Remembrance Sunday or 33rd of the Year

[Nick Baty]

Reading other people's music lists, I've noticed how many people celebrated last week as Remembrance Sunday. Musically, we didn't – we took it as the 33rd Sunday of the year. We did, however, include a small act of remembrance in the opening procession (laying of poppy wreath on the parish memorial) and those killed in war were remembered in the Prayers of the Faithful. What did others do?

[alan29]

Silent entrance into one minutes silence. A bidding prayer. Abide with me at the end - awful on the Clavinova with its wonderful array of door-buzzer sounds that pass for "organ."

[IncenseTom]

We gave the 9:30 Mass a Rememberance flavour.
No offetory hymn - instead I played the Elgar Nimrod using the full forces of the organ.
Hymns included For the healing of the Nations to the Let all Mortal Flesh tune, and Abide with me.
Beethoven Funeral March as the organ recessional.

I didn't play for the 11am Mass but apparantly it was a Requiem Mass (purple vestments and such like)

[IncenseTom]

Just while I remember, when I was at university the parish where I attended Mass used to sing the National Anthem at the end of Mass on Rememberance Sunday. It was a very 'Irish' parish too!

[Nick Baty]

For the healing of the Nations to the Let all Mortal Flesh tune

So pleased to hear we're not the only people who use this tune for those words.

[docmattc]

I'm sure this discussion has been had in previous years.

I'm of the opinion that the liturgical calendar takes precedence and where I used to play we had the silence post Prayer of the Faithful (10.30am Mass meant that this was at 11-ish) and we would sing "What shall we pray" (L 449) during the prepartation of the gifts. otherwise the music followed whatever Sunday of the year it was.

Where I am now we had the silence as above (also 10.30 Mass) and hymns Eternal Father strong to save at PofG, Abide with me to end and I don;t remember what we started with.

[keitha]

Our diocesan Ordo prescribes either Mass of Sunday 33 or a Requiem Mass, with a recommendation that at least one Mass be celebrated for those who have fallen in war. We started with the restoration of an old parish tradition of meeting at our outdoor shrine to Our Lady, with prayers and the laying of cross of poppies, followed by "O God our help in ages past" as we processed into Church, followed by a short period of silence before the Penitential Rite. Various 'remembrance' themes were skillfully worked into the homily, which was really for Sunday 33, as was the Mass itself.

[HallamPhil]

In Sheffield City centre's Catholic gathering we did our main remembrance at 0930. We started with John Bell's 'What shall we pray for those who died' then did the Kyrie from 'pro defunctis'. This was a Mass for the Dead so we omitted the Glory to God and then contined with scriptures of the 33rd Sunday. After the Creed we held 2 mins silence followed by the oration and as the wreath was placed we sang Requiem aeternam (missa pro defunctis). The intercessions followed and during the preparation of gifts the choir sang 'Pie Jesu' by Andrew Wright. Mass continued with 'New Wine' eucharistic acclamations and Lamb of God. As the wreath was carried in procession to the 11am City Centre service of remembrance we all sang 'Grant them eternal rest' by Alstott.

The cathedral parish is celebrating Sunday Mass at St Matthew's (Anglican) while the cathedral is closed for the year of re-ordering. Had we been there we would have had Mass at 1030 and strived to ensure that our celebration enabled a 2 mins silence simultaneous with the 11am cannons over the City. This year we did not have this timing pressure but it was still most worthy.

All the other Masses recognised Remembrance but did not focus on it liturgically/musically.

[Hare]

Our 10 30 is always a Requiem - no Gloria; readings from masses for the dead; Last Post etc. At the other masses the lectionary is observed.

[Peter]

As the anniversary of the dedication of my church is 14th November we had three themes to combine. They were all reflected in the Intercessions and in the choice of hymns: like Docmattc and HallamPhil we used Laudate 449 at the Offertory as we have done on Remembrance Sunday for many years. The readings were those for the 33rd Sunday: even last year, when the anniversary fell on the Sunday we retained the 33rd Sunday readings, because the church is one of a two-church parish and so different readings and hence a different sermon would have been needed at the other church even if we had let the anniversary of dedication supersede the Sunday.

As only Sunday Mass at my church is the Saturday vigil, I was free to go elsewhere for Remembrance Sunday and went to the ancient CofE church in the village where my parents used to live. The hymns were "O God our help in ages past", "The Lord is my Shepherd", "I vow to thee my country" and the National Anthem; the names of the fallen from the area were read out and the two-minute silence observed with taped bugle calls at either end. It was very dignified but as it started at 10.00 we came out and started talking around the time that everyone else in the country was observing the silence.

in the evening I went to a concert also with a remembrance theme. After a first half that included the "Dambusters March", "Spitfire Prelude and Fugue" and some popular songs from both world wars, the audience got quite a shock when they were treated to Shostakovich in the second half: admittedly only the first movement of the "Leningrad Symphony" but even that lasted nearly half and hour and some audience members were getting a bit restive by the end. A brave and imaginative bit of programming!

[JW]

Is it the consensus that there should not be a Gloria at a Requiem Mass celebrated on Remembrance Sunday as happens in Hare's and Phlorida Phil's churches. Does the instruction that there should be no Gloria at Requiem Masses over-ride the instruction that there should be a Gloria on Ordinary Sundays? 'Music and Liturgy' is quite clear that the Gloria should be omitted.

I ask because we've had a Gloria in our Remembrance Day Requiem Mass - I'm not sure of the history - and it has been queried.

Given the wisdom in this group I know someone can put us right and even point me to a specific instruction from the powers that be!

Thanks.

[alan29]

Is it permitted to replace the Sunday Mass with a requiem?

[Southern Comfort]

Our diocesan Ordo has this:

THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (Psalter Week 1)
Mass Proper, Gloria, Creed, Preface of Sundays in Ordinary Time

Remembrance Sunday: One Mass for the Dead may be celebrated today [P]; Creed, no Gloria

[mcb]

The Liturgy Office web site says On Rembrance Sunday (2nd Sunday in November) one Mass may be replaced by a Mass for the Dead, so I guess the permission applies nationally.

At my place of worship, rather than having a Requiem, we have an act of Remembrance at 11.00 (normal start time for the Mass), and then get on with the Mass of that Sunday, Gloria and all.

[alan29]

Silent entrance into one minutes silence. A bidding prayer. Abide with me at the end - awful on the Clavinova with its wonderful array of door-buzzer sounds that pass for "organ."

5 years later ....... identical.
But now a slightly better Kawai.