Author: David Cassman

“Why white?” That question greeted me as soon as I walked into the choir room on Sunday morning before Mass.

Good question. According to the calendar, the Sunday was the 17th after Pentecost, and the liturgical color would be green, but the servers had already put white on the altar and tabernacle. Why so?

Earlier in the week, on September 15th, the Church celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. This feast, not surprisingly, comes immediately after the feast of the Holy Cross, and these two feasts are what give rise to the dual devotions for the month of September – The Holy Cross and Our Lady of Sorrows.

Of course, the great patron and name Saint of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (the SSPX) is the sainted Pope himself. But the SSPX has also chosen Our Lady of Sorrows as a patron. Thus, within the SSPX, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is a first-class feast, and so the feast can be solemnized on the following Sunday and is celebrated as what is referred to as an external solemnity.

Then came the follow-up question: “Well, then, why not violet?” Well, because violet is not fitting for a first-class feast! And that brings up another interesting point. The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is very unique in that there are two such feasts, the first of which is on the Friday of Passion Week, one week before Good Friday and rather like Our Lady’s own Good Friday. At that Mass, the liturgical color is violet.

The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is also unique in that it is one of only five Masses that still has a Sequence. The five are:

1. Pentecost (Veni Sancte Spiritus)
2. Corpus Christi (Lauda Sion)
3. Our Lady of Sorrows (Stabat Mater)
4. Easter (Victimae Paschali Laudes)
5. Requiem (Dies Irae)

For the feast that occurs during Passiontide, the Sequence is preceded by the Gradual, and a Tract. Naturally, there is no Alleluia. For this feast, the Sequence is preceded by the Gradual and an Alleluia. Note as well that when the Sequence is sung outside of Lent, the word Alleluia is appended after the Amen.

As you might expect, we chose Mass IX, for feasts of the Blessed Virgin (Cum Jubilo) for the commons. And a Credo that works very nicely with Mass IX is Credo III.

Having missed the opportunity last week, as the Processional hymn, we sang I’ll Sing a Hymn to Mary, in honor of her holy name. This is particularly fitting because it twice makes a reference to loving and blessing the name of Mary.

We again invoked Our Lady at the Offertory with Stella Coeli Extirpavit, imploring her intercession to end the current pestilence.

At the Communion, the mixed choir sang Tomas Luis Victoria’s setting of O Vos Omnes. This hymn is taken from a responsory from Tenebrae of Holy Saturday. It is utterly pathetic, perfect for the occasion:

O all you who walk by on the road, pay attention and see if there be any sorrow like my sorrow.

Pay attention, all people, and look at my sorrow, if there be any sorrow like my sorrow.

With a bit of time remaining, we sang the Gregorian Ave Maria twice through.

Also earlier in the week, we had the feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis is also unique in that he is among the very few who have more than one feast during the year. Others include: Our Lord, Our Lady, John the Baptist, and Saint Joseph. As a Recessional Hymn, we sang Blessed Francis, Holy Father in his honor.

After Mass, as the Faithful made their thanksgiving, we sang the Vexilla Regis, vespers hymn from Passiontide and from the Feast of the Holy Cross.

When you walked into the Church on Sunday, perhaps something seemed amiss. It was the 15th Sunday after Pentecost, and yet the altar was dressed in white!

Recall the general principle that says that if a reasonable number of the Faithful are unable to attend Mass on a major feast, the Mass for that feast can be celebrated on the following Sunday. This provision is referred to as solemnizing the feast, which is then referred to as an external solemnity.

Earlier in the week, on September 3rd, we had the feast of Pope Saint Pius X. This is, on the universal calendar, a third-class feast – hardly a major feast, and normally, not one to be solemnized. However, within the Priestly Fraternity that bears his name, the feast of Saint Pius X is a first-class feast, and so, on this day, we celebrated the External Solemnity of Pope Saint Pius X.

There is something else that we had to consider on this day. This was the first Sunday of the month, the day on which the men of the Holy Name Society have special observances in honor of the Holy Name.

We started as the men of the Holy Name entered with the clergy in procession, singing the glorious hymn, Sancte Pie Decime, in honor of the feast.

We’ve covered in the past how there is a correlation between the liturgical color of the day and the Kyriale. Given that the color for this day was white, which is for solemn feasts, it was fitting to sing Mass II (for Solemn Feasts), and we paired that with Credo III.

At the Offertory, we sang our customary Stella Coeli Extirpavit, continuing to implore Our Lady, Star of the Heavens, for relief from the current pestilence.

The month of September has two very closely related devotions, that of the Holy Cross, and that of Our Lady of Sorrows. It is worth noting that Our Lady of Sorrows is also a patron saint of the Priestly Fraternity (Society) of Saint Pius X. At the Communion, therefore, we sang the Vexilla Regis, normally sung during Passiontide. The penultimate verse of this hymn begins with the following phrase:

O Crux ave, spes unica, hoc Passionis tempore!

Hail Cross, of hopes the most sublime! Now, in the mournful Passion time;

Clearly, that is not fitting outside of Passiontide, and so the lyrics are modified for the purpose.

O Crux ave, spes unica, in hac triumphi gloria!

Hail Cross, of hopes the most sublime! In this glory of triumph!

Then, also at the Communion, we sang Jesu Dulcis Memoria, vespers hymn for the feast of the Holy Name.

As part of the First Sunday Observances of the Holy Name, as the men processed out with the clergy, we sang the Holy Name Anthem, We Stand for God.

As a meditative piece after Mass, as the Faithful made their thanksgiving, the Schola sang the Stabat Mater, the Sequence for the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4TH

It was on this day that our former priest, Father Dominique Bourmaud, passed away. Our current priest, Father John Bourbeau, celebrated a Requiem Mass for Father Bourmaud, who had also been his priest some 30 years previously.

Father said a low Mass, but we were able to do something interesting with respect to the music; we sang various elements from the Requiem Mass, essentially as hymns during a low Mass.

As the processional, we sang the Introit, Requiem aeternam. As Father was starting the Collect, we started singing the Sequence, the Dies Irae, concluding singing it as Father himself concluded reciting it.

At the Offertory, we sang the Offertory Antiphon, Domine Jesu Christe. At the Communion, we sang the Communion Antiphon, Lux aeterna, and followed that with the Responsory from the Absolution, Libera me.

As a recessional, after the Leonine Prayers, we sang In Pardisum, as the bell was tolled, once for each year of Father’s life.

This was another Green Sunday, a second-class feast, and so we sang Mass IV, and Credo IV.

We are still in the month of the Immaculate Heart and so we again sang Immaculate Mary at the processional (Fatima refrain this time).

For Our Lady, at the Offertory, we sang Tota Pulchra Es in honor of her purity and beauty.

There are only two persons whose conceptions are celebrated in the liturgy, and that is owing to their complete sinlessness even at conception. On March 25th, we celebrate the feast of the Annunciation when Our Lord was conceived, and on December 8th, we celebrate Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception.

There are only three persons whose births are celebrated in the liturgy, and that is owing to their complete sinlessness at birth. Our Lord, of course, was born on December 25th. Our Lady was born on September 8th. And St John the Baptist, who was conceived in original sin, but sanctified in the womb, was born sinless on June 24th.

St. John the Baptist is unique in this regard and so we celebrate both his birth and his death. He died, of course, by being beheaded by Salome (see the picture, below). We celebrate that event on August 29th, which was this past Sunday. In his honor, at the communion, we sang Ut Queant Laxis, the hymn from Second Vespers on the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. And then, we sang Ave Verum Corpus in honor of Our Lord. Normally, we would sing the hymn for Our Lord first, but, since St. John was the precursor…, well, you get it.

You will recall the following from Grace Notes for the Nativity of St. John the Baptist:

Musically, Ut Queant Laxis is particularly interesting. The hymn was composed using a six-note scale called a hexachord. The first syllable of each phrase starts successively on each of the notes of that hexachord. Here is the first verse, with each first syllable and the corresponding note highlighted. It is shown with Guido d’Arezzo, who is credited with having worked all this out:

(See the pictures, below.)

Let’s have a look at those syllables all together: Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La. Hmmmm…..

Somewhere along the way, Ut got changed to Do, and thus, we have the familiar Do Re Mi Fa Sol La.

As music evolved to the modern scale, a seventh note was added and the note name was based on the initial letters of the last phrase: Sancte Iohannes, Si, which is still used in many places, whereas other places replaced Si with Ti. And so we have Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do. And there you have it!

Wait! This gets better! In Latin, the range of a scale is referred to as the gamma. The range of the hexachord came to be referred to as the gamma Ut. That evolved into gamut, meaning the entire range of something, the whole gamut!

At the recessional, we sang Hail Holy Queen, again in honor of Our Lady’s coronation, which took place as she was assumed into heaven, which feast we celebrated on August 15th.

And finally, we concluded with Stella Coeli Extirpavit after the recessional.

White vestments! It’s a feast! Rejoice!

Clearly the theme is Our Lady. This is the month of her Immaculate Heart, and this is among her greatest of feasts. No need to solemnize it; this year, it falls on the Sunday!

Again, a clear choice for the processional was Immaculate Mary.

As for the commons, nothing less than Mass IX, for feasts of the Blessed Virgin (Cum Jubilo) will do. And the Credo that works very nicely with Mass IX is Credo III.

For the last 18 months, at the offertory, we implore Our Lady’s intercession to help end the pestilence of COVID-19. Today, we said, no. We will sing a hymn for our Blessed Lady simply to venerate her and not ask for anything at all. Virgo Dei Genitrix is just so beautiful. We sang that for her.

You will surely have noticed that the prayers that introduced the preface today were different. These tones are called solemnior — the most solemn – and reserved for the more important feasts. And likewise, the melodies of the preface itself were more elaborate and more beautiful – likewise called solemnior. Our visiting priest, Father James Carlisle, has a voice that was designed by God to sing the solemnior preface. He will never miss an opportunity, and we are grateful to hear it – and God is greatly glorified. Few priests sing it and none that I know of sing it as well. Today’s preface, rather than that of the season, was the special preface for Our Lady. This was her day in every way.

Of course, the custom is to sing for Our Lady at the Offertory, and so we did. And, of course, at the Communion, we sing for her Son, Our Blessed Lord. I don’t want to say we “threw him a bone” but we did seek out the shortest possible hymn for the Blessed Eucharist, and so, in honor of the Most Blessed Sacrament, we sang the beautiful and very brief Ave Verum Corpus.

Having thus discharged that responsibility, we once again turned to His Mother. We are sure He did not mind. We sang Victoria’s Ave Maria, which starts, fittingly, with the first notes form the Gregorian (the incipit) and then explodes into four-part polyphony that is so beautiful that we singers must force concentration so as not to be distracted by its beauty.

To conclude the Mass, we sang Hail Holy Queen, in view of Our Lady’s coronation, which took place immediately upon her being assumed into heaven, and which we will celebrate next Sunday.

After the recessional, we did, indeed, once again, implore Our Lady’s intercession to end the current pestilence, and sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit.

To provide something more meditative while the Faithful made their thanksgiving after Mass., we sang the Antiphon before and after a falso bordone arrangement of the Magnificat in which the chanted verses alternate with three-part polyphony, all male voices – tenor, baritone and bass.

At each Mass, we must choose:

• The Propers
• The Ordinary
• The Credo
• The Hymns

The Propers are generally decided by the feast day, either for the day itself, or for a feast that might have come earlier in the week (and thus solemnized on the following Sunday). This Sunday, we sang the Propers of the Feast, the 10th Sunday after Pentecost.

We have more flexibility in choosing the Ordinary (or the Commons) and the Credo. We chose, once again, Mass IV and Credo IV.

We have the most flexibility when it comes to choosing the hymns. What factors influence our choices? Among the most important considerations are the following:

• The liturgical feast
• The liturgical season
• The readings of the day

Those things are well alluded to, obviously, in the Propers and Commons that we choose, or that are prescribed, for the day. In choosing the hymns, however, we often incline toward another consideration, that of the devotion for the calendar month. These are the traditional devotions assigned to each month:

• January: The Holy Name of Jesus
• February: The Holy Family
• March: St. Joseph
• April: The Blessed Sacrament
• May: The Blessed Virgin
• June: The Sacred Heart
• July: The Precious Blood
• August: The Immaculate Heart
• September: Our Lady of Sorrows and the Holy Cross
• October: The Holy Rosary
• November: The Poor Souls
• December: The Immaculate Conception

As we enter August, we now move from honoring the Precious Blood of Jesus to honoring Our Lady, specifically, in her Immaculate Heart. Our Processional was O Mary of Graces. At the Offertory, we sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit, as is our custom for the time being. At the Communion, in honor of the Blessed Sacrament, the mixed choir again sang Aichinger’s polyphonic mashup, which combines the Communion antiphon (Factus est repente) and the Offertory antiphon (Confirma hoc Deus) from Pentecost Sunday.

There was time also to honor Our Lady with Salve Regina and the exquisite Tota Pulchra es. This hymn, whose sublime words come to us from the fourth century, is taken from the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Its title means, Thou art entirely beautiful (O Maria).

At the recessional, we made the obvious choice, Immaculate Mary. And finally, after Mass, as the faithful made their thanksgiving, we sang the Gregorian Ave Maris Stella, with a harmonization written by one of the men of the Schola.

Most of what is sung during the Mass is prescribed by the Liturgy. Some things, however, are discretionary. The liturgy often suggests which settings can be used for the Commons. This particular Sunday, July 18th, the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, was a Second-Class Feast. This gives us the possibility to choose from among the following:

• Mass IV (for Ordinary Feasts)
• Mass VIII (for Second Class Feasts)
• Mass XI (for Sundays throughout the Year)

How to decide? It’s fairly arbitrary and it often comes down to personal preference. This Sunday, the matter was decided based on the personal preference of a visiting priest. Father explained that he seldom gets to sing the Mass and he asked if we could do Mass VIII. We were happy to oblige, and he did a wonderful job on his “bit parts”.

We sang Hail, Jesus, Hail as the processional hymn, in honor of the Precious Blood, during this, the month of the Precious Blood.

Of course, at the offertory, we sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit, once again imploring Our Lady to beseech her Son, in our behalf, to end the current pestilence.

Friday was the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and so, somewhat out of the ordinary, we sang a Marian hymn at the Communion, a hymn that comes to us from the Carmelites, the lovely Salve Mater.

We still had two problems to solve. Of course, we want to honor Our Lord in the blessed Sacrament at the Communion. And we would want to honor Saint Bonaventure as well, since his feast was last week. But there are no hymns by him nor about him in our hymnal. In fact, when it comes to hymns, poor Saint Bonaventure is quite literally an also ran. In 1264, Pope Urban IV instituted the Feast of Corpus Christi. He asked Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Bonaventure to each write a Mass and office especially for this new feast, and he would choose between them.

The two saints went together to present their compositions to Pope Urban. Saint Thomas went first and knelt before the Pope to read what he had written. Both Urban and Bonaventure listened tearfully to Thomas’s Mass and office. In his great humility, Bonaventure tore his manuscript into small pieces and conceded the contest to Thomas. It is this Mass and office that we use to this day for the feast of Corpus Christi.

Thus, at the communion, to honor Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and also to pay homage to Saint Bonaventure (albeit very obliquely), we sang Tantum Ergo, which was composed by Saint Thomas Aquinas.

In view of the recently released Motu Proprio that restricts the use of the Traditional Latin Mass, we sang Faith of our Fathers at the recessional.

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.

July 4th, 2021, apart from being a secular holiday in the United States, was the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost. You might reasonably have expected that the priest would thus be vested in green. Why, then, was he wearing red? Recall that the Feast of the Precious Blood fell during the previous week, on July 1st. We solemnized the feast, celebrating it as an External Solemnity by moving it to the Sunday. It is a first class feast, and so, once again, we sang Mass VIII, which is designated for ordinary feasts. We sang Credo III, which pairs nicely, musically, with Mass VIII.

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.

For the Preface, Father sang the Preface of the Holy Cross, which is sung on all feasts associated with the Passion.

At the communion, we sang a very pretty version of the Magnificat, written in a style of music called falso bordone (in Italian), or faux bourdon (in French). In this style of music, the verses alternate between the Gregorian Psalm melodies and (typically) a three-part harmonization. Why the Magnificat? This canticle was first recited by the Blessed Virgin herself, upon her visit to her cousin, Elizabeth, which feast we had celebrated earlier in the week, on July 2nd.

After the Magnificat, we sang Unus Militum, the words of which are taken directly from the Gospel, which is taken from St. John’s account of the Passion:

Unus mílitum láncea latus ejus apéruit, et contínuo exívit sanguis et aqua.

Which, translated, means:

But one of the soldiers with a spear opened His side, and immediately there came out blood and water.

Since this was the first Sunday of the month, the men of the Holy Name Society made their Sunday observances, and so, for the recessional, we sang the very rousing Holy Name Anthem, We Stand for God.

Green Vestments!

On this, the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, for the first time since January 24th (The Third Sunday after Epiphany), we see the priest wearing green vestments.

The color of the vestments that a priest wears on a given day is (strictly) determined by the Liturgy, specifically, by the Mass he will say.

There are 18 Gregorian Masses (plus the Requiem). Each of these consists of a Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, and Ite Missa Est. Taken together, these are referred to as the Commons, or as a Kyriale. The choice of which Kyriale we will use is influenced (not always strictly determined) by the Mass the priest says on that day. Some broad generalizations:

• Black is used at the Requiem Mass, and so the Commons would come directly from the Requiem Mass.
• Violet is used throughout Advent and Lent and that normally means Mass XVII (designated Sundays of Advent and Lent).
• White is used for feasts, and that usually means Mass IV or Mass VIII (each of these is designated For Ordinary Feasts).
• Some feasts have greater solemnity. Gold is used as a substitute for white on solemn feasts, and that calls for Mass II (designated For Solemn Feasts).
• Rose is only used twice, once during Advent and once during Lent, and that means Mass XVII.
• Green is used for the long stretch of Sundays after Pentecost, fully half of the year, unless the Sunday also happens to be a feast. Thus, when you see the priest wearing green, you should expect to hear Mass XI (designated For Sundays throughout the Year).

Two noteworthy exceptions:

1. For Marian feasts, at which the priest will wear white or gold, we will sing Mass IX (designated For Feasts of the Blessed Virgin).
2. During Eastertide, the priest will wear white or gold and we will sing Mass I (designated In Paschal Time).

There are 6 Gregorian Credos, the selection of which is fairly arbitrary.

And so, on the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, with the priest wearing green, we did, indeed, sing Mass XI. And we sang Credo I, which goes well musically with Mass XI.

There are several different Prefaces, and which one Father will sing is likewise strictly determined by the Liturgy. The Preface of the Holy Trinity is designated For Sundays throughout the Year, and so, in general, if the priest is wearing green, you will hear him sing that particular Preface.

June is the month of the Sacred Heart, and thus, we sang the Processional, To Christ the Prince of Peace, and the Communion, Cor Arca, in honor of the Sacred Heart.

July will be the Month of the Precious Blood, and in anticipation of that, we sang Glory be to Jesus for the Recessional, which is also quite fitting for the Sacred Heart.

And of course, we sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit at the Offertory. Please God, soon enough, we will drop that from the repertoire.

WHICH MASS WILL WE SAY!?

• Third Sunday after Pentecost
• Sacred Heart
• Saint Anthony

June 13 was the Third Sunday after Pentecost. It was also the Feast of Saint Anthony, but the Sunday takes precedence . The Friday before the Third Sunday was the Feast of the Sacred Heart, and as you will recall, this is one of the feasts that is solemnized by default. Thus, in most places on June 13 the Feast of the Sacred Heart was solemnized.

Ah, but things are not always so simple. Our FSSPX Mission Chapel is named for Saint Anthony of Padua, and so for us, the day, which would normally be a Second Class Feast is elevated to a First Class Feast, and so we chose to celebrate the Mass for the Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua. Frankly, it was a difficult call because when the Feast of the Sacred Heart is solemnized, it is customary to also have Benediction and recite the Act of Reparation before the Blessed Sacrament exposed, and to recite or sing the Litany of the Sacred Heart. One of our considerations in the decision was the fact that the Feast of Saint Anthony had not previously fallen on a Sunday since 2010!

Thus, the propers we sang were from the Common of Doctors (In medio). For the Feast, Father wore white vestments and once again, that is a correlated with the commons that we would sing. This would not be a Solemn Feast and so Mass II (for Solemn Feasts) would not have been fitting. We went with Mass IV (for Ordinary Feasts). We paired that with Credo IV.

Naturally, we would want to give our homage to the Sacred Heart as well and so for the Processional, we sang To Christ the Prince of Peace, a hymn very much in keeping with the theme of the Sacred Heart. Among other beautiful phrases, it contains the line:

Deep in His heart for us, the wound of love He bore; that love wherewith He still inflames the hearts that Him adore.

As the Offertory, we again sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit, and we will continue to sing this until we are confident that the current pestilence is behind us.

At the Communion, again, for the Sacred Heart, we sang the sublimely beautiful Lauds Hymn for the Feast of the Sacred Heart, Cor Arca.

We concluded with a hymn in honor of the Holy Trinity, O Thou Immortal Holy Light.