St Pius X Music Liturgy

If you want to get the notes for a Sunday not on this page, notes for all Sundays of the three year cycle can be found in the links to the left. You will need to refer to a liturgical calendar to check the cycle.

Psalms: you can get the text for the Psalm of the day from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Daily Readings website. The link will take you to the current date; use the calendar on the right of the destination page to go to the Sunday you want.

To put the Psalm on a powerpoint from the USCCB site, I suggest you copy them into Notepad first (this removes all formatting), then remove the response and paste it onto separate slides, verse by verse. You can also use thie USCCB website for the full text of the daily readings, Note that the translation is a little different from the one we use in NZ.

All my hymn slides are available here - provided you are a member of the group with whom I have shared them. Sorry, for copyright reasons I cannot share these outside the Parish. Would people also like me to share all my Sunday presentations (these include the psalm and Gospel acclamation)? If so, contact me prkeestra@gmail.com

If you are sending me a sharing request, please tell me who you are. It is not always obvious from the email address.

Sunday Readings and Hymn Suggestions: April to July 2019

Please note that the notes on readings here represent the opinions of the author, and carry neither a nihil obstat or an imprimatur. Hymn suggestions are ideas only and musicians are free to make their own choices.

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Sunday 24th July: 17th Sunday of ordinary time

GOSPEL: Luke 11: 1-13. The disciples ask Jesus how to pray; he gives them the "Lord's Prayer". This prayer draws on elements from various texts in the Old Testament. Jesus follows it with a parable illustrating the importance of perseverance in prayer.

FIRST READING: Genesis 18: 20-32. God threaten's to destroy two cities because of their sinfulness. Abraham asks him to spare the cities if there are some innocent men who would be destroyed along with the sinners. The story uses a storytelling device common to oral traditions and children's stories with its repetition of certain phrases in Abraham's 'bargaining' with the Lord. The reading is chosen for today to emphasise the point about the importance of perseverance in prayer.

SECOND READING: Colossians 2:12-14. Paul refers to the 'burial' by complete immersion in baptism, as practiced at the time. This symbolises the burial of Christ; rising from the water symbolises rising to new life with Christ's resurrection.

Themes: perseverance in prayer

Hymn suggestions: Hear O Lord; Amazing grace; Blest are they (or any setting of the Beatitudes); Day by day; Gentle as silence; I say yes; Lift up your hearts; Though the mountains may fall; Be not afraid; Now thank we all our God;

Sunday 31st July: 18th Sunday of ordinary time

Gospel: Luke 12: 13-21. A man asks Jesus to tell his brother to give him a share of his inheritance; Jesus responds with the parable of the rich man who plans to build bigger barns for his bountiful harvest, but who is told that he will die before it comes in. This seems to be a lesson not to be to attached to the things of this world.

First reading: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2: 21-23. The writer describes it as ‘vanity’ for a person who labours only to have someone else reap the fruits of their toil. Vanity in this sense refers to being in vain (pointless). This relates to the gospel theme of not being too attached to the things of the world.

Second reading: Colossians 3: 1-5, 9-11. Our reading of this letter continues; Paul exhorts the readers to focus on heavenly things, not earthly. He then lists sins and divisions in the community to which he writes, which keep them from heavenly things.

Themes: Our thoughts should be on heavenly things, not earthly. Freedom from sin and worldliness.

Hymn suggestions: Blest are they; Come as you are: Day by day, The Power of your love; Love is his word; Nearer my God to thee; Only a shadow; Seek ye first; The Beatitudes; The Lord is my shepherd; I found a treasure; Though the mountains may fall

Sunday 7th August: 19th Sunday of ordinary time

Gospel: Luke 12: 32-48. Be ready; the parable of the watchful servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding. The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.; treasures things of heaven, not of earth. A continuation of the gospel theme from last Sunday.

First reading: Wisdom 18: 6-9. Refers to the night of the Passover, expected at the time by the children of Israel but unexpected by their captors. The writer is a Greek-speaking Jew in the first century BCE, and is writing to encourage his people the face of oppression. Picks up the Gospel theme of being ready.

Second reading: Hebrews 11: 1-2, 18-19. We leave Colossians for a new letter, written for Jewish followers of Christ. The author gives explanation of the example of faith of Abraham and Sarah, relating that to how Christ has borne that faith out.

Themes: Be watchful; God has built us a city; faith; things of heaven, not earth.

Hymn suggestions: City of God; In faith and hope and love; Seek ye first; Though the mountains may fall; Yahweh’s love will last forever; Come to me all who labour; Be not afraid

Sunday 14th August: : 20th Sunday of ordinary time

Gospel: Luke 12:49-53. Jesus tells the disciples that he is not here to bring peace on earth, but a fire. After this, households would be divided against themselves. Partly this is a foreshadowing of His own suffering; fire is also a symbol of purification and sacrifice. Possibly this is also a foreshadowing of the trials of the early church.

First Reading: Jeremiah 38:44; 8-10. The prophet Jeremiah is cast into a well to die at the behest of evil counselors of King Zebediah, but he was freed on the pleading of a non-Jewish servant. This occurred at a time before the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Jeremiah had been preaching against certain political alliances, and suffered for his being true to his faith. Links to the Gospel through the notion of the trial of Jeremiah and that of Jesus; Jerusalem was captured after Jeremiah and destroyed by the Romans after Jesus.

Second reading: Hebrews 12:1-4. Continues our reading from this letter. The ‘cloud of witnesses’ refers to a list of first testament figures given between last Sunday’s reading and this one, who showed great faith in God. Christ leads us in our faith – he endured the cross (a shameful death). The writer is exhorting his readers to continue with such faith.

Themes: faith, witness for God, suffering for one’s faith.

Hymn suggestions: God’s spirit is in my heart; God gives his people strength; Be not afraid; Blest are they; Lord of the dance; Lord, I come to you; For all the saints;

Monday 15th August: Feast of the Assumption

Gospel: Luke 1: 39-56. Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth's words to Mary: "Of all women you are most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb" forms the second stanza of the Catholic prayer, the Hail Mary or Ave Maria. Mary's response to Elizabeth is the hymn of praise we know as the Magnificat (from the first word of the prayer in Latin: Magnificat anima meum Dominum...

First Reading: Revelations 11: 19; 12: 1-6, 10. John's 'apocalyptic' writing includes this vision casting Jesus entry into the world in symbolic terms. It is chosen for today's feast because it is the only place in the Bible which is gives a vision of Mary in the heavenly kingdom rather than in her earthly life.

Second reading: 1 Corinthians 15: 20-26. All will rise to life in Christ. Today's feast celebrates Mary 'Assumed" into heaven, as is eventually promised for all of us.

Themes: Mary, first disciple.

Hymn suggestions: Magnificat (any setting); Immaculate Mother (Lourdes hymn); Mary, gift of the eternal God; Mo Maria; Mary Immaculate;

Sunday 21st August: 21st Sunday of Ordinary time and Parish celebration of the Feast of St Pius X

Gospel: Luke 13: 22-30. Jesus tells the parable of the master of the house who has locked the door and told his visitor that he does not know them. Many will be turned away from the Kingdom of God, but those from the ‘east and the west’ will take their places. This seems to be a foreshadowing of the rejection of Jesus by many of the Jewish people, and the mission to the Gentiles.

First reading: Isaiah 66: 18-21. “I am coming to gather the nations of every language”. Parallels the Gospel message, written in an earlier time, about rejection and acceptance of God.

Second reading: Hebrews 12: 5-7, 11-13. Writing for his Jewish convert readers, the author points out how a father corrects his sons and likens their suffering to that of children being ‘corrected’. This seems to have been written at a time when these early Christians were undergoing suffering and persecution.

Themes: God’s call to all peoples, trials and tribulations, go and tell all nations.

Hymn suggestions: Go tell ev’ryone; Go now you are sent forth; Come as you are; Though so many; To be people of faith; To be your bread now; We are companions on a journey; You are salt for the earth

Sunday 28th August: 22nd Sunday of ordinary time

Gospel: Luke 14: 1, 7-14. The story about taking the place of honour at the wedding feast. “He who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted”. Jesus exhorts his host to invite the poor, crippled, lame and blind to dinner rather than friends or relatives.

First reading: Ecclesiasticus 3: 17-20, 28-29. This book is one of the wisdom texts – wise sayings of a father to his son. This section is about humility, echoing the theme of the Gospel.

Second reading: Hebrews 12: 18-19, 22-24. Continuing his message to the Jewish followers of Christ, the writer uses references his readers would be familiar with from Scripture to illustrate the new covenant that Jesus brings as mediator.

Themes: The new covenant of the Church is with the poor, lowly and humble. Humility; mission to the poor.

Hymn suggestions: Blest are they; Blessed are the poor in spirit; Christ be our light; Go tell everyone; Humbly we adore thee; Come as you are; Come to the water;

Sunday 4th September: 23rd Sunday of ordinary time

Gospel: Luke 14: 25-33. Continues the series of teachings from last Sunday; in this passage Jesus says than none can follow him without giving up worldly things. He uses a series of metaphors about preparedness to illustrate the need to be prepared for the coming of God’s kingdom. Taken with last Sunday, the message is about a kingdom of where there is a different sort of relationship: earthly status does not matter and we are enjoined to help one another.

First reading: Wisdom 9: 13-18. Another wisdom text; this one about the mystery of God’s will. Taken with the Gospel, we can discern again the idea that earthly status and designs are not those of God.

Second reading: : Philemon 9-10, 12-17. This is a passage from a short letter, written when Paul was old and in prison, as a personal letter to a follower called Philemon. He asks Philemon to take back a runaway slave, Onesimus, who has converted to Christianity, and to deal kindly with him. Slavery was a brutal fact of first century life, part of the order of worldly things referred to in the Gospel. The link to the gospel passage is fairly obvious.

Themes: our ways are not God’s ways; giving up worldly things, caring for one another.

Hymn Suggestions: Christ be our light, God’s spirit is in my heart, Come back to me, Come to me all who labour, Galilee song, Eagle’s wings; Love one another,

Sunday 11th September: 24th Sunday of ordinary time

Gospel: Luke 15: 1-32. Jesus is remonstrated for associating with tax collectors and sinners, and replies with some parables – the man who rejoices at a lost sheep found, the woman who finds her lost coin. The extended version of today’s Gospel continues with the prodigal son/loving Father parable.

First reading: Exodus 32: 7-11, 13-14. Moses comes down from the mountain to find the people have taken up the idolatrous worship of their neighbours. Moses pleads with God to stay his wrath against the people for their idolatry. This reading is chosen to echo the Gospel theme of God’s forgiveness.

Second reading: Timothy 1: 12-27. Paul describes how mercy was shown to him (he labels himself the greatest sinner) by God. This is a post-Gospel time restatement of the theme of the first reading and Gospel for today.

Themes: God’s mercy and love, God can forgive any sin; sinfulness and reconciliation

Hymn suggestions: Strong and constant, Gentle as silence, Come back to me, Though the mountains may fall;

Sunday 18th September: 25th Sunday of ordinary time

Gospel: Luke 16: 1-13. The rather curious parable about the steward who, on being told of his immanent dismissal, calls in his master’s debtors and dishonestly reduces their debt to win their friendship. He is then praised by the master for his astuteness (perhaps because of the good reports from his master’s debtors, grateful to him, or perhaps just for his astuteness in serving his own needs). Jesus goes on to advise his listeners to use money “tainted as it is” to win friends. He adds the twist on the end that no-one can be the servant of two masters – you cannot serve both God and money. In view of the first reading (see below) this could also be a message to use money to mitigate the suffering of the needy and oppressed.

First reading: Amos 8: 4-7. The prophet Amos gives examples of oppressive and exploitative practices, presumably drawn from contemporary events. In particular, he condemns those who push religious law to its limits and engage in deliberate swindling of the poor. He vows the Lord’s vengeance upon these people. Given that Jesus praises the dishonesty of the steward in the Gospel reading, it could be taken that it is the practice of exploiting the poor which is particularly being condemned; perhaps the steward’s master was one of those who did this.

Second reading: Timothy 2: 1-8. Continues this letter; an exhortation to prayer and emphasis on the Christian belief in one God and Jesus as his one mediator.

Themes: our God is the God of the poor and oppressed; foresight; using money and resources wisely (could be extended to wise use of the world’s resources in today’s world – to mitigate the suffering of the poor and needy, but also in a way to build a secure future).

Hymn suggestions: The cry of the poor, Christ be our light; Love is his word; Come to the water; In faith and hope and love;

Sunday 25th September: 26th Sunday of ordinary time

Gospel: Luke 16: 19-31. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Continues from last Sunday (this story follows it immediately), with a warning to the oppressors (the rich man who ignored Lazarus’ suffering), and follows it up with a message that those who suffer in this life will be rewarded in the next. Jesus is challenging the Pharisaic view that those who meet misfortune in life deserve it as a sign of God’s displeasure with them; he turns it around to state that it is their arrogance and complacency that will be punished (this would have greatly offended them). The sting in the tale here is the rich man’s request that he be allowed to warn his family - he is told that they had the prophets (e.g. Amos from the first reading), and if they wouldn’t listen to them they will not be convinced ‘even if someone should rise from the dead’. This reading is part of the sequence leading to Jerusalem; the deliberate provocation of the Pharisees and the reference to rising from the dead is a signal of the impending crisis.

First reading: Amos 6: 1, 4-7. Another reading from Amos, this time condemning the self-indulgent and indolent rich who pursue self-obsessed pleasures and ignore the troubles around them.

Second reading: Timothy 6: 11-16. Paul continues his advice to his protégé, asking him to pursue a ‘saintly and religious’ life. Timothy is, like Paul, to be an example to the community he serves.

Themes: care for the poor and the oppressed, social justice, moderation and uprightness in one’s affairs

Hymn suggestions: Similar to last Sunday, plus: Hear O Lord, We find you Lord in others need (new hymn – will need to be introduced

Sunday 2nd October: 27th Sunday of ordinary time

Gospel: Luke 17: 5-11: The apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith. He responds with a parable saying that it is not enough just to do the things you ‘have to do’ (i.e. following the commandments). The implication is that to show faith, one must take the initiative and look beyond the commandments.

First reading: Habakkuk 1: 2-3; 2: 2-4. Habakkuk lived about 600 BC, just before the Babylonian exile. He is impatient with God for retribution against the wicked, at a time when political intrigue and idolatry were rife. God tells him that justice will come; if it comes slowly, it will come without fail. The underlying message is to have faith and trust in God.

Second reading: Timothy: 1: 6-8, 13-14. Continues Paul’s teaching and encouragement to his protégé. In this section, Paul encourages Timothy to be bold in witnessing for Christ, and to be true to the teachings he has received from Paul. Paul is at this point a prisoner, but tells Timothy that he should not be ashamed of Paul for being a prisoner for the Lord.

Themes: faith, witness

Hymn suggestions: In faith and hope and love; Be not afraid; Christ be beside me; All over the world; All the ends of the earth; Deep in Christ; God gives his people strength; Lift up your hearts; Magnificat (any setting); Though the mountains may fall.

Sunday 9th October: 28th Sunday of ordinary time

Gospel: Luke 17: 11-19. Jesus cures ten lepers of their disease; only one of them (a Samaritan, considered by the tribes of Israel to be foreigners and not of the true faith) returned to thank Jesus and give praise to God for his cure. Jesus tells him that his faith has saved him.

First reading: Kings 5: 14-17. Naaman, a pagan army commander, is struck with leprosy and in desperation goes to the prophet Elisha. He is told to bathe seven times in the River Jordan, and is cured. The local religions of the time thought that their gods were gods only in the local area. Since only the God of Israel could cure him, he asks for as much earth as two mules can carry, to take home and hence take the God of Israel with him. Naaman was used to the idea of offering sacrifice of thanksgiving to his tribal god; since Elisha refused this, taking the soil was a way of acknowledging and thanking Yahweh. Many of the gospel miracle stories echo those of the old testament, particularly the miracles of Moses, Elijah and Elisha. Today’s gospel echoes this story to emphasize that the power of God worked through Jesus as it did through the prophets of old.

Second reading: Timothy 2: 8-13. We continue through this letter; in this section Paul asks Timothy to be firm in his faith. He reminds Timothy that salvation is in Jesus Christ. Paul writes this at a time when he faces great personal difficulty.

Themes: Thanksgiving, faith and trust in God.

Hymn suggestions: Now thank we all our God; I thank my God; Father, I thank you; Our God reigns; Dwelling place; I say yes; It is good to give thanks to the Lord; Only a shadow; Praise to the Lord

Sunday 16th October: 29th Sunday of ordinary time

Gospel: Luke 18: 1-8. Jesus tells the parable of the judge “who had neither fear of God nor respect for man” who is petitioned by a widow to give her justice, and eventually relents only because of her persistence. These judges were appointed by the Romans and were not expected to respect God or Jewish law and custom. Jesus makes the point that if such a man eventually gives in, then God (who is just) must surely also answer persistent prayers. He finishes with the twist: “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?”. The series of readings we have been following are on the journey to Jerusalem, and contain pointers to the trial to come. It is not certain that this last sentence belongs with the parable; if it does, it is possibly a reference to the coming of Christ as judge and the need for persistence with prayer in preparation for this (remember that the Gospel was written at least a generation after Jesus life and at a time when many considered that the ‘second coming’ would be soon).

First reading: Exodus 17: 8-13. During their travels after leaving Egypt, the people of Israel encountered various indigenous tribes who were (probably justifiably) wary of these nomads who might compete with them for local resources. Conflict was common. In this story, they encounter one such tribe, the Amalek. While the Hebrew fought the Amalek, Moses stood on a hill above them where he was visible. As long as he held up his staff, the Hebrews prevailed. When his arms fell, Amalek had the advantage. Aaron and Hur placed a rock for Moses to sit on and held up his arms so that his arms would not fall. The Hebrews eventually won. This is an illustration of the power of God to answer those who petition him.

Second reading: Timothy 3: 14 – 4:2. Paul tells Timothy that scripture is inspired by God and can be used for teaching. He tells Timothy to proclaim the message, refute falsehood and teach. He refers to the second coming of Jesus as judge (c.f. the reference at the end of the Gospel reading).

Themes: Persistence with prayer, God answers those who pray.

Hymn suggestions: Seek O seek the Lord; Ask and it shall be given unto you (Seek ye first v2, use as Gospel acclamation); Amazing grace; Ask the Father in my name; Day by day; Be not afraid; Glory and praise; Hear O God; Gift of peace; I say yes; Strong and constant; The power of your love (Eagles wings); Lord of all hopefulness; Magnificat (any setting); The Lord is my shepherd (any setting)

Sunday 23rd October: 30th Sunday of ordinary time

Gospel: Luke 18: 9-14. The parable of the two men going to the temple to pray; one (a Pharisee) thanks God for what he sees as all his very excellent qualities, the other (a tax collector) asks God to have mercy on him, a sinner. Jesus says it is the second who went home at rights with God for “he who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted”. This is still on the journey to Jerusalem and once again Jesus is making very pointed statements to and about the Pharisaic custom of considering good fortune to be a gift from God in reward for what they regard as their own righteous behaviour. The message is fairly self evident. Once again, the deliberate contrast giving the right behaviour to a tax collector (considered outcast by ‘righteous’ Jews) and the wrong to the Pharisees, who considered themselves as truly doing what God wants, turns things around from the world view Jesus’ listeners would have taken for granted. It would also have greatly angered the Pharisees; Luke is emphasizing the events that led up to the conflict with the Jewish authorities.

First reading: Ecclesiasticus 35: 12-14, 16-19. This book is one of the wisdom texts from the time after the Greek occupation of Palestine. The writer states that the Lord is a judge whose judgments are not dependent on the status of the petitioner, and who will answer the prayers of the humble. The writer here is addressing the same sort of self-satisfied and prideful attitude that Jesus is confronting in the Gospel reading.

Second reading: Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18. Paul is in prison and on trial. Nobody would defend him. He states that his life is near its end, but has been sacrificed to God. Only God has given him strength, only God will rescue him.

Themes: Humility; the need not to be self-satisfied or to have too high an opinion of ourselves, particularly as regards our relationship with God; prayer

Hymn suggestions: Humbly we adore thee; Hear O Lord; Gift of peace; Strong and constant; To be your bread now; Though so many; We are companions on a journey; When I behold the wondrous cross; Open my eyes, Lord; O breathe on me; Love is his word; Lord, make me an instrument of peace (either setting); Fill my house; Day by day; Come as you are

Sunday 30th October: 31st Sunday of Ordinary time

Gospel: Luke 19 1-10. The story of Zacchaeus, a short man and a rich tax collector, who climbed a tree to see Jesus. Despite the outcast status of tax collectors in Jewish society (they worked for the Roman occupiers), Jesus goes to Zacchaeus home for supper. The onlookers murmered against Jesus going home with a 'sinner', but Jesus states that he is here to save sinners. Zacchaeus promises to repay fourfold anyone he has defrauded. It is unclear whether Zacchaeus has actually defrauded anyone; his sin may be against the Law rather than one of deliberate injustice. The obvious message in this gospel reading is Jesus willingness to accept sinners.

First reading: Wisdom 11:22 - 12:1. This reading is in three parts. The first looks at the insignificance of the world on the scale of God and all creation; the second states that all is possible for God and everything that exists does so by God's will; the third part talks of God's mercy, forgiveness and the way God corrects sinners little by little. In this reading, the idea of all things being God's creation is a common theme in Wisdom texts. The relationship to the passage about God's mercy to today's gospel reading is obvious.

Second reading: Thessalonians 1:11 - 2:2. Today we begin a new letter of Paul, one of the earliest of our Christian texts that we still have today. Paul is addressing the people of Thessalonica, some of whom thought that the day of the second coming was to be so soon that there was no point in work or anything else. Basically, Paul is telling them to settle down and get on with life.

Themes: God's mercy and love, living life as best one can, God's greatness

Hymn suggestions: How great thou art; Gentle as silence; Hear O Lord; Come as you are; Come back to me; Day by day;plus any general theme praise hymns at the beginning or end (note: not ones about Christ as king, as this feast is coming up soon).