Two of our hymns this weekend have a "harvest" theme to it.
The entrance hymn is Come, ye thankful people, come. The second verse gives us, "First the blade and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear," which alludes to the passage in the day's Gospel in which Jesus speaks to the crowds, "Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade,then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come."
The offertory hymn is Behold, a sower! from afar. Here the title alone alludes to the Alleluia verse just before the Gospel - "The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower. All who come to him will live for ever. As you will see, the Alleluia verse identifies that sower. While the tune is lesser known, it has been sung before here at Sacred Heart. A listen link is provided within the list below to familiarize, or re-familiarize yourself with the tune.
During Communion, you will hear a lesser-sung tune of the hymn Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All, written by Mother Alexis Donnelly of the Sisters of Mercy. It should be noted that there is a street in Cumberland, Rhode Island, next to the Sisters of Mercy convent, named after Mother Alexis (Alexis Donnelly Way, albeit it leads to the convent/health center and is not a public through street). My wife Ann and I happened to stumble upon it one day while taking a scenic drive through the back roads of northern Cumberland (the area known as Grant's Mills) and part of nearby Wrentham, Massachusetts.
For the Ordinary of the Mass, we will revert to using sung English settings from here until the end of October. For the next couple of months we will use A Community Mass by Richard Proulx for everything from the Sanctus through the Agnus Dei. If we get to sing a Gloria, it will be that of my own Holy Angels Mass. Here is a listen link, fresh from a St. Michael's Church in Stillwater, Minnesota.
Finally, the Mass Guide (attached to the bulletin as you enter the church) will include the text and melody for ALL the hymns. There will be no need to search in any of the books (we have three different books in the pews, so this is my attempt to make life a little easier for all). To the left above each hymn will be the title, to the right, the tune name. Under each melody, the text.
And now, without further ado...
MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS
ORDINARY OF THE MASS:
Holy Angels Mass (BMP) (Gloria, if sung)
Community Mass (Richard Proulx) (Sanctus, Memorial, Amen, Agnus)
ALLELUIA: Dom Anthony Gregory Murray, OSB
The rest:
