Music Notes for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 10, 2026 Dr. John Michniewicz

The liturgy for the Sixth Sunday of Easter centers on the gift of the Holy Spirit and the profound connection between divine love and the observance of Christ’s commandments. In the First Reading (Acts 8:5-8, 14-17), Philip’s proclamation of the Messiah in Samaria brings great joy to the people, who subsequently receive the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands by Peter and John. This sense of rejoicing is echoed in the Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 66), “Let all the earth cry out to God with joy,” recognizing God’s miraculous deeds. It is one of the great universal psalms of praise, evoking the imagery of the Exodus: “He changed the sea to dry land; through the river they passed on foot.” The Second Reading (1 Peter 3:15-18) calls the faithful to honor Christ as Lord within their hearts and to remain prepared to defend their hope, noting that Christ’s suffering was intended to bring humanity closer to God. In the Gospel (John 14:15-21), Jesus assures His followers that they will not be abandoned; He promises the “Spirit of Truth,” an Advocate who will remain with them forever. Christ emphasizes that keeping his commandments is the true expression of love, which in turn welcomes the abiding presence of the Spirit within the believer and the Church.

Sunday’s Entrance Hymn, Alleluia! Sing To Jesus, Worship Hymnal No. 953, is one of the most well-known and prominent hymns, widely sung throughout the English speaking world. The “Alleluia” opening of each verse mirrors the spirit of rejoicing in the first reading and the Psalm, and echo the “Alleluias” so prominent during the Easter season. The hymn offers a meditation on Christ’s heavenly priesthood: Christ’s “robe of flesh” now bears the marks of love before the Father’s throne. The text’s eucharistic verses “Alleluia! Bread of Heaven, Thou on earth our food, our stay,” and the second verse text “Alleluia! not as orphans, Are we left in sorrow now,” reflect Sunday’s Gospel reading: the Risen Christ has ascended to the Father, yet through the Spirit Christ abides with the Church.

William Chatterton Dix (1837-1898) wrote Alleluia! Sing to Jesus! as a Communion hymn for Ascension Day in 1866. Dix stands out among nineteenth-century British hymn writers as he had a career in business. He was a prolific writer of hymns, and he published many collections. The hymn’s strong imagery and thematic content, and its pairing with the well-known tune HYFRYDOL have made it an enduring and meaningful hymn. HYFRYDOL is the Welsh word for “good cheer” and was composed by Rowland Hugh Prichard (1811–1887) when he was around twenty years old. It was first published in his 1844 Cyfaill y Cantorion -The Singer’s Friend. It has been observed that the tune essentially encompasses only five notes in its range, going up to a sixth in the final, climactic phrase. But, its arching phrases give it

strength for congregational singing. Music historians have praised HYFRYDOL as one of the greatest congregational hymn melodies in the Western hymn tradition.

1. Alleluia! sing to Jesus!

His the scepter, his the throne; Alleluia! his the triumph,

His the victory alone;

Hark! the songs of peaceful Zion Thunder like a mighty flood; Jesus out of ev’ry nation

Has redeemed us by his blood.

1. Alleluia! not as orphans Are we left in sorrow now; Alleluia! he is near us,

Faith believes, nor questions how:

Though the cloud from sight received him, When the forty days were o’er,

Shall our hearts forget his promise, ‘I am with you evermore’?

1. Alleluia! Bread of Angels,

Here on earth our food, our stay! Alleluia! here the sinful

Flee to you from day to day:

Intercessor, friend of sinners, Earth’s redeemer, plead for me, Where the songs of all the sinless Sweep across the crystal sea.

1. Alleluia! King eternal,

You the Lord of lords we own; Alleluia! born of Mary,

Earth your footstool, heav’n your throne:

You, within the veil, have entered, Robed in flesh, our great high priest; Here on earth both priest and victim In the eucharistic feast.

Here is a performance by the King’s College Choir, Cambridge, singing Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTrClYH1Yw4

Sunday’s Presentation Hymn is Come Down O Love Divine, Worship Hymnal No. 534. The text originates with Bianco da Siena (c. 1350–c. 1434), an Italian lay mystic and member of the Gesuati, a religious order founded by Giovanni Colombini devoted to poverty, contemplation, and fervent prayer. Bianco wrote over ninety devotional poems known as Laudi Spirituali in Italian. His poetry is marked by what scholars describe as “the immediacy of language and unadorned simplicity” rooted in the mystical tradition of Jacopone da Todi. The original Italian poem, Discendi, amor santo, was preserved in a collection published at Lucca in 1851, nearly four centuries after his death. In 1867, the Anglo-Irish scholar and clergyman Richard Frederick Littledale (1833–1890) translated verses into English for his People’s Hymnal.

The hymn is addressed directly to the Holy Spirit, though the third Person of the Trinity is not named until the final line; throughout, the Spirit is invoked as “O Love divine,” “O Comforter,” and the One who bestows “holy flame.” The text asks for purification: for earthly passions to be consumed in the Spirit’s fire, for illumination, for the clothing of the soul in humility and charity, and finally for the fulfillment of the longing to know God face to face. These petitions align the hymn directly with John 14:15–21, where Jesus promises the Advocate who will dwell within the disciples and make the mutual indwelling of Father, Son, and believer a lived reality.

The English hymn translation remained almost unknown until 1906, when Ralph Vaughan Williams paired it with a newly composed tune for The English Hymnal. Vaughan Williams named the tune DOWN AMPNEY after the Gloucestershire village where he was born. The tune has been described by the hymnologist Erik Routley as “perhaps the most beautiful hymn tune composed since OLD HUNDREDTH.” The hymn’s text serves as a direct invocation of the “Advocate” promised in the Gospel, and a petition for the Holy Spirit to visit the soul and “enkindle” it with divine love.

1. Come down, O Love divine, Seek now this soul of mine,

And visit it with your own ardor glowing; O Comforter, draw near,

Within my heart appear,

And kindle it, your holy flame bestowing.

1. O let it freely burn,

Till earthly passions turn

To dust and ashes in its heat consuming;

And let your glorious light Shine ever on my sight,

And clothe me round, the while my path illuming.

1. And so the yearning strong, With which the soul will long,

Shall far outpass the pow’r of human telling; No soul can guess Love’s grace

Till it become the place

Wherein the Holy Spirit makes a dwelling.

Here is the Choir and Congregation of St. Mark’s Church in Philadelphia singing the hymn Come Down O Love Divine in a Sunday service with a wonderful organ interlude and a dramatic reharmonization of the final verse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj2KLXjkU_Y

At the 11:30 AM Mass, the Choir will sing a beautiful setting of Ave Maria in a piece attributed to the Baroque composer Giulio Caccini. The modern version, recreated by Vladimir Vavilov is here set for choir by Patrick Liebergen. The arrangement for choir, organ and violin maintains a “smooth, expressive” quality with a recurring, haunting minor-key harmonic progression. The Ave Maria prayer: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee” shows Mary as the one who “kept all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:51). As Sunday’s Gospel reading speaks of the Spirit of truth dwelling within the disciples, Ave Maria also presents Mary as the first and most perfect dwelling of Christ, the model of the indwelling Jesus promises to all who love him.

Here is a beautiful recording of Patrick Liebergen’s setting of the Caccini/Vavilov Ave Maria, as recorded at St. Francis De Sales Church in Ajax, Ontario, Canada. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka-tZdkv0uc

During Communion at the 11:30 AM Mass, the Choir will sing If Ye Love Me, by Philip Wilby.

Philip Wilby was born in 1949 in Pontefract, Yorkshire, England, and was educated at Keble College, Oxford. He has been associated with the Faculty of Music at the University of Leeds since 1972, where he teaches composition, liturgy, and score reading. While Wilby is perhaps best known in the concert world for his compositions for brass band, his sacred choral writing reflects his deep Christian convictions and his commitment to music that serves worship.

If Ye Love Me sets John 14:15–18. The setting blends traditional choral techniques with a fresh, contemporary harmonic language, combining the formality of Anglican

choral tradition with moments of warmth and intimacy that make Christ’s words feel personally addressed to the singers and hearers alike.

If ye love me, keep my commandments, And I will pray the Father,

And he shall give you another comforter, That he may abide with you for ever:

Even the spirit of truth.

And ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, And shall be in you.

I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you.

Here is the wonderful choir of First-Plymouth Church in Lincoln, Nebraska and their presentation of If Ye Love Me during a Sunday service: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEyYU0OJv-4

In honor of Mother’s day, the Communion Meditation will feature the beautiful and touching selection A Mother’s Prayer, as composed by Keith and Kristyn Getty and arranged by Tom Fettke and Thomas Grassi for soloist, choir and violin. The hymn focuses on faith and the spiritual strength that parents desire for their children. It is above all a heartfelt prayer, an invocation and petition for the guidance of the “Spirit of Truth.”

A Mother’s Prayer

Before you close your eyes to sleep. I have a promise still to keep.

As I hold you in my arms,

I pray your little frame grows strong,

And that faith takes hold while you are young. This is my prayer for you:

Hold my hand,

I’ll teach you the Way to go. Through the joys, through the tears, The journey of these years,

May you trust Him ’til the end May you trust Him ’til the end.

This world is not as it should be But the Savior opens eyes to see All that’s beautiful and true.

Oh, may His light fill all you are,

And the jewel of wisdom crown your heart. This is my prayer for you:

Hold my hand,

I’ll teach you the Way to go. Through the joys, through the tears, The journey of these years,

He is with us ’til the end, He is faithful ’til the end.

You’ll travel where my arms won’t reach, As the road will rise to lead your feet

On a journey of your own.

May my mistakes not hinder you,

But His grace remains and guide you through. This is my prayer for you:

Take His hand

And go where He calls you to. And whatever comes, seek Him With all your heart;

This will be my prayer for you. Father, hear my ceaseless prayer, Oh keep them in your care.

Here is a recording of A Mother’s Prayer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vwVwYVxg_k

Sunday’s final hymn, Sing We of the Blessed Mother features the hymn tune OMNE DIE, a traditional melody that has appeared in various forms since the 17th century. The text highlights Mary’s place in salvation history, concluding Sunday’s liturgy with a hymn honoring Mary that here too reflects the joy of the Easter season.

1. Sing we of the blessed Mother who received the angel’s word, and obedient to his summons bore in love the infant Lord; sing we of the joys of Mary

at whose breast that child was fed who is Son of God eternal

and the everlasting Bread.

1. Sing we, too, of Mary’s sorrows,

of the sword that pierced her through, when beneath the cross of Jesus

she his weight of suffering knew, looked upon her Son and Saviour reigning high on Calvary’s tree, saw the price of man’s redemption paid to set the sinner free.

1. Sing again the joys of Mary when she saw the risen Lord,

and in prayer with Christ’s apostles, waited on his promised word:

from on high the blazing glory of the Spirit’s presence came,

heavenly breath of God’s own being, manifest through wind and flame.

1. Sing the chiefest joy of Mary when on earth her work was done, and the Lord of all creation brought her to his heavenly home:

Virgin Mother, Mary blessed,

raised on high and crowned with grace, may your Son, the world’s redeemer, grant us all to see his face.

Here is the celebratory hymn Sing We of the Blessed Mother as sung by the cantor, choir and congregation at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iTwP1GGl1o

Sources:

Hymnary.org;

USCCB Lectionary (usccb.org);

Young Catholics (young-catholics.com); Wikipedia (Ave Maria / Vavilov; Alleluia Sing to Jesus;

Come Down O Love Divine; Keith & Kristyn Getty; Classic FM;

UMC Discipleship Ministries; Cantica Sacra;

GodSongs.net;  ChoralWiki (Philip Wilby);

J.W. Pepper;

Sheet Music Direct; Hal Leonard.