5th Sunday of Lent

10 April 2011

Entrance	For God so loved the world (mtgf)
Penitential Rite	Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd)
Psalm 129	God of compassion (Scott Soper)
Gospel Acclamation	Lenten (mtgf)
Preparation of Gifts	You are mine (David Haas)
Eucharistic Acclamations	Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd)
Lamb of God	Remembrance (Marty Haugen)
Communion	I am the resurrection (Bob Hurd)
Final	Praise the Lord, ye heavens adore him

Considering the importance of these Sundays in the rites of Initiation and that (in theory at least) many parishes are using these texts most years as the prepare catechumens for baptism at Easter I don't feel overwhelmed by the possible choices of music. The David Haas song though not explicitly connected had a number of glancing references and I associated 'Lazarus, come out' with 'I have called you each by name'. The Bob Hurd as part of his Lenten Journey in the verses makes connections between all the readings.

The final hymn might have seemed that Lenten to some but this is a Sunday where Christ prefigures his own resurrection and conquers sin and death - not the material for a lament. As what the Church offers on the Sundays of Lent is not a 'misery-fest' it begs the question how doe we know this season to be different to others - to which the answer should be the sound should be different and we are heading somewhere. There is always room to develop and deepen. The specific images were 'for he hath spoken' (though the following couple of lines is very much of its time) and 'sin and death shall not prevail'.

Today's psalm was one of the few times we sing the psalm chorally. Though Scott Soper's setting could be sung by just a single cantor the variety of the different voices I hoped brought out some of the contrast in the text.