July 11th, 2021, the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, is very special these days because there was absolutely nothing special about it! It is not a special feast. There was no feast during the week which me might have solemnized. There was nothing out of the ordinary (as they like to call this time period over in the Novus Ordo).
And so, if you had expected that the priest would be wearing green, you were not disappointed. That, of course, means, Mass XI, and that means Credo I.
It is still the month of the Precious Blood and that set the tone for the Sunday (since little else is going on). Once again, for the processional, we sang Glory be to Jesus, most fitting for the Precious Blood. And again, for the offertory, we sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit, praying for an end to the current pestilence. If you are weary of hearing it, redouble your prayers for an end to the pestilence!
For the Preface, Father sang the common Preface, that of the Holy Trinity.
At the communion, we did something particularly interesting. We started with a hymn in honor of the Precious Blood, Salve, Latus Salvatoris (Hail, Side of the Savior). We followed this immediately (literally, without missing a beat), with Ave, Virgo, Speciei (Hail, Beautiful Virgin). You may have observed that these two hymns share the same melody. The similarities do not end there. There is the obvious similarity in the opening phrases:
Hail, Side of the Savior
Hail, Beautiful Virgin
Consider also these two phrases:
Referring to the side of Christ:
In which lies the hidden honey of sweetness.
Referring to the Virgin:
In thee dwells the honey of sweetness.
There are many other similarities, One could make a study of the two, something which is far beyond the scope of this brief article. The repertoire of the hymns we sing is full of such beautiful relationships. Even if we are not fully aware of them all, God certainly knows.
To close, we sang, Hail, Jesus, Hail, very much about the Precious Blood.