3rd Sunday of Advent (Year A, 2013)

Sunday, 15 December 2013

 

Entrance	Rejoice, the Lord is King
Kyrie	Missal Chant (English)
Psalm	Come Lord and save us (Chris O’Hara)
Gospel Acclamation	Advent Gospel Acclamation (Philip Duffy)
Creed	Credo III
Preparation of the Gifts	Conditor Alme Siderum (T.L. de Victoria, 1548-1611)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Missal Chant
Agnus Dei	Missal Chant
Communion	(i) O Radix Jesse (chant) (ii) Be strong, our God has come to save us (Psallite)
Postcommunion	(silence)
Recessional	Come, thou long-expected Jesus

 

I’m not sure why the Psallite composers altered the text of the Communion antiphon from will come to has come; perhaps with the aim of emphasising the immediacy of the encounter with Christ in the Eucharist. With hindsight I’d have amended it to better match the Missal text — this is, after all, the season for waiting for the Lord. In any case, you could say that any sacramental encounter is a foretaste of the real thing yet to come, and that the future tense is always the most appropriate. Though it’s more complicated than that: will come is always shorthand for will come again.