Welcome To Tradition

The rejoicing of Laetare Sunday is done with. The rose vestments from last week give way to violet. We resume and even augment our Lenten austerities. There is no organ. There are no flowers on the altar. The statues are draped and hidden to commemorate our Lord’s having had to hide from those who pursued Him. The Alleluia and the Gloria in Excelsis have long since been banished, but now, we also eliminate the joyful Psalm 42 from the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar.The Gloria Patri is also banished from the Liturgy. You will observe that it is conspicuous in its absence from the Asperges, the Introit, and the Lavaboat this day’s Mass. There is a Tractin lieu of the Alleluia. Father sings the Preface of the Holy Cross. We continue with Mass XVII as the priest is in violet. Thus begins Passiontide, the last two weeks of Lent.

The prayer, Adoramus Te, Christe, most closely associated with Good Friday, is commonly recited during Passiontide. The choir sang this prayer at the Offertory after singing what is now our customary Stella Coeli Extirpavit.

At the Communion, we sang the hymn most closely associated with Passiontide, the Vexilla Regis. This hymn was written by a man who was one of the greatest composers, writers and poets of the 6th Century, Venantius Fortunatus. He was also a Bishop and is a Saint. He composed the Pange Lingua of Good Friday, and the incomparably beautiful Easter hymn, Salve Festa Dies, which you will certainly hear after all these austerities are done with!

We are well into Passiontide, and we now enter into the most solemn time of the year, Holy Week. The music speaks to this solemnity as only music can and as only the human voice can. The initial theme today is the Kingship of Christ, as He is exalted by the children of the Hebrews in Jerusalem. Soon after, the people of the Holy City will have Him crucified. The Gloria Patri is not sung during Passiontide, but an exception is made during the distribution of palms because this is a glorious time.

The hymns we sang on procession honor Christ, as King. The procession stops outside the door of the church. Some of the men of the Schola are behind the closed door of the church and sing the refrain, Gloria Laus:

All glory, praise, and honor to Thee, Redeemer, King, to whom the lips of children made sweet Hosannas ring.

The Church represents Jerusalem, and Jerusalem represents heaven. The procession may not enter. The Schola sings verses from inside, and the congregation responds with the refrain. When the refrain is being sung for the last time, the Crucifer (cross bearer) taps the door with the foot of the Cross. The gate can now be opened! The procession joyfully enters the church as the Schola sings the Ingrediente:

As the Lord entered the holy city, the children of the Hebrews proclaimed the resurrection of life. Waving their branches of palm, they cried: Hosanna in the highest.

All the joy is short-lived, however. There is no processional hymn. There is no Asperges, as we move immediately from one liturgical function (the procession) to the next (the Mass). There are no prayers at the foot of the altar. The Mass moves very quickly from the Introit to the Gradual, and then immediately to the Tract – one of the longest pieces of the year. It is taken from Psalm 21, which you will hear again on both Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Note, as well, that all of the other propers of Palm Sunday also come from Psalm 21.

The Tract is suitable preparation for what happens next – one of the most extraordinary elements of the Liturgy, the solemn chanting of the Passion. The Passion is unique in that it is the only Gospel that makes use of three voices: The narrator (Chronista); the rabble, and everyone else, including Peter and Pilate (Synagoga); and Our Lord (Christus). The Chronista sings in a normally pitched voice. The Synagoga sings in a horrible and shrill tone, almost a shriek. The Christus (always a priest or deacon) sings in a lower register in a beautiful tone that exudes peace. The Passion concludes with the Chronsita finishing his account in doleful and exquisitely beautiful tones that evoke the great sorrow we feel at the death of Our Lord.

After the longish Offertory antiphon, the Schola sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit.

At the Communion, the choir sang O Vos Omnes, by Tomás Luis da Victoria. The text comes from the Lamentations of Jeremiah which puts these words in the mouth of Our Lord:

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.

We then sang a few verses of the Passiontide hymn, Vexilla Regis.

There was no Last Gospel. As this is the second Sunday of the month, we sang the Anthem of the Holy Name Society as the recessional.

Laetare, Jerusalem! Rejoice, Jerusalem! So starts the Introit for Sunday’s Mass. This marks the halfway point during Lent, and so we are given a bit of a respite from Lent’s austerities. We still sing a Tract instead of the banished Alleluia. We again sing Mass XVII (with Credo I), but the priest is not wearing the typical shade of violet! What is that color? It is rose (never to be called pink), and it is supposed to be a lighter shade of violet. So, still violet, but distinctively different, so as to set this Sunday aside as a day of rejoicing in the heart of the penitential season. Flowers, which are banned from the altar during Lent, are permitted on this day. And the organ, which is likewise banned during Lent, is permitted on this day.

The feast of the Annunciation, which is a first-class feast, was on the previous Friday. Given that Laetare Sunday is likewise a first-class feast, it cannot be displaced and so it is not permitted to solemnize the feast of the Annunciation.

After singing Stella Coeli Extirpavit at the Offertory, we honored Our Lady in her Annunciation by singing the simple Gregorian Ave Maria.

This Sunday is also known as Mothering Sunday. This is owing to the Epistle, in which we are called sons of Mother Jerusalem and of the Free Woman. In Christian Europe, on this day, the faithful would visit the Mother Church in their diocese, that is, the Cathedral. And this was Mother’s Day. It still is in several countries.

After honoring Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament by singing Ave Verum Corpus, we honored Our Lady in her motherhood by singing Salve Mater.

To conclude the Mass, again in honor of the Annunciation, we sang the complete Angelus at the recessional.

With an interesting difference, this was a typical Sunday of Lent. The priest was again wearing violet, and of course, we sang Mass XVII, which is only used during Advent and Lent. With that, we sang Credo I. Because it is Lent, the Mass calls for a Tract rather than an Alleluia.

We sang Blessed Lamb at the processional. This is a thoroughly Lenten piece that speaks to Our Lord’s saving Blood.

At the Offertory, again, we sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit.

We moved our Holy Name observances to this Sunday and included a formal ceremony for the installation of the newly elected Officers. Thus, at the Communion, we sang Jesu Dulcis Memoria.

The installation ceremony began immediately after the Last Gospel with the hymn Veni, Creator Spiritus. After the installation of the Officers, we recited the Holy Name Pledge, then sang the Holy Name Anthem as a recessional.

Sometimes it’s just as interesting to know why we did not sing something as why we did. We did not sing a hymn in honor of Saint Joseph because the only fitting one in our hymnal – Hail, Holy Joseph, Hail– was used in our festivities after Mass in honor of Saint Joseph

We were fortunate to be able to have a sung Mass (Missa Cantata) for the Feast of Saint Joseph. Given that this was not a Sunday, there was no Asperges. And given that there was no Asperges, we sang the Introit as the processional.

Though it is Lent, due to the nature of the Feast, Father was wearing white, and we sang Mass VIII instead of the typical Mass for Lent, Mass XVII. It is still Lent, however, and so we sang the Tract instead of the Alleluia.

Even though it is Lent, the Gloria is called for. Because it is a first-class feast, the Credo is called for. We sang Credo III, which goes nicely with Mass VIII.

At the Offertory, again, we sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit.

At the Communion, we sang Parce Domine, and for the Recessional, Hail, Holy Joseph, Hail.