+JMJ
Dear Parishioners,
Advent is only two weeks away! Almost impossible to believe! With Advent, we begin a new liturgical year. The Sunday readings will be taken from the Lectionary Sunday cycle “B” of the three-year cycle. The daily readings will come from the Lectionary daily cycle – year II – of the two-year cycle.
Back in the spring, I explained the new system we have set up for accomplishing music for our liturgies. At that time, I mentioned that we had purchased an online electronic subscription to Source & Summit, which has a dashboard with many, many resources that help with music planning. In particular, we have used the resources for antiphons a lot, and saved much time. With this dashboard, we can print out separate accompanist and cantor versions of music. The electronic subscription also came with a printed "hymnal companion.” We already have in our pews a hymnal, with hymns and all the necessary readings and psalm responses. But our current hymnal does not have any antiphons in it; and there is no collection of prayers that can be used for various occasions. The hymnal companion will have antiphons we can use especially at daily Mass, so the congregation can daily chant the antiphons with me. And the hymnal companion will have prayers, such as the Stations of the Cross, the various litanies, etc., which we use regularly. We won't have to pull papers out of the sacristy every week for those prayers.
Just before Advent, we will spread the hymnal companions throughout the pews. There are not as many of them as we have hymnals, because we didn't think we needed so many. The hymnal companions are a different color from Journey Songs, so there should be no confusion. The hymnal companions do not have any hymns in them, so you won't have to be switching from one book to the other for hymns.
On another note, for several years now everybody “in the liturgical-know” has been aware there is a new Lectionary translation in the works in the United States. The Lectionary is the book from which we proclaim the readings and the Psalm responses at the ambo in each Mass. The estimated release of that new Lectionary is 2025; but we also know that such publication dates are usually very theoretical. We don't really know if the new Lectionary will come out in 2025. Once it does come out, every parish will have to purchase new hymnals, with the new translation of readings. The new hymnal companions that we will start using soon are dated to the specific year for which we are using them. When the time comes to consider a new hymnal, we will consider one that has the normal readings and hymns, but which also has antiphons for each Mass, and a collection of the most useful prayers – sort of a combination of the two books, with everything we need.
Have a blessed week!
In cordibus Iesu, Mariae et Iosephus,
Father Poggemeyer