17th Sunday after Pentecost 2026
Processional hymn: The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, 917
Recessional hymn: Remember Me Before the Lord, 918
Kyriale: Mass XI, 740; Credo IV, 780
Hymn at Offertory: Stabat Mater, Chant Sequence
Motet at Communion: Ave Maris Stella, Rev. Guillaume Dufay
The month of September is dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the feast itself was this past Friday. During the Mass the sequence Stabat Mater is said prior to the Gospel. This sequence is often used as a devotional hymn for praying the stations of the cross and is sung to a simple tune. The chant sung today, which is the proper chant, is more ornate and the melody changes every two verses.
The Vespers hymn for many feasts of the Blessed Virgin is Ave Maris Stella, which dates to the 9th-century and sung today is a setting by Reverend Tomás Luis de Victoria. As is common for his hymn settings, he composed alternating verses and retained a ornamented version of the melody as the foundation for the polyphony.
Reverend Tomás Luis de Victoria (c.1548–1611), along with Palestrina and de Lassus, is one of the greatest composers of the 16th C., famous for its ethereal polyphony. Ordained a priest at age 27, he lived in Rome for years, and assisted St. Philip Neri as chaplain of San Girolamo della Carità.