Pause. Reflect. Pray.
In this season of preparation, join us in reflection and song. You will find a short audio program added each day of Lent. Only a few minutes long, each installment includes scripture, reflection, and a musical selection presented by a member of the GIA staff.
Holy Saturday, The Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter
They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.” (Mark 16)
Music selections:
“Offertory on ‘Regina Coeli’” from Consoliere Classic (Alison Luedecke), “Easter Introit“ (Bob Moore), and “He is Not Here” (Derek Wayne Campbell)
Good Friday of the Lord's Passion
Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your justice rescue me. Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God. (Psalm 31)
Music selections:
“In Manus Tuas, Pater” from Taize: Instrumental, volume 2 (Jacques Berthier) and “Padre, En Tus Manos/Father, Into Your Hands“ (Eleazar Cortes)
Holy Thursday, Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper
I have given you a model to follow so that as I have done for you, you should also do. I give you a new commandment; love one another as I have loved you. (John 13:15)
Music selections:
“Introduction and Two Versets on Pange Lingua” from Consoliere Classic (Alison Luedecke) and “Love is His Word“ (Calvin Hampton, arr. Richard Proulx, text by Luke Connaughton)
Wednesday of Holy Week
Tuesday of Holy Week
Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” (John 13:21)
Music selections:
“Bleibet Hier” from Taize: Instrumental, volume 1 (Jacques Berthier) and “Lord Jesus Christ“ (Carol Browning)
Monday of Holy Week
Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. (John 12)
Music selections:
“Soliloquy: Let My Prayer Rise Like Incense” from Let Every Instrument Be Tuned for Praise (Bob Moore) and “Two Ostinatos for Lent“ (Nicholas Palmer)
Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion
Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Mark 11)
Music selections:
“Solemn Processional” from Consoliere Classic (Alison Luedecke) and “Who is the King of Glory?“ (Richard Proulx)
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Thus says the Lord God: I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to which they have come, and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land. I will make them one nation upon the land… Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms. (Ezekiel 37)
Music selections:
“Laudate Omnes Gentes” from Taize: Instrumental, volume 1 (Jacques Berthier) and “From the Many, Make Us One“ (Tony Alonso, text by Gabe Huck)
Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
I hear the whisperings of many: “Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!” All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. “Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him.” But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion. O LORD of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart, Let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause. Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD, For he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked! (Jeremiah 20:10-13)
Music selections:
“Remembrance” from Colours (Chris de Silva) and “Will You Hold Me in the Light“ (Sally Ann Morris, text by Adam M.L. Tice)
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. (Luke1:26)
Music selections:
“Stabat Mater” from Salve Regina: 15 pieces for organ and instruments based on well-known chants (Jacques Berthier) and “Annunciation Carol“ (Larry J. Long)
Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance. (Luke 8:15)
Music selections:
“O Lord, with Wondrous Mystery” from Impromptu (Thomas W. Jefferson) and “We Shall Overcome“ (arr. Robert T. Gibson)
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever. (Luke 8:11)
Music selections:
“Blossom” from Colours 2 (Chris de Silva) and “Hope is a Seed“ (Jane Best, text by Mary Louise Bringle)
Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent
I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. (Ezekiel 33:11)
Music selection:
“Turn Our Hearts Around“ (Trevor Thomson)
Fifth Sunday of Lent
I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name. (John 12)
Music selections:
“Nada te Turbe” from Taize Instrumental, volume 1 (Jacques Berthier) and “Your Sacrifice“ (Thomas Lucas)
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent
So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?” The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.” So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them, “Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him
and finds out what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” (John 7)
Music selections:
“Dominus Spiritus Est” from Taize Instrumental, volume 3 (Jacques Berthier) and “Speak to My Heart“ (J. Eric Brown)
Solemnity of Saint Joseph
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:46-52)
Music selections:
“A Child’s Prayer” from Consoliere Classic (Alison Luedecke) and “The Finding“ (Danielle Rose)
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying, ’I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage. (Exodus 32:13)
Music selections:
“Aria for the Elevation” from Consoliere Classic (Alison Luedecke) and “God of Majesty and Glory“ (James R. Biery, text by Marilyn Biery)
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. (Isaiah 49:14-15)
Music selections:
“Lullaby” from Let Every Instrument Be Tuned for Praise (Bob Moore) and “In the Morning, in the Evening“ (Bex Gaunt, text by Adam M.L. Tice)
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. (John 5:6-9)
Music selections:
“Jerusalem” from Colours (Chris de Silva) and “We Shall Rise Again“ (Jeremy Young)
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. The royal official said to Jesus, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. (John 4)
Music selections:
“Healer of Our Every Ill” from Instruments of Peace, volume 1 (Marty Haugen) and “I Know the Lord Laid His Hands on Me“ (arr. Richard Kent)
Fourth Sunday of Lent
By the streams of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. On the aspens of that land we hung up our harps. (Psalm 137)
Music selections:
“Prelude in c minor, BWV 999” from Meditation – Cello and Harp: Music for Pryer and Meditation (Frederic Dupuis, Anna Kozielska) and “Si No Me Acuerdo de Ti“ (Eleazar Cortés)
Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your piety is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that early passes away.
For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6)
Music selections:
“Ubi Caritas” from Taize Instrumental, vol. 1 (Jacques Berthier) and “Ubi Caritas“ (Chris de Silva)
Friday of the Third Week of Lent
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12)
Music selections:
“Pavane” from Consoliere Classic (Alison Luedecke) and “Who is Your Neighbor?“ (Paul Melley)
Thursday of the Third Week of Lent
This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper. (Jeremiah 7:23)
Music selections:
“Companion” from Colours 2 (Chris de Silva) and “We Cannot Measure How You Heal“ (arr. John L. Bell, Graham Maule)
Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:19)
Music selections:
“Ubi Caritas” from Salve Regina: 15 Pieces for Organ and Instruments Based on Well-Known Chants (Jacques Berthier) and “The Pure in Heart“ (Patrick Hawes)
Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ (Matthew 18:32-33)
Music selections:
“Meditation on Oración de los Fieles” from Variations (Peter Kolar) and “God is Forgiveness“ (Jacques Berthier)
Monday of the Third Week of Lent
When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. (Luke 4)
Music selections:
“Ad Te, Jesu Christe” from Taize Instrumental, volume 3 (Jacques Berthier) and “Show Us Your Face“ (Kathleen Basi)
Third Sunday of Lent
Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. (1 Corinthians 1)
Music selections:
“Variations on the Pascaglia from ‘Misa Luna’” from Variations (Peter Kolar) and “Tree of Life“ (Aaron Thompson, arr. Ed Bolduc)
Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.. (Luke 15)
Music selections:
“Da Pacem Cordium” from Taize Instrumental, Volume 1 (Jacques Berthier) and “I Will Arise“ (Tony Alonso, text by John L. Bell)
Friday of the Second Week of Lent
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son; so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Music selections:
“Wondrous” from Colours 2 (Chris de Silva) and “For God So Loved the World“ (Marty Haugen, text by Adam M.L. Tice)
Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord. (Psalm 1)
Music selections:
“You Are the Image and the Hope” from Liturgical Mediations: 14 Pieces for Flute and Organ (Jacques Berthier) and “May the Angels Lead You“ (Richard Proulx)
Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Save me, O lord, in your kindness. (Psalm 31)
Music selections:
“Vexillia Regis” from Salve Regina: 15 pieces for organ and instruments based on well-known chants (arr. Jacques Berthier) and “Litany of Humility“ (Danielle Rose)
Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Mt 23:12)
Music selections:
“The Hermit Song” from Lumina: Orchestral Music of Liam Lawton (Liam Lawton, arr. Mark Cahill) and “The Gift to Be Simple“ (arr. Robert W. Schaefer)
Monday of the Second Week of Lent
Jesus said to his disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap.” (Luke 6)
Music selections:
“El Señor es Compasivo/The Lord is Compassionate” from Variations (Peter Kolar) and “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy“ (Ed Bolduc)
Second Sunday of Lent
Behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. (Mark 9)
Music selections:
“Jésus Le Christ” from Taizé: Instrumental, volume 1 (Jacques Berthier) and “Listen to Him“ (Danielle Rose)
Saturday of the First Week of Lent
Today you are making this agreement with the Lord: he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees, and to hearken to his voice. (Deut. 26)
Music selections:
“Search” from Colours 2 (Chris de Silva) and “In Your Presence“ (Chris de Silva)
Friday of the First Week of Lent
Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? says the Lord God. Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live? (Ezekiel 18)
Music selections:
“Misericordias Domini” from Taize: Instrumental, Volume 1 (Jacques Berthier) and “Turn Our Hearts Around“ (Trevor Thomson)
Thursday of the First Week of Lent
If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. (Matthew 7)
Music selections:
“Offering” from Colours (Chris de Silva) and “Children of the Heavenly Father“ (arr. Henry Gerike)
Wednesday of the First Week of Lent
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me. (Psalm 51: 3-4)
Music selections:
“Prayer” from Sacred Flute Solos, vol. 1 (Doug Denisen) and “Have Mercy on Us for We Have Sinned“ (W. Clifford Petty)
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
This is how you should pray: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (Matthew 6)
Music selections:
“The Lord Will Bless Us With Peace” from Miniatures for Solo Instrument and Piano (Bob Moore) and “Not by Bread Alone“ (M. Roger Holland II)
Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. (Psalm 23)
Music selections:
“Breathe” from Colours (Chris de Silva) and “The Good Shepherd“ (M. Roger Holland II)
First Sunday of Lent
This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between you and every living creature with you. I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth … so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy. (Genesis 9)
Music selections:
“Keep in Mind” from Variations (Peter Kolar) and “Rock of Faith” (Ed Bolduc)
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him (Luke 5:27)
Music selections:
“Mercy” from Colours (Chris de Silva) and “Were I the Perfect Child of God” (Scottish traditional, text by John L. Bell)
Friday after Ash Wednesday
The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” (Matthew 9:14-15)
Music selections:
“Mercy” from Colours (Chris de Silva) and “Christ the Icon” (Rory Cooney)
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
If anyone wishes to come after me, they must deny themself and take up their cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
Music selections:
“Mercy” from Colours (Chris de Silva) and “Take Up Your Cross” (Ronald Corp)
Ash Wednesday
Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. (Joel 2: 12-13)
Music selections:
“Mercy” from Colours (Chris de Silva) and “Merciful God: A Ritual Song for Lent” (Tony Alonso, text by Mary Louise Bringle)
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