Saturday, January 19, 2008

Psalms at Communion

Communion time is the perfect place to make a small but important change in music programming. Instead of singing a hymn from the hymnal, try singing a Psalm that has some relationship to the Eucharist.

Examples include:
  • Taste and see the goodness of the Lord
  • The Lord is my light and my salvation
  • The Lord is my shepherd

Many others are possible. On special days, consider using biblical canticles that are arranged in refrain-verse format, such as the Magnificat on a Marian feast, the Benedictus on a Feast of St. John the Baptist. Last week, for the Baptism of the Lord, we sang, "You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation."

Have the cantor intone a refrain; the people respond, then the cantor sings the verses, much like a responsorial psalm. The people can sing this refrain while processing to Communion, like those on pilgrimage. No book or rehearsals are necessary.

This is a very easy option for Masses with or without a choir and I believe that it will have great spiritual benefit for the people.

2 comments:

Brian Michael Page said...

This is an option I was (and still am) actually very much for. I did one from "By Flowing Waters" one time and my (now former) pastor actually preferred that I use a hymn from the pew book instead of a Psalm.

Did that make any sense?
BMP

Kathleen Pluth said...

Not to me.

Did he give a reason?