Choral Meditation: Behold, the Lamb of God –Paul Bouman (b. 1918)
Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world; In perfect love He dies; For me He dies, for me. O all-atoning Sacrifice, I cling by faith to Thee.
Choral Meditation: God So Loved the World –John Stainer (1840-1901)
God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoso believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Choral Response: Responsory for Passiontide –Healey Willan (1880-1968)
He was brought as a Lamb to the slaughter: He was oppressed and He was afflicted: yet He opened not His mouth. He was delivered up to death: that He might quicken His people. At Salem also is His tabernacle: and His dwelling place in Zion. He was delivered up to death: that He might quicken His people.
Choral Music at the Distribution: Ave Verum Corpus –Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Ave verum corpus, natum de Maria Virgine, vere passum, immolatum in cruce pro homine, cujus latus perforatum unda fluxit et sanguine: esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.
(Hail, true Body, born of the Virgin Mary, having truly suffered, sacrificed on the cross for men, from whose pierced side water and blood flowed: Be for us a foretaste in the trial of death.)
Organ Meditations (as needed):
Before Afternoon Prayer: O Sinner, Come Thy Sin to Mourn (O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde gross) (BWV 622) –Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
O sinner, come thy sin to mourn, So vast and vile that it has borne; Christ to this vale of anguish; Son of a Virgin, sweet and mild, In poverty the Holy Child, Thy Substitute, did languish; Behold, with faith, God’s only Son! Come nigh and see what Love has done, To save thee from damnation; The Father cast on Him thy guilt, For thee His precious blood was spilt, To bless thee with salvation.
O meditate, how painfully, the Lamb of God, on Calvary; Has died for thy transgressions; How dreary was that awful night, Of agony, how great the fight, Of His most wondrous Passion! O Son of God, eternal Word, Divine Redeemer, dearest Lord We marvel at Thy suffering, For Thy disgrace, and pain, and shame, We’ll ever magnify Thy name, And praise Thy glorious offering.
Following the Lessons: Our Blessed Savior Seven Times Spoke (Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund) (BWV 621) –Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
As Jesus hung on the cross and His body was wounded, with such bitter pain, consider in your heart the seven words that He spoke there.
