4th Sunday of Advent 2025
Processional hymn: O Mother Blest, the Chosen Shrine, 914
Recessional hymn: O Come, O Come Emmanuel, 797
Kyriale: Mass XVII, 762; Credo III, 776
Hymn at Offertory: Rorate Cœli De Super, Christoph Dalitz (b. 1967)
Communion antiphon: Ecce Virgo, Johann Joseph Fux
Three of this Sunday’s propers are shared in common with the Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin called Rorate—which is the first word of the introit for both Masses. This Marian theme is present in the communion antiphon with the text taken from Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel. Johann Joseph Fux sets this antiphon chorally and staggers each voice’s entrance delaying a strong cadence until all meet on Emmanuel which gives a clear contrast from the music that precedes it and draws attention to the name of the Lord.
Johann Joseph Fux (c.1660–1741) was an Austrian composer, music theorist and pedagogue of the late Baroque era. His most enduring work is his treatise on counterpoint, Gradus ad Parnassum, which has become the single most influential book on the Palestrinian style of Renaissance polyphony. His work greatly influenced composers such as Haydn, Beethoven, and Mozart.