Music Notes for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 15, 2026 Dr. John Michniewicz

The Fourth Sunday of Lent is traditionally also known as Laetare Sunday. The title takes its name from the entrance antiphon “Laetare Jerusalem” (Rejoice, O Jerusalem) giving Sunday a sense of light and joy at the midpoint of the Lenten season. Optional Rose colored vestments worn by the clergy help underscore the themes of healing and light found in the readings. The readings point towards and highlight the narrative of Jesus’ encounter in the Gospel of John with the man born blind, to whom Jesus gives physical and spiritual sight.

The First Reading, 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7 and 10-13a, recounts the anointing of David by the prophet Samuel. Sent by God to the house of Jesse, Samuel passes over the older, more accomplished and even impressive sons and chooses the youngest. He is in actuality the shepherd boy David. He is anointed with oil, and the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him. Here, we see that God looks beneath the surface, and makes a judgment based on the seeing what is on the inside, the heart. God’s sight shows should be chosen, even if it’s one that those seeing with human eyes would overlook. It is God who gives true sight.

Sunday’s Responsorial Psalm, Psalm 23, is the perfect response to the First Reading. As the former shepherd boy who became King of Is rael, David is thought to have written and compos ed Ps alm 23. In the text, David writes of God’s care and

guida nce through life ‘s challenges, s howing the Lord as the true s hepherd. He begins the Psalm with the text “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want,” which is used as the responsive refrain. The psalm’s imagery of being led through dark valleys, of a table prepared in the “sight of my foes” and that “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,” can itself be seen as a spiritual journey, through darkness to light.

The Second Reading, Ephesians 5:8-14, continues that theme of the journey from darkness to light, stating “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Paul exhorts the believers in Ephesus to wake from sleep and rise from the dead, promising that “Christ will give you light.”

In the Gospel of John, 9:1-41, we are then led to the inspiring narrative of the man born blind. Jesus encounters this man born blind, anoints his eyes, and sends him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The man comes back “able to see,” and believes in Jesus stating: “I do believe, Lord.” The Pharisees, though, refuse to accept this miracle, and become increasingly spiritually blind due to their refusal to acknowledge Jesus’s divine authority. The gospel reading is a meditation on the nature of true and false sight.

Sunday’s Entrance Hymn, Amazing Grace (Worship Hymnal No. 650) presents itself as almost a perfect opening hymn for Sunday’s Mass. The lyrics were written by John Newton, a former slave trader whose dramatic conversion became one of the most celebrated and known testimonies of 18th century England. The hymn’s most famous line, “I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see” echoes the blind

man’s words before the Pharisees in John 9: “One thing I know, I was blind, and now I see.”

It is thought that Newton wrote the text around 1772, and it was first published in the Olney Hymns of 1779. The me lody is be lie ve d to ha ve originated in the rural American South, featuring a pentatonic (five-note) s tructure common in folk mus ic. In 1835,

composer and compile r William Walker publis hed the tune in his book The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, as s igning it the name “NEW BRITAIN.” The fifth stanza, not by Newton, is attributed to John Rees and first appeared around 1859. Not

much is known about John Rees, but he seems to have been inspired by a similar verse appearing in A Collection of Sacred Ballads published in Virginia in 1790. It suggests that the verse was already circulating in American folk hymnody before Rees gave it a more fixed form. As the final verse, it was most likely gradually attached to Newton’s hymn because its imagery of heaven and eternal life, the heart-felt sentiment of forever singing “God’s praise” fit naturally with and as a response to the earlier verses.

Of course, the hymn has become a beloved cultural icon, appearing in everything from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s classic abolitionist novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, to the modern 2006 film and later Broadway musical entitled “Amazing Grace.” It’s been

noted that many musicians and singers have produced well known versions, from Elvis Presley to Andrea Bocelli, Celine Dion and Aretha Franklin among others. President Barack Obama movingly sang an extemporized and improvised version of the melody, when he sang the hymn during his eulogy for South Carolina state senator and minister Clementa Pinckney, a victim of the Charleston church shooting in 2015.

1. Amazing grace! how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see.

1. ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved;

How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed!

1. The Lord has promised good to me, His word my hope secures;

He will my shield and portion be As long as life endures.

1. Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come;

‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home.

1. When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun,

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we’d first begun.

Here is another powerful rendition of Amazing Grace, as sung in Salt Lake City, Utah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVsUmRUlU_M

Sunday’s Presentation Hymn is From Ashes to the Living Font (Worship Hymnal No. 463) This Lenten hymn has a text written by hymnal editor and liturgical composer Alan Hommerding. It echoes the Lenten journey from Ash Wednesday to Easter.

Hommerding has written a focused verse for each Sunday of Lent, and his third verse for the Fourth Sunday of Lent reflects the narrative of the blind man and the narrative’s lesson for all believers. The verse reads: “We sit beside the road and plead, ‘Come, save us, David’s son!’ Now with your vision heal our eyes, the world’s true light

alone.” This verse reflects the themes in Sunday’s readings, referencing King David in the First Reading and Psalm, manifest as Jesus, the healing of the blind man from the Gospel, and the light imagery of Ephesians. It is a petition for healing and to be given the true gift of seeing with God’s spiritual sight. The tune WINCHESTER NEW, a chorale melody of German origin adapted by William Croft in the early 18th century, underscores the hymn with a melody normally associated with Lent.

From Ashes To The Living Font W-463

1. From ashes to the living font Your Church must journey, Lord, Baptized in grace, in grace renewed By your most holy word.

1. Through fasting, prayer, and charity Your voice speaks deep within, Returning us to ways of truth

And turning us from sin.

1. We sit beside the road and plead, “Come, save us, David’s son!”

Now with your vision heal our eyes, The world’s true Light alone.

1. From ashes to the living font Your Church must journey still,

Through cross and tomb to Easter joy, In Spiritfire fulfilled.

Here is a version of From Ashes To The Living Font, as sung by the cantor and congregation at the Newman University Church in Dublin,

Ireland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7s3ZWeUKOA

At the 11:30 Mass, the choir will sing the Presentation Anthem: Open My Eyes by K. Lee Scott. The text is said to be derived from a 17th-century devotional booklet, by

Lancelot Andrewes (1555– 1626), Bis hop of Winches ter. The te xt “Open my eyes and I shall see; incline my heart and I shall desire; order my steps and I shall walk in the ways of your commandments” could be likened to a prayer expressing the thoughts of the man born blind.

Open My Eyes

Open my eyes and I shall see; Incline my heart and I shall desire;

Order my steps and I shall walk in the ways of your commandments.

O God, be my only Lord,

And beside you let there be none else, No other, none else with you.

Teach me to worship you and serve you in all My undertakings with truth of spirit, with honor of Body, with blessing of mouth, both in public

And private.

Open my eyes and I shall see; Incline my heart and I shall desire;

Order my steps and I shall walk

in the ways of your commandments.

Amen.

The Communion Hymn, Lord Jesus Christ (Worship Hymnal No. 587) is by Jacques Berthier, 1923–1994. Berthier’s songs and hymns are associated with the Taizé community of Burgundy, France, an international, ecumenical and multi-lingual community founded by Brother Roger Schutz in 1940. The music sung at assemblies there most often consists of straightforward, simple and contemplative choral ostinatos designed for extended meditative repetition. Berthier developed a distinctive form in which a brief choral refrain, simple enough for any congregation to learn immediately, is repeated while a cantor proclaims psalm verses above it or in alternation. The text here: “Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us; let not my doubts nor my darkness speak to me,” draws directly on the light and darkness imagery of both John 9 and Ephesians 5. The psalm verses are drawn from Psalm 139, and follow a narrative of being known completely by God, to being found even in the farthest hiding place, to the recognition that even a place of darkness is known by and is not dark to God. The final verse “Search me, O God, and know my heart, and lead me in the everlasting

way” provides a fitting Lenten moment of reflection and penitence, echoing the theme of the first reading, in that God sees and provides sight that looks beyond the surface, to what is inside and to the heart’s inner reality.

Lord Jesus Christ

“Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us. Let not my doubts nor my darkness speak to me. Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us.

Let my heart always welcome your love.”

Lord you have search me and know me.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You are acquainted with all my ways.

1. If I take the wings of the morning;

And set to hide in the farthest place in the sea, Even there your hand shall follow me.

1. If I say let the darkness cover me, Even the darkness is not dark to You, But night is as bright as the day.

1. Search me, O God, and know my heart. And lead me in the everlasting way.

Here is a version recorded at the Taizé community and released in 1995: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuSa-DtVYJU

At the 11:30 Mass, the choir will sing the Communion Meditation: I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes by Leo Sowerby. Leo Sowerby (1895–1968) was one of the most significant American composers of sacred choral music in the 20th century, and the first American musician to win the Prix de Rome, a French Scholarship providing for study in Rome for young artists and composers. He was famously the longtime organist and choirmaster at St. James Episcopal Cathedral in Chicago. His setting of Psalm 121 “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help” is among his most accessible and rich works, featuring a musical language that is warm and harmonically

sophisticated. The Psalmist assures God’s people that the Lord, who made heaven and earth, neither slumbers nor sleeps, but preserves their going out and their coming in, forevermore. The imagery and idea of lifting one’s eyes echoes the narrative of the blind man who receives his sight. Sowerby uses the expanded harmonies and sonorities found in music of the 1920’s and 30’s, but written into a setting for Mezzo-sooprano soloist, choir and organ. The text reflects, in Sowerby’s setting, a sense of peaceful contemplation and quiet rejoicing, appropriate for Laetare Sunday.

I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes Leo Sowerby

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help?

My help cometh from the Lord,

which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved;

he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper; thy shade upon thy right hand.

The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil; he shall preserve thy soul.

The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore. Amen.

Here is a version of I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, as recorded by the Choir of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Greenville, South Carolina https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=townXCTfxGc

Sunday’s final Hymn is Jesus, Lead the Way (Worship Hymnal No. 657). This hymn text was penned by Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700– 1760). He was a German Pietis t noble man, and leader in the Moravian Church. He es tablis hed the community of Herrnhut for religious refugees on his es tate and founded Bethlehe m, Penns ylvania in

1741. He authored more than 2,000 hymns and champione d a “he art-cente re d” fa ith.

The hymn s peaks of following J es us , echoing the journey of the man born blind, and the Lenten journey its e lf, leading towards Eas ter and eternal res urrection.

Jesus Lead The Way

1. Jesus, lead the way Through our life’s long day.

When at times the way is cheerless, Help us follow, calm and fearless.

Guide us by your hand To the promised land.

1. Jesus be our light In the midst of night.

Let not faithless fear o’ertake us; Let not faith and hope forsake us. May we feel you near

As we worship here.

1. When we seek relief From a long-felt grief;

When temptations come alluring, Make us patient and enduring.

Lord we seek your grace In this holy place.

1. Jesus, still lead on Till our rest be won.

If you lead us through rough places, Grant us your redeeming graces.

When our course is o’er, Open heaven’s door.

Here is an arranged version of Jesus Lead the Way by the St. John’s Cathedral Choir,

Denver, Colorado https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79ReyOONzd8