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Contents
The Lenten Season’s sound
The Lenten Season’s rituals
The Lenten Season’s challenge
A Lenten Season checklist for those who prepare music
Lent is a preparation for the celebration of Easter. For the Lenten liturgy disposes both catechumens and the faithful to celebrate the paschal mystery: catechumens, through the several stages of Christian initiation; the faithful, through reminders of their own baptism and through penitential practices.
Lent runs from Ash Wednesday until the Mass of the Lordʼs Supper exclusive.
The Alleluia is not used from the beginning of Lent until the Easter Vigil.
On Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent and is observed everywhere as a fast day, ashes are distributed.
The Sundays of this season are called the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent. The Sixth Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week, is called Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday).
Holy Week has as its purpose the remembrance of Christʼs passion, beginning with his Messianic entrance into Jerusalem.
General Norms of the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, nn 27-30
The Lenten Season’s sound
Alleluia
Lent is a time of fast, and one way this is highlighted in liturgical rituals is that the word Alleluia is not said or sung for the entire season. The usual Acclamation Before the Gospel is substituted with another text such as Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus Christ. Hymns that use the word alleluia are also not sung during this season.
Glory to God in the highest
The Gloria is not sung during the Lenten season, except on specific occasions (eg solemnities such as St Patrick, St Joseph and The Annunciation). It will certainly not be heard or sung across the Sundays. The assembly will hopefully notice its absence and therefore notice its return at Easter.
Reduced singing
In Lent, selecting what is sung and played should be guided by the fact that the season has a different character to the Easter season to come. The liturgy during Lent should be characterised by a reduction in music to what is most essential. Apart from sung parts of the Mass and the Responsorial Psalm, only the Entrance and Communion hymns are essential. As such, regular practice in Wentworthville is to omit any recessional hymn at the end of Masses during Lent, and consideration should be given to omitting the Offertory hymn.
Instrumental music
“In Lent the playing of the organ and musical instruments is allowed only in order to support the singing. Exceptions, however, are Laetare Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Lent), Solemnities, and Feasts” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, n 313). As such, instrumental music is typically not to be used during Lent.
Choice of music for parts of the Mass
Reflecting all of what has already been discussed in your music selections will make the Lenten Masses sound different to what the assembly has experienced during Ordinary Time, and will experience during Easter. In addition, music groups should choose a different “Mass setting” (or music for the assembly’s sung acclamations and prayers) for Lent, to reflect that each of the seasons at this time has its own character. The one set of music for these acclamations should be sung consistently throughout the Lenten season and be changed again for Easter.
As the Lenten season has a penitential character, singing the Kyrie in the Penitential Act can help to highlight this for the assembly.
The Easter Season’s rituals
Penitential Act
As mentioned before, the Penitential Act may be given additional attention given the penitential dimension of this season. This can be emphasised by using the first form of the Penitential Act (the Confiteor). If this form is used, then it is followed by the Kyrie (as explained in the video below), which can be sung to highlight the penitential dimension of the season.
Responsorial Psalm
As always, the ideal for the Responsorial Psalm is that the text provided for the day in the Lectionary for Mass is sung. Our music suggestions provide the psalm of the day and name settings that are within our parish music collection. For music groups that find it challenging to learn a different psalm for each Sunday but want to ensure the integrity of singing the psalm, the Lectionary provides Common (or seasonal) Psalm texts for the season. Again, one of these is suggested each week in our music suggestions where appropriate.
View the nominated Common (or seasonal) Psalms for the Lenten Season
Professing our faith
The Apostles’ Creed is recommended due to its strong connection to baptism, for which Lent is a time for preparation. This will usually not impact the work of music ministers, however, as these texts are very rarely sung.
The Lenten Season’s challenge
Balance
Sometimes there can be a tendency to look at Lent solely as a penitential season. We must, however, understand the intention of this penance in light of Lent’s purpose. Lent is a preparation for Easter and for baptism. For those of us who are already baptised, our penance is a way of renewing our baptismal commitment. We need to hold the baptismal and penitential dimensions of Lent in balance so we may look forward to all that the Easter season celebrates.
A Lenten Season checklist for those who prepare music
- Have we chosen music for the assembly’s prayers and acclamations that is different to Ordinary Time (and will be different to Easter)?
- Will we be singing the Penitential Act and/or Kyrie? Are we prepared for this?
- Have we communicated to our music teams that Alleluia and the Gloria is omitted?
- How will we maintain rehearsal and preparation for Lent while rehearsing for Easter?
- Are we prepared for singing the Responsorial Psalm?
- Will we use the psalm of the day or a Common text?
- Are we prepared for singing an appropriate Acclamation Before the Gospel?
- Will the Masses we lead reflect restraint in our use of music, to reflect the season and allow for more extensive use at Easter?
- Are there hymns in our Lenten repertoire that reflect the Lenten dimensions of preparation, baptism and penance, as well as the Scriptures associated with the season?
Liturgy 