First reading
Exodus 24:3–8
This is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you.
Responsorial psalm
Psalm 115(116):12–13, 15–18
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
Second reading
Hebrews 9:11–15
The blood of Christ can purify our inner self.
Gospel acclamation
John 6:51–52
I am the living bread from heaven, says the Lord; whoever eats this bread will live for ever.
Gospel
Mark 14:12–16, 22–26
This is my body; this is my blood.
Images from the Word
- Preparations
- Large upper room
- Mount of Olives
- We will observe
- Eternal inheritance
Liturgical notes
While the Priest is receiving the Sacrament, the Communion Chant is begun, its purpose being to express the spiritual union of the communicants by means of the unity of their voices, to show gladness of heart, and to bring out more clearly the ‘communitarian’ character of the procession to receive the Eucharist. The singing is prolonged for as long as the Sacrament is being administered to the faithful.
—General Instruction of the Roman Missal, §86
In selecting appropriate music for the Communion Chant, our musicians have to cover many bases: the words of the singing must express the spiritual union of the communicants, rather than our devotional words, which are more appropriate for benediction; they also have to invite all participants to join with a united voice so that the truth of the moment—that we are one Body—is expressed; finally, the music has to engage the community for as long as it takes for all to receive Communion.
‘He fed them with the finest wheat and satisfied them with honey from the rock’
—entrance antiphon