LL OF US KNOW folks who can’t go 60 seconds without complaining. But I doubt great artists (such as Father Francisco Guerrero, Luca Marenzio, or J.S. Bach) spent much time complaining—because if they had, how would they have been able to complete countless masterpieces? As someone intimately involved with the TLM Mass since the 1990s, I heard lots of complaining about the date of the EPIPHANY. Folks would say: “Oh, those evil bishops! How dare they move the EPIPHANY to a Sunday?” But I noticed that 99% of the people who complained in this way didn’t bother to attend Mass on 6 January (the day on which the 1962 calendar celebrates the EPIPHANY). Inadvertently, such people vindicated the very bishops they were trying to attack!
Communion Chant • In a moment, I’ll discuss the date of the EPIPHANY—but first I want to show you the Communion Chant I harmonized for this Sunday. In the video, I attempted to sing it while simultaneously accompanying myself on the pipe organ:
* PDF Download • Singer’s Score (Treble Clef)
* PDF Download • ORGAN ACCOMPANIMENT (2 Pages)
Moving The Date • Without question, the EPIPHANY should not have been moved from 6 January, because that tradition is too ancient to ‘tinker’ with. The 1970 calendar should have allowed what’s known as an “external solemnity,” meaning the EPIPHANY could be celebrated on a Sunday without wrecking its connection to 6 January. Believe it or not, moving feasts to the nearest Sunday happened all the time before the Second Vatican Council. It was done with the feast of the Holy Rosary. It was done with the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. It was done with the feast of Corpus Christi. It was done with the feast of the Sacred Heart. And so forth. An even better solution would be to eliminate January 1st as a holy day of obligation—because scholars now disagree with Hannibal Bugnini vis-à-vis the history of the “Mary, Mother of God” feast—and make January 6th a holy day of obligation. Perhaps this situation can be rectified (or “sorted” as the British say) in the future.
If you enjoy that Communion Antiphon, click on the Feasts Website. There’s tons of great stuff there!
