Cantor scores for the Lumen Christi Missal have now been posted for free download for the feasts of All Saints and All Souls:
These editions include all five propers (Entrance Antiphon, Responsorial Psalm, Alleluia and Verse, Offertory Antiphon, and Communion Antiphon) in simple settings that are intended to be sung by average parish choirs, cantors, and congregations.
Some might ask: Aren’t some of these settings, such as the Entrance Antiphon for All Saints, a bit too challenging for congregations to sing? I would answer this question with another question: How long did it take your congregation to learn “For All the Saints”, which will be sung as the Entrance Chant this Thursday in parishes across the English speaking world?
The answer, of course, is that it takes years. And still, I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard a congregation sing the line “Your name, O Jesus, be forever blest…” correctly.
How much better would it be to invest in teaching your parish the Entrance Antiphon text that has been sung by the Church on this Feast Day since time immemorial? Why not teach them the antiphon that is right in the Roman Missal and Graduale Romanum alike?
Let us all rejoice in the Lord,
as we celebrate the feast day
in honor of all the Saints,
at whose festival the Angels rejoice
and praise the Son of God.
The Lumen Christi Missal can help you do this. It can equip your parish with the tools needed to begin “singing the Mass” more and more, bit by bit.
Many parishes are now ordering the Lumen Christi Missal for their pews with plans to introduce it on the First Sunday of Advent, with proper catechesis and an opportunity for a fresh start.
This Year of Faith presents a great opportunity to build upon the momentum that was begun with the new translation of the Roman Missal and to further renew the liturgical and musical life of your parish. There couldn’t be a better time to update the resources in your pews.
Please visit Illuminare Publications or contact us if you’d like to learn more about bringing the Lumen Christi Missal to your parish.