SUNDAY IV --- NO, WAIT! PRESENTATION OF THE LORD! (8:00 version)

You read that right, folks!  This coming Sunday is NOT the Fourth Sunday of the Year.  This Sunday, February 2, is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, a feast that trumps the usually numbered Sunday of the Year.  This is the feast that is also known by many as Candlemas, as the liturgy starts with the Blessing of Candles.  In the traditional (Extraordinary Form, that is, the Roman Missal of 1962) calendar, this Sunday would be known as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, though the liturgical pattern and Sacred Scripture is very similar.

In terms of music, Father may opt to do a blessing of candles and process afterwards, or do a simple entrance.  The hymn during said procession (or entrance hymn if simple entrance) is Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates.  Though it seems to be an Advent hymn (and is grouped in sections marked "Advent" in most hymnals that are arranged by season/category), Lift up your heads... includes passages (albeit paraphrased) from Psalm 24:7-10, the Responsorial Psalm of the day.

The offertory hymn, In his temple now behold him, is taken from the Gospel reading of the day and is sung to a very familiar tune, the Tantum Ergo set to the tune "St. Thomas" (named aptly after St. Thomas Aquinas, author of the Tantum Ergo and the larger hymn it is excerpted from, Pange Lingua.)

During Communion, the Canticle of Simeon will be sung, using a tone by the French Jesuit Pérè Joseph Gelineau, SJ.  This proclamation made by Simeon is also presented in the day's Gospel.  While this canticle is not contained in the response (Guard us, O Lord, while we sleep, and keep us in peace), it is contained in the verses.  This is known in Latin as Nunc Dimittis and is chanted in the Office of Compline (or "Night Prayer").

I mentioned St. Thomas Aquinas a couple of paragraphs ago.  He will resurface in our meditation hymn, Godhead here in hiding, a translation of Adoro Te Devote, also authored by St. Thomas Aquinas.

The recessional hymn, Praise the Lord, ye heavens, adore him, is sung in the Breaking Bread hymnal to the tune Hymn to Joy, the tune most commonly associated with another hymn you're probably familiar with, Joyful, joyful, we adore thee.

That said...

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

Entrance antiphon: The Lord will come to us with mighty power... (Mode VIII)
Processional hymn: #59 Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates ("Truro") (Listen)
Psalm 24: Who is this King of glory? It is the Lord! (Jon Laird)

Alleluia I for Ordinary Time (BMP)

Offertory hymn: #222 In his temple now behold him ("St. Thomas") (Listen)

Sanctus: #874 Heritage Mass

Memorial Acclamation: We proclaim your death, O Lord... #875 Heritage Mass

Amen: #878 Heritage Mass

Agnus Dei: #879 Heritage Mass

Communion responsory:  Canticle of Simeon, R./ Guard us, O Lord, while we sleep, and keep us in peace (response by Guy Weitz and Dom Anthony Gregory Murray, OSB; versicles by Pérè Joseph Gelineau, SJ)

Meditation hymn: #370 Godhead here in hiding ("Adoro Te Devote") (vv. 1, 2, 3, 7) (Listen)

- NOTE: The verses in Latin are on the left page, English on the right.  We will sing the verses in English.

Recessional hymn: #534 Praise the Lord, ye heav'ns, adore him ("Hymn to Joy") (Listen)

Quod scripsi, scripsi!
BMP

SUNDAY III (through the year)

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

Entrance hymn: #212 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty ("Lobe den Herren")

Gloria: Holy Angels Mass (BMP) or recited

Psalm 19: R./ Your words, Lord, are spirit and life (BMP) (PDF)

Alleluia I for Ordinary Time (BMP)

Offertory hymn: #218 God, we praise you (Listen) (NEW)

Sanctus: #874 Heritage Mass

Memorial Acclamation: We proclaim your death, O Lord... #875 Heritage Mass

Amen: #878 Heritage Mass

Agnus Dei: #879 Heritage Mass

Communion responsory: The Spirit of God (Lucien Deiss, C.S.Sp.) (Listen)

- NOTE: Reviving a lost classic from the French Holy Ghost Father who gave us "All the earth proclaim the Lord" and "Keep in mind".  Matches well with the Alleluia verse for the day.  Many of his responsories and hymns were originally written in French.  However, they were translated into English and Spanish as well.

Meditation hymn: #724 Rejoice, the Lord is King ("Darwall's 148th")

Recessional hymn: #205 Now thank we all our God ("Nun Danket")

Quod scripsi, scripsi!
BMP

SUNDAY II (through the year)

We are now in what is often known as the "green season" (for the green vestments at Mass), and what the modern liturgists in many countries call "Ordinary Time".  This is also known as "Season of the Year", or more literally (from the Latin "per Annum"), "Season through the Year."

This Sunday is marked as the Second Sunday of the Year.  That is because the First Week of the Year started last Monday, as Sunday last week was the Baptism of the Lord, the final day of the Christmas Season.

For the third Sunday in a row, we will sing Songs of thankfulness and praise, this time as the meditation hymn (or as my predecessor used to call it jokingly, the "medication hymn").  The second verse reflects the Gospel of the day (the wedding feast at Cana) quite nicely.

Manifest at Jordan's stream, Prophet, priest and King supreme;

And at Cana, wedding guest, In thy Godhead manifest.

Manifest in pow'r divine, Changing water into wine.

Anthems be to thee addressed, God in man made manifest.

During Communion I will sing an original setting of the antiphon which also reflects the Gospel: Fill the jars with water, and bring them to the master of the feast.

At the offertory we will sing a new hymn, God we praise you, which will be taught approximately five minutes before Mass begins.

That said, I present to you...

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

Entrance hymn: #313 All people that on earth do dwell ("Old Hundredth") (Listen)

- NOTE: The tune is mostly likely familiar (think "Praise God from whom all blessings flow"), but the listen link is a really nifty choral arrangement by Ralph Vaughan Williams which includes brass fanfares.  He originally composed this arrangement for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Psalm 96: R./ Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations (Fr. Samuel Weber, OSB)

Alleluia I for Ordinary Time (BMP) (Listen)

- This Alleluia setting has been sung before here at Sacred Heart, and has also been used at the Church of St. Stephen Martyr in Washington, DC, the origin of this listen link.

Offertory hymn: #218 God, we praise you (Listen) (NEW)

Sanctus: #874 Heritage Mass

Memorial Acclamation: We proclaim your death, O Lord... #875 Heritage Mass

Amen: #878 Heritage Mass

Agnus Dei: #879 Heritage Mass

Communion responsory: Psalm 66, R./ Fill the jars with water, and bring them to the master of the feast (BMP)

Meditation hymn: #112 Songs of thankfulness and praise ("Salzburg")

Recessional hymn: #446 The Church's one foundation ("Aurelia") (Listen)

Quod scripsi, scripsi!
BMP

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD (Eight O'Clock Edition)

The last day of the Christmas Season!  Then the next day we jump into the First Week of the Year (or "Ordinary Time").  Notice that the First Week of the Year begins on Monday, not on Sunday like the weeks that follow.  Next Sunday will be the Second Sunday, not the First Sunday, of the Year, as the liturgical week begins on Sunday.

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

Entrance hymn: #117 When Jesus comes to be baptized ("Winchester New") (Listen)

- NOTE: The listen link given is for the hymn "On Jordan's bank", which we sang for Sundays II and III of Advent.  "When Jesus comes to be baptized" is sung to the exact same tune.  I found it rather appropriate that the publishers of the Breaking Bread hymnal used that same tune, linking John the Baptist and the Baptism of our Lord.

Gloria: Gloria (if sung): Holy Angels Mass (BMP) (PDF) (Listen)

Psalm 104: R./ O bless the Lord, my soul (Fr. Samuel Weber, OSB)

Alleluia "Divinum Mysterium" (BMP) (PDF)

Offertory hymn: #112 Songs of thankfulness and praise ("Salzburg") (Listen)

- NOTE: I was very pleased to hear the singing last Sunday of this particular hymn.  Not many parishes use it, but it's very appropriate for the Epiphany (last Sunday), the Baptism of the Lord (this Sunday) and the Second Sunday of the Year (next Sunday), in which the wedding feast at Cana is in that day's Gospel.
Hymn during Communion: When John baptized by Jordan's river ("Rendez à Dieu")

Meditation hymn: #207 Let all mortal flesh keep silence ("Picardy") (Listen)

- NOTE: The listen link given is a gorgeous choral arrangement by Gustav Holst.  Holst is also the composer of the hymntune "Thaxted", part of the "Jupiter" movement of his suite, "The Planets".  "Thaxted" is the tune of the English patriotic hymn, "I vow to thee, my country" and the hymn "O God, beyond all praising".

Recessional hymn: #90 Joy to the world ("Antioch")

- NOTE: Some may find it strange that I programmed a Christmas carol in the middle of January.  Think of the line, "Let earth receive her King!"  Let us receive Christ our King as John the Baptist did.  Besides, is there really a much better way to close out the Christmas season?

Quod scripsi, scripsi!
BMP

MARY, MOTHER OF GOD and THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD

By popular demand, the Gloria and Sanctus will be sung in English.  We will continue with the Latin Agnus Dei, which seems to be sung rather well.

This Wednesday, January 1 (New Year's Day), is a Holyday of Obligation, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.  Masses are at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, December 31 (New Year's Eve) at St. Eugene's and 9:00 AM on New Year's Day at St. Joseph's.  I will provide the music for the Tuesday Mass at 6:30 PM.

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

December 31 - Anticipated Mass of Mary, Mother of God (6:30 PM)

Entrance hymn: #105 Hark! the herald angels sing ("Mendelssohn")

- The tune is named after, of course, the composer, Felix Mendelssohn.

Gloria (if sung): Holy Angels Mass (BMP) (PDF) (Listen)

- Much of the music of "Holy Angels Mass" is based on Mass VIII, which is where the Gloria from last Sunday's Mass came from.  Yes, I wrote this music, and yes, it made its way to Stillwater, Minnesota, where the listen link originated.

Psalm 67: R./ May God bless us in his mercy (Owen Alstott)

Alleluia "Divinum Mysterium" (BMP) (response based on the chant tune of the same name) (PDF)
Offertory hymn: #101 What Child is this ("Greensleeves")

Sanctus: #874 Heritage Mass

Memorial Acclamation: We proclaim your death, O Lord... #875 Heritage Mass

Amen: #876 Heritage Mass

Agnus Dei: #846 Mass XVIII

Communion hymn: #107 In the bleak midwinter ("Cranham") (Listen)

- This year's Breaking Bread hymnal is the first to include this gorgeous hymn.  The arrangement in the listen link is sung by the King's College choir (Cambridge, England).

Meditation hymn: #88 O little town of Bethlehem ("St. Louis")

Recessional hymn: #687 Sing of Mary, pure and lowly ("Pleading Savior") (Listen)

January 5 - The Epiphany of the Lord

Entrance hymn: #115 The first Nowell (trad. English)

- One of the few hymns whose tune name is the same as the first words of the hymn text.

Gloria (if sung): Holy Angels Mass (BMP) (Listen link in the list for December 31, above)

Psalm 72: R./ Lord, every nation on earth will adore you (BMP) (PDF)

Alleluia "Divinum Mysterium" (BMP) (PDF in the list for December 31, above)

Offertory hymn: #111 We three Kings of Orient are ("Kings of Orient")

Sanctus through Agnus: same as list for December 31, above

Communion hymn: #79 Puer natus in Bethlehem (Chant, Mode I) (Listen)

Meditation hymn: #112 Songs of thankfulness and praise ("Salzburg") (vv. 1, 3) (Listen)

Recessional hymn: #113 As with gladness men of old ("Dix") (Listen)

Happy and blessed 2025!

Quod scripsi, scripsi!

BMP

THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH and O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM

Let me begin by wishing all of you at St. Eugene's a Merry and Blessed Christmas Season and a Happy New Year 2025.

Last Wednesday at the 10:00 AM Mass at my other church (Sacred Heart in West Warwick), I took the liberty of getting the congregation involved in part of the prelude ---- YES, the prelude, something that's usually reserved for solo organ work, whether it be written or improvised.

One thing that many Catholics in the USA don't know (except maybe us musicians) is that the Christmas carol O little town of Bethlehem is often sung to a different tune in certain other denominations (namely Anglican/Episcopal) than the tune many Catholics are familiar with.  In Catholic churches outside of the USA (namely Canada, Australia and the UK), the different tune is used as well.

The familiar tune we American Catholics all know is called "St. Louis," while the tune sung in other countries and by Anglicans here is called "Forest Green."  The tune names are linked so that you can listen to them (the former played by the world renowned Diane Bish, the latter sung by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, UK).  I'm sure you'll all be partial to "St. Louis" after listening, as that is what you're familiar with, and "St. Louis" is the tune we will sing as the meditation hymn after Communion at the 8:00 Mass this Sunday, but I must opine that both of these tunes are beautiful.

Before Mass last Wednesday in West Warwick, I sang the odd-numbered verses to "Forest Green" and invited the congregation to sing the even-numbered verses to "St. Louis."

And now, without further ado...

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

Entrance hymn: #110 Once in royal David's city ("Irby") (Listen)
Gloria (if sung): #841 Mass VIII (Listen)
Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 84): R./ Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord (music by Fr. Samuel Weber, OSB)
Alleluia "Divinum Mysterium" (BMP) (responsed based on the chant tune of the same name) (PDF)
Offertory hymn: #101 What Child is this ("Greensleeves") (Listen)
Sanctus: #842 Mass XVIII
Memorial Acclamation: #875 Heritage Mass
Amen: #878 Heritage Mass
Agnus Dei: #846 Mass XVIII
Hymn during Communion: #92 Of the Father's love begotten ("Divinum Mysterium") (Listen)
- NOTE: This is the hymn tune on which I based the Alleluia before the Gospel.
Meditation hymn: #88 O little town of Bethlehem ("St. Louis" - the tune more familiar to you)
Recessional hymn: #109 Angels we have heard on high ("Gloria") (verses 1 and 4 in English)
- Verse 4 catches my eye every year on the Holy Family feast.  "See him in a manger laid, whom the choirs of angels praise.  Mary, Joseph, lend your aid, while our hearts in love we raise."

Quod scripsi, scripsi!
BMP

RORATE SUNDAY at EIGHT O'CLOCK, Oh, and "O!"

OK, so the Fourth Sunday of Advent doesn't quite have a name like "Gaudete" on the Third Sunday of Advent, or "Laetare" on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, but if the Fourth Sunday of Advent was to have a name, "Rorate" would be it, as, like the other two, it's the first word of the Introit of the day in Latin.

Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant justum.

Let the heavens drop down dew, and the clouds rain down the Just One.

For this Fourth Sunday, we will once again be singing O come, O come, Emmanuel, which is based on the "O" Antiphons.  There are seven "O" Antiphons, and while they're not specifically used at Holy Mass, they are used at Vespers (Evening Prayer) along with the Magnificat from December 17-23, with a different antiphon assigned for each date.

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

Entrance hymn: #39 O come, O come, Emmanuel ("Veni, Emmanuel")

Kyrie (if sung): #840 Mass XVI

Psalm 80: R./ Lord, make us turn to you, let us see your face, and we shall be saved. (Fr. Samuel Weber, OSB)

Alleluia "Conditor Alme" (music by yours truly, based on the Advent chant Conditor Alme Siderum, or Creator of the Stars of Night) (PDF)

Offertory: #59 Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates ("Truro") (Listen)

Sanctus: #842 Mass XVIII

Memorial Acclamation: #875 Heritage Mass

Amen: #878 Heritage Mass

Agnus Dei: #846 Mass XVIII

Communion Responsory: Psalm 19, R./ Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and his Name shall be called Emmanuel. (BMP) (PDF)

- - The text is that assigned for Communion by the Graduale Romanum.  The melody given is based on the hymntune "O Heiland, Reiss", the German translation of the Rorate caeli mentioned at the top of this post.

Meditation hymn: #42 Come, thou long-expected Jesus ("Stuttgart") (Listen)

Recessional hymn: #44 O come, divine Messiah ("Venez, Divin Messie") (Listen)

Quod scripsi, scripsi!
BMP