The Sundays of the 2025 liturgical year are especially solemn and festive, presenting parish musicians with both unique challenges and rich opportunities. Throughout the year there are a total of five Sundays where liturgies from the Proper of Saints replace a Sunday in Ordinary Time. 

So far, we’ve encountered only one—the Presentation of the Lord (on Sunday, February 2, 2025). Four more will follow—the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul (Sunday, June 29, 2025), the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Sunday, September 14, 2025), the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (Sunday, November 2, 2025), and the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (Sunday, November 9, 2025).

For most US parishes, every Sunday in June will be a solemnity: beginning with the Ascension, and followed by Pentecost, Most Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi, and the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. Within these sequential solemnities we will also encounter two proper Vigil Masses as well as two of the four Sequences that occur in the entire liturgical year. And if that isn’t enough, there is also the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on the final Friday of June.

Finding appropriate music and the resources needed to support and navigate these liturgies can be a real challenge for parishes, and especially for music directors who anxiously await the year’s descent into the peaceful predictability of Ordinary Time. 

Here are some tips and musical suggestions to help you navigate the solemnities of June calmly and confidently—without missing the opportunity to lead your parish more deeply into spiritual riches that they offer.

The Solemnity of Pentecost

There are two Masses of Pentecost: the Vigil and the Mass During the Day. Unlike a typical Saturday evening anticipated Mass which is identical in form and content to the Mass of Sunday but is celebrated on the prior evening, a true Vigil Mass has its own readings, prayers, and propers.

At the Vigil Mass

The Vigil Mass of Pentecost is one of the most elaborate vigils in the liturgical year, second only to the Easter Vigil. It has both Simple and Extended Forms—the Simple Form mirrors a typical Liturgy of the Word format, while the Solemn Form mirrors the form of the Liturgy of the Word used in the Easter Vigil, but with four readings prior to the Gloria instead of seven. Each reading is followed by its own Responsorial Psalm and Collect.

Click here to view and listen to some settings of the Responsorial Psalms and the Alleluia for the Pentecost Vigil in an Ordo created on the Source & Summit Digital Platform.

Pro tip: The Pentecost Sequence (Come, Holy Spirit, Come) is only sung during the Pentecost Mass during the Day, and not for the Vigil Mass.

At the Mass During the Day

The Pentecost Mass During the Day follows the standard format for the Liturgy of the Word, though it includes one of the two non-optional sequences found in the entire liturgical year. 

Click here to view and listen to the sung antiphons for the Pentecost Mass during the Day, including the Pentecost Sequence.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

This solemnity occurs normally as the first Sunday after Pentecost each year. It does not contain any unique elements, but it does offer some rich Trinitarian texts that are worthy of singing.

Click here to view and listen to the sung antiphons for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)

Corpus Christi ordinarily falls on the Sunday after the Most Holy Trinity in the Dioceses of the United States. This solemnity in 2025 marks the end of the 3-year National Eucharistic Revival undertaken by the US Bishops. A special concluding Mass and Eucharistic procession will take place in Los Angeles on Corpus Christi Sunday this year, and the antiphons from the Source & Summit Missal will be sung there. You can sing them at your parish too, and join in a special way in the conclusion of this national initiative aimed at helping restore a deeper Eucharistic faith in the United States.

The Solemnity of Corpus Christi also includes a sequence, though it is optional and not required as it is for Easter Sunday and Pentecost. There are long and short forms of the sequence—the long form has twenty-four verses and the short form employs only the last four of them. The short form may be the best option for parishes singing the Corpus Christi sequence for the first time.

Click here to view and listen to the sung antiphons that will be sung at the closing Mass of the National Eucharistic Revival, as well as the two forms of the Corpus Christi Sequence.

The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

The month of June is popularly dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus because the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus typically occurs in June on the Friday after the Second Sunday after Pentecost. While it is not a holy day of obligation, it is a rich liturgy that is worthy of solemn celebration at your parish this year.

Click here to view and listen to the sung antiphons for the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul

Concluding 2025’s month of solemnities is the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. Like Pentecost, it contains a Vigil Mass that is distinct from the Mass of the Day. Unlike Pentecost, the vigil is not extended—it follows the typical format for the Liturgy of the Word, though its readings, prayers, and propers are all different from the Mass of the Day.

The Church also gives us some rich hymn texts for the various feasts of the saints throughout the year in the Liturgy of the Hours. The Source & Summit Digital Platform provides many of these texts with their original or simplified chant melodies, as well as with more familiar metrical hymn tunes. If you might wish to use a different tune with any of these hymn texts, the Source & Summit Digital Platform allows you to change the tune of any hymn to another tune that matches the same meter. It only takes a couple of clicks.

At the Vigil Mass

Click here to view and listen to the sung antiphons for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, at the Vigil Mass, with some hymns from the Liturgy of the Hours for this solemnity.

At the Mass During the Day

Click here to view and listen to the sung antiphons for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, at the Mass during the Day, along with some of the hymns from the Liturgy of the Hours for this solemnity.

How to Access These Resources

All of the musical contents in this article are found on the Source & Summit Digital Platform and many of them are also contained within the Source & Summit Missal. Explore all of these resources and more on the Source & Summit Digital Platform with a free 30-day trial—or request a sample of the Source & Summit Missal to see how Source & Summit can help you elevate the liturgy in your parish.