Apart from the fact that this is a great feast, it is something of a watershed moment, liturgically. The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, also more simply known as Trinity Sunday, signals the end of Paschaltide, which concludes with First Vespers on the Saturday before Trinity Sunday. This Sunday inaugurates the long season of Sundays after Pentecost.
The first manifestation of this transition from Paschaltide came at the Sprinkling Rite. Since Easter Sunday, we have been singing the Vidi Aquam for the sprinkling. Beginning on this day, we returned to singing the Asperges.
The seasonal change was also immediately apparent in the Kyriale. Instead of Mass I, which is designated In Paschal Time, we sang Mass II (two), which is designated For Solemn Feasts. Our choice of Credo III was made for musical reasons rather than liturgical reasons; it just works well with Mass II.
The next manifestation of this seasonal transition came after the Epistle. Whereas during Paschaltide there were two Alleluias, we have now returned to the standard formula of a Gradual followed by an Alleluia.
These seasonal changes are noteworthy. Beyond that, the hymns we sang for Trinity Sunday speak to the feast, per se.
Recall that a doxology is a hymn, or a verse within a hymn, that gives praise, typically of the Trinity. Recall, as well, that a verse that is a doxology will come at the end of the hymn, and should never be omitted. At the processional, we sang O God Almighty Father. This hymn is entirely a doxology, with each of its three verses giving praise to one of the Three Persons of the Trinity. The verses start:
- God Almighty Father…
- Jesus Word Incarnate…
- God, the Holy Spirit…
Clearly, it would be awkward to truncate this hymn and not sing all three verses. And that creates a problem because we also do not want to delay the Mass with a hymn, which is not a part of the Mass. What to do!? One thing we did was to start singing well before the Clerical Procession arrived at the door. Even so, it became clear that we were going to have to make a hurried judgment call and so we did. We opted in favor of singing only two verses rather than delaying the start of Mass. Mea culpa!
It is customary, at the Offertory, to sing a Marian hymn. We chose the incomparably beautiful Virgo Dei Genitrix. This is a song of praise to the Virgin Mother of God. It concludes with this doxology:
Great glory be to the Father, and equal glory to thee, O Son: To the Holy Spirit, God, great glory also be. Amen.
It just does not seem possible that there could have been a better choice for Trinity Sunday. It is noteworthy that we did not sing Stella Coeli Extirpavit. It seems that the pestilence has run its course. In due time, we will sing the Te Deum in gratitude.
Trinity Sunday is also the Octave Day of Pentecost, and as a nod to that feast, at the Communion, the mixed choir sang Aichinger’s Factus est Repente. This piece combines the Gradual and Offertory antiphon from Pentecost in a beautiful polyphonic setting.
This also being the second Sunday of the month, the Holy Name men made their Sunday observances and in honor of the Holy Name, we sang Jesu, Dulcis Memoria, vespers hymn from the feast of the Holy Name.
For the recessional, we sang the Holy Name Anthem, We stand for God. And finally, once again this year, we did something a bit out of the ordinary. Trinity Sunday also signals an important transition in our personal devotions. Customarily, we recite the Angelus three times each day – at 6:00am, Noon, and 6:00pm. Beginning at 6:00am on Easter Sunday, instead of reciting the Angelus, we recite the Regina Coeli. This continues until the end of Paschaltide. Thus, the last time we recite the Regina Coeli is at Noon on the Saturday before Trinity Sunday. That evening, we return to saying the Angelus. In this light, we sang the Angelus after the recessional.