Category: Music

Current events are seldom a consideration in choosing the hymns we will sing. On this Sunday, July 25, the 9th Sunday after Pentecost, we chose two hymns with current events in mind. More on that in a moment.

We’re into the green Sundays, second class feasts for which any of the following are fitting:

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

From among them, our preference (it is no more than that) is for Mass IV, and that works nicely with Credo IV. Our visiting priest, Father Horvath, likes the Ite Missa Est from Mass VIII, and that is what he sang, so we rolled right along with him!

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

Of course, since we are no longer in Paschaltide, we sang the Asperges me (rather than the Vidi aquam).

The first instance in which current events influenced our choice was 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. This time, the men of the schola did it in three parts, in an arrangement that is distinctively medieval, and which was written by one of our men. We had a wee bit of time remaining so we also included the Regina Coeli, finishing just in time to avoid delaying Father and the Mass.

At the Communion, the mixed choir sang Aichinger’s Factus est repente. This is an interesting polyphonic mashup of the Communion antiphon (Factus est repente) and the Offertory antiphon (Confirma hoc Deus) from Pentecost Sunday. It is very fitting at communion time. We had sufficient time to also sing a few lines from Adoro te devote, a great classic from Thomas Aquinas.

Our recessional is one of the most stirring hymns in the hymnal, Let all mortal flesh keep silent. This is taken from the Liturgy of Saint James, whose feast day it was today.

Before his sermon, Father read the very moving letter from the Superior General of the FSSPX, Father (Don Davide) Pagliarnai. This was his response to the unfortunate Motu Proprio, Traditionis Custodes, which further restricts the availability of the Traditional Latin Mass. In this letter, Don Davide implores us to entrust our intentions to the Patroness of the FSSPX, Our Lady of Sorrows. Father Horvath made the same request of us in his sermon. In general, we do not like to improvise, but we decided, in view of this dual request, to sing the Stabat Mater, the Sequence from the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, after the recessional, as the faithful made their thanksgiving. And this was the second instance where current events influenced our decision.

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.

There is a general principle that says that if a reasonable number of the Faithful are unable to attend Mass on a given feast, the Mass for that feast can also be celebrated on the following Sunday. This provision is referred to as an external solemnity. You will recall that we did this for the Feast of the Ascension.

Universally, there are three feasts which may always be solemnized in this way, simply at the discretion of the priest. They are:

1. The Feast of the Holy Rosary
2. The Feast of the Sacred Heart
3. Saints Peter and Paul

In 1885, an Apostolic Indult was granted to the Catholic hierarchy of the United States allowing the Mass and Procession for the Feast of Corpus Christi to be held on the Sunday following the Feast. Corpus Christi, always on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, was last week. Thus, on this Sunday, we had the Mass and procession of Corpus Christi in lieu of the Mass of the Second Sunday after Pentecost.

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

There’s more! It is also now June, month of the Sacred Heart.

We started as the men of the Holy Name entered with the clergy in procession, singing the hymn Hail True Victim, rather a standard in the repertoire for the Blessed Sacrament.

We are no longer in Paschaltide, and so we did the Asperges, followed by Cibavit, the Introit of the Feast.

We’ve covered in the past how there is a correlation between the color of the priest’s vestments and the Kyriale. Father wore gold today. But gold is really a substitute for the liturgical color of white, and white is for solemn feasts. Mass II (two) is dubbed For Solemn Feasts and so it will happen often enough that when Father wears white (or Gold) we will sing Mass II.

There is no liturgical relationship between the Kyriale (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei) and the Credo. Today, we rather arbitrarily selected Credo IV.

Given that we are no longer in Paschaltide, we sang a Gradual followed by an Alleluia. And, today was once again one of only five masses at which a Sequence is sung. These are the five:

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

Today’s extraordinarily beautiful Sequence was composed by the great Doctor of the Holy Eucharist, Saint Thomas Aquinas. In 1264, he and Saint Bonaventure were challenged by Pope Urban IV to compete in writing the propers for the newly-instituted Feast of Corpus Christi. When Bonaventure heard what Thomas had written, he simply tore up his own work, folded his hand, and conceded the victory to Saint Thomas.

Of course, at the Offertory, we again sang the Marian hymn in time of pestilence, Stella Coeli Extirpavit. The Offertory Antiphon was very brief, so we managed to also fit in Jesu Dulcis Memoria. This is the vespers hymn for the Feast of the Holy Name, and it’s fitting to use that on the first Sunday of the Month when the men honor the Holy Name.

For the Communion, we sang the very brief Ave Verum, and followed that with the great classic for this month of the Sacred Heart, Cor Arca.

Given the procession to immediately follow Mass, rather than sing Ite Miss Est, Father sang Benedicamus Domino. There was no last Gospel, and because the Blessed Sacrament had been exposed on the altar, we omitted our customary Holy Name Pledge and Holy Name Anthem. We sang O Salutaris Hostia, also written by Saint Thomas, as Father incensed the Blessed Sacrament. And then, as is customary, as the procession commenced, we sang the first four verses of the Pange Lingua, also written by Saint Thomas Aquinas!

During the procession, we sang a portion of the Litany of the Sacred Heart, wrapping it up as we approached the outdoor altar. We then resumed the Pange Lingua, singing the two verses that customarily precede Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament, and that are often sung as a separate hymn, the Tantum Ergo.

There is a very special provision for what took place next. After the Tantum Ergo, the following versicle and response are sung:

℣ Panem de caelo praestitisti eis.

℟ Omne delectamentum in se habentem.

During Paschaltide, these are each succeeded by the word alleluia. Extraordinarily, that is also done on this special feast of the Holy Eucharist.

Returning to the Church, we sang To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King, and Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above, to honor the respective Kingship and Queenship of Our Lord and Our Lady.

As the Benediction ceremony resumed inside the Church, we sang the prayer for the Pope, Oremus pro Pontifice. And in preparation for the second Benediction, we again sang the Tantum Ergo, but according to a different melody. We then again sang the versicle and response, once again with the alleluias.

We concluded with Adoremus in Aeternum, another great classic in honor of the Blessed Sacrament and a fitting end for the beautiful External Solemnity of Corpus Christi.

Grace Notes is a newsletter sent to the Faithful of Saint Anthony of Padua each week to explain the rationale behind the music that had been sung at Mass the previous Sunday.