25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B, 2009)

Entrance	Be thou my vision
Kyrie	Kyrie I (Taizé )
Gloria	Mass for John Carroll (Michael Joncas)
Psalm	Ps 53 (Bévenot)
Gospel Acclamation	Alleluia Mode 2 (Plainchant)
Preparation of the Gifts	All that is hidden (Bernadette Farrell)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Eucharistic Acclamations (Bernadette Farrell)
Agnus Dei	from Beneath the Tree of Life (Marty Haugen)
Communion	In the Lord (Taizé)(alternative text by Paul Inwood)
Postcommunion	Teach me, O Lord (Thomas Attwood, 1765-1838)
Recessional	O God our help in ages past

Another of those Sundays that are difficult to plan for because there seem to be fewer items in our repertoire that directly connect with the readings and propers. But Be thou my vision and All that is hidden linked nicely to the theme of discipleship set out in today’s Gospel reading from Mark:

If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.

Jacques Berthier’s Kyrie I formed the backbone of our Penitential Rite in the third form, with Fr Tony singing the tropes (with the choir accompanying) in between the people’s refrains.

After our recessional hymn Anthony treated us to Bach’s St Anne Fugue in E♭, BWV 552. The striking resemblance of the fugue’s subject to the opening line of the familiar tune for O God, our help in ages past is said to be fortuitous, but the two pieces go together splendidly.

At Communion we had Attwood’s Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes, reflecting today’s Communion antiphon:

You have laid down your precepts to be faithfully kept. May my footsteps be firm in keeping your commands.

Attwood is claimed to have been a “favourite pupil of Mozart”, but judging from the workmanlike simplicity of Teach me, I’m not sure a whole lot actually rubbed off.