14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

3 July 2011

Entrance	I heard the voice of Jesus say
Gloria	At the Table of the Lord (Collegeville Composers Group)
Psalm 144	I will bless your name (mtgf)
Gospel Acclamation	(A G Murray)
Preparation of Gifts	Like a child rests (Christopher Walker)
Eucharistic Acclamations	Missal (ICEL)
Lamb of God	St Gabriels (mtgf)
Communion	Come to me (mtgf)
Final	Sing of the Lord's goodness (Ernest Sands)

Today we began to sing the new translation. We would usually have begun our 'Summer Mass settings' on Trinity Sunday to mark the break from the Easter season but the Conference last week meant I decided to hold off until now. We are using the chants from the Missal for the Eucharistic Acclamations. To be honest I am slightly ambivalent about them. In their favour is a simplicity which I think is suitable for the Summer period when music personnel can vary. I am also aware that the diocese, as I understand it, are encouraging the use of the chant to start with. What attracts me is the possibility of having a Mass setting people know and can be used wherever and whenever — in a similar way to the chant Paschal Alleluia. We also using the Psallite setting of the Gloria. Though melodically simpler than some settings it seems to have a bit more life about it. I decide to introduce everything in one fell swoop — in previous years the music for Summer Ordinary Time would be one of the clear breaks. The one thing I was not aware of when planning was a baptismal party who, as is often the case, can be less used to participating than the usual congregation.

The opening hymn made a nice connection between the gospel and baptism with 'come unto me and rest' in the first verse and then images of water and light in the second and third. Similarly Christopher Walker's setting of Psalm 132 at the Preparation seemed appropriate. The Communion Song uses the Gospel text for the refrain and the verses are drawn from the various 'I am' statements of Jesus ending with the invitation to 'come to me'.