Emptiness
It is really the only way to make space for something new.
That is the stark reality of Lent. We seek out the vast emptinesses of deserted space to honor the Sacrifice of Jesus by cleansing our own lives and hearts and finding out what it will take to let go of our sense of pride and self-achievement.
Our cantors served at the Vigil Mass for the first Sunday of Lent. There was a wedding to follow Mass, so things were a bit odd in a way...what with flowers in the aisles but none on the altar, photo-shoots during rehearsal and a bizarre confusion about Claire being the bride while she was standing in the confession line.
(The hat probably confused people, but she did have fun wearing it TO church, even if she did not wear it during Mass. It is, after all, Lent. I expect we'll see it again come Easter).
James is the frame for our Lenten journey in the SRYC. He has the privilege of singing two of the great psalms of the year and this year he will begin and end Lent for us. So, here is James, proclaiming from the ambo, our sorrow and need for God, while we the people reflect and respond:
With the silence of the desert around us, it is fitting that there is so little music in Lent. No opening hymn, no closing hymn, and the comfort of the English chant ordinary make for a stark but beautiful contrast to the flourishes to come Easter morning. For Communion meditation, Claire & Sean offered this duet, "Lord Have Mercy" (again, the text of Psalm 51) by Cesar Franck, arr. by Hal Hopson:
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