Welcome To Tradition

We are well into the long stretch of green Sundays, the Sundays after Pentecost. As you know, when the priest wears green, we will likely sing Mass XI, and so we did. And typically, we pair that with Credo I, and so we did.

For the processional we sang Glory be to Jesus, with its several references to the Blood of Our Lord, fitting for this month of the Precious Blood.

At the Offertory, we sang Virgo Dei Genitrix. The offertory antiphon was longish, so we chose a rather brief Marian anthem.

At the Communion, for Our Lord, we sang, which adverts to the Blood of Christ.

Earlier in the week, we had 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.

In view of the recent anniversary of the release of the Motu Proprio that restricts the use of the Traditional Latin Mass (Traditionis Custodes), we sang Faith of our Fathers at the recessional.

Ah, the green Sundays of Summer. Mass XI and Credo I, of course!

At the Processional, Glory be to Jesus with its references to the Blood of Our Lord, appropriate for this month of the Precious Blood.

At the Offertory, Virgo Dei Genitrix for Our Lady, certainly, but also because I like it so much.

At the Communion, Jesu Dulcis Memoria because this is the second Sunday of the month on which the Holy Name men make their observances.

And because our little chapel is growing, we had time for another hymn so we did Anima Christi because of its reference to the Sanguis Christi – Blood of Christ.

To close, we did Hail Holy Queen. It’s always fitting.

June is always interesting, liturgically. This year is no different. The Feast of the Sacred Heart falls on the third Friday after Pentecost and that almost always puts it in the month of June (it can be as early as May 29th and as late as July 2nd). This year, it fell on Friday of last week, June 24th. Normally, that would be the Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, but that got moved to the following Saturday. Normally, we would solemnize the Feast of John the Baptist on the following Sunday, but Sacred Heart is one of those few feasts which gets solemnized by default. That was the Mass Father celebrated – a solemn feast, and so Father wore gold vestments rather than white. Of course, by now, you know the rule of thumb: a feast that calls for gold vestments also calls for Mass II (for Solemn Feasts). The question is asked, “Why not Mass VIII?” Apart from the fact that Mass VIII is like a badly cooked steak (way overdone), it is less fitting than Mass IIas it is designated For Ordinary Feasts. We paired that with Credo III.

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 sang Tota Pulchra Es for Our Lady.

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

This Sunday also happened to have been the first opportunity we had to celebrate our patron, Saint Anthony of Padua. For the recessional, we sang all four verses of Saint Anthony, We Turn to Thee – twice! We had an overflow crowd join us to celebrate our patron and it took unbelievably long for the procession to form up outside.

In procession, we carried the statue and our prized relic of Saint Anthony. We sang Blessed Francis, Holy Father in honor of Saint Francis, then sang the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus. We concluded the procession with Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above.

There is a general principle that says that if 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 two feasts which may always be solemnized in this way, simply at the discretion of the priest. They are the Feast of the Holy Rosary and the Feast of the Sacred Heart. 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. It is also now June, month of the Sacred Heart.

We started with the hymn Hail True Victim as processional. This is 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. The liturgical color for the feast is white. Gold is generally used in lieu of white for more solemn feasts, and so Mass II (For Solemn Feasts) is particularly fitting. Typically, if Father is wearing 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 III.

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 particularly 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.

At the Offertory, it is customary to sing a hymn in honor of Our Lady. We sang Ave Verum. This is a lovely hymn in honor of the Blessed Sacrament, but it is also very Marian in character, casting the Blessed Sacrament as, born of the Virgin Mary, and son of Mary.

Hail, true Body, born of the Virgin Mary,
having truly suffered, sacrificed on the cross for mankind,

from whose pierced side water and blood flowed:
Be for us a foretaste [of the Heavenly banquet] in the trial of death!

O sweet Jesus, O holy Jesus, O Jesus, son of Mary,
have mercy on me. Amen.

For the Communion, we sang 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. 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 Holy God we Praise Thy Name. As we approached the outdoor altar, we reprised the Pange Lingua,then continued with the last two verses, which 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 the benediction ceremony with Adoremus in Aeternum, another great classic in honor of the Blessed Sacrament and a fitting hymn for the beautiful External Solemnity of Corpus Christi.

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:

1. God Almighty Father…
2. Jesus Word Incarnate…
3. 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.

According to the Liturgical Calendar, this Sunday was the Sunday after the Ascension. However, we sang the Mass of the Ascension. This is because we did not have Mass on the Feast of the Ascension and so we transferred the feast to the Sunday immediately following, which is referred to as solemnizing the feast, and the Mass is then referred to as an external solemnity.

The Sunday itself falls within Paschaltide, and that influenced several of our musical choices. Mass I (Lux et Origo), though not obligatory, is always fitting. The Vidi Aquam is sung rather than the Asperges. And there are two Alleluias rather than a Gradual and Alleluia. The Prefacewas proper to the Season, For Easter and Eastertide. We sang Credo I because it works well musically with Mass I.

For the Processional, in view of the coming feast of the Queenship of Mary, we sang Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above.

At the Offertory, we once again sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit. This could well be the last time we sing it, given the evolving situation with the pandemic.

The hymn we sang at the Communion, Salve Festa Dies, is particularly interesting. It is a beautiful hymn, written in 609 by Saint Venantius Fortunatus especially for the Easter season (Paschaltide). But it was also a good choice because his feast day was earlier this month, falling on May 18th. We also sang the Easter Sequence, Victimae Paschali Laudes.

The recessional, Rejoice O Mary Heavenly Queen, was likewise chosen for two reasons: First, because it is a most fitting hymn during Paschaltide, but also because it refers to Our Lady’s Queenship, which we honor throughout this month.

There are many things to consider in making decisions about the music at Holy Mass. Some of them are liturgical, and some of them are very practical. We are still in Paschaltide, and that will continue to influence our choices. Pentecost is the second most important feast in the liturgical year, and so, it will dictate much of what we sing. Liturgically speaking, Pentecost calls for glorious music. Why, then, was the organ silent on Pentecost? For purely practical reasons. Both gentlemen who play the organ were away and so we had to do without! It is a strange coincidence that the very same thing happened last year! Apart from that little anomaly, Pentecost is very interesting, musically speaking.

We began with the vespers hymn, Veni Creator as the processional. The fact of the coming of the Holy Ghost is of such profound importance that we kneel at these words in the first stanza of the hymn:

Come, Holy Spirit, Creator, come, from Thy bright heavenly throne!

Similarly, we also genuflect during the following Alleluiatic Verse:

Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful: and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.

This is, of course, analogous to genuflecting during the Last Gospel when we hear:

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us.

A couple of principles intersected as we sang the Veni Creator. The first principle is that, in general, the ceremony of the Mass must not be delayed by the singing of hymns, which are not actually a part of the Mass.

The second principle concerns the singing of a doxology. Hymns will often end with a doxology, a verse of praise, often, to the Trinity. Veni Creator ends with this doxology:

Now to the Father and the Son, Who rose from death, be glory given, with Thou, O Holy Comforter, henceforth by all in earth and heaven.

The interesting principle is that when singing such a hymn, the doxology should not be omitted. Thus, in order to adhere to both principles, we started the Processional earlier than usual, and it worked out rather nicely as we were finishing just as Father reached the foot of the altar.

Pentecost is the last Sunday of Paschaltide, and so it is the last Sunday on which the Vidi Aquam will be sung. It is also the last Sunday on which we will sing two Alleluias. Next Sunday, Trinity Sunday, we will resume singing the Gradual and Alleluia, and will do so until Septuagesima, at which time the Alleluia will be replaced by the Tract.

Pentecost is 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

As we had anticipated, the Stella Coeli Extirpavit was conspicuously missing at the Offertory. It is over two years that we have been singing it. Please God, the pestilence has abated. At our next opportunity, we will sing the Te Deum in gratitude. We instead sang the solemn version of the Marian Anthem for Paschaltide, Regina Coeli Laetare. So, we went from Stella Coeli (Star of Heaven) to Regina Coeli (Queen of Heaven).

At the Communion, we sang the Easter Sequence, Victimae Paschali Laudes, followed by Regina Coeli Jubila. The evening before, 22 men were received into the Holy Name Society as Novices, and in honor of the Holy Name, we sang, Jesu Dulcis Memoria.

This will be the last time we sing an Easter hymn until next year! It is time now to move to the long season consisting of the Sundays after Pentecost. Note that we had five Sundays after Epiphany and so there will be 24 Sundays after Pentecost this year.

As an aside, note that since Easter Sunday, in lieu of the Angelus, you should have been reciting the Regina Coeli. Paschaltide ends prior to Vespers on this coming Saturday, before the Feast of the Holy Trinity. Thus, the last time you will say the Regina Coeli is at Noon on Saturday.

We closed with Come Holy Ghost.