Songs & Updates for Saturday, March 28, 2026

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Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion
Image Source: Liturgy Ritual Prayer

Thanks for a strong piano Mass last Saturday -- it's been a while since we've done one of these! It was fun pulling out pieces like We Remember again (which we haven't sung in ages!), and all of the harmonies sounded lovely. Here's the audio.

If you'd like to participate, a reminder that the Funeral liturgy for Dcn. Mike is this Thursday, March 26th @ 11 AM. Joanne & I are covering, but we'd love some help! Since there's a viewing right before the funeral, we'll rehearse in the Chapel @ 10 AM. Details went out by email.

The Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra is holding their free family concert on Saturday @ 11 AM in the Sanctuary. They typically move around a bunch of chairs, so it may take a bit for everything to be reset. Just a heads up in case that's still going on!

Let's plan to meet at 3:30 PM this Saturday to continue looking at Holy Week music. This will also give us a bit of extra time to work through special Palm Sunday selections. 

Here are the programs for Good Friday & Easter Vigil. If there are any tweaks, I'll update!
  • Thanks to everyone who volunteered to cantor! I tried filling out the rest of the slots, so let me know if you see any issues. The list went out by email.
  • Our 'dress rehearsal' for both Good Friday & Easter Vigil will be this Sunday, March 29th @ 1 PM. If you're not able to make it, we'll also meet early before each liturgy.
  • Don't forget about putting together a binder with next week's music! That will make things much easier to manage! If needed, we can make copies on Sunday.  

Looking ahead, music for the rest of April will be finalized in the next few weeks. We're waiting on confirmation about what's happening with First Communion (04/25), but it'll probably be the same as last year. Everything else should be pretty normal. Stay tuned.

Have a great week!

(All Mass Parts, except the Lenten Acclamation, are from Mass of Remembrance, including the Penitential, Holy, Eucharistic Acclamation 'A' (We Proclaim Your Death), Doxology & Lamb of God)

Out: Maureen, Karen, Lisa

Blessing of Palms:
GC3 #572 - The King of Glory (Jabusch)

**At the beginning of Mass, Fr. Jozef will bless the palms. We'll sing the Gathering song after Father says: "Dear Brothers and Sisters, like the crowd who acclaimed Jesus in Jerusalem, let us go forth in peace."

Let's do verses 1-4 only (verse 5 is for Easter). Also, don't forget that except for the first & last time, the refrain will be piano (soft), while the verses are forte (loud).**

(no Penitential Rite)

Responsorial Ps (Cris):
SS #058 - Ps 22 - My God, My God (Smith)

**This is a piece that we'll repeat for Good Friday. Watch out for the triplets during the refrain -- it's easy for these to get out-of-sync!**

Acclamation (All):
GC3 #511 - Were You There? (Spiritual)

**This will be done on Friday too, with verses sung before, during and after the reading of The Passion. Note that the second verse isn't in the book:

Before: “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”
​Pause: “Were you there when He bowed His head and died?”
​After: “Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?”

We'll sing a capella, so please review your parts!**

Preparation:
GC3 #491 - Jesus, the Lord (O'Connor)

**Let's be super careful with this one! The tempo can't be rushed, and we'll really need to count and watch for cues to stay together. Including the descant would be lovely too. Given the slower tempo, we may only get through a couple of verses.**

(Mass Parts)

Communion:
SS #172 - Behold the Cross (Hurd)

**This is the final piece that will be repeated Friday. Let's do an instrumental, before adding in the voices. Including the descant would be great! I'd also like to avoid repeating verses if possible -- the song tells a story, so looping back may not be ideal.**

Closing:
SS #179 - He is Exalted (Paris)

**We'll follow the written arrangement. It'll be structured like thiss:

-Intro
-Refrain ("He is exalted, the King is exalted on high...")
-Chorus ("He is the Lord...")
-1st ending
-Refrain
-Chorus
-2nd Ending
-Chorus
-Final Ending**

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