Palm Sunday — Congregation of Sisters of St Joseph in Canada, Theater News

Walking the journey of Lent we consciously and unconsciously hold onto melodies, images, and words. What has stayed with you? Mine are deeply embedded melodies of compassion, mercy, pleas for courage, Kyries, and ultimately praise for God’s constant love in the midst of our chaotic world. The celebration of liturgy does this to me.

A world torn by war, hatred, violence is evil personified. A Eucharistic heart grown large out of the mystery of dying and rising is indeed Love personified. When the texts of our liturgical prayer draw in the reality of our world situation, we breath in and out Divine compassion.

This Sunday, Palm/Passion Sunday, we praise as we parade with palm branches, then we try to settle our joy into a deep listening, making space for the suffering of the Anointed One, the Messiah, Jesus, the Christ.  The proclamation of the Passion is indeed a sustained poignant experience.

There is an earlier moment in the liturgy that makes way for the hearing of the passion story: the singing of Psalm 22, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me.” The melody in Catholic Book of Worship III was written by Brother Donatus Vervoort, (1931 – 2014) a deeply spiritual man who strove to serve persons in need with an understanding mind and a warm heart. I dare to say in the shaping of the melody for Psalm 22 his lived experience of war in the Netherlands, stretched and molded his understanding heart. When we sing that plaintive antiphon, our hearts are stretched to encompass the passion of the Christ, and the passion of our world.

But let me introduce you to another setting of that psalm. This is the composition of David Willcocks, SJ. This 6-minute video begins with a brief commentary on Psalm 22, followed by the cantor’s prayerful ministry.