15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

11 July 2010

Entrance	Your words are spirit and life (Bernadette Farrell)
Penitential Rite	St Gabriel (mtgf)
Gloria	Jeanne Jugan Gloria (Christopher Walker)
Psalm 68	Seek the Lord, you who are poor (mtgf)
Gospel Acclamation	Alleluia (Murray)
Preparation of Gifts	Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd)
Eucharistic Acclamations	No Greater Love (Michael Joncas)
Lamb of God	St Gabriel (mtgf)
Communion	If we are living (Mexican arr. Haugen)
Final	God is love, his the care (Dearmer/Piae Cantiones)

Law, word, love of neighbour, care for the poor. Four very rich ideas all linked together this Sunday. The richness meant there was much we could have done so that the deciding factor was for the most part practical. To give one example if we had been accompanied we might have sung Lowenthal's 'These Words' as it picks up the first reading and sees the word/law as something which abides in the heart.

I always have a wonder whether singing Ubi Caritas outside of Maundy Thursday weakens or strengthens the piece. If we only sung it once a year would it be more effective or does it grow through the web of connections when sung on Sundays such as this — two different proclamations of the command to love.

I have a soft spot for If we are living; it is a tender piece but it also reminds us 'we live not for ourselves'. I have known others prefer the John Bell translation and arrangement but I think the Haugen has a simplicity and a slight awkwardness which is preferable to too much sophistication here.

This Sundays offer a choice of psalms which happens a number of times in the coming weeks. The second option, Psalm 18, was added with the 2nd edition of the Lectionary. It shifts the focus from care for the poor to love of the law. I went with Psalm 68 partly because of its rarity — and discovered I had setting I seemed not have used before. As is sometimes the case with Lectionary I suspect there might be a better psalm choice which relates the law to care for the poor. We used Psalm 18 for our Entrance Song.