We are presently in the season of Epiphanytide, which occurs within Christmastide. The Third Sunday after Epiphany is a Second-Class feast. For such a feast, the priest wears green, and that typically would call for Mass IV (for Ordinary Feasts) or perhaps Mass XI (for Sundays throughout the Year). Wanting to hold on to the Christmas spirit just a little longer, we went with the more glorious Mass II.
Our processional hymn was very much about the joy of Christmas, Good Christian Men Rejoice.
At the Offertory, once again, we sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit, imploring Our Lady to obtain for us relief from the current pestilence. We will soon move this to be sung after the Mass.
At the Communion, we had time to sing eight (of the fourteen) verses of the tender Puer Natus In Bethlehem.
For the recessional, we sang the utterly delightful little tale, Noël Nouvelet, a very loose English translation of a French carol from the end of the 15th century.
As a more meditative piece, after the recessional, we sang Resonet in Laudibus, a Gregorian Christmas hymn, from the 14th century.