auxilium.
