Tag: propers

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.

This was another Sunday in which we ran standard fare for Paschaltide: Mass I, Credo I, Vidi Aquam. The Mass was that of the Sunday. The Preface was proper to the Season, For Easter and Eastertide.

For hymns, we had a classic Easter lineup:

For the processional, we did Regina Caeli Jubila.

At the Offertory, once again, we sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit. As the global pandemic situation continues to develop, we might soon be taking this off the docket after well over two years.

For the Communion, we did the many of the VERY many verses of O Filii et Filiae. We followed that with the Easter Sequence, Victimae Paschali Laudes.

We closed with a hymn with essentially the same theme as the Processional, Rejoice O Mary Heavenly Queen.

We are still running standard fare for Paschaltide: Mass I, Credo I, Vidi Aquam. The Mass was that of the Sunday.

Today was the day of our May procession and crowning. In anticipation of that, we sang, in honor of the King to whom Our Lady owns her queenship, To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King, as the processional.

Today was remarkable because this is one of the two Sundays on which the longest Offertory antiphon of the year falls. My notes from past years said there was not enough time for an Offertory hymn. I should have believed myself. We delayed Father more than I like as we sang our customary Stella Coeli Extirpavit.

At the Communion, since it is Paschaltide, we sang the exquisitely beautiful hymn, Salve Festa Dies, by the great poet, bishop, composer and Saint, Venantius Fortunatus, whose feast is this week. He also composed the well-known Vexilla Regis.

Immediately after Mass we began our May procession. We took a simple route to the pavilion where Our Lady was crowned. As we left the church, we did Rejoice O Mary Heavenly Queen. This is fitting on several levels. This is very much a hymn for Paschaltide, which season we are still full in. And it is the month of Our Lady. And, we were on our way to crown her. On the way, we sang, Immaculate Mary, and in honor of her Son, the King, we sang Eternal King of Realms. As the lovely little ladies of the chapel brought flowers of the rarest, well, of course, we sang Bring Flowers of the Rarest. We held off on singing the chorus until the last of the girls presented the crown of roses to Father, at which point, we sang, O Mary, we crown Thee… Our Lady thus crowned, we sang the Marian Anthem of Paschaltide, Regina Coeli. We concluded with Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above.

Adapted from the Catholic Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, and other sources.

The so-called Exultet is arguably one of the most glorious and beautiful of hymns of the liturgy. The Roman Missal gives the title simply as Praeconium Paschale, which translates literally as The Pascal Praise. It is sung by the deacon (or priest) in the liturgy of Holy Saturday, in praise of the paschal candle, which is, of course, a type of Our Lord.

The words of the Praeconium Paschale were not always the same, and so it did not always start with the word Exultet, from which we derive the common name for the hymn. There have been numerous versions. It’s probably safe to say that the version in use today has survived where others did not because of its particular beauty. Given its style, it was probably composed as early as the fifth century.

The Exultet is sung immediately after the Procession of the Paschal Candle and the Lumen Christi. Before it is sung, the priest recites the same prayers that he recites during Mass prior to the chanting of the Gospel, and, as at the Gospel, the faithful stand while it is sung.

It consists of two parts. The first part is an invitation for the faithful to join the priest in invoking the blessing of God so that he may worthily sing the praise of the candle. The tones of this first part are exquisitely beautiful, and very different from what we usually hear during the liturgy. Strictly speaking, it is Ambrosian Chant rather than Gregorian. This first part is similar to the Orate Fratres of the Mass, which is, of course, recited immediately prior to the Preface. The second part is very much like a preface and begins with the same invocations (Sursum Corda etc.).

The language of the Exultet is fairly unique in the liturgy in that it is not so much dogmatic as it is mystical and imaginative. The first lines set the mood for the entire hymn:

Let the angelic choirs of heaven now rejoice; let the divine mysteries give praise; and let the trumpet of salvation sound forth the victory of so great a King.

It goes on to recount the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, emphasizing the similarity between the pillar of fire and the Paschal Candle, both of which are types of Our Lord. It speaks of the needful sin of Adam, and the happy fault (felix culpa) that merited to have such and so great a Redeemer. It concludes by asking God’s blessings for those present, for the clergy, for the pope, and for the local bishop.

The Exultet praises the Candle as Christ. Not surprisingly, this hymn, so clearly about Christ, has a very beautiful and subtle allusion to the Blessed Mother. It is, on the one hand utterly profound, and on the other hand almost quaint.

Therefore, in this sacred night, receive, O holy Father, the evening sacrifice of this incense, which Holy Church renders to Thee by the hands of Thy ministers in the solemn offering of this wax candle, the work of bees.

Now also we know the praises of this column, which the glowing fire enkindles to the honor of God. Which fire, although divided into parts, suffers no loss from its light being borrowed. For it is nourished by the melting wax, which the mother bee produced for the substance of this precious light.

Any candle used in the liturgy serves as a type of Christ. Liturgical candles, and the Paschal Candle in particular, are, of course, made of the wax of bees. Beeswax burns with a particularly sweet scent, which represents the bonus odor Christi (the sweet odor of Christ). The flame represents the Divinity of Christ. The wick symbolizes Christ’s soul, hidden within His body. The wax body of the candle itself, made from the wax produced by the virginal worker bees using the nectar they have gathered from beautiful and sweet-smelling blossoms, symbolizes Our Lord’s pure body. As the candle burns, it gives us light, but sacrifices its body so that we can see. The bees are thus symbols of the Virgin Mary, from whom Christ took His human body.

This unique and very beautiful hymn is certainly a fitting way to introduce the extraordinarily beautiful liturgy of the Paschal Vigil.

In the image: In Italy, in bygone days, the Exultet was sung from scrolls of parchment, which were gradually unrolled during the singing. These “Exultet Rolls” were elaborately and beautifully illuminated. Nearly all such Exultet Rolls contained pictures of bees.

The feast of St. Joseph the Worker is a first-class feast. The Second Sunday after Easter is a second-class feast. Knowing that, you knew to set your Missal for St. Joseph. If you are not one to look at the liturgical calendar, you were caught off balance. (Note that they have calendars for cheap in the bookstore – given that it is May already).

As we were running the propers before Mass, one of the men observed, “This is weird music. It doesn’t sound right.” Well, yes. That is because the feast was instituted in 1955 and the music is “modern”. And not only. This particular singer is new to the game, and still, he picked up on the oddity of the chant, which oddity is actually also criticized by more scholarly types. But never mind. We’re not music critics; we’re just singers in a schola band.

Standard fare for Paschaltide: Mass I, Credo I, Vidi Aquam.

The processional was The Other Version of Jesus Christ is Risen Today. It is the bane of procession-goers all over the English-speaking world because when people see the title, they are expecting the OTHER version.

At the Offertory, Stella Coeli Extirpavit. We are SO over singing that. But we will persist until it is clear that the plague that plagues us is behind us.

At the communion, the mixed choir did Palestrina’s Sicut Cervus. Why isn’t Palestrina canonized?

For the recessional, St. Joseph trumped the typical Easter material with Hail, Holy Joseph, Hail. (For you grammar types, yes, the hymnal does correctly have the comma for direct address.) And again, we sang Sweet Sacrament Divine to get the melody into the ears and heads of the faithful because NEXT WEEK, we are going to call on them to sing it for real.

As an aside, the Greek in scripture refers to St. Joseph and Our Lord as τεκτων – Tekton. That is more correctly understood as a Master Builder, not a fellow making small wooden objects for the ladies of Nazareth. And it is much more fitting of Our Lord as Pantocrator (Greek Παντοκράτωρ) – literally, pretty much able to do everything. I can imagine when someone in Galilee wanted to have a house built, people would say, “Ite ad Joseph. He will fix you up.”

Strictly speaking, Paschaltide is the liturgical season that lasts fifty days, starting with First Vespers of Low Sunday and ending before First Vespers of Trinity Sunday. Liturgically speaking, the 8-day period immediately after Easter and prior to Paschaltide – the Octave of Easter – is distinct from Paschaltide.

For our purposes, we can consider both of these periods as similar because of the musical characteristics that are common to both and that distinguish them from the previous seasons of Septuagesima and Lent, and within Lent, Passiontide, Holy Week and the Triduum.

The most conspicuous aspect of the music during the period after Easter is the return of the Alleluia. There are a number of other very visible differences, but the Alleluia stands out.

The Gloria disappeared at the same time as the Alleluia, way back on Septuagesima Sunday, and it returns fully with the Paschal Vigil. But the Gloria had also put in an appearance on Palm Sunday and again on Holy Thursday – with the organ – and with bells!

The organ also returns at the Paschal Vigil. It had disappeared beginning on the first Sunday of Lent, but it, too, put in a couple of appearances. It was used throughout the Mass on Laetare Sunday, and put in a cameo appearance (to accompany the Gloria) on Holy Thursday.

The Gloria Patri is also back. It had been omitted during Passiontide, but we saw it conspicuously when it concluded the psalms that are sung during the distribution of palms on Palm Sunday.

We sang Mass XVII all during Lent, but we made an exception on Holy Thursday, singing Mass IV. Beginning at the Paschal Vigil, and continuing through and including Pentecost, we sing Mass I (Lux et Origo).

The Alleluia, on the other hand, ceased to be sung on Septuagesima Sunday, and not a trace of it was heard until after the Epistle at the Mass of the Paschal Vigil. It didn’t show up on Laetare Sunday. There was no hint of it either on Palm Sunday, nor on Holy Thursday. It was definitively removed from the liturgy and there were no exceptions. The Alleluia, as an exclamation of pure joy, has no place whatsoever in the liturgy, nor on our lips, during those 63 days from Septuagesima to Easter. But when it returns, it is everywhere! *

At Mass, the typical Gradual and Alleluia are replaced by two Alleluias! Alleluias are inserted in the Introit, and in the Offertory and Communion antiphons.

There is another noteworthy difference in the music after Easter. The Vidi Aquam replaces the Asperges prior to Mass, and the usual invocation (Ostende nobis) and its response conclude with an Alleluia.

Interestingly, the psalm that is sung during the Vidi Aquam is the Confitemini, the same that is sung after the Alleluia makes its first trifold appearance in the Paschal Vigil.

The difference between the music of Lent and that of the period after Easter is remarkable, principally because of the Alleluia, but for many other reasons as well. All of them together help us appreciate the meaning of the Resurrection, and the joys of Easter, in contrast with the meaning of Lent, and the sorrows of the Passion. The musical beauty of the liturgy is nowhere more apparent than it is in the contrast that the liturgy offers us during these two seasons.

This Sunday is known as Quasimodo Sunday as that is the first word of the Introit. It is also called Low Sunday.

We sang Rejoice O Mary, Heavenly Queen for the processional and our now standard Stella Stella Coeli Extirpavit at the Offertory.

At the Communion, we sang the Sequence from Easter Sunday, Victimae Paschali, then O Filii et Filiae. For the recessional the OTHER version of Jesus Christ is Risen Today.

We are planning to sing a new hymn, Sweet Sacrament Divine, at first communions in a few weeks, so after the recessional, the choir sang that so that the congregation will start to learn the melody.

* An interesting side note (pun intended): Those of us in the schola and choir must rehearse for the Easter liturgy, and so, of necessity, in the depths of Holy Week, we find ourselves practicing hymns with the word Alleluia in them. We try not to put our hearts in it though. The liturgical lives of those who sing in the schola and choir are lived about two weeks in advance of what is on the liturgical calendar.

In the image: In Victor Hugo’s novel, Quasimodo, rejected by his parents for his deformities, is abandoned inside Notre Dame Cathedral, at a place where orphans and unwanted children were dropped off.

Monseigneur Claude Frollo finds the child on “Quasimodo Sunday” and “called him Quasimodo; whether it was that he chose thereby to commemorate the day when he had found him, or that he meant to mark by that name how incomplete and imperfectly molded the poor little creature was,” Hugo wrote.

We had something of a collision of ceremonies at our humble chapel this Sunday. Normally, it being the Second Sunday of the Month, the Holy Name Men would make their observances. But we also had first Communions so the Holy Name Men were requested to stand down. And so, we did.

We are still running standard fare for Paschaltide: Mass I, Credo I, Vidi Aquam.

For the processional, we did Immaculate Mary with the Fatima refrain. It’s not that it’s inappropriate. On the contrary, it being the month of Our Lady. We might rather have done an Easter hymn. But we have May procession next week, and the lovely little girls are more familiar with the Lourdes refrain. Unfortunately, the hymn sheets we have already printed have the Fatima refrain, so we wanted the girls to hear the Fatima refrain one time before next week. Yes, sometimes our choices have very practical motives.

At the Offertory, yet again, Stella Coeli Extirpavit. It is well that it is so pretty, else we would tire of it.

At the communion, Adoro Te, and a sop to the Holy Name Men, Jesu Dulcis Memoria.

For the recessional, we sang Sweet Sacrament Divine and it was well sung, our efforts to indoctrinate the faithful having paid off handsomely.