Planning - Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time through Christ the King (Year C)
Music Planning Pages
as featured in
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) —
Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 3, 2025)
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 10, 2025)
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15, 2025)
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 17, 2025)
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 24, 2025)
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 31, 2025)
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 7, 2025)
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 14, 2025)
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 21, 2025)
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 28, 2025)
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (October 5, 2025)
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (October 12, 2025)
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (October 19, 2025)
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (October 26, 2025)
All Saints / All Souls (November 1/2, 2025)
The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (November 9, 2025)
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (November 16, 2025)
Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (November 23, 2025)
JESUS DOES NOT CONDEMN THE RICH for being rich. Think of Zacchaeus, the wealthy tax collector who received Jesus’s blessings (Lk 19:1–10), or the rich man whom Jesus looked upon with love (Mk 10:21). Being rich does not make one a sinner, but being “not rich in what matters to God” (Lk 12:21) makes one a fool.
What, then, matters to God? Or, as many English translations put it, what does it mean to be “rich toward God”? It’s not enough just to give God what is due in tithes, obedience, or praise. The rich man whom Jesus loved followed the commandments. Still, he was lacking. The offerings by the wealthy to the temple
Hymnals
I
I
treasury outmatched the poor widow’s two small coins (Lk 21:1–2). Nonetheless, their contributions were insufficient. We must look beyond the material to understand what truly matters to God. It is to know our need for the other and to use our possessions for the other so as to live in right relationship with them. Whether that “other” is God, our family at home, our neighbor next door, the stranger far away, or the generations to come, all we have is for them. If we desire true wealth, then they are the answer to God’s question to us this day: “The things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?” —DM
August 10 /Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
WITH CHRIST’S ASCENSION TWO MILLENNIA AGO, it is challenging to take seriously the urgency of today’s Gospel reading. If Christ’s second coming hasn’t happened by now, why be concerned?
How do we communicate the good news of this Gospel and help our assemblies not only believe in but also hope for the coming of Jesus at the end of days? Perhaps the second part of today’s Gospel reading, starting at verse 41, gives us some direction. For although we might not be able to plan for the final coming of Jesus, we could always be ready for his next coming in this very hour.
The faithful and prudent servants are the ones who continue
Hymnals
to do the master’s work, day after day, even when no one is looking. Because the point is not when the master will return but what we are doing when he does. With Jesus, the work we have been given is always for the purpose of service to others, nothing more or less.
In ministry, each day the master comes in many forms—in the anxious couple eager to plan their distant wedding, the distraught person who needs more attention than you think you can give, or the parishioner who steals your calm with yet another complaint. When Christ comes at these moments, will we be ready to serve him with joy? —DM
CEL/H
Hymnal
CEL/M
¡Celebremos! (Let
Missal
August
15 /Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
IN SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH, WOMEN continue to be vanguards of God’s reign. There is more awareness now of how patriarchal systems have shaped our everyday lives. And because of the global conversations on women’s roles in the church begun at the recent Synod on Synodality, we might also examine our own thinking about Mary.
Do we view Mary as a submissive, quiet vessel of God’s will, or is she the rebel who sang of how God casts down the mighty
Hymnals
Adiós, Reina del Cielo / Adiós, O Queen of Heaven
All Who Claim the Faith of Jesus
Maria (Chant)
Ave Maria (Kantor)
(Berthier)
Magnificat / My Soul Gives Glory (Bringle/Joncas)
(Chepponis)
Magnificat (Rubalcava)
Mary, First among Believers
Mary’s Canticle / Canticle of Mary (Roberts)
Mary's Song of Praise
Oh María, Madre Mía / Holy Mary, Loving Mother
Salve Regína / Hail, Queen
Sing "Ave!"
of Mary
Sing We of the Blessed
We Sing with Holy Mary
When, to Mary, the Word
of this world? In our preaching, prayers, and musical choices, is Mary revered solely because of her virginity or also because she was the one who taught Jesus how to speak and act boldly with courage?
Mary’s canticle, the Magnificat, is not for the faint of heart. It is the rallying cry from one whose faith called her to break societal boundaries and whose courage can inspire a new model for women and men in the church. —DM
WC/M
We Celebrate Hymnal
Missal
WS
Word and Song
CEL/H
¡Celebremos! (Let Us Celebrate!) Hymnal
CEL/M
¡Celebremos! (Let Us Celebrate!) Missal
Contemporary Music Resources
August 17 /Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
JESUS’S WORDS TODAY DON’T BRING MUCH comfort. But our comfort isn’t the goal of faith in Christ. Following Christ will call us to do many uncomfortable things. Recall some of the Gospel readings we’ve heard these past several weeks. Worried about breaking societal norms, the priest and the Levite bypassed the stranger on the road, beaten and robbed. But it was the Samaritan who went out of his way, above and beyond, to follow the law and love his neighbor as himself. When he saw a great multitude in need of food, Jesus did not send them away or shame them for their lack. Instead, he called everyone to bring forward their embarrassingly meager resources, even
Hymnals
if they felt their gift inadequate.
Each of us has a comfort zone we must leave if we want to follow Jesus to Jerusalem. It may require stepping into the awkwardness of introducing ourselves to a stranger at Mass or gathering the courage to speak up when a family member or colleague makes a racist comment. It may be that none of this will bring us comfort, and some of it may even cause conflict and division among those we love. But with the psalmist, we cry, “Lord, come to my aid!” so that we may use our Spirit-given baptismal power, even when it’s hard, and move ever closer to accomplishing Christ’s mission on earth. —DM
Contemporary Music Resources
August
24 /Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
THOSE WELCOMED TO THE TABLE IN today’s Gospel reading are not the insiders—members of the master’s household or his neighbors and friends. Rather, it is the outsiders coming in from all corners of the earth to whom the master opens the door.
Many of our parishes in the United States are blessed with diverse communities, some celebrating together regularly in multiple languages and sharing a variety of customs and traditions. These parishes often work hard to address the unique and shared needs of those who make up their community. Furthermore, they look beyond those in their pews to notice who is missing. Still, even these communities recognize that they can always do more to ensure their doors are always open and that places
Hymnals
Bienaventurados / Blessed and Beloved
Come, Receive the Living Bread
Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
Gather Us In
He Understands; He’ll Say “Well
In Christ There Is a Table Set for All
In Christ There Is No East or West
Just a Closer Walk with Thee
Let Us Come Now to the Kingdom
are ready at the various tables of parish committees, liturgical ministries, decision-making groups, and leadership.
On the other hand, some parishes see themselves as more homogenous, sharing the same ethnicity, language, or economic status. Therefore, they make little effort to extend a welcome since they believe everyone there is just like them—insiders with immediate access. Yet in these communities, even the smallest effort can begin to draw in those just waiting to be seen and recognized.
May our hearts and parishes never be a narrow gate but a welcome table for all. —DM
I
Rejoice,
Shout
WC/M
We Celebrate Hymnal Missal
WS
Word and Song
CEL/H
¡Celebremos! (Let Us Celebrate!) Hymnal
CEL/M
¡Celebremos! (Let Us Celebrate!) Missal
August 31 /Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
WANT TO KNOW THE BEST WAY to get a better sense of what your parish is really like? Sit some place you don’t usually sit. Sit in the very back pew, or stand along the back wall with those who came in late, or go to the cry room and participate in Mass there. You’ll see and hear what it’s like when you’re not one of the “insiders.”
Want to know the simplest way to make your parish more hospitable? Have people sit in the middle of the pew instead of its ends. Newcomers and latecomers will not need to crawl over others to find a place to sit. This says to them, “This is
Hymnals
yours. Welcome!”
Want to know how welcoming your parish really is? Invite a family with a crying baby to sit in the front, or make friends with the homeless person down the street and ask them to come to Mass with you. Then sit with them during Mass and see what it’s like.
It is easy to get into the habit of sitting in the same place or with the same people every time we come to Mass. But doing so never allows us to see the world from a different perspective, especially from the stranger’s or the outcast’s point of view. —DM
WC/M
We Celebrate Hymnal Missal
WS
Word and Song
CEL/H
¡Celebremos! (Let Us Celebrate!) Hymnal
CEL/M
¡Celebremos! (Let Us Celebrate!) Missal
Sirach 3:17–18,
Psalm 68:4–5, 6-7, 10–11 (Rx see 11b) Hebrews 12:18–19, 22–24a Luke 14:1, 7-14 READINGS
= BILINGUAL
September 7 /Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
THE MASSES OF THE SUNDAYS OF Easter time are also called the “Masses for the neophytes,” those newly baptized. These “new Christs” have been grafted to him through baptism. As their name suggests, they are like new plants that need careful tending. Too much water too soon, and roots may rot; but not enough experience in the highs and lows of faith can weaken those roots and keep these saplings from growing hardy.
The Christian community can help nurture these neophytes by continuing to be present to them, sharing their own experiences of dying to their old life in order to rise with Christ. For the heart of a resurrected life is offering praise to God even when
Hymnals
Follower of Christ
of Me
Caminemos con Jesús / Let Us Walk with Jesus
Christ Has No Body Now But Yours (Lawton)
Christ Has No Body Now But Yours (Warner)
We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder
it’s hard. At the brink of death, both Stephen and Jesus praised God because their faith was their central orientation of life, constantly drawing them ever closer to the Father. That union was Jesus’s prayer for his followers—that they may all be one. In the Eucharist, Communion is more than nourishment. It is our public commitment to offer ourselves completely to the Father for the sake of unity with others in Christ. Not all can rise to wear the crown of martyrdom. But all of us who share the Eucharist are called to lay down our lives each day so Christ might live more fully in us. —DM
CEL/H
¡Celebremos! (Let
Hymnal
CEL/M
¡Celebremos! (Let
Missal
September 14 /
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
FEW DAYS IN THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR give honor to a thing instead of a person. The Holy Cross is one of those days. This fall feast day parallels, in many ways, the springtime celebration of Good Friday and the Paschal Triduum. The opening antiphon for today’s feast is the same antiphon that begins Holy Thursday. And the liturgy of Good Friday includes the veneration of the cross and ends with a genuflection to the cross and time for prayer before the cross. Yet that day rightly takes on the tone of sobriety and lament, whereas today’s feast focuses more on the joyful triumph that the cross bears for us in Jesus’s sacrifice. Finally, the two trees that mark humanity’s
Hymnals
downfall and its rise to new life are beautifully connected in the Preface of the Eucharist Prayer: “For you placed the salvation of the human race on the wood of the Cross, so that, where death arose, life might again spring forth and the evil one, who conquered on a tree, might likewise on a tree be conquered, through Christ our Lord.”
On this day, you might adorn the cross you venerate on Good Friday and have an extended procession with it to a place of honor. During the preparation of gifts, you could also incense the cross along with gifts, altar, ministers, and people. —DM
G3 Gather 3rd Edition
RS2
Ritual Song Second Edition
OC Oramos Cantando
OIF One in Faith
CCH2 Catholic Community Hymnal 2nd Edition
We Celebrate Hymnal Missal
WS Word and Song
CEL/H
¡Celebremos! (Let Us Celebrate!) Hymnal
CEL/M
¡Celebremos! (Let Us Celebrate!) Missal
Contemporary Music Resources
September 21 /
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
IN PARABLES, THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING UNEXPECTED. Today, Jesus gives a surprising compliment to the dishonest steward who used his knowledge and network to “work the system” toward his goal of self-preservation.
When I began working as a diocesan liturgy director, some of my friends questioned my choice, wondering if I had “sold out” to what they perceived as a corrupt clerical chancery system. A similar question is often posed to Catholics who are asked why they remain in a church that doesn’t always operate justly. When I doubted myself and my choice to be part of “the system,” a mentor reassured me, saying that if I left it, there would be one fewer person there to help change it through their actions
Hymnals
We
What
and influence.
As people of faith, we are often encouraged to separate ourselves from earthly matters. Yet if we disconnected our faith from the systems we find ourselves in, doing nothing to use our faith to make it more just according to the Gospel, then we have made the system our master.
Jesus warns that no servant can serve two masters. The mission of Christ must be our goal in whatever place we have the opportunity to serve. Whether in church ministry, secular employment, civic leadership, or family life, let us work the system toward the goal of the Gospel. —DM
Missal
September 28 /Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
THERE IS A PAINTING BY 20TH-CENTURY American artist Osvaldo Louis Guglielmi at the Milwaukee Art Museum titled The Christening. When I first saw it, I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. It’s not particularly beautiful, large, or famous. It doesn’t even show an actual baptism, as the title suggests.
Painted with stark minimalism, Guglielmi’s work shows the moments after a baptismal ceremony. We, the viewer, standing in the shadows, spy a mother carrying her swaddled infant out the door of a drab-looking church building, while the baby’s grandfather holds the door open for her. In front of them is the baby’s father who escorts an older woman, his own mother
Hymnals
I Heard the Voice of
Lord Jesus Christ, Lover of All
We
What
perhaps, down the church’s front steps. Sitting just outside the door is an old man, eye patch over one eye, left foot shoeless, exposing long-johns under frayed pants. He extends his cap toward the family in a gesture that could be either reverence for the newly anointed or a request for spare change. Either way, every generation of that family shows disdain. The father and grandmother flee from the beggar, while the mother, child, and grandfather appear to retreat back into the safety of the church. Today we must ask ourselves this: What good does our participation in the liturgy and the sacraments do us if we do not care for Lazarus right outside our door? —DM
W4 Worship 4th Edition
G4 Gather 4th Edition
G3 Gather 3rd Edition
LM2 Lead Me, Guide Me 2nd Edition
RS2
Ritual Song Second Edition
OC Oramos Cantando OIF One in Faith
CCH2 Catholic Community Hymnal 2nd Edition
CEL/H
¡Celebremos! (Let
Hymnal
CEL/M
¡Celebremos! (Let Us Celebrate!) Missal
Contemporary Music Resources
WHEN I WAS EIGHT, I JOINED my parish choir because I was certain it would lead me to stardom! I eventually learned that true liturgical ministers do not seek gratitude for serving God’s people but merely say, “We have done what we were obliged to do.” None of us is perfect at this, but thankfully, the Spirit uses the imperfect for Christ’s mission nonetheless.
However, sometimes our assemblies want to show gratitude for the work we do. This is often expressed through spontaneous applause at the end of Mass. In light of today’s Gospel, should we try to stop this?
It’s only normal to express thanks for work well done. When
Hymnals
Come, Host of Heaven’s
Eye Has Not Seen
Faith Begins by Letting Go
God, Whose Purpose Is to Kindle
Halleluya! We Sing Your Praises / Halleluya! Pelo Tsa Rona
You Believe and I
You Have Faith / Si Tienen Fe
Lord, Help Us Walk Your
Lord, Make Me More Holy
Lord,
the assembly wants to applaud, I have found it better as a music minister to simply applaud them right back to show them that the work of the liturgy is one we share together done for God’s glory alone.
Still, there is another aspect to applause that the Black Catholic community has taught me. That is, embodied worship requires an embodied response. These communities usually do not applaud at the end of Mass but during it whenever the movement of the Spirit is so palpable within them that it must be expressed. Here, the gratitude is clearly directed toward God who has served us abundantly. And why would anyone want to hinder that? —DM
CEL/H
¡Celebremos!
Hymnal
CEL/M
¡Celebremos! (Let
Missal
Contemporary Music Resources
BEING GRATEFUL TO GOD IS THE core of our faith. This is sacramentalized in the great prayer of thanksgiving, the Eucharistic Prayer, the “center and high point of the entire celebration” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 78).
However, the people often perceive this prayer as merely something said by the priest that they have to get through before Communion. Here are some simple ways presiders and musicians can help make the Eucharistic Prayer a clearer high point for the entire assembly.
First, show that this prayer belongs to all the baptized. Through the Eucharistic Prayer, “the whole congregation of the faithful joins with Christ in confessing the great deeds of God and in the offering of Sacrifice” (GIRM, 78). Therefore, be sure baptized
Hymnals
We
candidates are not dismissed with catechumens. Whether Catholic or not, receiving Communion or not, all the baptized have a right and duty to pray this prayer. Also, strengthen the Preface dialogue that indicates that this is a shared act of thanksgiving.
Second, ensure that musical acclamations flow smoothly between presider and people. This may mean shortening the length of musical introductions so that the assembly’s response is not too delayed.
Finally, be sure the Great Amen is just that—great! This acclamation, which belongs only to the people, is how the people confirm and assent to everything that has been prayed on their behalf. —DM
G3 Gather 3rd Edition
LM2
Lead Me, Guide Me 2nd Edition
OIF One in Faith
CCH2 Catholic Community Hymnal 2nd Edition
Hymnal
Missal
Contemporary Music Resources
October 19 /Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I SPENT THREE MONTHS IN PANAMA City, Panama, trying to learn Spanish. There are parts of the city that cater to tourists, where streets and sidewalks are clean and trash is swept up daily by city workers. Then there are the places where most average Panamanians live. If there is a sidewalk, you’ll need to watch out for the holes gaping into the sewage system below and the mounds of rotting trash that may or may not be picked up that week. The first time I walked through one of these non-tourist neighborhoods, I was shocked at how much filth the locals put up with and wondered why no one did anything about it. After three months of walking those neighborhoods daily, I found the
Hymnals
trash didn’t bother me as much. I’m guessing that if I had been there longer, I wouldn’t even have noticed it.
When acts of injustice, evil, or human suffering become pervasive in our lives, we run the risk of becoming deadened to things that used to shock us. I think of the ever-increasing reports of gun violence or climate disasters. Prayer allows us to plead for God’s mercy. But as it did for the dishonest judge, prayer also keeps us bothered and attuned to the needs of others so that we might never become weary of asking the Spirit to guide us in alleviating their suffering. —DM
Contemporary Music Resources
October
I USED TO BELIEVE THAT I was nothing like the Pharisee in today’s parable—righteously smug as he measured his piety against the “rest of humanity”—until I realized I loved the liturgy more than I loved the people who celebrated it.
Fresh out of grad school, I had set off to “save the liturgy” from bad liturgical ministry and poor liturgical preparation. I measured the authenticity of a liturgy not by the people’s prayer but by how closely it followed the rubrics. I imposed my classically trained bias for “good music” upon every liturgical composition and music minister I encountered. When a neighboring parish invited me to cantor at a liturgy they had prepared for months,
Hymnals
and I forced them to change their choices at the last minute to fit my standards, I realized I had earned a position right next to the shameless Pharisee. Ever since, I have been doing penance for my ignorance and arrogance.
There’s probably a liturgical Pharisee in each of us waiting to judge someone else for their song choice, liturgical environment, scriptural interpretation, musical instrumentation or arrangement, or some other criteria. Because of this, let us help one another remember that our care for the liturgy must change us first to become a minister who recognizes everyday our own need for mercy from God and from one another. —DM
WC/M
We Celebrate Hymnal Missal
WS
Word and Song
CEL/H
¡Celebremos! (Let Us Celebrate!) Hymnal
CEL/M
¡Celebremos! (Let Us Celebrate!) Missal
Contemporary Music Resources
Novemeber 1, 2 /All Saints, All Souls
ONE OF OUR MOST UNDERUSED LITURGICAL treasures is the Litany of Saints. Most of us pray it only at the Easter Vigil, unless there are no baptisms and the font is not to be blessed. We get a shortened form of it at infant baptisms. If you’re lucky enough to participate in an ordination, consecration to religious life, blessing of an abbot or abbess, or dedication of a church or altar, you get another opportunity to pray it.
However, there are many times in the liturgical year when we can pray the Litany of Saints. For example, it is recommended as the entrance song for the First Sunday of Lent. And it would be appropriate for the Solemnity of All Saints as a processional
Hymnals
during the Mass.
With All Souls falling this year on a Sunday, you might imagine some creative ways to incorporate a sung litany of names of the parish’s deceased that parallels the Litany of Saints used the day before. Skilled cantors could adapt a simple chanted tone for each name while the assembly responds with a familiar acclamation or psalm response. Look to the Order of Christian Funerals for sung response ideas, especially Part III, which contains antiphons and psalms, or utilize other short refrains, such as those from Taizé or familiar settings of “Kyrie eleison” or “Lord, have mercy.” —DM
CEL/H
¡Celebremos! (Let Us Celebrate!) Hymnal
CEL/M
¡Celebremos! (Let Us Celebrate!) Missal
Contemporary Music Resources
NOVEMBER 9 LAST FELL ON A Sunday in 2014. Today’s feast, then, is a beautiful treat for the universal church. The Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome is the “ecumenical mother church” of the entire church because it is the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, who also happens to be the Pope! We often think of St. Peter’s Basilica as the papal “motherhouse,” but Pope Francis has always reminded the church that his primary role is as the Bishop of Rome, a bishop among many bishops.
Today’s collect asks God to “increase in your Church the spirit of grace you have bestowed, so that by new growth your faithful people may build up the heavenly Jerusalem.” And in the Preface, the church rejoices “as the mother of countless
Hymnals
children.” Today’s feast reminds us, then, that our own cathedrals and parish churches have been birthed from the mother church of the Lateran.
The anniversary of a parish’s dedication is always celebrated as a solemnity within that parish church. As the community of our mother church celebrates her feast day today, recall your own parish’s anniversary of dedication and mark it on your calendar. Look up also the dedication date of your own cathedral. Today and on your own local church’s dedication days, pray for all God’s children born from the faith of those communities over the centuries. —DM
Amén. El Cuerpo de Cristo
Be Not Afraid
Eye Has Not Seen
How Can I Keep from Singing
I Am the Bread of Life
In Christ There Is No East or West
Jerusalem, My Happy Home
Jesus, Lead the Way 715611732824
Lead, Kindly Light
Nada Te Turbe /Nothing Can Trouble
Shall We Gather at the River
There's a Wideness in God's Mercy 645703644511755546585338
We Are Many Parts/Muchos Miembros Hay
We Shall Rise Again
We Walk by Faith
Your Peace Will Make Us
CEL/H
¡Celebremos! (Let Us Celebrate!) Hymnal
CEL/M
¡Celebremos! (Let Us Celebrate!) Missal
Contemporary Music Resources
November 16 /Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
IN OUR LINE OF WORK, IT can be easy to fall into a spirit of pessimism, crankiness, stress, or general worry. Especially this time of year, when the pressures of the secular calendar, our home life, and the holidays start to pile up on top of our preparations for Advent and Christmas—which means Lent and Easter are just around the corner!—and with the colder days, longer nights, and lack of vacation, things can start to feel a bit miserable. Now a bride, whose wedding isn’t for another year and a half, is harassing you, choir members are letting you know they’ll be gone for Christmas, and the copier machine
Hymnals
From the Father’s Throne on High
From the Many, Make
decides to jam—again! Add to that the news these days, and it can certainly seem like the world is falling apart. Yet even in the midst of turmoil, our faith calls us to give joyful testimony that the sun of justice with its healing rays will arise. As liturgical ministers, we strive to embody the spirit of the liturgy even when we don’t feel like it because we have the duty and blessing of being public witnesses to Christ every Sunday. There is someone in your assembly this week whose world is truly falling apart, and they have nowhere else to turn. They need what you have to give them, and that is hope. —DM
WC/M
We Celebrate Hymnal Missal
WS
CEL/H
¡Celebremos! (Let
Hymnal
CEL/M
¡Celebremos! (Let
Missal
November 23 /Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
THE PROCLAMATION TODAY OF JESUS’S CRUCIFIXION reminds us that this solemnity of Christ as King of the Universe is not the typical setting we think of for royalty. Here, we have no trumpet blasts, lavish garments, places of honor, or sublime choirs. We have instead a retinue of criminals flanking our King upon a cross, a plea not for revenge but for mercy, and a promise not of wealth but of hope. In these simple acts, Jesus revealed the divine glory of being fully human.
How do we temper, then, our desire to express the triumphant glory of God with the vision of God’s reign that our liturgical year gives us today?
We do so by making our liturgies as authentically human as
Hymnals
possible. We look for patience with one another and not perfection. In our music, we highlight words that matter to discomfort the comfortable and comfort the inconsolable, instead of merely what is pleasant to the ear. We prepare places of honor in our churches, homes, and hearts not for donors, insiders, or those we know and like but for the forgotten, those who could never repay their debt, the one we call enemy, the indifferent, and the stranger.
This would be a fitting celebration for Christ through whose power and mercy all of us, happy thieves, may be granted to meet again in paradise. —DM
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name 566616570 342 /343 672473619238
Christ Is Surely Coming 860
Christ Is the King! 568615571670477237
Christ’s Church Shall Glory 851
Crown Him with Many Crowns 571626574344669475626236
Crux Fidelis 969 980675
God, We Praise You 599 703676
Goodness Is Stronger Than Evil 500567528313
He Is King of Kings 346
His Name Is Wonderful 372
Jesus Christ, Yesterday, Today and Forever 843624 847 723674240
Jesus, Remember Me 86980451097842783181
Jesus Shall Reign 569812 843478 633 340
Lift High the Cross 895968881726981721703412
Rejoice, the Lord Is King 564568349
Since Our Great High Priest, Christ Jesus 531
Soon and Very Soon 861941865691954704882396
The King of Glory 565572341474241
The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns (St. Stephen) 364
The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns (Morning Song) 403450414236504353120
This Is a Story Full of Love 593
To God Be the Glory 442
To You Who Bow
When the Lord in Glory Comes 863
When You Come 455
You, Lord, Are Both Lamb and Shepherd 626628359708510
¡Cristo Vence! 546
¡Tú Reinarás! 669
Aleluya, Cantemos al Señor 622324
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name 196742633281
Alleluia! Sing to Jesus 201736627278195
Altísimo Señor 516366
Alzad la Cruz* 564361
Arise, O Church, Arise 220776 295
Cantemos al Amor de los Amores 660367
Come, Our Almighty King 208772648292151
Crown Him with Many Crowns 200747629284147
Él Vive, Él Reina 624323
Estamos en Casa del Padre 609
Festival Canticle 273958791224
Hail, Redeemer, King Divine 199752640282204
Jesus Shall Reign 743639
Jesús, Recuérdame* 884746537226
Lift High the Cross 234803672564206
Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service 253967799383
On the Wings of Change 982810
Soon and Very Soon 328978807390154
The King of Glory 205753625287208
The King of Love 192856723332209
To Jesus Christ, Our Sovereign King 197741638286203
Venga Tu Reino 633326 Whatsoever You Do 252968797386
