The Gospel reading for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) is taken from Matthew (13: 44-52) ‘The kingdom of heaven is like…’ (Simile est regnum cælorum), a text repeated in the Communion Antiphon. Victoria’s Mass is a parody of Guerrero’s motet of the same title; however, the text of Guerrero’s motet is a different simile from later in Matthew’s Gospel (20: 1-4), so, while Victoria’s Mass ties in liturgically in title, if not in origin, Guerrero’s motet doesn’t. Instead, we are singing his wonderful motet Ave Virgo sanctissima which, far from being a random choice, fits in in two ways.
Read moreO Doctor optima
On the 15th October we celebrate the solemnity of St Teresa of Avila (also called St Teresa of Jesus). St Teresa is one of only four female Doctors of the church, named in 1970 by Pope Paul VI, and is given the title Doctor orationis, Doctor of Prayer.
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