Solemnity of Christ the King
11/21/21
Dear St. Joseph Parish Family,
We have slowly been returning to pre-pandemic routines here at St. Joseph’s. In two weeks (2nd Sunday of Advent) we are going to print the music again for the Sunday Masses. We’ve been using QR codes so that people can see the music on their phones, but many people don’t use them and they are not as convenient as printed music. Once we return to printed music we won’t be using the QR codes anymore.
Also, for the Sunday Vigil Mass and the 11:30 Mass, we’ll be adding the processional hymn back starting this Sunday. Before the pandemic we sang the processional hymn and when the celebrant entered the sanctuary to incense the altar the choir sang the introit. If you’re wondering what the introit is, see below. During the pandemic, we dropped the processional hymn because we were using a short procession, where the celebrant did not process to the back of the church and then down the aisle, but instead went straight from the sacristy to the sanctuary, thus not leaving enough time for a hymn. But now that we’ve been using the long procession for some time it makes sense to bring the processional hymn back.
So, what’s the introit? And why does the responsorial hymn at the Vigil and 11:30 Sunday Mass sound so different? Some background is needed to explain. The Mass has proper music: an entrance antiphon (often called an ‘introit’ from the Latin), a psalm sung between the first and second readings (which can be sung as a responsorial with the congregation or in its more traditional choir setting, called the graduale), an alleluia or a tract before the Gospel (special tracts are sung on certain Solemnities), an offertory hymn, a communion antiphon, as well as texts for singing the Kyrie (Lord have mercy…), Gloria, and Creed.
These are the official texts and chants of the Roman Rite that go back 1,500 years or more. After Vatican II, the latest Church Council, other hymns and music were permitted, so the official texts and chant tunes are rarely heard today. However, we’ve been using this ancient music at the Vigil and 11:30 Sunday Masses at St. Joseph’s so we can pray the rich tradition handed down to us from millennia past. We’re hearing the music at mass that would have been heard when Charlemagne still sat on his throne.
God Bless,
Fr. Boniface