Holy Cross Music Notes

It’s the Third Sunday after Easter.  We will gather with Take My Life that I May Be, a well-loved Christian hymn of surrender and commitment. Frances Ridley Havergal wrote the lyrics in 1874 following a spiritual experience, with each stanza designed as a prayer for total dedication.  We will process with a Holy Cross favorite, The Servant Song by Richard Gillard.  The song emphasizes that we are "pilgrims on a journey" and "travelers on the road," meant to help one another "bear the load".  It’s a true Holy Cross “theme song”.

We will sing a new Song of Praise.  Alleluia! Alleluia! (Hearts to Heaven and Voices Raise) is a popular Easter hymn written by Christopher Wordsworth in 1865. It is most commonly set to the tune "Hymn to Joy," which is based on the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and was adapted for congregational singing in 1824.  Fun fact – Trevor’s high school was “Bishop Wordsworth’s School”, founded by Christopher Wordsworth’s son, John.  A Holy Cross connection!

Our sequence hymn is from the Taizé community, Stay with Me.  The offertory hymn is I Want Jesus to Walk with Me, a classic African American spiritual that serves as a prayer for companionship through life's hardships.  Both songs resemble the message of Sunday’s gospel.

The music during communion is Bob Hurd’s In the Breaking of the Bread. Its lyrics focus on Jesus being "our companion" and "our hope" through the "bread for the journey".  We will pair this song with One Bread, One Body, a communion hymn composed in 1978 by Jesuit Father John Foley.

Our closing hymn is another Holy Cross favorite AND another Holy Cross theme song, We Are Called by David Haas.  You will be singing this song all day long!