Updated: June 23, 2026
Salve Regina
If you have attended the 12:00 PM Latin Mass, you may have noticed that the liturgy concludes with four different Marian antiphons throughout the year. Have you wondered how these are chosen?
The short answer is that the antiphons are Seasonal, meaning that each is associated with a particular segment of the liturgical year. The majority of the year is Ordinary Time, which, except for the few weeks of ordinary time between the Christmas season and Lent, begins the day after Pentecost and concludes the day before Advent.
This is the season we are currently in and to which Salve Regina is assigned. Here is a beautiful rendition of this ancient chant by the Monastic Choir of the Abbey of Notre-Dame Fontgombault.
Interested in finding out more? Check out this well-written article on www.adoremus.org
Jerry Kavinski, M.M., Director of the St. Catherine of Siena Choir
O Magnum Mysterium
O magnum mysterium et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum, jacentem in praesepio.
O Beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt portare
Dominum Jesum Christum. Alleluia!
O great mystery and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the newborn Lord, lying in a manger.
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear
Christ the Lord. Alleluia!
O Magnum Mysterium, Tomás Luis de Victoria (c. 1548-1611)
Merry Christmas!
Jerry Kavinski, M.M., Director of the St. Catherine of Siena Choir
Iustorum Animae
Iustorum animae in manu Dei sunt,
et non tanget illos tormentum malitiae.
Visi sunt oculis insipientium mori;
illi autem sunt in pace, alleluia.
The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and the torment of malice shall not touch them.
They seemed, in the eyes of the foolish, to be dead;
but they are at peace, alleluia.
This Gregorian chant draws its text from Wisdom 3:1-3, which along with the 23rd psalm,
is one of the more often heard scriptural passages at funeral liturgies.
I hope you enjoy this simple chant setting of a
text that offers comfort and peace in times of difficulty.
Thanks for listening!